* 17

Weak service. Breakfast menu limited. Server didn’t know English. Took order. At least pretended to then sent another person

Not much open in this part of town for breakfast on a Sunday morning. Eggs Benedict was okay but skimpy, skimpy, skimpy. Canadian bacon was wafer thin with a tablespoon of hollandaise. Good coffee. Attractive space.

We had to ask for a wine menu and was informed there is not a wine menu. During the meal I asked for rolls or bread and was informed by the server they were out, but he could check to see if there might be some back in the kitchen. Throughout all of this, there was a max of four customers, one table with two and us. I declined the server’s offer to go search for bread. We ordered a crab cake and it had a crabby odor. As seafood lovers know, this is not a good thing and makes me question the freshness of the ingredients. The only food highlight was tomato ravioli with cream sauce. I ordered a steak that was chewy and flavorless. I ended up eating no more than half of it and the server did not even ask about the meal. Fortunately, I was offered the last of the ravioli by my caring significant other.
We received our check, I placed my card in the receipt tray and signed the receipt with the gratuity. So many minutes passed that I didn’t realize the server never came to get the check or run my card. Not knowing this, I put away my card and we left to head to the theatre. As we were nearing the end of the block, I heard someone saying «sir, sir.» It was the server who rarely came by the table who said the credit card had not been run through. I give him my card, we walked back to the restaurant for him to run my card.
So I get back and ask if we were checked in for our OpenTable app. He did not even know what that was and asked if we used It to pay for meals. I gave the hostess my name and she checked us in.
$ 90.13 will get you an appetizer, one glass of wine and two entrees at 17. That’s it, you get nothing else. No customer service no concern or pride about the quality of food.
Do yourself a favor and pass on this restaurant. Unless of course you can’t find an establishment in downtown Houston where you can get quality food, quality service, or even both for this amount or less.

Potentially great boutique hotel restaurant really marred by lack of training.
My coworkers and I referred all day to our dining experience at 17 as «that awkward breakfast».
What didn’t go wrong? We had a business breakfast and had to ask for Menus, then water, then coffee, then napkins. They only had 2 menus for our table.
When our food came out, about 40 minutes in, only half the party was served. We waited at least 10 minutes for the rest.
The food was good, but bless their hearts, they need training!!!

It took us 30 minutes receive our breakfast — I ordered eggs Benedict that came with over cooked eggs — think medium boiled, not poached, and hardly any ham or hollandaise. One of the worst breakfasts I’ve had in a long time.

A gastronomic disaster. Failed to inform us of missing items until we noticed they were not on the plate. Ordered short beef braised short ribs and received braised pot roast instead. Two total different cuts of meat adjacent to each other on the cow. It tasted good but I can get the same from Cotton Patch Café for $ 20 less. Only had unsweetened ice tea that had bean sitting too long. Who ever heard of no sweet tea in Texas. $ 82 for a meal not worth half that. Never again. Certainly not worthy of being associated with the Sam Houston Hotel.

This was our first visit to the Sam Houston hotel and the restaurant inside is called 17. A guy name Humberto is the chef. This is truly a guy that enjoys and loves what he does! Rarely does a chef come out and greet is gassed but this guy comes out with a chef hat and asked how things were how do you like the food we had a special champagne risotto that was so freaking good! When I come to Houston with my wife I’m always looking for that hidden little gem this place is crazy good. I don’t know what this place was like before and I don’t care about all the previous reviews but I’m telling yeah it is sexy it is the best food in downtown Houston. Humberto is kicking some serious culinary butt! His entrées are outstanding he only offers about four entrées and evening but there are four of the best offerings in downtown Houston don’t miss this guy.

I went to 17 for a work team dinner. The place was quiet and intimate, and they were ready to account for a large group (12+). I think we only ended up being a party of 7 on a slow Wednesday night.
The Good:
– The service and their willingness to give me bread to-​go
– The ambience
– The quiet and privacy; it was not hard to have conversations here
The A-​OK:
– Time it takes from ordering until you see your drink on the table
The Leaves-​More-​to-​be-​Desired:
– The online menu was not at all representative of the actual menu. I think we all had our hearts set on things we found online.
– The fish was quite dry
It’s not going to be my first choice for another team dinner in downtown; I’m way too picky of an eater to chance it on the menu. However, it’s a nice place that I’m sure the more adventurous could enjoy.

We went to an early dinner, so we could relax through it before going to a musical. They were deserted, with no ambiance, no music and no staff to support us. We got a bottle of wine and ordered what sounded like great apetitzers, crab cake and grilled oysters.
I ate one oyster, then sent the rest back. The waiter sloppily apologized, no one else did a thing. They tasted and smelled like they had gone bad, like the kinda of thing that makes you sick all night.
The crab cake was just as horrible, being waaaay fishy and not fresh.
We left after that choosing instead of ordering more bad food to wait until after the musical to have dinner.
On a side note, we went to Brennan’s afterwards and had the food and engagement from the wait staff that we all dream of. 5-​Star for Brennan’s.

