Paul’s Kitchen

First time here and the brunch buffet was so good! I think I tried almost everything on the buffet. My faves were the chilaquiles, apple and kale salad, garlic mashed potatoes and chocolate bread pudding with caramel sauce. My daughter loved the fruit tray, bacon, biscuits, brownies and Mexican hot chocolate. The service was outstanding! Our waitress, DJ, was attentive, friendly and exactly what I’d expect but rarely get when dining out. They were just about to start the live music as we were leaving.
I know there were a lot of complaints about the valet service but we happened to get there before they did and we had no problem parking our own vehicle, although, when we were leaving we noticed the valet attendants had blocked off the entrance to parking and we had to go around some cones to get out. But overall this place was fantastic! We will definitely go back when they change to the Merrill House and if they continue serving Sunday brunch.

You have to go for their Sunday brunch! Who knew buffet brunch could be this amazing?! Excellent food, great patio when the weather’s nice and friendly wait staff. Highly recommend brunch!

We went for the Valentine’s brunch. It sounded so good reading the menu. We got there right when they opened and they were still setting up, which can be expected.
I ordered coffee and orange juice. My first cup came out ice cold– I guess they hadn’t changed out yet. I told her and got a new hot cup quickly.
They have waiter helpers who go around refilling drinks. This is great as our drinks never got below half full.
Buffet– I really liked the fried chicken crispy with a great crunch. I drizzled syrup on mine and I enjoyed the sweet flavor addition.
My husband liked the omelet station which had shrimp.
The biscuits were tasty and we asked for the spicy jam, which is a must.
Everything else was mediocre with most being luke warm at best. The cookies were burned around the edges and inedible.
We spoke to the manager Doug and he is super nice, apologetic, and did what he could to make things right.
We will return as the dinner menu looks amazing and we are excited to try it.
Once we go for dinner I will update my review.

I love this place! Delicious food (everything we ordered was wonderful!), great wine selection, excellent waiters and staff. Probably best place to have a business lunch in Houston, but also, really works for a date night. Get familiar with this place because it’s a Houston staple, and should be recommended more. The ONLY downside is the valet parking, but the valet is very chill, and it’s necessary because parking around this area is weird due to twin peaks.
Overall, restaurant is 5 stars+ and worth your time. Don’t worry about parking, it’s not that big of a problem, everyone who works here is very nice and willing to accommodate.
our order: Texas cheese plate, bottle of sauvignon blanc, Red Charmoula chicken breast, and burger! (my husband ordered the burger and ate it in 8 mins flat saying it was the best burger he’s had in 5 years!)

Dined here for the first time tonight after hearing great things!
To start, there is complimentary valet, also a good start in my book. The ambience and décor of the restaurant is great! Very nice and trendy, without feeling too fancy.
They have a good selection of cocktails and wines. I got a cocktail with rum, lime, grapefruit and it was delicious!
For starters we had the brussel sprouts and empanadas and they were both good.
We had a larger group of 7 and all good came out timely, correct and everyone enjoyed three selections.
This place has a great menu with lots of variety, I would definitely come back!

BISCUITS. BISCUITS. BISCUITS. Come here for their buttermilk biscuits! They are amazing and the spicy jam that goes with it makes it even better! Remember, you do have to request the biscuits, but they are free. The food is also just as great. I ordered the hanger steak that came with potatoes roasted in duck fat and spinach. Although I do like my steaks without sauce, the béarnaise compliments the steak very well. I tried my friend’s red snapper. We warned about it being spicy, and it was oh so spicy. I like spicy food and this was very satisfying. I definitely recommend this place for any occasion and I hope to come by for their brunch.
Also, a check in on Unilocal offers a free dessert and if you sign up for their rewards program on their website, you get $ 15 off your first meal (for the table)!

A hidden gem! I went for the first time with friends and had a great experience! Great waitstaff: courteous, knowledgeable, present and pleasant. About the food… What I ordered was fantastic! I had rabbit and dumplings and crispy Brussels sprouts– yum!

