Jonathan’s The Rub

Wow, I was not impressed with the physical restaurant, but the food was quite the opposite! I mean it’s sautéed spinach, how good could it be? It was real tasty, and flavorful. Mac and cheese was pretty great too. The porterhouse was pretty good, and that coconut cream pie! Not as delicious as Holley’s but it was a close second! Definitely impressed by the food!
For photos visit my blog!

We came to Jonathan’s The Rub yesterday night hoping for a good dining experience, however, that was not a case for us.
First, we were given an option to sit outside and we opted in for that. However, we regretted that decision sooner than expected as service was almost near to nonexistent on our table. I asked for a glass of wine after realizing that ice tea will not quench my thirst. Our server stated that it will be out shortly. I guess her definition of ‘shortly’ was not in line with mine as I watched her serve two groups of customers that sat on the same table with wines. Those customers were on the waiting list to be seated inside and they were prioritized first. Then, when I was almost half done with my meal, our server came back to our table and realized my long forgotten wine that was still aging in the cellar. So, as a consolation service, she asked if I still want a glass of wine. At that point, I no longer have an appetite for it. I could rant on and on with inefficient and insufficient service, but I would just conclude that the overall service experience was terrible.
Second, the food was mediocre. We came to Jonathan’s The Rub for lobster as we heard it was great. However, that was a big disappointment also as my friend’s tortillas and my Hawaiian buns were already cold. We even questioned if the grill marks on our tortillas and buns were just a ploy. My other friend was also not happy with his steak as it was bland even though it was cook perfectly.
Overall, this restaurant is a no-​no for us. For the price range, I could list plenty of better restaurants somewhere else that offer quality services and foods.

Great food and atmosphere. Service on the other hand was really bad. Our server was no where to be found when we ended our dinner and after waiting for a good 15min we had to physically get up and ask for a check.

Normally, went to this spot for a special occasion and have to say this place had a lot to offer. The interior was impressive, but cannot say the same for the outside. Parking is the worst! Expect to pay $ 34+ for one meal, not including tip. It was a fun night and atmosphere was great for talking/​meeting other ppl near by! It’s cozy and food was exceedingly well done and consistently fresh.

Let me start off with saying this place gave me food poisoning that lasted 2 days. I will not be returning. Aside from that, the food is very mediocre for the price. I ordered the Maryland chicken, and my husband had the special, which was a braised beef dish. My dish came with a few crab cakes and mushrooms in a cheesy sauce. While the chicken was tender and juicy, the dish seemed a hodgepodge of items thrown together that didn’t complement one another. The beef entrée was sour tasting, overcooked and very dry. Neither of us enjoyed it. The only redeeming factor were the two sides we ordered, which were the roasted cauliflower and the mac & cheese, which I definitely recommend. It’s also a BYOB establishment, which is a nice option.

I really wanted to like this place but after our recent Mother’s Day dinner experience, it’ll be hard for us to return. We had our reservation made through Opentable with a note informing the restaurant that one of us is vegan. The husband also called ahead that afternoon to make sure the restaurant can accommodate. Everything was fine until we were seated. 15 minutes had gone by and noone had came over to greet us or hand us menus so we had to wave someone down. No biggie. They brought us some bread for appetizers but didn’t give us any plates. I am still optimistic at this point, thinking they are just really busy. We also asked one of the waitresses about vegan options and mentioned that we had called ahead to check. She said she had to go check with the chef. Well. she never came back. My hopes for this dining experience were starting to fade at this point. We waved someone else down and asked if they can just put together some grilled mixed veggie plate, with no butter but just olive oil. She said sure, no problem. The husband ordered the ossobuco that was on the specials. I literally fell out of my chair when my dish came, it was a bowl of broth with boiled vegetables. I was confused and asked if the waitress could double-​check my order. She said that’s what the chef, Jonathan, had decided to make as my vegan entrée. I explained to her that I asked for grilled vegetables. She took the bowl of broth back and said she will check. At this point, the hubs was digging into his ossobuco and realized the bone was still cold. When the waitress came back my my vegan plate for the 2^nd attempt, it was all the boiled veggies that was in the broth fished out and put on a plate. My hubs almost lost his sh*t at this point. I, again, explained to the waitress that this is not what I ordered and it is rather insulting to serve someone some boiled veggies fished out from the 1^st failed dish. We also told the waitress that the ossobuco was cold to the bone. Waitress said she can heat it back up for him. WUT. First of all, please take my boiled veggies back to the kitchen. I told the waitress that I will not be having dinner tonight. Second of all, please come up with a better response when someone sends a dish back because it’s not at the proper temperature. The chef, Jonathan, finally came out to speak to us. He understood that vegans do not eat oil and their food has to be cooked a certain way. He explained thats why he made the broth with boiled veggies. I told him that vegans are allowed to have oil, just not any animal products. My hubs ordered the Houston Pork chop instead of having his ossobuco «warmed up». At this point, everyone else at the table were done with their dinner. We were finally brought a plate of grilled veggies and the Houston pork chop. My grilled veggie plate was edible. The hubs likes the Houston pork chop as this is what he usually gets at JTR anyways.
We obviously were too pissed and hopeless to even think about dessert. We finished and asked for our checks shortly after. The veggie plate was $ 28. It was four servings of different types of vegs (cauli, asparagus, spinach, mushroom). That’s pricey even for Memorial. We were ready to pay because we just wanted to GTFO. A few minutes later, Jonathan brought over a revised bill with the veggie plate and Houston pork chop taken off. We appreciate the gesture but the experience was traumatizing.
The biggest issue here from an outsider point of view is the lack of communication between staff. Since they do not have a designated waitress for a specific area/​tables, noone knew what was going on. It was a clusterf*.
Goodbye JTR. It’s over. It’s not me, it’s you.

