Feast

Nope.

So it came to pass.
So it came to pass.
So it came to pass…
–The Book of Mormon (the book, not the play)
So it came to pass. Feast has passed on. I had hoped to visit one last time, but Fate conspired against me.
I liked Feast. They did local, whole animal before local, whole animal caught on. And they did it well. Also, from some accounts, is that old school English food is coming back in a strong way (older school than fish’n’chips and shepherd’s pie). I mean, the French became such good sauciers because in general their ingredients were inferior to what the rich British Empire had at its disposal.
But this place didn’t resonate with me as much as I hoped it would. Maybe later local, slow food was able to build on the shoulders of giants like Feast. It was good – «A-​OK in my book” – and I’ll be standing on line for their next endeavour.
Tell me, who can resist «bubble and squeak»?

Feast has come and gone into my life, like many of my past relationships… it only lasted a week. But don’t cry for me Houston, it’s my own fault for not getting there sooner!
On an invite from a fellow Unilocaler, I had the opportunity to try Feast this week and fitting enough it was their last week in business. So this outing was literally my first, my last, my everything (props to Barry)! One advantage to waiting until the end… BYOB! The owners had let the liquor license lapse and therefore we got to bring our own array of spirits! Yay for wine and beer!
After surveying the menu for quite some time I decided on the crispy pork belly with a potato cake and red cabbage for my entrée. The table also ordered the sea scallops and the terrine for appetizers. The appetizers were actually a little underwhelming, but I did really enjoy the scallops. I love seafood and these scallops were perfectly cooked in a bath of cream and mushrooms… lovely texture and simple flavors.
Then after a bit of an extended wait, our entrees arrived. The portion was enormous, but lucky for me I had an ambitious appetite. The pork belly had a solid crispy crust on top and the most tender and velvety pork on the underside. The potato cake was creamy smooth and the red cabbage brought back memories of some of my favorite German dishes. Each bite was better than the first and the combination of the fat with the starch and acidity of the cabbage awakened all of my dormant taste buds!
I stuffed myself too greatly to attempt dessert, but I really think coming here was the icing on my foodie cake! I’m sad the relationship couldn’t be longer, but like I’ve learned — sometimes it’s better to move on and hope the best for each other! To the Feast owners, chefs, and staff I bid you adieu… until we meet again, and I hope we do!

The portions were huge.
The service, not so much.
I get it, the restaurant is closing so no one is that happy, but at least fake some sort of happiness instead of making me feel like I’m at a funeral and then disappearing forever so that I have to wait 15 minutes after the plates are cleared to get the check. Then wait some more to get the receipts back.
+2 stars for the food
+1 star for free valet (+tip)
Sad to see this place go since this was my first and last experience with Feast. The food was definitely better than the service.

Why, oh why, did I wait so long to try this place. Now I am in love with the food and the quaintness of this restaurant, but it is closing very very soon! KICKING MYYSELF AS I WRITE THIS.
I started off with the scallops and had the braised beef shoulder for my entrée with a side of roasted brussel sprouts. All delicious and portions were very generous enough to share/​take home for lunch the next day. That braised beef and brussel sprouts… drool.
This review is based solely on my personal experience and reflect my personal opinions. Your experience may be completely different.

This place is about to close, and sadly I kind of see why. Maybe I just don’t understand the food or maybe my tastes just aren’t at the level they expect from the people who eat here. We got there at 12:30, just in time for our Sunday lunch reservation. There’s only valet parking, which was fine, just unexpected. We walked in, were seated, and given a plate of bread and butter. Two types of bread, one good, the other too crunchy. With this lunch, we had the choice of fish pie (scallops and pollock, topped with mashed potatoes) or pork with rutabaga, brussell sprouts, and something else I can’t remember. I got the pork.
There was a HUGE layer of fat between the pork and the skin. Then the skin was completely inedible. It was so hard. I think my friend tried to eat it and when we asked how it was he said, «Oh it’s still in my mouth.» He couldn’t bite through it. The pork was simple, and pretty good, but the apple slaw they tried to pair with it made it too sweet. Glad they put it on the side.
For dessert, they served an English bread pudding. I’m not a big fan of bread pudding to begin with, but I took a bite just to try it because it’s good to try things again when they’re properly prepared for you. The first bite made my tongue numb from the amount of rum in it. My friend has an alcohol sensitivity, and my fiancé had to drive him home.
Feast, I’m glad I got to try you, but I probably wouldn’t have been a returning customer.