The only thing that irks me about this place is the forced valet. They have plenty of parking — let us park ourselves! This forces you to tip, which I guess is fine, but seriously when I can visibly see my car when I walk outside and then have to get you a few bucks to drive it 25 feet to me… come on, I’d just rather do it myself.
The food is great. It is more of an elevated pub. This was previously Haven, which I guess you’d call a fine dining establishment. Paul’s Kitchen is more like a sports bar and I only say this because they brought in TVs. Which, I guess can work, but it definitely makes the place feel more casual than it did as previous restaurants.
Unilocal 100 2016: #8

The food here doesn’t deserve a one-​star but the overall experience does. I think the food is more on par with two-​stars so sticking with that, but the service and price you pay for what you get, contribute to a poor overall food experience so keep that in mind.
The GOOD — The best thing about our experience was the complimentary biscuits and jam. Very tasty.
The BAD. Wagyu hamburger was overcooked and boring. Both me and my buddy ordered one and agreed on this. Also, the sandwich was so poorly made that all the toppings were on the complete opposite end of the meat. Hard to explain but basically I had to take two bites l (one on each side of the burger) to get any of the toppings. I’ve had better hamburger experiences at Carl’s Jr. and Whataburger for a fourth of the cost.
The fries were also terrible.
My wife ordered the mushroom pappardelle. Way too much cream yet completely bland. She didn’t like it at all.
The ANNOYANCE. Even though our party had separate checks, they would only let one of us check-​in on Unilocal for the free dessert. They had no problem including 20% gratuity to all the bills though. I’ve been in more than one restaurant where they allow every separate bill to check-​in for a promotion. PK said only one per table. Silly.
The SITUATIONAL. Our server, Flor, was both rude and a poor waitress. I wouldn’t judge a restaurant’s overall merit on a single serving staff member so didn’t subtract any stars, but she didn’t make this experience any better. And it wasn’t as if the restaurant was busy. It was pretty slow on the night we came to visit.
Hopefully, if you visit you won’t have her as your waitress. Or better yet, she may have had a bad day and will be better next time. All I know is we won’t waste out energy to find out by coming back here.

Setup: HRW #5 — straggler edition
The good: fantastic mushroom and farro, pork belly pizza, steak frite, blackberry cobbler
The bad: valet only, and Algerian Way is the land of potholes!
Observations: space has been completely changed from the Haven look. Rotating menu means you can’t always get what you liked last time. Private room available on the side. Very open (almost too much so) dining room. Large patio available.
Overall recommendation: lots of tasty bites to be had. Going more frequently allows for trying different items throughout the seasons.

You won’t be disappointed by Paul’s Kitchen!
This latest opening from the group behind Union Kitchen features upscale modern American dining at its finest! It is a hidden gem in the Houston food scene.
The kitchen is helmed by Chef Paul (not the Paul the restaurant is named after) who has worked in many fine dining spots around the globe, including a long stint with the Four Seasons in Dallas and abroad (I believe). His food is superb! The owners are very wonderful people, and very focused on the quality of their restaurants… they are local, so that is also a plus.
I have eaten at Paul’s Kitchen twice now and both times been impressed with the entire experience. The food is phenomenal, the service is very crisp and professional (as well as friendly), and the ambiance is casual but nice. Standouts from my most recent meal were a seared «black-​tie» scallop served with cauliflower purée and thick slices of black truffle and a lovely local lamb encrusted in herbs. Honestly though, everything that I have had there has been very, very tasty!
The wine list is a real standout as well… it is well-​curated, simple to understand and follow, and very well priced. They have some excellent values on the list for the well-​informed wine drinker.
Our food group recently held a special dinner at Paul’s Kitchen and had a wonderful time… as I was planning the meal with wine pairings I was very impressed by how professionally everything was handled. Their catering /​special event staff were very nice and very accommodating to our requests and desires. The event came off without a hitch, and we couldn’t have been happier!
I can highly recommend Paul’s Kitchen for a nice meal in an upscale but casual atmosphere!

