The Italian Cafe

News owners, bad quality. Renovation was done… to cover up that these people don’t know italian food!
Prices have gone up, it appears the Italian ownership changed, and so has the quality.
The prices are outrageous given the casual restaurant. For example, $ 18 for angel hair pasta in garlic and oil, with chicken on top? That’s crazy — especially when water is served to you in a giant plastic Pepsi-​Cola cup!
The remodel inside and now ordering at the table seems like an attempt to make it less casual but it’s not. The bread is not of a high quality. It looks store bought. Cheap salt and pepper grinders, plastic cups, Parmesan in tiny plastic cups, and gossiping waitresses in plain view.
All the chefs in the kitchen were Hispanic — which I wouldn’t have an issue with IF there was a chef in the kitchen that lead, clearly knowledgeable about Italian food. But that’s not the case, and the open kitchen advertises it as all your hear is Spanish.
Entrée’s complimentary salad is your standard bad salad. Could it be worse? Maybe. But minced carrots have never done any salad any favors.
My rose cream tortellini was decent — probably due to the copious amounts of cream and cheese (how can you really go wrong?).
The artichoke pasta was awful. They clearly use jarred pickled artichokes and the whole pasta was sour! Ewww.
Food service was quick (yay) but once we asked for a check without dessert, took ages. There were three people working the floor for four tables. I don’t understand. We had to go ask for it again!
Won’t be returning. Bad.

One of our favorite places to grab a bite in the area. The Oyster fritti are addictive and the other items on the menu are very tasty very fresh. We also like that you can a bring a bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal on the patio.

I’d eat here 5 days a week if I could, and if my waistline wouldn’t explode.
The dinners are fantastic. Always fresh. Always delicious. Always at the right price.
If you judge based on a lunch spaghetti, you’re missing out.

First time to visit. Had Italian sausage po boy and pasta e figoli. First off asked for Caesar salad and was brought a tossed salad with possibly Thousand island dressing. None was Caesar. Food was fair. We could eat it but not much. Marinara sauce tasted like tomato paste from the can. No seasoning no good flavor to it. Pasta figoli was dry. Wasn’t the best meal BUT our waitress was kind and took the pasta figoli off our tab. She seemed genuinely concerned that we didn’t like the food.

This used to be our favorite place when we lived here. Came back after being gone for four years and we were very disappointed. Same chef, different owners. Food was bland, nothing had any flavor, everything seemed to be lower in quality. The only redeeming quality was the dessert. Tiramisu and death by chocolate didn’t disappoint. Go somewhere else for dinner and drop by for dessert.

This place has always been a hidden gem.
Super sweet staff n I always have very good service,(but I usually don’t come when it’s too busy.)
It has never been a cheap place to eat. (Even with the previous owners.)
At lunch time it’s self serve, at dinner time (after 4:30 pm) it is full service.
During lunch it can be very busy. (It’s also less expensive if price is a major concern.)
Yummy Chocolate Cake n also the Italian Cream Cake.
I love having this place in the area. It has a nice romantic feel in the evening :) (only thing I would add is some music!)

don’t waste your money here!!!
the worst service ever!
waitress could not get the order right, she brought one meal to our friends and said she thought they were going to split, we had waited so long for the food they did not want to wait for another plate. never refilled the glasses, desert was ordered after 20 min the waitress brought the ticket that included the desert but still no desert!!! said she was still getting it. we got our credit card processed still. no desert! we’ then said make it to go. wait wait wait. then waitress returns to say they were now out of that particular cake. good food but the service makes this place a crapy choice!!!

I’ve eaten lunch at this place a few times with coworkers. You seat yourself, order at the counter and the food is brought out to you. It’s usually pretty packed and loud.
I went for dinner a few months back and expected it to be more… dinnery. We fought for a table and waited and waited for a menu to come. It did, but then no one came back to take our order. Apparently you still order at the counter. It doesn’t say this on the menu or anywhere else so we had no idea. Ended up leaving out of frustration.
In short, the food is good. I would recommend for lunch, but skip it for dinner.

