Straits

I've been here twice. Once was years ago for brunch by myself and I ordered the Asian Crab Cake Benedict ( asparagus spears, poached eggs, laksa butter sauce.) it was delicious and I loved the plating/presentation of the food.

Fast forward a few years and I brought my whole family here for my dad's birthday for brunch. Again the food was delicious! Although the menu had changed I was happy to see the flavors and taste of the food was still on point!

The last time I came I ordered an entree with short ribs and it was AMAZING! The flavor, the tenderness of the meat, it was so good I didn't even get a picture of it I devoured it!

If you want a taste of Singapore then dining at Straits Restaurant is the place to reserve a table!

There are several reasons why one needs to make a point of visiting Straits. The top three are:

1. The food: Like an kid in a candy store, every option seemed better than the next. And then like an equally selfish kid, I spent the night wondering if I should have gone with the dish my friend next to me got...or the dish across from me. Needless to say, it is my mission to go back and work my way down that menu.

The restaurant has a lot of space and can take large parties. Our server was very knowledgeable and polite. She worked very efficiently even though we were a large group. Just a head's up. If you have a large party, they can only split the check four ways.

2. The music: On Fridays and Saturdays, the DJ at Straits plays the best lineup. A little bit of old school, a little bit of Top 40s mixed in with some house and Latin music. I chose this Straits as the location to celebrate my last birthday and the DJ kept the part moving.

3. The drinks: Be sure to try several drinks on their cocktail menu. The have a wonderful Sangria that sneaks up on you (so don't be like me and keep downing them like juice). Their full bar provides you with any drink your heart so desires.

Straits is a lounge and restaurant that offers a variety of South Asian cuisine in the posh City Center complex in west Houston. Inside the striking, angular building is a trendy space dominated by soft light-colored wood and a long open kitchen. The ambiance is admittedly quite nice and the options on the menu look spectacular. But unfortunately, I didn't find the meal very memorable and the service left something to be desired -- not exactly ideal given the lofty price point.

We started off with an order of the Roti Prata, which is an oily, flaky flatbread pioneered by Malaysians and Singaporeans of Indian descent. The dish was solid, especially with the accompanying curry sauce. Next we tried the Wok-Fried Sambal Prawns, which were decent but not particularly exciting. I will say that the juicy tomatoes in this dish were surprisingly delicious as they soaked up all of the chili-based broth. The Buddha's Vegetable Fried Rice was likewise lukewarm; not bad by any stretch, but not quite worthy of an establishment as nice as this.

What really turned me off though was that our waitress, who to her credit was doing great before this mishap, completely forgot to put in an additional entree we requested after the previous dishes left us unsatisfied. We ended up waiting for 30 minutes before canceling the order and requesting the check. If this were an especially busy night, I would've been more forgiving, but it was the Sunday night before Memorial Day and the restaurant was virtually empty...

Swanky contemporary vibe!
On a beautiful night who wouldn't want to sit on the patio? We asked the hostess for a patio table and she said its self seating. As a first time patron we asked which way to get to the patio and says "oh right let me show you" DUH!!! we sat there without menus! Until our server got to us. Hostess dropped the ball..... But
Fast forward the food was AMAZING! Well flavored and the cocktails were poured by someone with the hamburger helper hand... A hefty amount of liquor THUMBS UP!
Our sever Sophia was new she wasn't terrible but we could tell she was slightly nervous! She was still awesome!

I wanted to try Straits after I heard it was "Asian Fusion". The restaurant is located within City Centre by Yard House. The cuisine here is a mix of Asian cuisines such as Malaysian/Indonesian, Chinese, Indian, and Nonya.

As you walk in, you'll see the bar and lounge area behind the hostess. Hostesses are not there sometimes to greet immediately, felt like I was waited about 5+ minutes one time. Happy Hour at the Bar/Lounge: Monday through Friday's from 4-7 PM; Thursday is until close.