Overall Feast was a pretty dissapointing experience. This place had such high promise, but failed to deliver upon the goods!
Came here with the lady on a Saturday night, looking forward to an epic meal based on everything I’ve heard. Sat down, and was promptly seated, and ordered the black pudding, the pig’s ear, the chitterlings, and the pork belly.
First off, the bread service was some of the worst I’ve ever had. They oversalted the butter, and they gave us the burnt little spear tips of the bread. Now trust me, I like my bread with a bit of crunch, but burnt, dry bread is not high on my list of things I like. Then came the black pudding. That was probably the only good bite of food I had all night. It’s deliciously spiced, the mint brings something nice to the table, and the runny egg is just perfect. What’s not to like? The loose english peas just rolling around underneath the black pudding. I mean, I have a fork… how do you expect me to properly pick the peas up without them rolling all over the place?
Then came the disaster of the chitterlings and the pig’s ear. If you fed me the pig ear’s cake, and didn’t tell me what it was, I would have guessed cheese and apricot cake. The cheese completely overpowered the entire dish (tasted like cheddar cheese), and I got small bites of apriocot for texture (read: dissapointing). The chitterlings was… just innards slapped on a plate. We literally just got a white plate, with some chitterlings dumped on it. And it was soggy since the crispy chitterlings were doused in a mustard sauce… ok…
Pork belly was also a bit of a disaster. Overcooked, stringy, tough, impossible to chew, and the skin was too hard even to cut with the steak knife they gave us. The best part of the dish was the potatoes.
Overall, the place had a great ambiance, and excellent service, but unfortunately here, the food does not live up to the expectations, and I would think twice before considering this place again.

I came here for their 4-​course Valentine’s Day menu, which consisted of items off their regular menu. Their salad was small and somewhat plain, but fresh and with a great dressing. Butternut squash soup was thick and flavorful, although it had somewhat of an aftertaste, but maybe that’s just me. We also tried the Snails on Toast, which was one of my favorite dishes here. Fresh plump snails atop crunchy toast that soaks up the buttered sauce — marries well in your mouth. Scallops baked in cheese were creamy and flavorful, but the scallops were a bit overcooked.
For entrees: beef shoulder was tender but tasted very much like pot roast at grandmother’s. Crispy Pork Belly — they ain’t joking about the crispiness. Two cons about this: 1. Skin was so crispy that my arms hurt by the end of the night from trying to cut it — and yes I had a proper knife for it too, and 2. It came in one big rectangular slab. Since the pork belly itself was very tender and flavorful, it would have been more edible if they had cut it for us. I liked the slaw that it was over though, which consisted of some sort of apple and cabbage mixture.
Overall, it’s a nice place to try, but I think the food should be better given the prices they charge.

I was quite surprised — in a good way!
I had gone twice early in their game and friends thought we should go at least one time before they close this summer (in spite of critical accolades).
I am not a fan of organ meat/​offal nor «English» preparation…
However, the menu had at most one or two of these not-​right-​for-​me dishes. Appetizers — soups and salads — were solid. Three of us had braised lamb — superb — and the others had braised shoulder of beef — again liked by all. The wine list is «eclectic:» — with many bottles in the $ 30s and $ 40s.
Service was good.
Overall — a good experience. So maybe give the place a try before they close…