This place, as far as I’m concerned, is a hidden gem! I would have never known about this place without Unilocal.We are really looking forward to go back.
The menu has pretty much everything. There is pasta, steak, seafood, lamb, porkchops, veal, and burgers. I tell ya, there were so many options we had no idea what to choose.
The service was great. The prices were a little high but not terrible. Lots of side options too! I recommend the mac and cheese. The portions of food you get are pretty healthy.
The place is tucked away off of the I10. The bathroom is kinda weird and in a weird spot. But other than that the place was awesome! I definitely recommend!

JTR is a casual small neighborhood restaurant in Memorial, serving New American and comfort food. During lunch it can be crowded. The tables are seated very close. Lunch menu is great and not super expensive for the quality and quantity with many choices; dinner is much more $$$ than lunch. I have been here many times during lunch and always have a good meal.
My favorites here would be the Lobster Tacos when I want to eat light, and the most favorite is Chicken Fried Chicken with Mac and Cheese side when I don’t care about what it does to my weight and heart!

Had the pork chop and mash potatoes for lunch.
An amateur must have cooked the chop. I know, because I was once that amateur. I haven’t cooked a pork chop in awhile, but I know I tried several methods to tenderize the cheaper ones. You’d think a pork chop was a pork chop. But it isn’t. I’m not a chef, just an enthusiastic amateur, so I don’t know why there can be such a difference. Anyway the chop here was tough and seemingly high in gristle. The mashed potatoes were over salted. Why do so many restaurants use so much salt and/​or sugar. Has the american palette been destroyed by cheap burgers and coca cola?

What a pleasant surprise. Used Unilocal to find a good place to continue our time in Houston with 4 of us from Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Montréal. East Coast for sure in my fav town.
Pull up to a place not so inviting on the outside, but great reviews and food pics so walk in, tiny place, small tables– so we get led down to the back table of the restaurant — the last table and sat. Kind of cramped but ok. Got seated immediately, then greeted by our waiter Adam. Great waiter!!! So we are all starving after being in meetings 8 – 5 all day and had to have a beer and wine. Got it quick, and started with a great appetizer. Lobster Tacos. Where else but Houston can you get Lobster Tacos… 4 for $ 34… .Very tasty, a bit messy, we didn’t care.
Then on to the main course. Since we are all colleagues, we all ordered something different so we could share.
Lamb shank– It think about $ 45 or so– 2 large shanks, lots of meat, rich sauce, it was wonderful. More than I needed but I love lamb and shared a bit and ate every bite. Highly recommend if you like lamb.
Chilean Sea bass– Wow! Tender, great flavor served with sautéed mushrooms and presented well. Guess I could say as good as most Chilean Sea bass in the $ 50 range and delicious.
Lastly, the Shrimp and Grits with Scallops as further treat. Atlanta boy had to explain grits to my colleagues but they loved it. Large shrimp, large scallops– perfectly cooked, slow cooked grits (I like cracked pepper on it), this was the bomb– at a small place in Houston. Who would know .
Service was non stop on point, kept our beer and wine full, we ate every bite.
So overall– if you want good– or great food– and don’t mind a bit cramped diner almost atmosphere with great service, you’ll love it. If you like classy dressy places or Capital Grill you may not– as they are similar price points but for us, we loved it. All of us .So or our experience, our service, our enjoyable evening, 5 stars. I’ll be back for sure. Thanks Houston Unilocal team for not leading me wrong. Management team here, great job!

Business lunch. Was excited to try this place since so many times the routine is to meet at one of the regular spots on the I10 feeder. Hoping this was an undiscovered gem.
Not disappointed! Top rating no, but a great local hang out — Yes! I had the Latino burger with chipotle mayo and grilled jalapeño. Spicy the way I like it. Golden brown house made fries on the side — Mmmmm. House made means they will not be crispy bit they will be good. One of the group had the Bleu burger. There’s no skimping on the bleu for this burger. Chicken parm sandwich also looked great and was large enough that half went in a doggy bag. One had the sliders and although only two were specified on the menu it felt like the plate had been shorted.

