Catalan Food & Wine
Category: Spanish/Basque [Edit]
Neighborhood: The Heights5555 Washington Ave
Ste A
Houston, TX 77007 (713) 426-4260
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Valet
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
13 Reviews for Catalan Food & Wine
Chris Shepard is a really great chef! The food here is probably some of the most modern style cuisine you can find in Houston. The wine list has also been written up several times and is nationally recognized. Spanish food is really hot right now and he really pulls it off. The pork belly is so succulent and flavorful I wanted to jump up and scream. The staff is very knowledgeable and on point. I love the buzz that goes through the place. Def a place to see and be seen!
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If you come in a group, it's a great place to have a lot of small plates so that you can try a lot of different tapas. We enjoyed the pork belly, pork cochon, fried calamari and bone marrow. The pork belly was so tasty that we had to order another order. We really didn't care for the foie gras bon bons because upon biting into one, the melted foie gras oozes out and onto your plate if you aren't careful. Make sure to put the whole thing in your mouth if you order these.
The best thing about Catalan are the wine prices. The bottles aren't marked up as high as other restaurants in Houston. We've had some nice bottles of Darioush cabernet and Casinova di Neri Brunello at a fraction of what other restaurants would have charged.
Make sure you make reservations, otherwise you are in for a nice long wait at the bar.
Also, if you are celebrating someone's birthday, they bring you a huge martini glass filled with homemade cotton candy with sparklers.
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When I heard about the salted pork-belly cubes basted in Steen's cane syrup and skewered on sugarcane splinters I had to get myself to Catalan.
I made a 7:30 p.m. dinner reservation at the last minute and when we arrived our table was waiting. The kitchen counter is open up towards the dining room and out table happened to be near the line where Chef Shepard stood most of the night getting the food out. At first I thought the tables were too close together, the room was too loud and we'd have a hard time hearing each other but as soon as we started eating we didn't even notice our surroundings.
The pork belly melts in your mouth. They have a dozen or so "small plates to share" ($9 - $16) that might seem like tapas -- this is a Spanish-influenced restaurant -- but they're not like any tapas I've seen before: roasted bone marrow with Maldon salt, thyme and garlic-marinated Colorado lamb chop, St Arnold rabbit pie. I can't wait to go back with friends to try a mixture of plates and have the sommelier pair the treats with 3 oz or 6 oz pours.
I made the mistake of only ordering a shot ($3) of gazpacho. It was reminded me of my Mom's gazpacho (but somehow even better) with a bit of zip. I asked the Chef what made it so good and he said it was just tomato, cucumber a bit of oil and bread. I've wanted to go back everyday since to order a bowl ($9) and I'm going to see if I can recreate the recipe at home. Amazing!
For dinner I ordered the seafood stew with redfish, clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari ($28). It had a rich, delicious tomato-based broth that was steaming and wonderful for sopping up with the perfectly toasted (and a bit cheesy?) bread. The seafood was delicious (though the calamari and clams were a bit chewy), the redfish was flaky and I was in heaven with every bite. The S.O. ordered the seared brook trout with crabmeat and Marcona almond Menuier ($26). He ate ever bite.
Besides the amazing food the service was wonderful. Our waitress was nice and helpful. When they mistakenly ordered and brought to our table a second round of wine and beer they left it for us, gratis, and when we ordered dessert ("Almond Joy" tart for $11) Chef Shepard had the sommelier bring us two dessert wines. We felt special and as if we were dining at a friend's house. That's a rare feeling in a restaurant and we'll certainly be back (I wish every day)because of the exceptional service.
When we were leaving we thanked the Chef again and I asked him about the La Caja China roasting box that's outside their front door. They roast a pig on Sundays. Have I mentioned that I will be back to Catalan soon and often?
