Just Dinner

The food was delicious and the ambiance was cozy. Perfect for a small group or a date. We went on a Monday, which are apparently vegetarian only nights. I was with a group and we shared every entrée and a few appetizers. Everything was extremely fresh and the wait staff was friendly and great at providing recommendations. The kale quinoa rolls were by far my favorite and the only disappointment was that we didn’t get a chance to try the meat dishes, which sound like they are delicious.

Best date night spot in town! Small and intimate! Food is delicious and staff is very friendly!

With husband for anniversary dinner. Nice ambiance. Intimate setting. Spinach salad to start was nice.
Husband enjoyed mushroom soup.
We had the snapper with skin on and that was spectacular. Waiter was very nice and responsive.

Perfect date night restaurant, if you like your partner enough to still talk to them, which I do (love you, boo). The food was excellent, the service was amazing (complemented me on my dress, just 10 points for that!) and never overwhelming – no checking every five minutes asking «is everything alright?» but automatically knowing when I needed a refill on my wine or had a question about the menu.
It is pricey, but you absolutely get your money’s worth.

Quaint. friendly. With all of the focus on where it ought to be: excellent food.
Some girlfriends and I braved hail and heavy rain to make our 7:30 reservation at this little bungalow last Friday.
I ordered the entrée: Crab cakes and vegetable medley, with Parmesan risotto (~~~Yummmmmmmmmmm~~~).
Yes, this entrée was not necessarily inventive, but when something hits all marks, you cant help but holler a «hoorah».
Playing on the homely-​americana trend, they use jewelry and department store glossy paper ads as table covers to top off an elegant table cloth.
Our waiter was kind and informative, and comfortable in his casual Texans polo.
Overall, I felt very comforted here. See y’all soon!

BYOB — $ 10 cork fee per bottle.
Crab cakes was okay good.
I got the lamb chops for entrée and it was good. My husband had the short ribs, it wasn’t that great; a little too dry.
Parmesan risotto was yummy! Love that!
For dessert, we had chocolate cake with vanilla gelato and crème brûlée. Both was okay, the chocolate cake was too rich.
Overall, the dinner was good.
The only thing I hate the most is the chair! Not sure I’d be coming back because of the chair. So uncomfortable!!!

Excellent! Very much enjoyed our meal. The restaurant is so charming!!! The service was excellent. This is a place for a great meal. A foodie’s dream. Highly recommend.

Starting off with the phone call the day of our reservation reminding us to bring wine, the whole Just Dinner experience was excellent!
Atmosphere: Our table of 4 was able to hear each other all night and we were never rushed. The waitstaff was knowledgeable and easy-​going.
Food: Our table LOVED the foie gras app and filet dinner! The tomato soup and cheese plate were great. The food we ordered rocked, including desert! Generous portions!
Vegetarian note: My only disappointment was the dry, over-​breaded eggplant parm, nothing special there! Also have tried the puttanesca without anchovies and it was boring! Vegetarians are in need of a solid entrée here! (PLEASE!)

Service is incredible just at the highest level. No matter how many times I came here I have never had a bad experience. I have tried almost everything here. Delicious. I love this restaurant.

Just Dinner was just wonderful. We started with the crab cakes which were probably the least successful dish; not enough lump crab, but still very tasty. The Cannelloni Florentine were fantastic; I could drink the spicy marinara sauce. Ended with the short ribs and polenta which were also outstanding. The service; provided by Tony was friendly, efficient and well paced. He was great. I will return.

It was a great atmosphere and a better meal. Desert was the only questionable item. We will be returning minus desert

This is a wonderfully intimate restaurant with delectable food, excellent service, and romantic ambiance. My boyfriend took me here for my birthday and I was wonderfully wooed by our experience.
We walked into the small pale green house on Dunlavy, and the host greeted us graciously. We were lead to a small table covered in magazine pages, delicately placed with two wine glasses. Our server came quickly and opened our bottle of wine (it’s BYOB so make sure to bring booze if you want it!), and proceeded to read off a long list of appetizers and entrees. While the menu is small, their specials increase its size by at least .75. I ordered the lamb shank special while he ordered the short ribs with a crab cake appetizer. Usually crab cakes taste the same wherever you go, but these had fabulously meaty crab with very little filler. The lamb and saffron risotto were divine, as were the short ribs. I was a bit surprised that nether of us were given a steak knife, but as it turned out the meat was so tender we didn’t need it! For dessert, we went with the recommended cookie butter sundae (neither of us are super into sweets) but it was absolutely divine! Our server was so sweet and really made the night special. The size and intimacy of this place is what really sets it apart– it is much different than the other upscale, new age, prestigious and conventional restaurants. Just dinner is in a league of its own; after all, it’s just dinner.
I want to give this place 4.5 stars, but I will assuredly come back; at which point I may just be convinced to give this place the honored five.