This place was perfect… A PERFECTLY GOOD WASTE OF MONEY. The menu is unique I will give them that, and the atmosphere was nice as well. But our meals were absolutely nothing special.
For starters they brought out bread to the table with butter, nice but the two skimpy pieces they served should have been a sign of the meager meal to come. We split the Pork fat on toast with an egg for an appetizer, good and unique but not enough to save the meal. Then our meals… I had the seafood pie which was scallops and fish in cream sauce, topped with potatoes and leeks and baked… some of my scallops were still raw on the inside of the pie, and the brussels that came on the side were so far beyond roasted that they were burnt. Not an intentional char… Im talking BURNT.
My husbands meal was described to be marrow bones with some meat on a bed of beans and bacon. The soupy white bean mess had raw bacon floating around in it, and the bones were cut in a way that you could not eat the marrow easily. To top it off the meat was chewy and underseasoned.
This place basically takes the cheapest ingredients, gives them fancy names and then tries to pass it off as fine dining. Do not go here unless you are prepared to pay about $ 70 for what was not long ago considered «peasant food»…an accurate description of our meal as described by my husband.

I’ve been to Feast a handful of times over the years. The meals you get here are on the heavy side, with huge, generous portions. I’ll be sad when they’re gone!
I’ve had the pork belly (which was good, but extremely fatty — be careful if you don’t like that sort of thing). The entrée that I almost always get now is the braised pork shoulder (usually on a special on the board). It’s extremely tender meat in almost a red wine reduction stew of vegetables. It’s one of those dishes you’re eating and are sad when it’s gone.
Speaking of that, do not leave Feast without ordering the sticky toffee pudding (
). It is SO GOOD. Think, one of the most moist, delicious pieces of cake you’ve ever had.
You can check the daily menu on their website, just search for Feast Houston. Parking can be tough — they have valet parking but I usually am able to find street parking around the neighborhood. Read the traffic signs carefully though, because the area is notorious for towing.
Check this place out, before they’re gone!

This was my third visit and for some reason I was still a little unsure of this place. I always fear that I am going to show up and they will be out of everything except tongue. This time when we sat down I said to myself, «lets do this» and before our waitress could even say anything I told her I would have the tongue. Had the toast as an app and it was really good, but as I waited for my entrée I started to get a little nervous, but I calmed myself. It came out; it was a fairly large portion and it was really good. i was surprised. Would I order it again? No. But it was really good. The beef cheeks BTW are amazing. I am sorry they will be gone after August, but we will be back before then to say goodbye.
On a side note this place is a really cool place to eat on a cool night with the fire place and small tables that are close together.

My food was way too salty to be prepared by a critically acclaimed chef. My dining companion complained of the same. Lo siento.
I know this place is not known for its bread and butter but somehow I was expecting the bread to be more… I don’t know, crusty? More deserving of a place with $ 20+ entrees? It was entirely too texture-​less to engage me. The butter was bland.
The pig cheek was definitely interesting, and reminded me strongly of slightly fatty lamb, with its coarse strands of meat and woody flavor, but the gravy that smothered it was so salty I was not a fan. Even the polenta that came with the entrée was too salty! Lame.
The spotted dick and custard was the sole highlight of the meal for me (besides the thought of being eco friendly-​ish by eating local meat in an avant-​garde way); it’s a steamed bread-​like cake fairly heavily spiced and studded with raisins and chunks of apple, and is surrounded by this very thin liquid of vaguely yellow custard origin. It was a good lighter end to what was a really sodium-​loaded meal (unfortunately).
Also, the valet dude (whom you WILL have to get to know, since there is no parking lot) is nice! I think the valet is technically free but it’s good manners to tip.