Paul’s Kitchen is about as good as it gets… for reals!
They have complimentary (should tip) valet parking. The place is modern and the service is perfect. Eight of us went there for a department lunch and each of us would return anytime. Check in and you will get a coupon for a free desert. I had a peanut butter-​bacon cheesecake… don’t knock it until you try it! It is amazing & so rich that I needed to share it with others.
Though we went for a business lunch, I will surely return for a nice dinner out. While I did not review the wine selection, they have an abundance on display. I am looking forward to a dinner at Paul’s!

5-​stars STILL — tonight I had the Shrimp and Grits — –FANTASTIC!
My husband had the mushroom pasta — he loved it. At one point he said «I really should stop eating, but it is so good».
This is a fantastic place for a quiet dinner or a dinner date!

I have been loving Paul’s Kitchen since the day it opened! Luckily for me my bosses bestowed upon me and awesome birthday lunch there, which happened to be their opening day. I have been back several times since.
There New Years Eve 6 course dinner was amazing beyond amazing! I also love that i can reserve a table online from my phone :)

Unilocal brought the boyfriend and I here with high expectations this past Saturday night, which if you know us, is a sacred night. I had accidently made a reservation on Opentable for another weekend but was easily able to change it, maybe a little too easily? I was surprised to see how available they were, to be honest, but was still excited to try it.
We arrived and decided it was worth it to valet, and the valet was super nice. The place was mostly empty, which we found a bit interesting, but we love our hidden gems, so we were excited for a good night. We decided to order a few appetizers and one entrée to split. They were as follows:
Empanadas (3) — I was excited for these, as I’ve fallen in love with the ones at Argentina Café and Oporto. We got 2 empanadas and a salad. They were good, but not great. My boyfriend loved the dipping sauce with them, but he said it was too spicy for me. I was pretty bummed, as the crust of the empanada really needed something, unlike the scrumptious buttery ones at the aforementioned places. Also, they were $ 4/​each, which is steep. Apparently they used to serve 3 empanadas here from looking at prior reviews? That’s a bit sketch to just remove one… and I just checked and you get 3 for $ 10 at Oporto, which while Chicken and not Goat, taste much better, so I think they really need to re-​evaluate the pricing here.
Brussels Sprouts (3) — I’m a bit shocked at all the rave reviews for these. I wish I could bring you all back the Brussels sprout chips from Lola in NY so you could understand my standards. These were good but super heavy. They would’ve been enough for 3 – 4 people easily, and they felt more like a side.
New Greek Dip Appetizer (3) — This was a special of the night that the waitress told us they were adding to their regular menu. A 3 dip spread, which I’ve been desperately missing since leaving the Greek scene on Long Island, NY. I was so excited, and the dish was indeed big and pretty tasty. The hummus wasn’t exactly my favorite but still enjoyable. The eggplant dip was a bit closer to my tastes, and the bread was definitely a 5. We discussed what fair value for the price would’ve been and thought $ 12 was good, as our favorite trio spread in NY is $ 10.95…turns out it’s $ 15. Not sure where they are getting these prices, but it’s really only OK for that price, and honestly, easy to skip.
Pork Shoulder (5) — Now this was a showstopper. The chef came out and explained the dish and it was presented beautifully. We were super impressed with the dish presentation and taste. My boyfriend isn’t a huge pork person, but he was raving about this dish, much to my relief, as I recommended it. I would definitely recommend this, and I would highly recommend the restaurant focus on dishes like these rather than the appetizers. This is the kind of food worth returning for, but with nothing else to order, it’s hard to justify coming back for us in the near future.
Mile & Cookies (3.5) — After all of the rave reviews, we were really happy we had the Unilocal Check-​In coupon granting us free dessert. The milk and cookies, as described by other reviewers, comes with churros and Mexican hot chocolate. The churros were AMAZING. These were the best churros my boyfriend and I have ever had. The hot chocolate was meh. It was supposed to have a small amount of chili powder and cinnamon, but I didn’t taste either, and I’m super sensitive to any kind of heat or bite. At $ 9 we were again confused as to how they come up with these prices. The churros altogether barely come out to 1 churro at an amusement park and the hot chocolate tasted like it had a water base. Is it really necessary to charge $ 9 for it? This is the same price point as desserts from places like Etoile… which, if I were Paul’s Kitchen, I would not want people comparing me to.
With respect to the service, we liked our waitress, and we appreciated that each dish was explained, creating more of an experience. It was super awkward though that our waitress was seemingly the only one taking care of the 6 or so tables both inside and outside. We would watch her walk in and out and around a bunch of times while waiting to place an order or get the check. Not sure what they would’ve done had they been more busy, but maybe they let people go home since they weren’t?
I think with a price adjustment and a menu transformation the chef could make something amazing happen, but this just wasn’t quite there yet for us.