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thank you chris shepard for bringing some food to houston foodies. this place has it all: amazing and cheap wine list, incredible food, modern ambiance, great location, good prices. this is one of those places that impresses, yet isn't pretentious. great for a date or a night out with the girls. let me introduce you to my typical night at catalan.
walk in. check in with hostesses. hug marissa. she is a sweety.
walk to bar. even with a reservation, there is usually a short wait for a table (and i even know the hostess). say hi to hassan the bartender. great guy. impeccable service. order a bottle of lucien albrecht cremant brut rose champagne (well, actually sparkling wine. i think it's from alsace). is it a special occasion? no, just spending time with you. this bottle of deliciousness is only $20, about the same price as 3 cocktails. you take a sip and can't believe how good catalan is already.
next, we are seated. our server greets us and i immediately order the roasted bone marrow. it takes 20 mins. we open our menus. it changes a lot so i check to see what new and interesting dishes are being offered. the server disappears and comes back for the rest of our order. i order the pork belly, b/c it is the best thing on the menu. if you like fois gras and you've never had the fois gras bon bons here, i'll order that. everything else is negotiable. the proscuitto wrapped asparagus w/ mozzarella is AMAZING. the spicy garlic shrimp are superb. the serrano ham & manchego plate is simple yet fantastic. the seared tuna kabobs are light and refreshing. i love the caesar with fried oysters. we inquire about the specials, maybe order some of those. i steer you away from the sweetbreads b/c they are a little bland here.
we eat. we drink champagne. we are having a great time. you are blown away by the food. we talk about starting our diets tomorrow.
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Some style, less substance and " I don't give a XXXX service". Like other reviewers before me, I had a bad pork experience at Catalan: fatty, chewy, gristly, cuts... for a pretty rich price. Both server and manager dismissed my concern and pretended nothing ever happened. My loss?
We met Chris Shepherd when he had waist length blonde hair at Brennan's. He was a star then and we followed his star to Catalan. Loved seeing Esquire and Gourmet celebrate our Mr. Shepherd too. Hard work and integrity pays off! Chris is a wonderful person and treats my clients like the queens and kings of industry that they are.
I respect a man that runs an establishment with his heart and his head. Prices are fair - the food is excellent and if you only have 1 date night a month, Catalan has to be on your top 12 list. Wine 100 pts - Food 99 pts. - Proprietor 150 pts - Care given to my clients - who are also my friends, priceless. We even took our biggest competitor here to have a frank discussion about the market . Why not? Who do you save your best entertaining for - make an enemy a friend through his stomach? Take those that matter to you in your life to Catalan.
Book a party in the new room just opened in Feb. 1st rate too.
I think if Chris went to a McDonald's I would have to at least try it. He would do something special with a McFish.
honored,
glenn barnett
vice president sales,
www.finobj.com/energyc...
(713) 979-2824
glenn.barnett@finobj.com
I can see why Catalan has been getting rave reviews, unfortunately, it might be a victim of its own success. Our visit to Catalan started off very well. The waiter was knowledgeable about the menu items and had a very good sense of their extended wine list. The wine, a Paras vineyard Syrah, was lush, elegant, and reasonably priced. The Rabbit Pie and Calamari appetizers were to die for. At this point, the car started to go off the tracks. The waiter started to bring out the salads while we were still enjoying our appetizers, he saw that we were not done and reversed course. The second the appetizers were finished, our salads appeared. Our entree's appeared mere minutes after the salads were done. I had ordered the Black Seafood Paella. It was past black, it was carbonized. I sent it back, only to have the chef tell the waiter that was the design of the dish. OK, perhaps I originally missed the concept of the dish so instead of ordering another entre, I said I would give it a shot. It was pretty awful. I understand wanting a bit of carmelization on some items, but the squids were thoroughly carbonized, the oyster shells were burnt black, on the INSIDE. We had finished our bottle of wine right when the entrees came out, but our waiter never asked if we wanted another. Also, after the Paella fiasco, he never stopped back by the table to check on us. The bus staff took the plates away so he never saw the half eaten Paella. Another server took care of the dessert requests and presented the check ,and our waiter finally came by to pick up the credit cards. A little chef arrogance? Or was the timing of the meal completely off? Or, is there a bit of pressure to turn the tables over to accommodate the crowds? I don't know. I just know that if I wanted to finish my meal and get out in under an hour I would just eat at Bennigans/Chili's/etc... I will try Catalan's again, I have tasted their world class cuisine, unfortunately, it was off my wife's plate.
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I love this place. Chef Chris Shepherd does a wonderful job.
The crisp pork belly is wonderful.