This place is a call before you come establishment! Make your reservations! Valet parking is your only option if you are dining in! Parking at any other businesses around the area will get your car towed. Since I knew I was just picking up and not dining in, plus I called ahead, I took my chance across the street at the convience store lot!
First impressions of the place, via my reservations call, very professional group of people. First impressions of the inside of the place is definitely positive. Great décor and atmosphere, along with a very sexy lighting… I can see why people would come here for one on one time!
This place is for people that wish to dine outside the norm… because the menu options are kind of crazy sounding. For instance, «Bubble and Squeak «is, I believe their mash potatoes and gravy! Why you may ask? Because this is European cuisine, and that is a British thing! Cool, I am an open minded diner… and if you come here, you should be as well.
Why do I know about this place you may be asking? Well, good old Groupon decided to offer out a good deal to the place, and with all the high ratings, I figured it was worth doing. Reservation made for my pick up order, and I am now in business.
I decided to start with the Scottish Smoked Salmon. Quite tasty, just like smoked salmon normally is. Nothing that was unusual about the flavor, condiments or anything of that nature. It was just simply smoked salmon that was done properly.
For the entrée I decided to go with the Braised Shoulder of Beef in Red Wine, Carrots and Mashed Potatoes. All in all, a decent dish. The beef was really tender, but did not have any wow factor spices added to it. All in all, however, the beef was definitely worth eating. The carrots has a very good taste to it, and the mashed potatoes lacked identity, and merely tasted like a common variety instant mashed potatoes.
For dessert I went with Sticky Toffee Pudding. The pudding, along with the white cream they gave me, left no lasting impressions on me. I finished the entire thing, but my taste buds did not sing while eating my dessert.
This place is worth the experience. Flavor is not their speciality, but quality food seems to be. The website updates daily, seemingly, so you know what type of items are available for your pallette. Some items may sound quite strange, but isn’t that the reason to actually eat?!? Get outside of your eating comfort zone and try this place out. I must say that I was disappointed with portion size and price here. You will be content with your meal, but not stuffed. If your wallet was stuffed before you came, your wallet will only be «content» when you leave! Pricey!

Isn’t British food notorious for being not that great? I can see how it could put the restaurant at a disadvantage from the start. Prices are reasonable… I’m curious if the restaurant quality used to be higher.
Bone marrow (³⁄₅) — the marrow was buttery and delicious as bone marrow can be. parsley salad didn’t really add much for me.
Pâté «en croute» (³⁄₅) — I love puff pastry and I love pâté… however I am more partial to it being raw rather than cooked through. However, I did appreciate the cherry sauce — with whole cherries! it was a nice complement to cut the pâté
Pork cheeks (³⁄₅) — broth was interesting… sweet. totally digging the pig-​shaped polenta cakes :), how suiting. the pork cheeks were very tender, cooked perfectly. unfortunately, it wasn’t that tasty… kind of stinky. i think i was anticipating bath chaps (pork jowel = more fatty).
looking forward to coming back to try dessert! and other dishes.

I came back one more time and I left with the same feeling from my last review. We had early dinner reservations, yet the waitress in front wouldn’t let us move to an empty window table and said all the tables were already prearranged. Mind you, we were the first and only customers in the entire restaurant for at least 15 minutes. We sat there the entire 15 minutes while staff members walked around us and for the most part ignoring us. Why accept an early reservation if you know your staff won’t be ready? We weren’t even offered water. When another couple came in, they asked to change their seat because it was right underneath the AC and they got to move to the table I had asked for earlier!
I was ready to walk by that point, but I believe the owner came by and got us started, and she was nice. Actually, our surly waitress from our previous visit came by first and I groaned mentally, but then the owner started taking care of us. We ordered the Scallops St. Jacques from our previous visit, which was decent again. I ordered the pork cheeks braised with apricots and crispy herb polenta. The pork cheeks were so delicate and decadent and definitely the star. I normally don’t like polenta, but however they fried it, this time it was great. Also, the polenta came shaped as a pig, so ++++ for cuteness. The only downside to the plate was that it comes with the broth/​oil, which makes the polenta soggy. It was also super rich and I felt a little queasy with the food drenched in it. I definitely had to eat the few leaves of mint that garnished the dish to cut the oily feel.
We also had the pork cheek, but it was just okay. Also, if you order the warm fat on toast, you really get warm fat on toast! I would never make that at home but it was oddly exciting to try it out.
I don’t have the pressing urge to come back after two tries unless someone insisted. I like the farm-​to-​table concept, and while the food is interesting, there are lots of restaurants out there with interesting food. I also don’t need to be fawned over, but it is a factor when you go to a place with a good rep for good service and you feel like an overlooked nuisance.

