Cook & Collins

The atmosphere is great. Today it was about 81° and they had some of the windows open to creating a great breeze and the service was excellent. We had two services helping us and both were wonderful.
We started with the black eyed pea hummus that the as great.
I ordered the tomato and basil flat beard. It was cooked nicely but I wasn’t that happy.
My husband ordered Althea C

It’s a bit redundant to write a review for a restaurant that shut down the day I had brunch here, but the food was really delicious.
Good Bloody Mary’s — zing zang, spivey, peppery, and with the bonus stuffed olive, celery, shrimp, pickled green tomato, and crispy bacon.
We started with the crispy mac and cheese egg rolls. Everything about them was good, but they did need more salt so the flavors would pop. I would have also liked to see a richer cheese. When you get the thicker shell of the egg roll, you need bold flavors or they all sort of lose emphasis behind the egg roll wall.
We had the classic eggs Benedict. Somebody give me that biscuit recipe!!! The eggs and hollandaise sauce was great, but the Effing biscuit had the perfect balance between flakey, fluffy, and salt.
The flatbread was Hawaiian pizza-​esque with pineapple and bourbon bbq sauce and chicken. The crust was thin and crispy. Very nice. The flavor was lacking salt and depth. Meh.
Sad I was just introduced to this place because I would have gone back again!

I love Sunday Brunch and was very excited to try this restaurant with a group of friends. We arrived right after 11am and were seated right away. All of the staff were dressed up in fun costumes and our server was Batman. I’m not really sure what it was for, but it was entertaining. Our server took the time to review items on the menu with us and he was very pleasant. We started with the mac and cheese crab rolls (small portion — see photo) and the C&C sinaroll appetizer (good for sharing!). I think the sinaroll was good and the bacon was a nice touch, but not as good as other cinnamon rolls that I’ve had. My friends shared a carafe of mimosas and sangria and said that they were really good. For our main entrees I had the crab cake BLT, two others had the smothered brazos burrito, one had the chicken and waffles (spicy!), and another friend ordered the party fowl flatbread (goat cheese surprise!). Personally, I would have liked the crab cake to be more firm. It was really mushy and came apart when I cut the sandwich in half. I think the crab cake needs more breading, however, the flavors were very good. Overall an a-​okay brunch experience.

Came here with some friends while in Houston for a conference. Shady, our server (no, really, shady) was super cool. He shared that the place had been sold and the end of the week was «their last day». I wasn’t sure if the «last day» mean for the owner or the restaurant. Here is hoping the restaurant remains in some fashion.
This is a fun venue and they had creative choices on the menu and from the bar. My order was goofed up a little (though probably my fault, I asked for a modification to a special) and Shady brought us a desert on him to make up for it. The desert was a cookie dough brownie on a bed of Nutella with a scoop of ice cream. Dinner was good, but I would come back just for the desert.

A-​Okay.
This is a nice little spot for midtown food time. It’s a nicer café with alcohol.
Let me shock you right now… I started with a vodka. A tea vodka something and it was yums.
I must have increased my ESP abilities to communicate my mac and cheese tasting obsession to my date because he suggested the fried mac and cheese and I didn’t have to say anything. High five, dude! I’m usually a little weird about frying the mac, but it was really good and it beats that cube-​o-​mac at Reef.
I acted like a grown-​up and got a salad with my favorite things. If you haven’t read my reviews before, I love seafood, spinach, and bleu cheese. Gorgonzola came out (and it tasted a little odd), but I’ll take it. It was massive and took me forever to eat. It was good.
They have a row of booths with small tables along a window. We were seated by the window of this hallway-​ish area and it got a little annoying when people were passing through.

Dropping my review down to 2 stars after my most recent brunch experience.
The Mac & Cheese Crab Rolls were similar to some type of fried eggroll dish I’d expect to find at Applebee’s (no offense to Applebee’s). The poached eggs in the Cook’s Classic Benedict had whites that were still completely runny — I was afraid to eat them and didn’t have time to send the dish back. The hashbrowns are nothing to write home about either, something surprising coming from a lover of carbs in any size, shape, and form. The price of this mediocre meal came to an overpriced total of $ 30.

I decided to do a selfie Sunday brunch here and I’m glad I did! I was looking for a new brunch place and I found Cook & Collins by Googling «Houston brunch restaurants». An article with several options came up and the description on this place made me quite scrolling, get in my car, and drive!
The staff was AWESOME! Because I was by myself I sat up at the back bar and got to watch this hunk of a bartender mixing drinks while I ate my delicious Fat Elvis Pancakes. I had another young lady bartender who took my order who was also fabulous! Great service from everyone who talked to me!
The pancakes were delicious! Just YUM! And the mimosas were delightful! I highly recommend putting this place on your Houston brunch list! You won’t regret it!