Thought I would try «17» out since I was staying at the attached Hotel. Tried the half chicken which was dry, tasteless and generally disappointing. The waiter was nice and attentive but that couldn’t make up for blah food. I should have walked down the street to subway for a tastier meal. Don’t waste your time and money!

Lovely hotel with historic value.

My one star is purely for the kitchen staff member who tried to help us, otherwise I’d like to rate them, I don’t know, negative five stars. We’re actually staying in The Sam Houston Hotel (formerly Alden) right now, and wanted to get some dessert from *17 to take upstairs. At 8:30 we walk in there, and though it’s a Sunday night and business seems slow, there’s not a soul in sight. So my husband walks around the corner and manages to catch the attention of someone in the kitchen. After hearing that we just want dessert, he attempts to look for the dessert menu, which is apparently missing. He very apologetically goes off to find the also missing waiter. The waiter… is why I’d like give negative stars. I don’t know if he was on break or something, but he acted so put out the entire 5 minutes it took us to order, pay and get our food. When we asked for flatware and glasses to take upstairs, he gave us a funny look and rather rudely asked if we are staying in the hotel or something. (Did he think we wanted to steal them??) Then he turned his back in the middle of replying that he’d bring it up. I was willing to consider that he might just be a no nonsense type person, but my husband opened our door to a very sour looking waiter delivering our requested itms. Icing on the cake? The bread pudding is miniscule, and one of the glasses was dirty. Save your money and visit one of the many other restaurants in downtown.

I took my fiancé here for Valentine’s dinner. It was a 5 course set menu and we also had cocktails to celebrate my recent promotion. We were looking forward to this and it was a such huge let down. Although the plating was excellent, the food was flavorless and service was inattentive. My recommendation: there are so many excellent restaurants in Houston — don’t waste your evening and money on 17 unless you’re just interested in Instagramming your food. BONUS: We got food poisoning — just how you want to end your Valentine’s Day!
— The cocktails tasted like they were mostly simple syrup. After a few sips, my fiancé couldn’t finish hers.
— The bread was hard. Like cut your gums hard. I thought this was an upscale restaurant thing and was hungry, so I powered through it. My fiancé asked for some fresh bread. Turns out I was wrong. They were serving very stale bread for a $ 150 (per couple) meal.
— The Roasted Chicken Consommé was extremely salty. Neither of us could finish ours after a few spoonfuls.
— Second course was Compressed Strawberry Salad. It was plated well but the strawberries were too ripe, nearly rotten, and there was virtually no flavor to the dish.
— Third was Seared Scallop. It was undercooked and again, lacking of any spice or flavor.
— Main was the Grilled New York Strip ordered rare. It arrived COLD with about 2 mm of seared meat on each side. I’ve never had meat this raw. It was not spiced, not even salted. My fiancé ordered hers medium rare and it came out identical to mine.
— Dessert was the Grand Marnier Crème Brule (their spelling) and Warm Blackberry Crisp. The hardened caramel top of the Crème Brûlée was not prepared properly. It instead tasted like they just sprinkled white sugar on top. The blackberry crisp was chewy and made from raspberries.
To top it all off, at a cost of greater than $ 200 with tip, we’ve been up all night with food poisoning. This is coming from the couple who recently returned from a 2 week backpacking trip in Thailand eating street food without even a tummy ache. Silver lining: my fiancé is an angel and helping take care me even though she’s sick too — Valentine’s not ruined!

This place had some highs and lows; unfortunately, the lows far exceeded the highs. We had the foie gras app which was tiny and by tiny I mean almost not there. The salad was ok, but nothing to write home about. The bright spot of the entire meal was my entrée: the venison. The meat was perfectly cooked. It came with brussel sprouts and fried nochi. My wife on the other hand got the red fish. Fish was ok but came with some weird red pepper sauce and granola. Yes granola with fish. This meant I only got half my entrée. To end the meal we had panna cotta. This was gross. Panna cotta is supposed to set naturally. This was a very non-​tasty gelatin concoction which we didn’t even eat. Its taste and texture where both very off-​putting. The serves was fine. Nothing exceptional, but not bad either.
Note that I did come in with a travelzoo deal. Without this deal I would not have come in, but even if offered again I would never come back.