If you’re trying to expand people’s food horizons, James Beard nominated Feast is a good place to put that plan into action. They always have a good assortment of «safe and friendly» dishes, as well as whatever exciting nose-​to-​tail creations they come up with that day. Tonight we didn’t push the envelope too much (should have gotten that rabbit skeleton!) and went with the following:
Warm fat on toast with thyme and a fried egg — a perfectly fried egg with a gooey yolk over the «fat» which resembles sausage crumbles, on a thick piece of crunchy toast.
Scallops St. Jacques: Sea scallops with a mushroom, brandy, cream sauce — super tender scallops without a speck of grit, creamy, almost cheesy sauce with a squeeze of lemon to brighten it up.
Crispy roasted pork belly, red cabbage with apples, and a potato cake — possibly their most popular dish. Cracklin’ crispy skin, rendered fat, fall apart meat, tangy sweet cabbage and apples, crusty and soft potatoes.
Lamb’s sweetbreads, buttered leeks, and duchess potatoes — creamy soft sweetbreads, deeply seasoned sauce — mixed together with the potatoes and leeks melded all the flavors together.
A few other notables from previous visits would include the calve’s liver and anything with beef tongue. The service is friendly and by going on a weekday we avoided the crowd. Reservations recommended for the weekend. Valet is complimentary or if you can possibly find street parking make sure to read the signs so you don’t get towed.

Lots of rave about Feast. I’ll give kudos to the chef for not using «factory farmed animals.» It was interesting to read about where the food came from on the back of the menu. I also like that Feast is very different from most restaurants. How many restaurants you know serve a tongue and brain pie or rabbit skeleton or raw beef heart?
Okay, not all the dishes are that scary… but I am one of the many that chickens out and refuses to order the unique dishes.
Roasted bone marrow — bland. I think the garlic bread gave the bone marrow all the flavor. The little pieces of meat left on the outside of the bone, on the other hand, were crispy, salty and quite nice.
Braised Lamb Shank with Roast Potatoes and Kale with White Anchovies — nothing outrageous about this one. Simple and something I can find anywhere else.
Crispy pork belly with Grilled mashed potatoes and pickled cabbage and apples — yummy! Some people would say the pork belly is bland… but when you eat it with the cabbage and apples, everything works very well together! My only complaint was that my skin was a bit too crispy. It was harder to bite than peanut brittle!
Sticky toffee pudding — I only had a bite of this (it was the birthdays boys), so I dont know if this dessert would’ve been too much to eat, but that bite was very good!
Would I come again… perhaps. The menu changes daily so I highly recommend checking out the menu online and seeing what they offer. Go early, too, because if they run out… too bad! I was lucky enough to get the last pork belly.
As for service… when you’re with 18 other people, it’s understandable that sevice can be a bit slow. I was forgiving when it took about 30 min to get the drinks… then to order… then to get our checks… but when the server already split all the checks up by couples and who had what… why would it take 20 min just to run credit cards for 6 people? At least our server was very knowledgable of the food… it’s not easy memorizing and being able to explain the food when the menu changes daily.