Cook & Collins is 5-​star restaurant in regards to location, concept and service, but I was not blown away by my brunch selection. That is subject to change once I explore more items on the menu, however my overall experience was superb.
We arrived to C&C around 11am on a Sunday morning. We were seated within minutes and greeted by our server. My girlfriend and I shared the breakfast burrito and a mimosa carafe. Our friends got the same things, along with an order of the red eye fries. As mentioned, we weren’t extremely impressed with our meals, but they were not bad by any means.
I will likely dine here again for brunch and will recommend this establishment to friends. I was exceptionally impressed with the service. From the servers to the hostess to the bartenders, everyone was extremely friendly and eager to help. That’s rare in Midtown, but it goes a long way. Keep it up C&C!

I really wanted to love this place. The location, concept and service are honestly the reason for the 2 stars. Unfortunately our food quality was borderline terrible.
+ Building and design are amazing. They accept reservations online. Free valet parking. The «crab rolls» were pretty good! The service and attention was great. We were very happy with our server. The tomatoes in the omelet were very fresh. The flavor of the biscuits were great!
+/​-​Mimosas were ok. $ 12 for a carafe is good, but a little too much OJ for my taste.
— We ordered the Ham and Cheese omelet and the Cook’s Classic Benedict. The side of «fresh fruit» was so bad that I believe only one or two pieces were edible. The hash browns had a very distinct and strange taste, almost as if they were heated either too quickly or just over cooked and the extra ingredient burned. Mine were way over cooked (in comparison to the other order) and neither of us ate more than a bite or two due to the strange taste. The Benedict had a good flavor, but the bottom of the rolls were so hard you couldn’t barely eat it. We ended up scraping off the tops so that we could have something to eat. The poached eggs were jiggling around all over the place as the egg whites were raw while the yolk was cooked and solid.
Honestly, we left two «poached» eggs, 85% of the hash browns, 90% of the «fresh» fruit, and 50% of the omelet on the table when we left. We should have asked for a manager, but the weather was starting to pick up and we just wanted to cut our losses and move on.

I went here for brunch this past weekend and it could not have gone more smoothly…
First, they accept reservations, which is wonderful. My boyfriend and I showed up a few minutes early and the hostess checked in to seat us as soon as possible.
I was very impressed initially at how accommodating and efficient the staff was and it only continued throughout the meal.
Our waitress was a very friendly woman, who kept an eye on our beverages the whole time. I was impressed at how «on point» and aware she was throughout the meal.
The food was also very good. I had the «feelin guilty» omelette with a side of potatoes and chicken sausage.
I cannot say enough good things about their home made chicken sausage. I do not eat pork and was almost worried that there was some in it, due to how tasty it was. I was assured, however, that the cooks just know how to make amazing chicken sausage.
The potatoes were also very good and not the norm, which was nice. They were shredded and in a cream sauce with some great spices.
My boyfriend had the breakfast burrito and was equally impressed. He also had some of my sausage and loved it too. I’d recommend the restaurant make the sausage more known on the menu, as it’s not featured as a side, I just so happened to see it in another meal option and it sounded good.
I was also impressed by the prices. My meal was reasonable, especially for the more «high end» experience and fresh and more interesting choices. Also, you can’t beat a carafe of mimosas for $ 12. :)
The last thing I wanted to mention is their great parking set up. We were able to park in the lot, but I know they also offer free valet.
Overall, a great and convenient while still remaining unique and tasty option.

One of my girlfriends and I came here for brunch on a Sunday afternoon. The location is on the corner and can’t be missed with the big sign. Parking was pretty easy as there is a parking lot designated for C&C customers diagonally from the restaurant.
To drink we ordered a carafe of mimosa which come in orange or grapefruit. They also have solo glasses for $ 4/​each. For food I ordered the French toast with almond and apple preserves, apple chicken sausage patty and a side of hash browns. The food was good! Our server was very attentive and the location has a great view. There is a bar area with several TVs. I’d return.

