Meh Mediterranean menu at Olivette in the Houstonian
Olivette111 N. Post Oak Ln.Houston, TX 77024713-685-6713
3/5 sea bass filets
Our second venture during Houston Restaurant Week was to the Mediterranean restaurant at the Houstonian hotel in the heart of Houston's Memorial and Galleria neighborhoods. The hotel is nesteled within wooded acres, making for a lovely surrounding and view from the restaurant. There is complimentary valet for restaurant dining, and we were greeted by every Houstonian employee we crossed paths with on the way to the restaurant from the valet, doorman, and even random staff bustling through the hallways.
The restaurant was rather empty for what should be the primetime dinner crowd (calling for raised eyebrows), but we withheld judgment.
For our first course, we all ordered the Gulf crab cake dressed in a tomato chutney and jalapeno remoulade. The crab cake was very tasty, although I recalled preferring the ones from Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.For the second course, all four of us again chose the same: Chilean sea bass with wilted baby tomatoes, sweet onions, basil, and aged balsamic. The fish filet was a sizable and definitely would've been worth the flat $35 price had it been more flavorful. I know we're in the health-conscious age and all, but the fish needed some major butter. After a few bites, the fish (being humongous and all) became a chore to eat, and that's just the saddest thing. (If I've learned anything from my 31 years of eating and ten years of cooking, it's that you always want to feed your guests just enough to leave them wanting more.) Toward the end of our entree, we were struggling to finish, not enjoying the sea bass as much as we did at the beginning.
For dessert, we decided to all get something different. There was the tres leches (rum milk syrup, vanilla cream, Swiss merengue, and blueberries); the strawberry and almond shortcake; and the devil's food cake (coconut pecan praline, Valrhona milk chocolate, and ganache), which we all felt was sub-par.
For $35, the value wasn't bad for what should be a four-star restaurant, but it failed to impress us, which is too bad because the Houstonian is such a nice hotel.
Note: We had photos of our food but in all honesty, it wasn't even worth posting. Just imagine big chunks of food on a plate that tasted all mediocre. And there you have it.