Jeannine’s Bistro

I was sad to learn that Jeannine’s Bistro has closed. I know it’s useless to give a rating after the restaurant’s gone extinct, but this place had some delicious mussels (with fries and may) and onion soup at reasonable prices. JB, I will miss you dearly.

Frites amazing, moules excellent, entrecôte quite good. Only complaint was timing of food from kitchen, but it’s so good, we can deal.

Jeannine’s is gem that you would probably pass if didn’t know it was there.
Hard not to get mussels every time you — so might as well get ‘em. I suggest the very top option — in the Pot!
Wife had pork and brussels sprouts — Soo good
I had the beef stew and green beans. A hearty and tasty meal for sure.
I have had the rabbit stew before as well — and will have it again.
Also — there is a charming accordion player as well — can’t say there are many other restaurants out there that can boast the same.

We wanted to have a light warm dinner. We ordered a cup of onion and mushroom soups and shared a Chicken a la Reine.
Both soups were salty and the chicken mushroom sauce felt very heavy. We couldn’t even finish the chicken dish.
To be honest, I was very disappointed. The onion soup and the chicken had very positive reviews.
In my opinion, the food was not tastefull enough to even consider giving Jeannine’s Bistro a second try.

The atmosphere of Jeannine’s Bistro is a bit dull, which is to be expected given the location.
I swung by for a beer and decided to eat dinner. The grilled salmon with fries and Bernaise sauce sounded tempting and halfway healthy, so that’s what I ordered.
The salmon was grilled to perfection, but lacked on flavor and even the Bernaise could not bring it out. The French fries on the other hand were spot on, perfectly cut, fried and seasoned — just like in Belgium.
The Chocolate Mousse was the best part of the dinner it had a creamy texture and good taste — just like a classic Mousse au Chocolat was meant to be made.
In retrospect I should have probably tried the Ribeye, afterall that’s what Belgian cuisine is all about.

This is the type of place you have to be cautious about bringing out of town guest because they will want to come back here every visit.
I used to have one minor complaint about Jeannine’s and that was that the pâté was country style, chunky. The steak and mussels have always been amazing. Well to my surprise when we went on Friday I was looking through the menu, knowing what I wanted before we even entered the restaurant, and found they had switched to a creamy pâté. So app was decided upon and I go back and forth between the mussels, but usually end up with a steak and steal a mussel or two from my wife. As always the steak was great with the au pauve sauce, great for steak and fries. The green beans were a little off but the rest of the dinner and beer more than made up for that. The service is great and while you might not need a reservation they appreciate it.

LOVE! The mussels are HUGE here. I was surprised at how big they were, because I had just ordered mussels in San Diego a few weeks ago where they catch em fresh, but they were much larger here at Jeanine’s.
We went for lunch and ordered the lunch portion — one for each person with fries. It comes out in a huge pot and discard bowl, and I had trouble finishing the entire bowl because they also serve bread before the food comes out and I am a big bread person as well.
We also ordered the chocolate crêpe for a dessert and it came with a scoop of ice cream in the middle. It was good, but nothing really out of the ordinary so I probably wouldn’t order it again.
I will definitely be hitting this place up again when I have the yearning for some good ol’ juicy, texas-​sized mussels!

We went to this place for date night and it was wonderful. Very quiet and serene at about 5:30 on a Thursday evening. My date had the chicken cordon bleu and I had the seafood in puff pastry. The seafood wasn’t actually stuffed in the puff pastry, it was in a delicious sauce that surrounded the puff pastry.
They have several Belgian beers on tap, very reasonably priced. I do not recommend the crème brûlée. It was very bland and the custard was cold. The chocolate mousse was delicious, however. Good service, relaxed atmosphere.

Friend I was staying with suggested this place. Obviously the big draw was the mussels and they did not disappoint. For starters we got the chicken pâté which was also excellent. Great flavor and consistency was perfect for spreading across pieces of bread.
And what Belgium restaurant would be complete without the proper beer selection. I don’t always drink beer, but when I do I prefer a place that serves Chimay. Jeannine’s Bistro — stay thirsty my friends

Nothing special. Mussel was ok; the fries was probably the highlight of the meal.
The steak was below par, definitely not worth the price.
The worst crème burlee I have ever had, it was actually cold in the center.
The overall service was poor and the waitstaff took a long time for everything…
Definitely would not come back again.