Exceptional experience this evening. Attentive, but unobtrusive service. Spectacular food. Great wine and thoughtful attention to detail. Check out the pics of the food tonight. Over the top portions without skimping on quality. So so so good. I’m glad that we have this delightful neighborhood restaurant another try after our lackluster (albeit during restaurant weeks) visit before. Hooray for Jonathan! :) we’ll be back soon and often!

Amazing depth of menu. Numerous base dishes with multiple choices for preparations. Very well done. BYOB a plus too. One of our favorite!

Let’s start by saying that I believe that in the future, I’ll give this place 5 stars.
They do not, however, know how to cook a steak (imho).
I recently came here with a friend and, as usual, over-​ordered.
We started with the oyster appetizer for 2 (enough to share with 4) which came with tons of well fried oysters topped with delicious bacon and a spicy sauce.
We also shared the crabcakes which had little filler and were majority crab.
We both ordered one of the steak specials which come with a signature sauce (I had the blue cheese and onions). My steak was incredibly charred on the outside and tasted of only char. Additionally, it was overcooked on the inside. I sent it back and was given a new steak, which while prepared better, was still charred. After mis-​preparing twice, I was hesitant to request a 3^rd. My friend also had to send back his first steak for the same reasons, but upon recooking, prepared his properly.
All portions are large and entrees came with a salad and side as opposed to being served a la carte
That being said, they gave us 20% off our bill which was a nice touch.
Service was excellent, however, the restaurant is quite small, so might be difficulty with a group.
For a place called «the rub», I was disappointed by my steak, but the rest of the meal was so enjoyable, I will definitely be back to give other items a try.

HRW #2 (sort of) — office edition
Every year a group of office ladies tries to hit a few new restaurants during HRW. As usual, we mostly failed at ordering HRW menu items, opting for regular fare. This spot is so hidden away, I almost passed it up. Parking is also pretty limited (I ended up across the street). The space inside is a little cramped but not uncomfortable. It seems obvious that there was some sort of expansion at some point. The food leans towards steakhouse, but the atmosphere seems very casual. The portion sizes are very large. We ordered WAY TOO MUCH. Overall though, the food was quite tasty.
Standout dishes: Porcini ravioli, Pan seared scallops, Fried chicken and grits
All the side item veggies were quite good.
I would probably avoid the triple smoke fried oysters and crabcake again. There were ton of oysters (even a half portion) and they were covered in a spicy mayo type sauce. I felt like I couldn’t really taste the oysters at all. The crabcakes were just ok, kind of heavy.
I think I would definitely come back again given the opportunity. Definitely make reservations and be prepared to walk on some gravel or across a street.

This place was different than what I am used to, but very good, nonetheless. I went with a group of people from work around lunchtime on a Thursday. I had the chicken salad on a Greek salad (which I totally didn’t think existed), and turns out it was delicious. The Greek dressing was simple and elegant. I love a good Greek salad, so it doesn’t take much to please me. Everything was fresh and the chicken salad itself was not too heavy with mayo, and just the right amount of comfort.
I paid $ 12 for my salad, which was expected given the part of town it’s in, but was a little high for my taste. I would’ve liked it to be around $ 9-​$ 10, but hey, it wasn’t fast food, and it was good.
Also, the restroom is located inside the kitchen and you will bump into about 4 waiters/​waitresses before and after. My advice, go potty beforehand.

Lunch at Jonathan’s was fine: I’d say that the food was good, and the service was definitely slow, especially if you’re trying to have a quick business lunch.
Both the burger and the Waldorf salad were good – I especially enjoyed the nuanced flavor of the salad; the burger was standard and solid.
Service was slow: we told our server we were ready to order, after which she commenced to tell us to wait and then went to talk to three other tables before coming over to take our order.

This place is tucked away and you could almost miss it. My coworker took me there for lunch. I had the fried chicken. It comes topped with fries and smothered in gravy — with a side! I chose the macaroni and cheese. The chicken was well seasoned and wasn’t weighted with grease. The firs had a special seasoning on them and the gravy was tasty — not too heavy or too light. The Mac and cheese had hints of bacon. Overall this was a great meal. The ambiance is relaxing and the staff is friendly. I will definitely return.

