Cullen's Upscale American Grille scheduled to open tomorrow in Houston/Clear Lake area
A new restaurant is supposed to open tomorrow in the Houston area.
Cullen's Upscale American Grille was originally scheduled to open in January,
but owner Kevin Munz emailed me to say that it should open on Tuesday, March 18th.
They say that they are Houston's first certified green restaurant and according to the
'Certified Green Restaurant Guide' at www.DineGreen.com, they would be correct.
According to Cullen's Web site, patrons will "Order wine on Houston's first Wine Tablet PC's
with real time inventory." That sounds cool.
Cullen's is located in the Beltway 8 & I-45 (Clear Lake) area at 11500 Space Center Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77059.
It looks very interesting ... and huge - all 37,000 square feet of it.
I’ll be visiting them soon and will report back to you about my visit.
www.CullensGrille.com
Categories: Cleverley's Newsletter,Houston Restaurant News,Dining Out,New Restaurants
Complimentary valet. Modern decor and fine table arrangements all add to the very classy and posh ambience. Service is friendly. The beef filet was excellent. Dishes are inexpensive but they’re intricately wrought, with flourishes aplenty. Cullen's Live isn't open as of earlier this week but I hear it's going to be pretty cool. Maybe a jazz and piano bar and other live music...
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The service was terrible and the food was bland. We will never go back again.
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Our party of 6 overwhelmingly agreed that although the atmosphere was fantastic, the food was something to be desired. Our filet was unusually small, as were all the portions. We dine at Capital Grille frequently and were surprised when the Red Snapper arrived. It was an appetizer sized portion with a scant portion of potatoes (one extremely small new potato cut into 4 pieces) and two small sun dried cherry tomatoes ... all this hidden under a, at the at most, 4 ounce portion of Red Snapper.
In summary, the portions were extremely small (we felt the hint of a culinary ego), highly priced, and had a presentation that needs some help. The gigantic square plates with a small morsel in the center spoke volumes.
Mr. Munz excelled in creating a visually fantastic place but his skill in creating a great dining experience is lacking the key ingredient ... good food.
I have no doubt that initially this place will draw a crowd, if for nothing else curiosity over the size and investment in the facility (and the buzz their marketing department seems to be trying to get out). I do hope they get the food worked out as repeat customers, other than the Munz’s friend Ms. Isabelle, will most likely not exist.
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We visited Cullen's for the first time this weekend. We had heard rave reviews about it so decided to check it out ourselves.
We were very impressed with the staff from the hostesses to the wait staff. The food was very tasty and the presentation beautiful and different. The chef definitely has a flair for upscale dining.
I was unable to eat all my dinner, so the waiter boxed it for me to go. When we left, he brought it to our table. When we returned home, I discovered that they had brought me the wrong dinner. I called to report that they had mixed up the take home boxes. Aurora, the events planner, said they would bring me another dinner to my house in a while. What other restaurant would offer such service?
We will definitely return. It is a treat to have a new, upscale restaurant in the Clear Lake area where you can enjoy not only the food, but the view and ambiance with quiet areas in which to visit. Thank you for your excellent service!
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Karen,
What a nice story.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Cleverley
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Grossly overrated. Lousy service; poorly trained staff; SLOW; bland food; unoriginal menu; Clear Lake desperately needs another high end restaurant. Unfortunately, this is not the one. This guy sank a ton of cash to create a below-average grill. Save your time and your money.
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Dear David,
I totally disagree with you on this.
You say a lot of negative things about Cullen's, but give no examples to back it up.
When I visited Cullen's I found the service fine and the staff I encountered was very well trained.
I really like the menus by Chef Paul Lewis. I like the premise that you can spend
as little as $10 (for sandwiches and pizza) or $50 to have a fine meal.
Unoriginal menu? Not in my opinion. Take another look here at the menus.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Cullen's is giving people what they want, the kind of food they want to eat,
that's prepared by a Four Seasons-trained chef. I think that's pretty smart.
Bland food? Not one dish I ate was bland.
And about the "ton of cash" - Yes, I'll bet it did take a ton of money to create Cullen's.
And I commend the owner, Kevin Muntz, for creating this restaurant in Clear Lake.
There's nothing like it there and it took guts to do it.
Kudos to him.
We need more creative minds like this in the world and not so many naysayers.
Lighten up. Why are you so cranky about them anyway?
Thank you for writing.
We appreciate your opinions.
Best,
Cleverley
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I totally agree with you Cleverley, I have been in this wonderful establishment more than once and have tried something new each time. Nothing I ever tried was "bland", but there were dishes I did not care for. But that is the case at almost every restaurant in the world.