I decided to try this place because of a great Bloody Mary pic posted by another Unilocal reviewer.
1. Bloody Mary — the garnish is impressive, jumbo shrimp, green tomato, olive, and bacon. The bloody mary itself was on the sour side for me and needed more vodka. Moscow mule was average.
2. Cinnamon bun — dinner plate size! but with baked goods this big, require great baking time. Unfortunately, ¹⁄₃ was a doughy mess and uncooked. What we could eat tasted okay.
3. Elvis pancakes — HUGE and interesting flavor with the banana and peanut butter smash on top.
4. Morning after — steak, egg, and fries. Tasted okay but they cooked the steak «rare» to my husband’s request.
5. Side of bacon and scrambled eggs — solid
The food portions are huge. Overall, the food is decent but not outstanding. We had good service.

Convenient location downtown, chic atmosphere, perfect for groups and for date night.
The dishes come in creative twists of all-​american classics.
The Mac and Cheese Crab rolls: very cheesy, with an extra kick of crab meat, intricately plated. The outer layer was fried to perfection, definitely worth a try!
Oyster Fondue: don’t let the appetizer title fool you, it’s definitely a hefty portion of gooey goodness mixed topped with a healthy portion of oysters, laced with a huge serving of flat bread. Definitely an interesting use of oysters.
Pecan and Pear Salad with Salmon: my healthy choice for the night. The salad was very fresh, the pears and candied pecans paired perfectly with the vinaigrette. I added Salmon to my salad, which was prepared very well.
Good first experience at C&C, looking forward to next time!

Cool spot in Houston near all the bars. Great choice for dinner prior to a night on the town. We had very friendly, knowledgable service. The menu was varied and had something for everyone. The food is inspired and has a nice southern twist, and the cocktails were pretty good too.
Definitely worth a try!

I came here for Saturday brunch. Whenever there’s an opportunity to combine a cinnamon roll with bacon icing… I’m fully taking advantage. Needless to say, the C&C’s Sinaroll was as amazing as I anticipated. It’s HUGE. Definitely big enough to split with a table of 4.
Unfortunately, the mimosas weren’t that great. Waaaaay too much orange juice and not enough champaign :(- isn’t that illegal for brunch?
Valet is complimentary, but don’t be a douche bag and tip!

I returned here yesterday for a low key birthday dinner. Our waitress was super friendly and attentive. The service is one of the high points of the dining experience. There were only three of us, but we ended up ordering so much food (our eyes are bigger than our stomachs I guess).
Upstream — this is not your typical salmon salad. They actually ask you how you want your salmon cooked (well, medium well, etc). I’ve never been asked that question in regards to salmon before. The salmon was incredible! The seasoning was so good. The salad is arugula based so if you don’t like arugula you may want to try something else (or see if they will substitute it for something different like spinach or romaine). It also had quinoa, chopped asparagus, sliced cherry tomatoes, feta, diced zucchini, and tomato vinaigrette. There was some sort of spicy pesto garnished on the side which was pretty good too. So far, this is certainly my favorite entrée.
Loaded Potato Fritters — I wasn’t expecting large potato balls, I was picturing the cheap potato skins you get at a chain sports bar. I should have known better. The crispy skin with the soft potatoes and the sauce that was drizzled over was on point. My friend and I were scraping the plate with our spoons for more sauce. If we weren’t in public, one of us probably would have licked the plate clean (kidding…kind of).
Black Eyed Hummus — So much yes happening with this dish. The soft pita bread with the seasoning, the vegetables (almost reminded me of pico de gallo) with the black bean hummus was just damn good. I could have eaten this for my entrée.
Crock O’ Mac & Cheese — I only had a few bites because I was stuffed from all of the other food, but it was good. I’m not a fan of spicy food, but the Tabasco crumbs weren’t as spicy as I thought they were going to be.
Cookie Dough Brownie — Let’s be honest… the reason why I wanted to come back here was to try this dessert. It was delicious! I honestly couldn’t taste any cookie dough. It just tasted like a gooey yummy brownie. The strawberries would have been better if they didn’t have the stems on them! I know it looks pretty with the stems, but I didn’t really eat them because of that. We got a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side for an extra $ 3. It was good, but with the Blue Bell recall, it was Hagen Dazs and it’s just not the same. I can’t wait for the Blue Bell recall to be officially over because Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla with that dessert would be out of this world.
My friend had the Free Range Fried Chicken. I tried a little bit of it. First of all the portion is huge. Unfortunately the batter could have used a lot more seasoning. It tasted like gourmet fried chicken rather than just simple southern, down home friend chicken. I think my standards for fried chicken are high since I grew up eating soul food. But my friend said she absolutely loved the honey and biscuits.
My other friend had the Ruby Beets salad with chicken. She said it was okay, but wished she would have ordered the Upstream. She had a side of Sticky Brussel Sprouts. To me they weren’t as good as they were the first time I tried them. The piece that I had tasted burned and I couldn’t taste the bacon or Parmesan cheese. I was tempted to order a side of asparagus, but my salad had asparagus in it so I passed. Maybe next time.
As you can see, we ordered a ton of food! The side dishes and appetizers are large just like the entrees. The first few dishes, we finished with no problem, but by the time we got to dessert, we were stuffed. It was hard to stop eating though because the food is just so delicious!