Do not come here and waste your money. Extremely disappointed. First of all this restaurant is located in the Sam Houston Hotel, and I suppose it was formerly known as Alden. Very small and when you first walk in, you think oooh fancy, but oh my goodness the food was disastrous.
+ Complementary bread took FOREVER to come out and was overbaked and inedible. The waiter may have heard us bickering among ourselves so he brought out freshly baked bread and we were jumping for joy
+ Duck appetizer was different and I actually enjoyed it, it was def better than the main course
+ Ny Strip was chewy and not flavorful and the sides were just sad
+ Lamb had a weird taste and aroma. The sides were even more weird — applesauce and cranberry nuts? Not a great combination
+ Someone ordered the fish, which was pretty bland
+ Texas Olive Oil Cake and Chocolate Tart were 10 times better than the main course
Overall, if you are looking to try a new restaurant for HRW… I wouldn’t recommend coming here

Tortilla soup was well executed with crisp flavors and fresh ingredients. The snapper with jumbo lump crab was excellent! The server was enthusiastic and attentive. The dining room could use some light music. They can count on seeing me again at 17 whenever I stay at the Sam.

I don’t understand why this place is always so empty. The food is great and the interior is gorgeous. But every time we dine, it is usually just us and a couple other tables. I am guessing the room service business is keeping it afloat, because there are never many diners. The food is always inventive and delicious. I wish the wine list were broader.

I went to lunch at *17 with my friend for Houston Restaurant Weeks. Although the menu was good, it was not their regular menu. Even still, it was a great experience.
The restaurant mood is elegant, yet modern. The paintings are back lit. The furniture is sleek. And there’s a beautiful wall of colorful light in the rear dining room. The colors are constantly changing.
For starters, I had the chilled borscht, which is a beet soup. It was deliciously sweet & creamy. It also had two small sprigs of dill floating just under the surface and cubes of beets resting at the bottom. It tasted more like a dessert than an appetizer. I absolutely loved it.
For my entrée, I had a grilled chicken pita with potato chips on the side. The potato chips were more for the potato chip purist. It did not have the standard added salt that most potato chips have. The grilled chicken pita was tasty. It was heavy on lettuce and light on chicken, which was great for lunch. It left me perfectly satisfied, but not too full. I hate leaving a restaurant feeling like I need to be rolled out like Violet from Willy Wonka.
Lastly, we had a dessert trio of cheesecake, tomato confit, and copa de tiramisu. My favorite of the three was the tomato confit. Had I not been told that the main ingredient was tomatoes, I would have never known. It was rich, sweet, and tasted more like a jam than a tomato dish.
My friend’s favorite was the vanilla cheesecake topped with a peach compote.
The tiramisu was okay but nothing to rave about.
Overall, it was a great experience. We got to dine at one of Houston’s best restaurants for cheap and, together, donated $ 6 to the Houston Food Bank. The restaurants who participate in this cause should all get a pat on the back.

Love it! The menu changes seasonly so I can’t tell you what to order, but I highly doubt you’ll be disappointed in whatever you choose. I dined with 3 other people and all of our (different) entrees were fabulous. Just don’t skip the appetizers.
This is definitely a place I would love to frequent whenever I’m in the theatre district. They’ll even provide you with transportation to/​from the show.

I met up my brother for lunch here during Houston Restaurant Week. I usually have reservations about eating at hotel restaurants but 17 was a good dining experience. It’s a small restaurant and not too noisy so you could carry on a convo without having to yell across the table. Being in downtown, it attracted the typical business lunch crowd. Service was attentive and friendly.
My brother had the roasted yellow beetroot gazpacho, topped with jumbo lump crab salad. He’s never tried gazpacho before and was pleased with eating a «cold» soup. I had the crab cake in tomato broth, which was a little on the bland side. (I’m spoiled though because I would do anything for a Vic & Anthony’s crab cake!)
You know the food is hot off the stove when the plates come out radiating with heat. Really – it felt like a sauna just sitting in my chair! I had to resist the urge to dig into my food for fear of burning my tongue! For the entrée, my brother had the NY strip and inhaled it all! I managed to grab a few bites of the pecan and apple condiment and the
bacon and rosemary grits, which were surprisingly very flavorful! I had the peach braised pork shank and it was so tender that every piece fell off so easily. The pork itself lacked in flavor and tasted bland to me. The taste of the corn and barley compote reminded me of a tortilla soup, and I ate my pork together with the sides to have that medley of flavors I was looking for.
For dessert (which by the way was $ 8 per dessert; I think the online HWR menu was incorrect at that time because it had advertised a 3 course lunch and it now shows a 2 course lunch), the strawberry shortcake was the winner in all its strawberry and creamy goodness. I liked the fact that it had the right amount of sweetness. I wasn’t too impressed with the chocolate pound cake. It didn’t really taste like chocolate pound cake, but rather had the flavor of lady fingers. The orange anise glaze enhanced the pound cake flavors, but I couldn’t taste any walnuts or hazelnuts (maybe they ran out or forgot to put it in). You know I’m all about the desserts, but I was sad we spent $ 16 on desserts I couldn’t deem worthy of ahhhhhh-​mazing goodness.
17 didn’t knock my socks off, but maybe they didn’t care to put more effort into it since it was just lunch during HRW. I’ll probably go back again to try out their dinner menu and see if their desserts are up to par.