The main dining area was pretty empty both times I have been here. Due to the lack of patrons (maybe?), our service was fantastic. Everything arrived promptly with the waiter re-filling our drinks.
At Straits, people gather in the outdoor lounge or bar eating, drinking, and chatting away. For my recent trip, service at the bar/lounge was bad. The waitress probably checked on us twice during our 3 hour stay.

Some of the items are fused with other culinary traditions. Straits has a Prix-Fixe menu if you would like to enjoy some of their specialties its known for, but the food here is served family style.

Crispy Calamari (2/5): Kaffir lime aioli & Galangal cocktail sauce. Maybe I had too many calamari that week, I wasn't into this. I probably tried 2-3 bites before I moved on. The lime aioli sauce was a nice touch.

Chicken Lollipops (3/5): Kung Pao sweet chili glaze over chicken drumsticks. One of the popular dishes here. The skin is deep-fried crispy with a great blend of flavor. My friend was commenting how big the chicken legs were. I didn't hate or crave these afterwards.

Beef Stuffed Roti Prata or Murtabak (4/5): Crisp griddled Indian flatbread, Curry dip, and Beef. The curry dip on the side seemed a bit off as in the consistency. Either way, it tasted delicious with a lot of meat. You can't go wrong with flatbread though.

Garlic Noodles (4/5): Wok fired noodles, Basil, Black pepper, Roma tomatoes, Shiitake mushrooms. One of the more popular dishes here. It's more on the light side but delicious. I just wish they added more noodles.. it was like half bean sprouts. I would definitely recommend this dish out of the other dishes I tried. It's a great vegetarian option too!

Spicy Basil Chicken (4/5): Tender chicken, Shiitake mushrooms, Bamboo shoots, Thai basil. One of the more popular dishes. It had a mild kick that sneaks up on you after several bites. The chicken were tender, probably 7 pieces in the dish. I thought this would come with a side of rice because this dish looks like curry. You can order rice for an additional $3.

Would I come back? I probably would to try brunch outdoor on a nice Houston summer day.

I have frequented this restaurant many times and I have enjoyed my stay here each and every time. The food here is great but the service is even better. Both the servers and the bussers were at my table many times filling up drinks, checking in on the taste of the food, and offering condiments such as sauces to compliment the dishes. A manager even came to greet us at our table.

The first time I was there I was offered a free Roti Prata which is essentially like a tortilla flatbread that comes with a side of curry sauce. It really made my first experience at Straits truly memorable! If you're new there, I would recommend the Firecracker Chicken or the Emperor's Fried Rice. Both provide a lot of food for a decent price and can be easily shared on the table. For appetizers, definitely try the iconic Chicken Lollipops which are fried chicken legs in a sweet brown sauce (don't remember the exact name). I can't seem to find that dish anywhere else in Houston.

The nightlife on Friday and Saturday nights is also really enjoyable. The drinks are not on the cheap side but the bar has quick service and the large variety of music truly gets the club moving. Even though the club is usually filled with people, the cocktail waitresses seem to be everywhere and I never have to wait to place an order.

In all, Straits is a perfect restaurant for anything from date night to a graduation party and even just a night out with friends. I felt welcome there from the hostess stand to my delectable birthday dessert which I presume was free because of the occasion (?). Although the prices are somewhat on the high side, the service and the food quality definitely make up for it. In addition, the availability of outside seating is amazing especially during the Spring time. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for an high quality dining experience!

Straits gets four stars for fantastic food and drinks
with a hectic service. I have not struggled before at
rating various places-but Straits has left me in a
state of perplexity. I will give them the benefit of the
doubt, and please read on for an explanation.

First of all cocktails are fantastic. Ohmar who was
the bartender took extra care of making Negroni
which was a new item on the menu. It was stiff
but good. Moscow mule which I had afterwards
was just as good but not as strong.