So we went here for dinner because the website had us sold on the finest, freshest, imported ingredients and their open kitchen concept for your entertainment. The only thing that was used in the kitchen was the microwave. I watched them take foil off the top of a serving of lasagna and place it in the microwave. The staff was super friendly and a cute place. The food was not good, I would have rather gone to Olive Garden and that’s pretty bad. I did however like the fact that they let you bring your own bottle of wine. It took a total of 15 maybe 20 minutes at the most from sitting down at the table till we were out the door, that’s not a good thing. The website is very misleading and builds you up for a disappointment :-(

Mediocre food without table service. But they don’t make that clear, and I didn’t enjoy figuring it out on my own. I was out of my chair four different times to fetch the food, find silverware and napkins and refill water. It’s easier to buy frozen Italian food at the grocery store next door and heat it up at home.

I would definitely not recommend this place.
I went here with my mother-​in-​law, who had been before, and said it was pretty good.
The lady at the front was not very welcoming, and said we had to tip up front (18%) since the mil had a certificate. I’m all for tipping at least 15%, and 20−25%, but ONLY when they actually serve you and with a smile. We sat down and had to serve our own drinks. Even with the certificate, we ended up spending $ 25 for 2 entrees!
Our food was brought to the table by the same girl from the front register, and she was beyond rude. «who ordered the salad with creamy parmesan???» When no one replied, she asked again but much louder, and I replied that I had ordered ranch. She rudely responded that that was the same thing. Umm, no.
The food was less than mediocre, with my pasta being bland and tasteless and hers tasted like tomato sauce out of a can.
If you want good Italian with MUCH better service, go to Angelo’s on Bay Area, Gina’s on Clear Lake or even Pomodoro’s down the street.

Hadn’t been to Italian Café in a number of years. Decided to give it another try since I had a
coupon for $ 25 off. Upon arriving at 6 pm we were the only ones there other than the singers who immediately started to perform in order to liven the place up a bit. Ordering process has not changed – order at the counter then seat yourself. There were only three of us, but even with the 25dollar off coupon, we still owed nearly $ 50 – a large part of that was the mandatory 18% tip! This wouldn’t be a problem, but there was nothing to tip for – we placed our own orders at the counter, we picked up our own food from the kitchen counter when it was ready, we uncoked and served our own wine, retrievied our own glasses, etc. The only thing a waitress did was to bring over our «Mark’s bread» which really wasn’t that good – just basic bread with some cheese on top, not very hot, and at a cost of 6 or 7 dollars, can’t recall. The singers (entertainment) fell short. Songs were tired, singers less than energetic. Won’t go back because of the mandatory 18% tip for abou t0% service. No one came by to ask how our meal was or explain why we had to retrieve our own food off the kitchen counter. Pointess to question the 18% tip.

This is a really good place for lunch, the service is quick, they have a nice lunch special variety, which recently added a salad as being included. Plus good bread as much as you desire. It’s on the «no frills» side, you order at the counter, pick up your own food, really have little or no interaction with staff except the lady who takes your order. Variety isn’t extensive, but more than enough to satisfy most palates. It’s got a very nice ambiance, small dining room (always clean) with plenty of places to sit, some tables more private than others. And outside seating if the weather is nice (view is pretty much just parking lot, though). Dinner menu might be pricey for the value, I haven’t personally gone that deep. Bring your own wine for a corking fee.
** Updated, they now give you a number and bring the food to your table. Seems like they’ve shored up the atmosphere, too. Longer lunch menu. I’m teetering on 4 stars, but not quite.

I’ve enjoyed Italian Café for over twenty years! It’s a wonderful family owned establishment with fresh, high quality ingredients and a cozy atmosphere.
My favorites include the Grilled Pork Chop, Pasta Fra Diavlo and the Shrimp Parmesan. My favorite as a kid was the Tortellini with Rose Cream and sometimes I have to simply go back to the good old days.
I love the fact it’s BYOB with a minimal corking fee and the fact that there’s a liquor store with a pretty nice selection right next door.