Good:
Onion Soup
Bring your own wine ($ 10 corking fee)
Bad:
The bread served at the tables is loaf bread… not fresh
If you don’t eat mussels, you are out of luck for a yummy dinner.
Chicken dish — bland, under seasoned — covered in cream.
Endive salad — chopped endives with lemon dressing — no creativity.
This place expanded because it was so popular. It must be the mussels that bring people in — it can not possibly be their other cuisine. I won’t be going again.

Came here for my friend’s birthday last Saturday. The mostly empty tables were all reserved so we sat at the bar. Service there was curt but prompt. Good selection of only Belgian beer. Since the overrated Stella was already 6 bucks we went with the Chimay triple white at 7 dollars, which is amazing.
My friend ordered a ribeye with gorgonzola sauce and he enjoyed it. He especially enjoyed his fries with the housemade mayo. I got a taste and I agreed they did it well but that’s to be expected since Belgians invented the french fry.
I ordered the vegetarian omelette and it was heavy. Of course it was made better than at IHOP or Dennys but it should at the price of ten dollars. Still I found myself wishing for more. It was heavy yet bland and left me immensely thirsty at the end. I found myself wishing for some cholula sauce.

My boyfriend purchased a groupon for Jeannie’s and I’m glad he did because I really enjoyed this place. Who can deny mussels and belgium fries! We started off our meal with the cheese croquettes and the french onion soup. I have never really been a fan of onion soup but Jeannie’s was delicious with gooey cheese on top. But nothing can compare to the cheese croquette! I thought I was in heaven and yes it was that good. The next time I come back I am not leaving without my cheese croquette! Filled with fluffy goodness and fried to perfection! Yum.
As for the entrees we got the moules marinieres, which are mussels steamed with butter, celery, onion, and white wine. I’ve never been a white wine fan with mussels and sorry that didn’t change here. Even though they were delicious, I think next time I’ll try them with a tomato sauce! As for the fries, they were nicely crisp and the mayo was delicious!
As for dessert, we ordered the Profiterole au Chocolat, which is 4 cream puffs, a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in belgian chocolate. Delicious but I think next time I’ll want to try one of their crepes. Overall good place and I can’t wait to come again!

Mussels, mussels, mussels.
Came here to try the mussels from a recommendation from a friend.
Here’s what I tried:
Moules Escargot: mussels in the basic esgargot sauce… butter, celery, onion, and white wine. Not bad but would have prefered it it were really escargot I was eating.
Moules Crème: think cream sauce hence the name. I think I was expecting like an alredo sauce. Similiar to it but a little on the bland side and a bit too thick IMO.
Moules au Curry: this is what I really wanted to try!!! I mean I would never think to pair mussels with curry and I have a love for curry. Definitely not overpowering which I was a bit sad because I was having an Indian craving earlier that day. It was good and the sauce was not thick which I liked but would have liked it to have more spices in it.

I went here for brunch after a mani/​pedi next door, and I’m so glad I did! I’ve been a skeptic of the Belgian food that’s available in Houston, but this place has softened my opinion.
I had the Omelette Vegetarienne, and the Crêpe Normande. Y+U+M.
Most omelettes that have spinach and mushrooms in them have no seasoning or flavor, cuz it’s just vegetables tossed into the bland mix they expect you to douse in ketchup, salt and pepper. Ew!
But this place had a tasty balance of seasoning to where I didn’t even pull out my handy dandy supply of hot sauce from my purse. Come on, you know you do the same.
Crepes I’ve had in this city have suffered a great deal of wrathe just sitting on my plate. Staring back at me. From mushy construction, far too much ‘stuff’ overstuffing the insides to compensate, and just missing the love in the making of the crêpe. If you’re not a fan of fruity crepes/​sweets, give this one a chance. So delicious.
You know how the edge pieces of a brownie pan are so the best? Well this crêpe had an «edge» too! The caramel from the carmelized apples had a cool crystalized effect on the edge of the crêpe.
Too much detail, I know. But I know I appreciate the detail when I read reviews :)

Overall, I like this place. It reminds me of your typical small town bar restaurant in Normandy or Belgium. Its really 3.5 stars, I would eat here a lot more if it were about 25% cheaper.
Steak frites was pretty good. Typical euro cut of meat; thin, a bit grizzly but great flavor. French fries are nice — double fried. They cant do medium rare though (saignant). I’ll do rare next time, I wussed out because i thought it would be proper French bleu rather than american rare.