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I wouldn't rate this the best restaurant in Houston but it beats anything in the Clear Lake area. Our food was exceptional and not just the same old meat and potatoes. Service was adequate. The building is a must see. I would consider Cullen's an above average dining experience.
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Our family went to Cullen's today for Father's Day. The place was packed! We had reservations and were seated as soon as we got there.
The decor is earthy yet elegant. Very well done. The rotating art on the wall is a nice touch. The dining chairs are very comfortable.
The way Cullen's is arranged and decorated facilitates hearing conversation at the table while speaking at a normal tone of voice.
We were able to see the kitchen from where we were sitting. It is clean and organized.
The menu has plenty to choose from (even Frito pie and chicken fried prime rib!). The food was FA-BU-LOUS!
The prices seemed fair.
The service was good. They were extremely busy but attentive. We were surprised as to how quickly our food arrived at the table! Everyone seemed to enjoy working there and eager to help.
Do we plan to go back? Absolutely! Would I recommend Cullen's to friends? Absolutely! (Already have!)
It is nice having such a great quality restaurant on this side of town!
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Party of 3 ate at Cullen's on Saturday 7-5-08. We were disappointed.
The atmosphere was good but the food lacked. My wife and I ordered the crab cake (as in one) for $18 and I sent mine back because it was not throughly cooked. My wife was too shy to do what I did. I had the corn chowder which was OK but lacked the zest of corn chowder I have had in New Orleans.
My wife and father in law had the lobster bisque and to my uneducated lobster bisque palate it tasted like something I would never order. My father in law had the Rigatoni which was served sparingly and was not up to satisfy his Italian taste buds.
Dinner for 3 with no cocktails and a single glass of wine for my wife with tip $139.00. Very pricey if you ask me. I know they probably have some kinks to work out but they have been open since March. It will be a long time before I go back to try it again.
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I visited your establishment when my cousin arrived from CA. I had a very hard time finding you at first - but, I was quite adamant in finding you. GLAD I DID!!!
My cousin being in town for a week, we were exploring quite a few venues. We had just left Aramand Bayou and NOT dressed to the Nines - but we were greeted lavishly, royally shown to our seats and were regaled with such interesting information by your wait staff.
Although we were 'monitored' for our comfort, when our glasses became less than 'half full' should our personal waiter be busy with other patrons, ANY waiter was 'unsolicited attentive' to our refreshment'!! This is an area I am quite 'CRITICAL' about. If my glass is not replenished or attended to - I critique it extremely! NOT the case here!
Though sweaty, and not the 'NORM' we were treated as if we 'hailed from the Upper Crust!
I find, I have a few suggestions for the Management that I won't share in this venue (punch list items) that have no value for a prospective customer. My cousin and myself 'lazily' enjoyed this restaurant and its atmosphere for at least 3 hours. She is coming back in July, has expressed the desire to 'share her experience with her husband' and I have offered my time to enjoy their soon to be adult children, that they may experience your elegance in the 'romantic nature'.
I am SO VERY impressed that I will be calling to reserve time on the 21st of July - to bring my daughter there for the celebration of her 32nd birthday. I know in my heart it will be quite 'THE MEMORY'!!!!!!!!!!!!
Debbie Hunt
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So I have to admit ... the Billboard on I-45 peaked my interest and I drove by Cullen's one day and thought - that looks like a really exquisite place to dine. I decided to make reservations for my birthday and even my husband was mildly excited after viewing Cullen's website - we were both hoping for a fantastic dinner and we were ABSOLUTELY IMPRESSED!
We arrived 30 minutes prior to our reservation and were offered a seat in the bar where we each had a glass of wine and enjoyed the atmosphere. We were promptly seated for dinner at our reservation time and as I walked into the dining room I felt as if I'd walked back into my favorite restaurant in San Francisco! The dining room is very lavish and the pictures on the walls that continue to "change and rotate" are a nice touch!
Our server was engaging and knowledgeable and our food selections arrived in no time - my husband ordered a classic pasta dish and was impressed and I ordered the Lamb Loin and it was AMAZING! Admittedly I ordered it less the sweetbreads - and fully enjoyed the wonderful combination of corn and sausage that topped the perfectly cooked meat!
We both had our eyes fixed on the Strawberry Delight and decided to share the experience - there was not a crumb left on the plate! The petite Champagne "jello cubes" along with the sorbet and marscapone cheesecake was absolutely TO DIE FOR! The coffee was served in perfect form - a French Press brought to my table with a crystal brown sugar stir stick - what a delight!
We exclaimed we couldn't wait to return so when the bill was $100.00 my husband cheerfully paid and left the server a nice tip! It was a birthday dinner to be REMEMBERED for "foodies" like me.... :) I highly recommend and can't wait to go back!
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