Cullen's Upscale American Grille

Upon entry Cullen's looks impressive and upscale. Giant building, nice waiting area / piano bar, decent dance room. The dining area sets an equally good impression. But that's where things go down-hill. Our TWO waiters had problems remembering our food and drink orders (group of 10), and took unusually long times to order our food, bring it out, order desert, and bring us mixed up checks (2 1/2 hours from arrival to departure). But I could overlook all that if the food was good. It wasn't. Everyone in our group agreed that the food was minimal in proportion size, and even more lacking in flavor. My bigeye tuna was minimally seasoned, the vermicelli tasted stale, and there was maybe one sliced scallion consisting of the "stir fry vegetables". My friend's beef ravioli was also lacking in flavor and overall appeal.

If you want upscale dining for better prices, service, serving size, and flavor, then go to Bailey's or Cork's Food and Wine Paring night.

I've now been here for a full family dinner, just drinks at the bar, and a dinner in the bar area. The dinner was the first or second weekend they were open around father's day and it appeared that while some things were in order, they needed some work to be done on the level of service. The service staff struggled with our table of 12 people. But the sheer atmosphere and design of the place is breathtaking. On the other two occasions that I returned in the last two weeks, the food was excellent (ive had a pasta dish and the steak was mouthwatering). I ordered the filet and had it medium rare and it was fabulous. My husband had the lobster bisque and it was crazy good. The service was excellent and better than Perrys chain(which i consider to be good). On the occasion where we just were in the bar for drinks, we tried their "bar bites" menu and it was also tasty. Although we asked the bartender to change one of the (many) tvs to the astros game and it took them about 20 minutes because apparently they dont have control over the tvs behind the bar. They had to go find a manager to do it and the bartender was very very apologetic. There were only about 10 pple in the bar on a tuesday ngt, we were a little surprised at what the big deal was. Im hoping they fix that because it just seems pointless. Beyond that, it truly is a hidden gem that the clear lake crowd has yet to discover!

Dined there yesterday for dinner with a group for my son's birthday. We had the most wonderful experience with an individual named Matthew. Upon making the reservation the nice gentleman asked me what we were celebrating and I communicated to him that we were bring my 11 year old son for his birthday. The gentleman asked if I would like any type of cake or flowers for the table. I jumped on the cake idea and new that John would just love it. Upon arriving Matthew was waiting for us at the door to take us to our table where he had balloons, cake, and a card signed from the entire staff. The Chef's sent us over a little something for his birthday and gave John a tour of the kitchen. Matthew stayed the entire evening to make sure John's night was the best taking pictures of us with the Chef's and staff. The entire staff was wonderful and couldn't have been better about making us and John feel to be the center of attention... It was unforgettable.

I am an avid business traveler. I average around three countries a month and eat out at about 30 different restaurants a month. I was recently in Houston meeting with some new clients and found Cullen's Upscale American Grille through my concierge at the St. Regis. He told me this was the place I needed to be to be able to impress some clients. My concierge recommended to me that I book Macy's Table. Now I have been to many chef tables and I have to say that I have never once been to one that can compare to the one at Cullen's that stands above the main dining room 25 feet. SUSPENDED IN THE AIR. Now this is impressing; however, this is only one of the highlights of my experience. The table was set beautifully with some handsome glasses, place cards for each one of my guest along with a menu with their names on it. This I have to say made it easier also for those guest who did not know each other to have their names in front of them. We had a total of 6 people waiting on us hand and foot. Not only did we have an amazing time but Cullen's also arranged for a car service to pick me and my guest up all coming from different areas in town. Dubai has been said to have some of the only 7 star restaurants in the world, I beg to differ. Places like Cullen's are what make food turn into an occasion and an experience rather than a day's necessity. Thank you, I will be back.

The staff at Cullen's is exceptional. We recently celebrated my sister's birthday at Cullen's. We were greeted and sat by a friendly hostess, which is rare these days, even though our party was not complete. Our waiter was patient and pleasant in waiting for the rest of our party to arrive. He served the birthday cake that I brought in and a complimentary glass of champagne for the birthday girl. Many birthday well wishes were given from the staff. To keep it short, the drinks were good and the food was great sans the Lobster Bisque. We were greeted by the General Manager who welcomed us and thanked us for choosing to dine at Cullen's. All in all, a pleasant experience. We will return.