I have been wanting to try this place for over a year… It is in a kind hard to get to location you will just drive right past, but do not let the odd location and strip mall store front fool you… that is part of it’s charm… tonight was my first night there and it already gets the title «hidden gem» in my book… The food and service were amazing… Very much the standard you would find in Europe… a great neighborhood bistro with a small world class and charm…
The onion soup — Amazing simple and had their own touch =5 stars
Mussels — I went with the waiters suggestion and they were incredible = 5 stars… I shared the large and there were more than enough for 2
Fries — served with a great mayo… you will forget that you are in US and would probably get slapped of you asked for catchup… = 5 stars
Croque Madame — good, very basic ingredients… not over done… I have had better, but i would order again = 3 stars
Aslo great beer and wine list… They had great European draft beers and a great selection of imports also great wine list with happy hour prices until 7
I will be back and glad to have this place less than mile from my house… the place was very clean… The staff were very friendly and did not rush the dinner… the prices were also great… Over all I will give them a 5 star and wish them success.
Also had a great french atmosphere with a man in his 80’s playing classic music on an accordion… I think he works for coffee and tips… When I grow up I want to be like him… = 5 star

We came here after some gallery hopping, and I was already gone. But, I remember a table full of moules and frites, chicken a la reine, and some other plates which I probably picked from. I needed a Westmalle right away, and it hit the spot. The beer selection is actually quite good, though it is no bargain, no.
None of us were especially wowed by the food. There was an issue of ordering a small moules-​frites and not getting any frites. Apparently you need to order a large portion if you want to have fries included. Well, then you should not offer a small portion of «moules-​frites!» It is just moules, then!
Service was good, beer was good. But, I’d be interested in trying other Belgian places before returning.

Monk Fish! Monk Fish! I love the poor Man’s Lobster!
The Mussels and Fries are super as well! People Fries aren’t French!
They are Belgian!

Food: ³⁄₅
Ambiance: ³⁄₅
Services: ³⁄₅
Prices: $$$ (avg 20/​person)
Checked out this place last Friday night coz it was cold, i was craving for some mussels and its a great chance for comparing with Broken Spoke after reading Tino’s review…
First of, the ambiance and setting are totally different & big contrast from BS. This place is quieter, smaller but enough staff to work the tables/​clients ratios, white table clothes, and a little «stuffy» than BS. I tried the following:
Moules Marinnieres (small $ 11)
–you get about 15 reasonable big & plumb mussels boiled in white wine, butter, celery & onion sauce. I kept scooping up the sauce and cant stop clamping out the mussels. This is the traditional way of preparing mussels but honestly, it didnt come close to the «real» stuff you get in Belgium where they uses some more species (which i have no idea what) and the soup/​sauce are heavenly to drink, full of flavor.
Moules Roquefort (small $ 11)
–again, about the same amount but smaller with reasonable sizes of mussels. The roquefort was melted over steamed half-​shelled mussels, very light & not too overpowering. It get better when you dip the bread in those sauce. If you order the full portion, this one get you stuffed!
My partner had the Grilled Salmon Bearnaise with green beans ($ 17), please skip this dish. The salmon is very dry and it has some kind of weird tasting marinate in it. Thats why they need the bearnaise sauce, i guess. The sauce was not good either! Well, if you need to dip your fish/​fillet in some kind of sauce to make it tasty, thats not a great dish…
We shared the Crepes Mikado with melted Belgian chocolate & vanilla ice cream ($ 8), ehhh, the crêpe itself is nothing special, they pre-​prepared this way before, so you can taste that its NOT fresh. The vanilla ice-​cream & slices of almond are just generic, nothing to talk about. CoCo Crepes is still, hands down the best in town!
My conclusion, I prefer Broken Spoke anytime over Jeannine’s. Somehow, the flavors are not as «interesting» and tasty as BS. For example, at BS the mussels with roquefort came on a plate with a stronger, creamier melted roquefort and with a few leafy greens in the middle to compliment the rich melted cheese or again, use the bread to compliment each bite of the mussels (if you find it too strong) but thats why we love certain cheeses coz of its strength & flavor! I agree with Tino though that the «small» portion is a great option for people that like to try out different flavor mussels but now I have tried them, i guess i will stick to BS and dont mind ordering the large portion instead…