For my birthday, my boyfriend took me to a restaurant where both of us have never dined before: Feast Restaurant near the Montrose area. He wanted us to try something «adventurous.» I’ll be honest, I was kinda iffy about this place because I was expecting a more «traditional» birthday dinner (you know, steak house or Italian), but after reading a few Unilocal reviews about it, I got excited.
Let me preface about Feast. Feast is an old-​world cuisine restaurant. It’s located in a two-​story house and has a «homey» feel to it inside. Due to the casual feel of this place, one would not suspect that it’s prices are at the higher-​end of the spectrum. Since we’ve heard about this place, we also expected it to be pricy and not casual (my boyfriend tried to wear shorts that evening and I begged him to change). However, once we arrived at the restaurant and noticed how another guest was wearing t-​shirt and shorts… you can just imagine how that comment went!
Anyways, Feast updates their menu on a daily basis. There are two columns on the menu: the left side is their «standard» menu and the right side is their daily specials. We mainly tried items from the left side just to see how their «normal» menu tastes like.
We ordered Chicken and Onion as our appetizer. When it came out, it was not what we were expecting and to be honest, I didn’t know what to expect, but not this: chicken skin wrapped over an onion. Sounds super unhealthy, but we all know that means YUMMY! And it was! The mixture of the chicken skin and onion was very tasty. The dish was pretty greasy and I tried to eat the salad as well (to try and make it seem healthy), but the grease that rolled off from the skin made it unhealthy (but flavorful). This is definitely an appetizer I suggest trying. We left nothing behind on this dish.
For my entrée, I tried their Crispy Roasted Pork Belly, Potato Cake and Red Cabbage with Apples. Pork belly? Well, it was fabulous! Granted there was a layer of pure fat between the crispy skin and the pork, but it was still very good. Of course, I scrapped off most of the fat, but even without most of the fat, the dish was still very delicious. The potato cake paired well with the red cabbage and pork. Other than the fat, I didn’t leave much behind this dish either. Even my boyfriend kept reaching over for an extra bite!
This dish sounds like a 1000 calories and it even looks like it, but its soooooo worth it! Pork belly was not an item that I saw and said «okay done!» I ordered it because I was told that it was the dish to try and it was! Again, super greasy, but the restaurant is called Feast!
My boyfriend ordered their Braised Chicken. I actually wanted to order this dish (probably because it was the only «normal» dish there), but after our entrees came out… I was glad I didn’t! This entrée is basically chicken in a pot. It was chicken, potato, and celery cooked in chicken broth. The red potatoes were good and the chicken was tender, but it wasn’t special. If anything, this dish was overpriced for what it was because I can make that at home! But we tried it out and know what not to order next time we’re here. Honestly, unless you’re not the adventurous type, don’t order this dish (actually, don’t come here at all!).
For desserts, we tried their Sticky Toffee Pudding and Strawberry Ice Cream. I was told to try their Toffee Pudding, but that was a mistake! It was super rich! The cream that came on the side helped make the dish not as sweet (which was a good thing). It was so decadent, I could not finish it! I was actually sad about this because I was expecting it to taste heavenly. Luckily, my boyfriend ordered the strawberry ice cream and it literally saved our dessert experience. The ice cream was perfect! It wasn’t too sweet or creamy. You can definitely taste that it was made fresh at the restaurant. The only complaint I have with this dessert was how there wasn’t enough! My boyfriend and I were fighting over it!
Overall, I really liked this place. It’s an experience that everyone should try at least once! We are coming back here eventually to try out the rest of the menu, but probably in a few months after we burn off the 10,000 calories we ingested.
Parking here is a hassle, you must valet. The valet guy was kinda weird though… there were no signs or anything, but he demanded $ 3 from us. Granted, we were trying to tip the guy $ 1 (but that was ALL we had in our wallets and it was pretty embarrassing), but I did not appreciate the guy trying to weasel out an extra $ 2 from us! I was about to go back to the restaurant to figure something out and the valet guy finally told us to not worry about it. Hmmm… that made me a bit suspicious. Aside from that incident, this place was worth trying and I had a wonderful birthday dinner. THANK YOU SWEETIE!

Came here on a Saturday for lunch since I had a living social certificate to use. I ordered the 3 course lunch for $ 18, food takes a little longer here so expect at least a 2 hr lunch.
For my appetizer I got the scallops with mushroom which I would give a (2 out of 5)
For entrée I got the chicken pot pie which was pretty good and had a delicious crust only negative is the overly salted swiss chard. (4 out of 5)
For dessert I got the railway pudding which was good but would have been better if they put a scoop of ice cream on top! (3 out of 5)