Loved the appetizers more than the main dishes. Had ratatouille, crab cake, sweet potato soup special, quail special, all are very unique and tasty. Short rib for main dish was ok. Chocolate cake was great. The downside is the air ventilation needs some improvement, came out smell like the food

I had a nice dinner today! I came here with my boyfriend for our dating. We ordered Foie Gras Crème Caramel, Spinach Salad, Braised Boneless Short Ribs for me and Prime Beef Filet Mignon for my bf. His filet was so much perfect. The look was good. My ribs were awesome too. Especially, the price was so amazing. Serving was appreciated. We will come back soon. Thank you so much for making our night!

I cannot say enough about how good this place is. Wonderful from beginning to end. I surprised my partner with a dinner party of 8 of her closest friends so we were a party of 10. We had the semi-​private room to the right of the door.
We had a smaller menu because of our size party but plenty of options. The food was fantastic. I had the chicken and polenta and many had the short ribs. The guest of honor ordered a filet. Everyone was so happy with their food. Every meal was cooked perfectly and delicious. Portion sizes were perfect. Ambiance is lovely. The waiter was top notch.
We drank so much wine and ate everything on our plates that it ended up no one wanted dessert. Next time!
Thank you Just Dinner for making our party truly outstanding. We will definitely be back many times.

A very enjoyable night. 5 stars to the staff and their patience as we lost track of time and talked way past closing.
Thank you!
Both of my colleagues give five 5 stars to the lamb shank and noted it was one of their best meals ever.
My 3 star is for a couple of reasons:;
First, my chair was busted up and after trying others I gave up and sat down. Noting that I am not a lard ass, it was a bummer sitting on a busted chair. Please !!! Go through the dining room and fix or discard the busted chairs.
Second, I ordered the Stuffed Collard Rolls. Although they were very well constructed, they were very bland. It was a good start but I felt like focus was lost somewhere in the process. I could see a sautéed mushroom blend with roasted garlic added to the quinoa and nuts to kick it up a notch. Also an option of minced, grilled Serrano and poblano peppers to add a bit of smokiness to the shrooms would add some warmth without killing the flavor with too much fire. Just a thought…
Finally a thumbs up on the BYOB. It is atypical but allows diners to bring their fav wine in to pair up with the beautiful artisan food.
Looking forward to my return

I haven’t written a review in a while, but I felt compelled for such a cute little restaurant! Very good food and ambiance, although service was a bit on the slow side, which is completely understandable for a house-​turned-​restaurant with a tiny kitchen dedicated to the careful preparation of each and every order. The interior is dimly lit and very intimate. There were more diners than I would have expected for a Tuesday night, which was a nice surprise and probably indicative of Just Dinner’s success as a restaurant. Our table of four ordered the charcuterie plate to start. I would probably pass on this next time and request a cheese plate instead. On the plate came three kinds of cured meat, some pickled veggies — mushrooms, okra, onions and cornichons, and a selection of crackers. Good but nothing spectacular.
For appetizers, we ordered the off-​menu shrimp & grits special, a tomato basil soup and two crab cakes. The shrimp and grits actually would have made for a nicely sized meal, and it contained 3 large plump shrimp over a plate of grits. The crab cake was surprisingly large, too, and stuffed with plenty of crab meat without a lot of breading, which is exactly how they should be served. And the tomato basil soup (cream-​based and prepared without chicken stock, as noted by our waiter) was flavorful and very filling. I would recommend all of these items.
For entrees, we had two orders of the daily fish, a filet mignon, and an order of short ribs. The daily fish was a red snapper served over a Parmesan risotto and tender tri-​color carrots with a lemon beurre blanc. This dish was so filling, yet the flavors were very delicate. The fish was perfectly cooked — moist and lightly flaky — and the skin added a nice caramelized texture to the top of the fish. The parm risotto was not heavy at all and I could have eaten the entire (large) portion if I wasn’t already half-​full from the appetizers we’d ordered. I sampled the filet mignon, a HUGE portion (10 oz maybe?) that was cooked cooked to a perfect medium rare as requested, and topped with a thin layer of Gorgonzola butter that did not overpower the meat. This was a solid filet and a good value at $ 30. I didn’t try the short ribs (another large entrée) but I was told the meat was very tender in most places, yet the dish could have used a bit more of the port cherry sauce as there were a couple of bites that were dry. This didn’t seem to be a huge detractor as my friend ate every last bite. Unfortunately we didn’t try any desserts as we were all too full.
Finally, I loved the BYOB aspect of Just Dinner. We have several nice bottles of wine that we have been saving for a night out, and this was a great place to bring them and share with friends. My only gripe would be that a $ 10 corking fee per bottle seems high for a place that does not sell wine. When dining at other BYOBs, I am typically only used to being charged a corkage fee when the restaurant also offers wine for sale. Not a big deal, but worth noting.
Finally FINALLY, I have to mention that I was so impressed with our waiter. Unfortunately I cannot remember his name (I’m awful, I know) but he was so educated about the food being served, the cooking process and the ingredients, that I could tell he takes his job very seriously and probably takes an interest in cooking as well. I really cannot recall the last time I had a waiter who was so informative and also very… delicate? In addition to his expert knowledge of the menu, he refilled our glasses frequently and was prompt to remove our plates, yet he was never intrusive.
We will be back!