This place is hidden away in a terrible location. It is not visible from the road unless you are leaving taco cabana or twin peaks!
It is sooooooooo incredibly delicious! We ordered several different things to sample menu!
For starters we ordered the Brussels sprouts they are crispy, made with lime and cilantro. They are usually made with peanuts but I am deathly allergic so we got them to make it without. They are so heavenly I’m determined to master this at home. They were perfectly crunchy, seasoned and a great size for appetizers! Nice to see someone take a fresh approach to Brussels sprouts!
Braised goat empanadas:
Empanadas are never a go to for me in any restaurant, the texture can be like chicken pot pie (certain areas of the crust can be soggy) but these were NOT. They were perfectly flaky and the outside with incredibly seasoned goat on the inside. Not too salty! Just complimented the flaky crust nicely!
They usually bring bread out during dinner time but we came at an awkward time 3:30 so we asked for bread. They brought us to fresh, warm, soft, melt in your mouth biscuit rolls with a spicy jam on the side! oh Yeah it was great!
We moved on to main dishes we thought we wanted to go with the hanger steak but saw a neighboring table order pizza and they were totally enjoying it. We decided to order the italiano pizza… it didn’t blow my mind but it wasn’t terrible. Good… not great! Good size to share with the ladies I went with!
We ordered the PK fries that come with aoili sauce (that’s my jam right now) and they were not good. The fries were over cooked and they haven’t perfected the sauce!
We finished our sampling of everything with dessert. PS. IF YOU CHECK IN YOU GET A FREE DESSERT! #winning
We ordered the milk and cookies!!! By far the best thing on the menu. Fresh churros and homemade Mexican hot chocolate made right in front of you. They even had fresh whip cream to put in the hot chocolate. It’s a neat table experience and a great place to impress a date!!!
It was all really good. I plan to return very soon and try a different entrée that blows my mind! We did more of a sampling and nibbling off everyone’s plate instead of meals!
I read on Thursday night they have $ 20 steak night with 2 sides. Live music on Thursday too!

The Unilocal reviews were right in the Mark! Took my customer here for dinner and we loved it!
Gotta try the Brussel sprouts and the goat empanadas! Yummy yummy
I had the special which was braised short ribs on kimchi grits– so good!
Our waitress was also very knowledgeable about how the food was prepared and gave us great recommendations.
I used a Unilocal check in for a free dessert. The milk and cookies are wonderful and so was the banana dessert (can’t remember what it was called)