Went with a group of 12 for HRW (Houston Restaurant Week) dinner. I ordered the BBQ Shrimp, Gaucho Steak 14oz and finished with the Apple Cobbler.
First Course: BBQ Shrimp (7 pieces of medium shrimp) was nicely seasoned but a little over done.
Second Course: Steak Gaucho (14 oz. prime new york strip, rubbed and char grilled, served topped with chimichurri sauce) I ordered mine medium rare and it was tender and cooked to order. It was accompanied by a side of mascarpone mashed potatoes (too much dairy for me, I should have asked for a sub) my friends said they were amazing. The Chimichurri sauce packed a punch of flavor I wished I had more.
Third Course: Apple Cobbler the filling was a little on the sour side but the Cobbler crumble was very sweet and the 2 combined was a nice balance. Unfortunately, they ran low on cobbler and some of my friends did not get as much crumble.
Service: the service was very friendly and accommodating.
Parking: Very Small Lot always a challenge, there is street parking and you can park in the business lot across the street after 5pm.
Tips:
BYOB — corking fee $ 12
Ask for the butter with the Rub… Note it contains cheese.
I am giving this review 5 stars for overall experience.

Jonathan’s The Rub is located in west Houston off of I-​10 and Campbell Rd. Well to be a little more specific it is tucked back in the neighborhood a bit. In a way it seems to be hidden. A very inconspicuous space next to a convenience store. It’s pretty funny, I posted a picture on Facebook letting everyone know that I was there to experience the restaurant, and one of the first comments was «Rule number 1 of JTR, don’t talk about JTR». So I guess I’m breaking all the rules by writing this review, that’s the rub. This hidden little gem is being exposed.
I want to start off by saying that this is not only my favorite restaurant experience I have had since I’ve returned to my hometown of Houston, but it is right up there with any restaurant I have been to in the country. I understand what I just said. I haven’t spent all day celebrating Craft Beer Friday. I will repeat myself, this is one of the best restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of breaking bread at.
Like I said in the beginning, as you walk up you would be surprised where it is located, but there is real beautiful greenery in front and a large sign above the patio that lets you know you are here. The restaurant sits in a corner space and there is a small line outside from people trying to get in for lunch. When we get in, we can see that the restaurant is busy. Real busy, filled with business men and women every seat is taken. The décor is nice and lets you know that you aren’t in some hole in the wall, but a fine dining establishment. What they have done here at JTR is conveniently made it comfortable fine dining. The best way I can explain it, the environment is nice, but not stuffy. I would feel comfortable wearing slacks or shorts. Really cool!
We sat down and it’s really neat, we could actually see in the kitchen with everybody hard at work. It was like an episode of Top Chef! I noticed one of the guys on the grill had curly hair and glasses. I recognized him from the website. Pretty cool, it looks like Jonathan is back there heading the kitchen himself!
JTR is unique as it is BYOB. Really nice that it is conveniently stacked up near a convenience store. So we grabbed some Top Texas Craft Beer; Saint Arnold’s and Karbach to be exact. A friend of ours joined us at the table and was our guide through this wonderful journey. She had been here many times and was able to maneuver us through the menu with ease.
We ordered an appetizer while we talked and enjoyed our craft beers. The Grilled Kofta was wonderful. Lamb and beef kebabs seasoned with spicy Indian masala spices, served with cucumber yogurt sauce. The yogurt sauce was refreshing and went just perfectly with the lamb and beef.
First up was Ham & Cheese St. Jacques a thick slice of brioche French toast, Dijon, grilled smoked ham and gruyère cheese sauce. What an incredible start. The ham was rich and savory with just enough cheese to drip off the edges. Take a look at the photography to see for yourself. This dish came together so beautifully and I recommend you give it a shot! We all took bites of it and shared it family style. This really made the experience enjoyable as we had a chance to talk about the flavors as we each experienced them.
I guess I blame it all on my roots, but Jonathan’s Fried Chicken & Grits brought me to place that is beautiful. There are those moments when you take a bite of something wonderful and you get a rush. This was one of those moments. This buttermilk fried chicken breast had bacon and white gravy on top of buttery, hand over your heart style grits.
I really want to emphasize the fact, that I admitted this is one of my all-​time favorite restaurants. This way you don’t think I am exaggerating or embellishing my feelings for this meal. I am not a huge fish guy although I am extremely fond of shell fish. The Chilean Sea Bass was the best fish entrée I have ever had. Not top 5, but the best. The Chilean Sea Bass was broiled and served with asparagus. To be honest with you it could have been served with sea weed. My buddy loves fish, so by the time it rested in front of me, there was only a few bites left. When I tasted it, I could see why. Every bite just melted in your mouth and it had a rich buttery taste that reminded me of vacation. I like vacation and I loved the Chilean Sea Bass!
So I broke the first rule of JTR and I hope I am not punished by those who might not be able to find a seat at their favorite restaurant the next time they visit. I am not ashamed to let the whole world know about this little hidden gem off the Katy freeway. For those of you traveling to our great city, you must mark Jonathan’s The Rub on the must see list. And again I apologize for spoiling this secret, but for those of you who didn’t know, now ya know!