Loooove this place! Love the concept and the food. Love the ambiance. Service is great and I love the variety. I went there for my birthday and just remember having very tasty food. Great flavor, very delicate. I was pregnant last time I went there and just remember the waiter doing everything to accommodate me.
Don’t forget to make reservations and bring your own wine.

Came here for birthday dinner looking for a place that is quiet enough for a group to have a conversation. Definitely fit the bill there! Overall good place, but I am cheap and usually hope for life changing experience when food is this expensive. I’ll probably try somewhere else next time there’s a special occasion.
BYOB is great, tables are funky and decorated with magazine pages.
All food was delicious, BUT, our waiter did that obnoxious thing where he guilts you into ordering more, and then we ended up with more food than we could eat — kinda rude:
Waiter: «are we having appetizers?»
Us: «no thanks, we are looking forward to the main event.»
…(later we change our mind)
Us: «actually, they look so delicious we’d like to try two appies.»
Waiter: (makes disapproving face) «oh, well that definitely won’t be enough, it’s only this big» (gestures minuscule oval with hands). «You need at least 4 appetizers.
Us: «ummm…well, okay I guess we’ll take your recommendation»
Food comes — waiter is liar totally guilted us into his upsell scheme (I know it’s his job, I was a waiter, but no need to be SO over the top).

Very cute and super romantic bungalow that’s rather easy to miss if you don’t know where you are going. The staff was very friendly and offered to pour us each a glass of wine as we had completely omitted the fact it’s BYOB! The food was tasty but nothing to really write home about. Still, very cute and romantic!

Great concept: take a house with character, turn it into a restaurant with great food and unpretentious service that stocks to what you’re good at: dinner (no lunch or brunch for this bunch)
Small rooms with bold colors give it a cozy atmosphere, repurposed magazine pages act as table coverings which keep it «green».
Given the size of the restaurant there’s actually a wide range on the menu of starters, soups, salads, pastas and mains. A pear and pomegranate salad was a nice fresh start along with a tasty crab cake. My rack of lamb was also a solid choice.
So why am I not glowing? We were seated at a table literally in the doorway to the kitchen only separated by a curtain. During our meal we listened to the noise (and music) from the kitchen. Just after we placed our order the room filled with smoke from the kitchen. I mentioned to a server after about 15 minutes. He said they had opened some windows. About 15 minutes beyond that things were still smokey so I mentioned again, they brought a fan over to sit right next to the table. At no point did anyone proactively stop by to acknowledge or apologize for the elephant (er smoke) in the room. On our $ 200 check not even a complimentary dessert.
Otherwise the staff were friendly and helpful (another server helped me bring my luggage to the car which was very nice)

Just the best dinner ever!
I was taken her on a blind date (with my husband) he wanted to surprise me for dinner and took me to a place we both have never gone to.
Wow! This was our 1^st year anniversary dinner so I had high expectations. At first I was skeptical, wondering to myself, why is there no valet? (I was wearing my nice shoes)
I wanted to keep an open mind about the little house restaurant and OMG they delivered!
We ordered 3 courses every single one better than the next. NOM NOM
Start off with the jumbo crab cakes and fois gras it is insanely rich.
Next, we went with the spaghetti and meat balls. Which was good.
BRACE YOURSELVES.
The absolute life changing entrée was the filet mignon. Hands down BEST BEST filet mignon in Houston. I say this having tried many many other places and this filet with sides included was a jaw dropping 30 $!!! Cooked to perfection that can easily be cut with a butter knife.
We brought our own bottle of wine which was a 2007 Brunello retails 300 $+ so happy we were able to pair this amazing wine with fabulous food.
So happy I was able to enjoy a nice dinner here. I would recommend it to all my friends. (I have already)