Went back for their Texas happy hour, but stayed for dinner. Happy hour is always legit. One thing I can say is the flat bread is plenty big for one person to have a meal.
We also had the crab cake BLT and angry chicken. Both were good. The breading was a little thick on the chicken but flavors were on point. Crab cake seemed like it was made in-​house. Opted for the lettuce cup was a little more difficult to eat, but that was on us.
One thing I always like is the bartender gives you happy hour last call.

My boss took me here on Administrative Professionals’ Day and overall we enjoyed the meal and atmosphere.
We made a reservation because we were not sure how busy it would be that day. Luckily, it wasn’t too busy! The strange this was though, no one greeted us and took us to a table… we seated ourselves. It was only after we ordered our food that our server asked us if we had a reservation.
The food looked amazing. My boss got the fried chicken which was absolutely divine! It was cooked just right, had the right amount of batter, and the sides looked yummy too. My dish was so filling that I thought I might have had to be carried out of the restaurant. It’s a great place to come to for lunch.

I woke up this morning to a joking text from a friend talking about pancake cravings. Now I am ALWAYS craving pancakes so I couldn’t pass up a chance to stuff my face with fluffy deliciousness. I’d heard about the Fat Elvis pancakes at Cook & Collins so we went for it. I’d heard mixed reviews about this place so I went in with tempered expectations, which were definitely more than met. This is good and bad, because this place is literally 50 feet from my front door, so I see a dangerously obsessive codependent relationship forming.
We started with a carafe of bellinis (good, definitely strong, but I didn’t get as much of the peach taste as I expected) plus I had an Americano and later a latte (both great). Next time will for sure give the sangria a try, or maybe the alcoholic coffee cocktails which sounded fantastic.
Our appetizers were the Red Eye Fries (chili fries on crack — AMAZING) and the Sinaroll (good, scratches the cinnamon roll itch, but a little too dry and chewy to call it excellent — but it is topped with BACON ICING. So you can’t not get it).
For our meal we got the omelet, a flat bread, and OF COURSE the pancakes. The omelet and flat bread were enjoyed by those who ordered them — I did try their hash browns on the side and those were perfectly cheesy, salty, and delicious — the cheese or spices or something on it gave it a nice savory tangy taste. Yum! But my pancakes… omg my PANCAKES.
The pancakes deserve their own paragraph. They were amazing. Now, for my fellow pancake enthusiasts, I will warn you that they are not the super-​thick super-​fluffy variety — they are more on the crêpe-​y end and cooked to dark brown (you know the kind I mean). I actually prefer the former variety but the flavor more than made up for it. They are stuffed with bananas and flavored with cinnamon and peanut butter with a peanut butter whipped cream and sauce on top. Then it was finished with a couple of bacon slices, cooked crispy (note for the chef: don’t cook them so crispy. Otherwise, it was great). I cleaned my plate, with help from friends who also loved it as well.
The service was pretty good, a little more hands-​off at first than I prefer but they were more than attentive during the meal. The poor server made the mistake of trying to clear plates a little early and almost lost a hand to our stuffed-​but-​somehow-​still-​eating butts. We had to remind him about minor things a couple times (to go boxes, silverware) so not perfect but still good.
Will be back and will definitely recommend to others!

I wanted to check this place out since I saw them on the list for HRW, plus was also recommended from a friend to try it out. First off I love their decore and atmosphere. It was very pretty. Staff was very nice and friendly.
The service by our waiter was okay. He got our food out on time and made sure all orders were out. Very attentive to what we needed only thing I dislike was he seems a little irritated and unhappy! I don’t know the reason why but the vibe we got from him was too welcoming. Other then that he made sure our ticket order were separate without us requesting that and gratuity was not added on a big party.
The appetizers was good. The main course was decent not great. I had the salmon that was good. My friend had the scallop. They were all sent back for another order because it was way too salty. I must say some of the food did taste a little salty the mushrooms on my salmon were salty.
Overall, I think it is a great place to hang out at the bar and have a few drinks and enjoy their appetizers but main course was ok.