Then came the issue of hectic service. We moved
to the dinning area, placed an order for Samosas as
appetizers and waited and waited and then waited
some more. Finally we asked a waiter who was
passing by (Savon) to bring out our waiter. After
conversing with manager Savon realized he was
to be our waiter, but no one had told him so.
Apparently they were few servers short and we
were lost in a vacuum. Savon was going to be
taking care of us from this point on-and he
provided a solid service.

Samosa's finally arrived and Savon was
apologetic. Samosas were good. Not great,
and certainly not bad. Our main course was
Chicken Masala with a side of Fried Rice. Simple
enough, but it was the BEST fried rice I ever had
while Chicken Masala was also delicious. After
eating these two dishes, I believe I will not be
able to go to most Asian restaurants in Houston.
In fact I had a chance to speak to main chef John
and observe him as kitchen space is semi-open to
the dinning area. John is most certainly on top of things,
and quality of the food was a testament to his skills.

Renee was a manager, and she recognized issues
we had with service so she was generous on
comping portion of our drinks.

All this gets them 4 stars, and I will be back to try
other items on the menu, and indulge in more
delicious cocktails.

I was actually happy with my experience here... until the end when my server took my leftover food that I saved to package home... and threw it away.

So she came by throughout our dinner to clear plates away from our table to make room. Totally normal. Then at the end, i literally separated my mussels from the shell to add to my risotto so I can package it home. Along with my side of brussel sprouts, and leftover garlic noodles, which was barely touched! So a full order of noodles. She came by and asked "can I take some of these plates away?" to my boyfriend, which he was done with his dish. She took ALL our dishes away including my seafood risotto which I was still working on. I didn't want to make it a big deal so I just let her took it away assuming she would package it. Next thing I know, we got our check and our leftovers never came out. I was furious but did not want to make a big deal. If she wasn't going to package my food, she should've at least ASK if I wanted to package it or if I was even done with my plate.

I spent $150 here on a dinner for 2, and 1 of us left hungry because my food was thrown away without even asking me. I ended up having to go buy fast food to eat after since I was not full yet. Top it off, like a lot of people mentioned, the service here sucks. But I did not let that bother me since I was on a date... but taking my food away and not asking if I was done/or would like it packaged is not OK anywhere.

Food, majority was average to good. So I would recommend coming here. But definitely ask questions and make sure to get the server to attend to you more. The seafood risotto was yummy. Too bad I didn't get to finish it.

Came here on a Saturday night for an early dinner.
It is a very cute trendy spot, that is a restaurant and lounge with delicious food.

Hostess was very sweet, I believe her name was Stephanie, she recommended us to take advantage of the perfect weather that night and dine out on the cabanas outside in the patio, which we did, and it was perfect. There was even live music playing outside in the courtyard.

Our server William was very knowledgeable with all the food.
We told him it was our first time and he got us their amazing Roti Prata appetizer on the house to try. He was very patient and helped us decide what to get and all the recommendation he gave us was delicious.
The manager, Jackie, was very kind and came by our table to make sure we were doing great and told us to come back next time to check out their happy hour at the lounge, which i will surely do.

We ordered:
Chicken and Beef Satay Sticks - really good, sauce was delicious.
Spare Ribs - flavor was amazing, highly recommend
Sauteed Vegetables - seasonal vegetable at the time was Bok Choy, a little too much onion and not enough Bok Choy but had good flavors
Chicken Pad Thai - above average Pad Thai

It was an amazing dining experience.
Service was great, food came out fast and all tasted amazing !

First time at Straits, and it was a great experience. I came during dinner time on a Saturday and dined outside on the patio.

The restaurant is beautifully designed and the food (Asian fusion) is fantastic. Upon entering the restaurant, the hostess Stephanie was extremely kind and seated us outside since the weather was nice that night.

William, our server, was very helpful with helping us choose which dishes to get. Since it was my first time, we were given a complimentary Roti Prata, which was absolutely delicious.

Some of the dishes we got were: Chicken and beef satay sticks, spare ribs, and pad Thai.

Every dish was good, and the food came out fast. The portions are also large, and we were able to eat to our hearts content. We will definitely be coming back to Straits again.