Just Dinner is housed in an old, completely unassuming, charming bungalow on Dunlavy and Welch. With no more than roughly 20 [fashion magazine-​lined] tables in the place, it’s incredibly intimate and romantic. And delicious!
And with a BYOB $ 10 corking fee, I was totally game! My bf and I brought our own bottle of wine, and we enjoyed every last drop!
They started us off with these complementary crackers and creamy dipping sauce, which I believe was a combo of pesto and hummus, and which consequently sent me into a giddy tailspin. It was a lovely way to start everything off.
First I ordered the mixed garden greens. This was a good salad. But let me be clear — This was not a life-​changing salad. When I read «pear, goat cheese, pistachios, and pomegranate vinaigrette» I was expecting something with a little more pizazz. It was definitely pretty to look at, but it was relatively ordinary tasting. I think perhaps it was a little heavy on the sweet stuff (pear, pomegranate vinaigrette). Possibly a stronger cheese or a different nut would have made me love it more.
The bf ordered the pork belly appetizer, and based on his reaction, I’m pretty sure that was life-​changing. I was also pretty sure that promptly after dinner he’d be leaving me to run off with a pork belly appetizer. And after having past pre-​vegetarian life-​changing pork belly experiences, I can’t say that I really would’ve blamed him.
For my entrée I ordered the stuffed collard rolls. Filled with quinoa, black rice, and amaranth, and topped with a roasted red pepper sauce, this was a very unique and interesting dish. Coming form a Polish background, I was expecting something similar to golumpki (look it up, make it, and then give me some, thanks), but this was a much earthier dish. I liked the nutty flavors of the stuffing combined with the smooth zippy red pepper sauce, but I felt like the middle could have used something else to help bring it together a little better. Perhaps taking a cue from my beloved golumpki, the addition of a tomato paste would have worked well. I definitely enjoyed it, though I would probably order something different next time.
But THIS – I went ahead and threw caution to the wind and also ordered a side of the blue cheese polenta because I’m a risk taker. This was life-​changing. Guys, I died. I mean, I really died. I died, and left my bf, and rode off into the sunset with a bowl of blue cheese polenta because it was that good. The creamy, buttery, smooth, rich, decadent, savory, velvety, masterpiece of a bowl contains the secret to life. It’s for sure in the running for one of the best things I’ve eaten in the past year. Marry it now (I told you the place was romantic).
After coming off of my polenta-​induced high, I couldn’t not order dessert. And after looking at the menu, I couldn’t not order the gooey, rich chocolate cake which wouldn’t not put me on another high and force me to use an offensive amount of double negatives. This cake was ooh-​ahhingly, eye-​rollingly, sensationally good. It almost, almost beat out the warm chocolate cake from Backstreet Café.
So grab your spouse, your significant other, your best friend, or your favorite bowl of polenta, and make a reservation for the most charming, romantic, unassuming, delicious spot in town!

I LOVED Just Dinner.
Now when dining here make sure you make a reservation because the restaurant is small and very intimate.
This place is BYOB so be sure to bring your own wine.
The parking lot is on the side. Its not a LARGE parking lot, but there were definitely enough spaces to accommodate all guests in the restaurant. When we arrived at 8PM we were greeted and our table was ready.
The waiter was very nice and very knowledgeable of the menu and off menu dishes.
For an appetizer we had the lobster croquettes. They were so delicious. I could have eaten those things all night.
Our salads were the regular caesar salad and the mixed greens with strawberry vinaigrette. The caesar was good, but the mixed greens wasn’t really my favorite. I’m not a big fan of fruit and nuts in my salad. But I love strawberry vinaigrette dressing. Go figure!!!
Our entrees were the crab cake dinner and the snapper special. I couldn’t tell you how his snapper was, but my crab cakes were the bomb… Two crab cakes served over a bed of risotto and veggies.
We were so full we didn’t get dessert. There are so many other things on the menu that I need to try, so I will definitely be back.
Great restaurant…