The Italian Café is a small restaurant just off of Clear Lake, near Houston. A friend of ours from Germany was visiting on business. A group of us decided to meet with him for dinner and he suggested The Italian Café because they don’t have a liquor license and thus invite customers to bring their own wine for a $ 2.50 a bottle cork fee. He, and we, are big wine fans, so we brought three bottles of very nice wine.
One of the couples had a $ 40 gift card for the restaurant. When we went up to the counter to order, the girls behind the register took one look at the card and said «oh, those are all expired — we don’t take those anymore — we have new ones. I’m sorry.» The card, nor its holder, had any mention of an expiration date — only a statement that if not used within 12 months there might be a service charge. My friend said she would like to talk to the manager, but ordered anyway. We were kind of committed because of the wine.
The food was average, at best. The Tuscan bean bruschetta was soggy. The Linguine pescatore was abnormally hot, as if it had been nuked in a microwave. My girlfriend could not finish her chicken francesca because it was too greasy. One of my friends asked a waitress for a to go box. It never came and he had to go get it himself.
After we ate, my friend returned to the counter and asked again to talk to the manager. He refused to come out. The girl said he was on a long distance phone call. My friend now has a $ 40 gift card that can’t be used.
This kind of customer service is unacceptable. A manager that doesn’t have the balls to even discuss the situation with a customer is a manager of an establishment that shouldn’t be frequented.
I have no intention to ever return to that restaurant again and intend to share my experience with others that may be considering the restaurant.

Back to the Italian Café for my birthday dinner on August 17^th. As usual, a superb meal in pleasant but not overly fancy /​stuffy surroundings. Dined on an excellent calimari appetizer as well as the bread with make it yourself Italian dipping sauce (herbs, olive oil & balsamic vinegar!), then on to my favorite — Pollo Roma! — chicken breaded with tasty herbs on a bed of fettucine! Savored every bite! Then my wife & I split a tasty slice of Italian Crème Cake. All washed down by an excellent bottle of Bordeaux (okay, not Italian, but one of my favorite bottles of wine) that I loved & didn’t cost me an arm & a leg because I brought it from home — a great concept — bring your own bottle of wine that you know you’ll like and can buy at Spec’s for a reasonable price.

This has been my favorite Italian spot in Clear Lake for over a decade! I lovelovelove /​am slightly addicted to their homemade marinara sauce, which thankfully they have FINALLY started selling by the jar (a much better deal, since their simple spaghetti with marinara is overpriced). Anything with that sauce is delectable. I’ve taken many friends there and they’ve all enjoyed (other dishes) they ordered there as well… Oh and the tiramisu is excellent.
Sadly this restaurant is closed Saturday lunch, and the ENTIRE day Sunday & Monday, which honestly sucks since I can only make the drive down now during the weekends. Other than that, this place is great — and you can BYOB!

I have eaten here a couple of times, and both times I enjoyed my food immensely!
First time I had a lunch special, Stuffed Artichoke and it was so incredibly good, that I started buying artichokes and such to recreate theirs, but to no avail!
Second time I ordered the Tortellini in Rose Cream Sauce and it too was very tasty! I also ordered a piece of Italian Crème Cake to-​go, but don’t remember it now…

The Italian Café is a cute little spot in Seabrook that puts out consistently great and passionate Italian food.
Although it’s been a year since my last visit, I was a regular throughout the late 90’s. My friends and I would each bring a bottle of wine ($ 2.50 corking fee) and dine on the patio. If you forget your bottle, there is a store a couple of doors down where you can pop in and pick one up.
The ordering is counter style, you make your own soft drinks and haul your own silverware and glassware to your table, but the food makes up for this effort.
This spot has been a favorite of mine to take out of town visitors for good food, a relaxed atmosphere, and decent prices.

Italian Café is a pretty good place to eat. It is authentic Italian food (recipes, the food itself is cooked by hispanics, of course). The food is fairly priced and there is really no service to complain about. You order your food, take a number and wait to be called. Once you get your food, you are pretty much on your own. The food is ALWAYS fresh! including the bread, herbs and salad. Not a fancy restaurant, oh! and it is bring your own wine!