Took my man here to celebrate a big work accomplishment and this place totally fit the bill as far as great food and environment for a special night out.
Service: fantastic, patient and our waiter gave on point recommendations.
Food: SO. MUCH. FLAVOR. As others have said, you MUST order the goat empanadas — the meat is braised for hours and flavor of the meat and sauce served with it is impeccable. For entrees we shared the gulf snapper and the pork shoulder. Both were great: pork was tender and snapper on the bed of peas/​veggies was very flavorful, but perhaps something I might crave in the winter. Loved both but since everything was so good it leads me to believe everything on the menu is a winner so I might try something else next time. FREE dessert on Unilocal,we went with the banana dessert which was surprisingly awesome, even to this chocolate lover.
Environment: Sit inside for a more casual feel, or if it’s nice out sit outside on the BEAUTIFUL patio under the strands of mini globe lights and have more private, peaceful dinner where you can hear each other talk. They did a fantastic job of covering up the fact that you are surrounded by parking lots with the little waterfalls and greenery. Fans are blowing cool air to help you survive the heat.
PARKING: The worst thing about this place — the giant parking lot next to the restaurant is valet only. Plenty of free street parking on Norfolk.

Paul’s Kitchen is a great place for a date night or a casual dinner. It was our first time there and we were impressed with the valet guy, service, and food! My boyfriend and I are not huge fans of valet parking but the one and only valet guy working there was very nice. A little tidbit: we turned around to see where he was parking our car and he put on a fedora hat as he parked our car! We thought he was pretty cool for doing that.
We came on a Saturday night and much to our surprise, the restaurant wasn’t packed. We did not make reservations but the hostess had asked for our names. We’re not too sure as to why she asked. We ordered the bone marrow, pork belly pizza, pork shoulder, and milk & cookies. It took some time for our food to come out though.
Here are my thoughts on each dish:
–Bone marrow: ⁰⁄₅ stars, not worth $ 15, this was our first time eating bone marrow and we were not sure as to what we were supposed to be tasting, will not be ordering again
–Pork belly pizza: ³⁄₅ stars, not bad but will not be ordering again, good-​sized portion for 2 people to share
–Pork shoulder: ⁵⁄₅ stars, medium well and cooked to perfection, embedded in sweet potato purée, onions and green bell peppers were also delightfully tasty
–Milk & cookies: ⁴⁄₅ stars, $ 9, the concept is very unique and different from any other dessert that we’ve tried, highly recommend for first timers, churros are too soft and falls apart every time you try to pick it up with your fork, only comes with a few churros, the milk is actually dark chocolate flavored
Overall, we had an exceptional experience. We are very pleased with the service and food! The valet guy even asked how our dinner was. I thought that was very nice of him and we hope to see him the next time we come to eat at Paul’s Kitchen!

I would give Paul’s 3.5 stars if I could. The food was fine, but for the price point, I expect better.
We came with a Groupon for 1 appetizer, 2 entrees, and 1 dessert. For the appetizer, we picked a sweetbreads, ricotta, and egg yolk ravioli with brown butter sauce. Sounds super decadent, right? I was excited to try it because I had never had sweetbreads before, but I was disappointed. The ravioli skin was too thick and the filling was strangely grainy and chunky, not creamy like I imagined.
For our entrees, we got a wagyu steak (a special of the day) and the lamb tagine. The steak was cooked perfectly and I loved the blue potato purée and sauce it came with. However, both the steak and the lamb tagine were very salty. Also, our lamb tagine looked much smaller and less brothy than the other pictures on Unilocal.Not sure why?
Right now, there’s an offer for a free dessert if you check in on Unilocal!We were hoping that we could use that with our Groupon, but they said we couldn’t. They said it was because they couldn’t put in 2 deals into their system, but I’m kind of doubtful. I don’t think it’s a big deal for them to give us another dessert, especially if they’re trying to promote their restaurant through Groupon and Unilocal.
We ended up getting a milk and cookies for dessert, which I really liked. The hot chocolate had a slightly spicy kick and the churros were fresh and crispy. I don’t know if churros are supposed to be super light, but the ones here just kind of fell apart in my hands if I tried to dip them. Also, make sure to drink your hot chocolate pretty fast, because the whipped cream will melt and your hot chocolate will develop a layer of oil, which is not the most appealing sight.
P. S. Potato children = tater tots! I thought that was great: P.