The housemade charcuterie plate-especially the foie gras torchon is absolutely fantastic.
The duck confit spoon bread, with duck confit sausage and a slow poached duck egg, YUM.
Expensive place. Somewhat. Woth it, Absolutely
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Good Ambiance,
We were seated near the wine in the back of the restaurant.
We had small plates to share and got salad as well (hint: Salads are too big for one person, well for someone who plans to eat more than just salad) I had the Salad with Fried Oysters. Yum E!
We ordered (My rating per dish):
Crispy Pork Belly (3)
Roasted Lamb stuffed Piquillo Peppers (4).
Alligator Boulettes (3)
Crab meat with Gratin (well, it tasted like Butter Chicken) (4)
Calamari with Jalapeno lime dressing (5)
Spanish Tortilla (4)
The service was good.
The Wine Selection was limited, that means what our table wanted, they did not have.
I like the prices, they are quite fair for the small plates and I will recommend this place to someone who wants to dine out in style.
Valet Parking is nice to have if it is raining outside. Sure, the car is parked right outside within walking distance.
We were not hurried although I was the last to finish and the server did pick up my plate while I was talking. -1 STAR.
Recommend: Yes
Will I go back: Yes, although I would like to try some other places.
Romantic: Yes, this place can be a quite a place to impress your Hun E.
Thanks to Sudhir B. for treating us to a wonderful dinner. I did enjoy the dinner and the company. I did get to take a few pictures and I will upload.
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Top ten favorite places in Houston. It holds true to its name, very Catalonian feel- from the food down to the decor. The same owner as Ibiza but I like the food better here since its a different head chef. It's a magnificent date place (first or tenth) and also accommodating for a group.
The small plates are tapas style and great for sharing. I haven't tried any entrees but I'm sure they are equally good. Cotton candy is given to tables dining there for special occasions.
Great customer service from the wait staff and the sommelier is always on hand to help with a wine selection. Valet parking available for those too lazy to walk from the parking lot. Must make reservations for weekends otherwise you'll have an hour or so to wait.
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I love, love, love this place. I've been there several times. The wine list is extensive and there are plenty of options. The food is always amazing
It is a great date place. I would make a reservation for weekend nights. Cons: some of the tables along the walls are a bit close to one another and it can get loud. Friday night was busy and we had to eye our waiter once but otherwise it was fabulous. On several of my visits the manager stopped by and inquired as to how our dinner was. The really notable dishes are the sausage, spicy garlic shrimp, and arborio dusted calamari The gnocchi is unbelievable-it's a must. We also had the crme brule trio and warm cookies for dessert, both were good. Again I can't say enough about this place, I love it.
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My wife and I went here a couple weeks ago for our "once a month restaurant splurge" and it was probably the best dining experience I have had in Houston... or maybe just the latest. We were told to ask for Antonio as our sommelier and I could not be more excited to pass this recommendation on to others. He really made our dinner. I looked up his bio on the website later and he has won several Wine Spectator awards as well as named best sommelier in Houston by the Press in 2005. We didn't even touch the entrees as we just ordered a bunch of the tapas and told Antonio that he was in charge. He brought them out in 4 different courses each course paired perfectly with two different 3 ounce wine pours. The only small plate that I wouldn't recommend is the tortilla/olive one. Not that it was bad, but the other plates were so much better that I would have to imagine substituting it for something else from the menu next time.
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My first trip to Catalan started on a bad note. Myself and two of my girlfriends were about 10 minutes late for our 8:30 reservation. We figured we would have to wait but we never expected having to wait for an hour.
When we finally were seated the manager approached us and recognizing that we did wait for a very long time he sent over 2 appetizers on the house. It was a great gesture that saved the night. He also recommended us a fantastic bottle of Willi Schaefer Resiling, that we have not been able to find anywhere else and come back specifically to drink it. And speaking of wine, as everyone has already stated their list is truly amazing.
The food here is also very good my friends and I just always order several of the small plates.
Some dishes that stand out for me are of course the pork belly, which is truly decadent, the crispy lamb and the housemade charcuterie plate and the Catalan garlic soup.
Overall, Catalan is just a great dining experience. From the food, the wine, the ambiance to the service.
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