Polk Street Pub

Nice place, not sure I’d call it a «pub» though. Staff is okay at best. Has a lot of potential…

Beers, Bar Food, Big Flat Screens…
Pretty typical bar/​lounge like place. Not all that bad by any means, but if you happen to have some time to kill in the downtown area and need a place to chat with a few locals over a beer, look no further.
I wouldn’t go as far as eating here for a meal, maybe a few small bites while chugging down a local beer or getting out of the heat here!!!

What a colossal disappointment. Had read the Houston Press favorable review a few months back and was in the area with a friend and we wanted a quick bite. Always wanting to support new business in the downtown area (like nearby Andalusia) so we stopped in. First off, no one was in there except for two very unhappy looking people at the bar. Still the uninterested bartender had no time to greet us, just a vacant stare. We ran into out waitress at the end of the bar but still sat ourselves at the table after she told us to sit wherever. My friend went to the restroom and I ordered a Stella and asked for a couple of menus. The waitress told us there was a limited menu at the time. Okay… Well? Sliders, chicken sandwich, wings and pub fries. Yes we should have left, but the sliders and fries were recommended in the Press so whatever. I asked if the sliders came with fries. Of course not. So, two orders of sliders, two sides of fries and a coke for my friend. Took about fifteen minutes and the waitress seemed confused about how to carry plates. She needed help with two and went back into the kitchen halfway on her way to us. Still no one else in here. So the sliders are two to a plate with no garnish and the fries are one deep spread over a large side plate and look undercooked. Look I don’t need or want garnish but they could have combined the fries and burgers in a plate and not made both look so sad. The burgers were luke warm, not even hot enough to start melting the cheese. So fine. Let’s finish and get out of here. Service was lousy. Refill on coke? How’s your food? Anything? There’s no one in here. I decide to forego the second beer I wanted and asked for the check. 35 dollars? Are you kidding? This is why downtown never has anything happening. Poor planning lousy staffs under-​executed food and then rape us on the bill. I know how they pay their rent. The food cost must have been around 3 dollars. Yup I won’t be back. My friend commented he would have been happier for the money if they just drove to Mcdonalds and got the food there and charged us $ 35 for that. But we like Mcdonalds;)

I wanted a quick, casual meal after travelling for 16 hours, and thought Polk Street Pub would be good, as it’s close and I could walk there.
When I got in, the place was fairly empty. Also, I noticed that the TV’s were dark — I asked if the football game was on (Thursday night), and was told the TV’s were not working (other than one on which someone was playing PS3).
I looked at the menu — fairly typical, limited bar/​pub menu — burgers, salads, a few sandwiches, wings, etc. I ordered wings and the «Black Jack Burger»
After a fairly long wait for the food, the wings and the burger were brought out together… okay, I didn’t ask that the wings be brought first, but I thought it made sense…
When I first saw the wings, I was disappointed — the order was small and with no sides (celery/​carrots/​blue cheese/​ranch). Once I tasted the wings, the size of the order was the least of my complaints — the wings were breaded (which I don’t like, and the menu didn’t mention), and luke warm, at best). The sauce (buffalo) was okay, but nothing special.
Then I started with my burger… it was even more disappointing than the wings. The burger had bacon, candied jalapeños, mushrooms and pepper jack cheese. Unfortunately, the cheese wasn’t melted on the burger — a cold slice of cheese placed on all of the other toppings. Also, the bacon was not cooked enough — not raw, but not done. The burger itself was small — it couldn’t have been any more than four ounces, and was obviously previously frozen. The bun was burnt — almost black.
The fries were okay, but a very small portion — maybe a small McDonald’s order, and not as good.
On top of the poor quality of the food, it was expensive. The burger and fries were $ 15 and the wings were $ 9. I can’t think of too many places in Houston that have a more expensive burger, and I definitely can’t think of any place that has a worse burger.
It is unfortunate that the food is so bad — the place is really nice inside, and I would love to see this type of place do well in this location. One positive note — the beer was cold. So, unless I just want a cold beer, I will not be back.

Awesome sliders and sweet potato fries! So good!!! Little expensive in my opinion, otherwise would’ve given ‘em 5 stars.

Came here for lunch with some coworkers cause Houston Pavilions is right next to our building. It’s actually not bad. I ordered what the waiter recommended — the shark. And cause it sounded cool. It came with a pretty good-​portioned shark filet that wasn’t overdone, surprisingly. And creamed risotto! Portion was an adequate size for lunch, unless you’re starving. Kinda pricey though — but good for a quick lunch if you don’t want fast food or cafeteria food/​sandwiches.

The Houston Press just wrote a very generous review of this place. In my opinion, it doesn’t deserve the generosity.
Overall, the Pavillions area has shaped up to be a nice little hangout in Downtown. There are plenty of places to eat, shop, and drink. I was excited to see Polk Street Pub because it has a very convenient location. It looks nice inside. Kind of sparsely decorated. They have a small bar that is usually full and the rest of the seating is table/​booth.
I’ve had a variety of problems here that make me dislike the place. One time I ordered a vodka and soda and the waitress brought me a vodka and 7-​up. No problem, it happens, but it took nearly 10 minutes to get a replacement. Sucky.
One time I stopped by and ordered a burger and I was informed, «Sorry, we’re out of burgers.» — Huh? At a pub? Ok I’ll have the club. «Sorry, out of that too.» Unacceptable in my opinion. When I asked the manager about the burgers he said, «Not our fault; My SYSCO guy flaked on me.»
The final nail in the coffin is that III Forks next door has a cheaper happy hour and bar menu and the food is 30x better.
On the plus side, I do enjoy their sweet potato waffle fries. This place has a bunch of potential, but they need to get their act together.

Not a hug fan of this place. No one was rude or anything like that, it was just so generic. The beer was cool, not cold. The air conditioner was not functioning. No AC+cool beer= not good. I so wanted a frosty mug and ice cold beer pouring down my throat– not gonna happen here. Our waitress was devoid of personality, but like I said before, not rude. The hummus appetizer was not good.
I really don’t want to give this place another try either; too many other options available downtown to waste time here. At least I didn’t have to pay for it (my boss did).

The Burger was above average, but not for $ 11.95. I can find better burgers for less. Now, as for it being a pub, looks nice and the drink prices are very reasonable. They will get four stars when the prices come down to earth.

Went there for lunch, so did not partake in any beers but the lineup looked pretty decent. A little bit pricey for ‘pub’ food but in-​line with the other places that serve lunch in the area. I had the fish and chips which were pretty tasty. They were made with mahi-​mahi and lightly fried plus I ordered with the sweet potato fries. Not traditional fish and chips. This fish and the chips were well cooked and not greasy. My girlfriend had the blackjack burger with the sweet potato fries. I think next time I will have that instead. It is a very good burger.

Very clean and had great service.

Three stars pretty much sums this place up. Better than average pub fare, but not great. Beer selection was somewhat lacking for a «pub» (guiness, one st. arnold, fat tire, new castle, and shiner were about the only non-​domestics). Service was just kind of erratic but friendly and acceptable.
Overall I would define this place as Generic. There is not a lot of character and nothing calling me back. If I were with a group of friends I would definitely not object to going but I wouldn’t suggest it.