Brasserie 19 is from the group that owns Ibiza and the new Coppa on Washington. This seemingly great concept of a restaurant live up to it's reputation by having very European decor. You get seating some what intimate with your neighbors, the huge vintage mirrors makes the room bigger, but also one of the feature you'll see across the pond.
First and foremost, I will tell you that if you can make reservations ahead of time. Do! They're still a very hyped restaruant, on top of participating in HRW, it's even more crowded. Second tip, from me to you, if you can possibly help it, make the reservation via Open Table. Not only do they have a point system, where you can earn points for discounts to free meals via OT, their system is much more structured and reliable than you calling in.
Here's what happeend to me: I was not successful in using OT, so I'd figure I can call. The girl who took my information promised to send an email notification to confirm my reservation. When I didn't get one for 2 days, I called to follow up. She basically got all information wrong except my name. From the date, time, number of party, email, phone number, all wrong.
To add insult to injury, they had sent 3 reservation emails. One was 2 days before my reservation, one was for a week after my reservation, and finally one for my legitmate reservation. When I responded to the erroneous ones, I get crickets. No apologies, no sorry for the confusion.... nada. Now I'm being spammed by them, oy!
On to the food, for my first course, I ordered the scallop. I think they can bring more taste out of it than not. I wonder if they're frozen and that's why it's less flavorful. But it was on top of summer peas and with a dash of basil, that I enjoyed very much.
For the main course, I ordered steak (yes, again). I was very surprised that it came with fries. Then, I looked at the menu again... oh yeah, they did say frites. The steak w/ the shallot butter tasted good. But majority of my fries were soggy, or not as crispy as frites would have me believe, so I had a few and forgo the rest of it.
Ahh, finally, my favorite course, dessert. I chose a creme brulee' because that's usually what I use to compare eateries. This was delightful. They used real vanilla bean and got a nice layer of sugar on top. Tres bien!
The other neat thing about this place is their display of menu and wine list. Their food menu is on printed on regular paper. But their wine list is displayed on an iPad. They're awfully trusting, I tell you.
The bar is filled with the seen or be seen 20-something types, but the diners that sit down and have an enjoyable meal are mostly 50-somethings that live nearby. They weren't there to be seen or participate in the meat-market aspect of the place, the way they dress, you can tell that they're there for the food.
One other complain about the place, which is funny to me that it's supposedly a known problem. In the middle of our drinking and eating and merriment. One of us felt the heat, and realized it's started to get warm. While none of us are in the age where hot flashes is to appear, I was curious if it was the wine. Then all of us felt warm. When inquired about it with our waitperson, he told us that this is a known problem. Between the door opening and closing (even though there's only one door), between the heat outside, and the people inside, and the door, the a/c simply just cannot keep up with demand. Well, shoot... that's just not pleasant being warm and trying to enjoy your food. At least if you sit outside, you get a mini breeze. So, pick wisely!
Brasserie 19
1962 West Gray,
Houston, TX 77019
713.524.1919
Reservation highly recommended
http://www.brasserie19.com/
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