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Damian's Cucina Italiana

MY REVIEW: It's been a long time since our last visit, but Damian's still serves excellent dishes and treats the clients like royalty. They handled a large party very well, several waiters sharing the responsibilities. We had a great time.

NAME: Bob Weber
SUBMITTED: 1/29/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: January/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Nice valet right in front on Smith St. Good bar to the right of the entrance. NOT NOISY or yuppied out. I liked the "old school" Tuscan style dining area. I went on a HRW night, so it was crowded but NOT NOISY like soooo many restaurants nowadays. I HATE that! I go out to visit with my friends in a civilized atmosphere, not a zoo.

The waiter was very professional. We ordered off the HRW options, of which they had a nice variety. Drinks were good - my daughter got a great tasting Tuscan Cosmo - cute,and surprisingly good. Wine is leaned to Italian - duh - but were not overpriced.

I really enjoyed the food and the fact that the waiter made sure I had ordered no food with hidden wheat/gluten.

With two glasses of a good red, the HRW menu and tip came to about $60.00 each with tip. I had a really good time and was able to enjoy fellowship with friends I dont get to see often anymore and have a great meal out on the town.

NAME: DeeG_TX
SUBMITTED: 8/15/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/08/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I have never had a bad meal here and I am very surprised with some of the negative reviews I see listed. I like every thing about this place including the very attentive wait staff excellent food. The atmosphere is great, I always expect to see Don Corleone sitting back in a dark corner. And maybe most importantly, when leaving after a dinner there, the Staff acts as if they truly appreciate my business and hope that I come back, which I do.

NAME: houston traveler
SUBMITTED: 2/17/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 1/2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: My colleagues and I tried the restaurant and it seemed crowded. The appetizers were good, little bruschettas and chicken pate. The salad with goat cheese was refreshing. My veal was good and my friend's snapper was also good. We were too full for the entrees so after a small bite each, we asked the waiter for boxes to go. Well, the entrees didn't come back because the waiter threw our food out. I talked to the manager about this and they replaced our dinners. Unfortunately, the valet lost our ticket (as I saw all my colleagues leave even though I dropped my ticket off first). So, I had to find my keys so they could bring the car.

NAME: drfoodie
SUBMITTED: 11/20/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/20/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We went as a party of 7. 3 of us had the special of the day, the seafood pasta, and all of us had a horrible meal. The pasta was undercooked and the lobster tail was very rubbery with a membrane that ran through it that was inedible. The others had very good meal and the service and everything else was fabulous but the seafood pasta should be taken off the menu if that is how they prepare it.

NAME: Gbateman
SUBMITTED: 8/27/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My husband and I have enjoyed the wonderful ambiance and food at Damian's since discovering it over 2 years ago with friends. We travel in from the suburbs of Katy often to enjoy all the fine Dining this Italian Rest. has to offer.An all Italian wine list to satisfy all.Wonderful homebaked breads, excellent appetizers(fried calamari w/marinara our favorite as well as their bruschetta). Salads are fresh and tasty, esp. Insalada Mista (classic Italian) and the Mona Lisa as well as the wonderful tableside prepared Cesear Salad. We have our favorite entree's that are consistently great...excellent fish dishes (Halibut&Flounder daily specials)Perfect Filet, Pollo Menichino(Balsamic Glazed chicken w/sundried tomatoes & goat cheese) & EggplantParmasean. They will kindly substitute pasta with their homemade Marinara instead of fettuccine if you desire. Please save room for great Cappucino and dessert... to die for Italian Cream Cake and for Chocolate Lover's do not pass up the Infusione de Cioccolato. Undescribably decadent!! For the most personal, friendly & professional service anywhere ask for Reuben's table. He will guarantee you a Dining experience that you will not forget and you will continue to come back for more as we do. Well worth the money and drive time to get to Downtown. Valet parking is convenient as well as shuttle service to the Theatre District. This is our favorite in all of Houston for any occassion, esp. special ones. "Thank You" Damien's and Rueben for all you do to make all of our Dining experiences so enjoyable.

NAME: Mrs. P
SUBMITTED: 4/3/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/2008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: We enjoyed attentive and efficient service with excellent food. The serving size was more than adequate. Don't miss the Verde Gorgonzola salad. It is tossed with a zingy dressing and mix of bitter greens that accompany the creamy rich cheese very nicely. Desserts (gelato and sorbet) were the low points of the meal, but only relative to the excellent taste and presentation of our entrees: osso bucco and veal marsala.

NAME: samadhi
SUBMITTED: 9/21/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 09/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My husband and I celebrated out 13th year anniversary at Damians... I have nothing negative to say. It is not very loud, we were well taken care of by the wait staff, and the food was amazing. We both had the Filet cooked to our liking. Everything was wonderful and we will go back!!!

NAME: REM
SUBMITTED: 9/6/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 09/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Wonderful! It was my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and we invited family and a few close friends to the "Chef's Table". Because we were a group of 11, we were not actually in the kitchen. We were,however, placed in our own little area. The waiter proceeded to bring us course after course.....we never knew what would come next. Many of us have been to fine restaurants. We were all impressed with the selections and the concept. It made for a memorable evening. Our waiter was always there, but it was as if you never noticed him. Superb service, great, interesting selections. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

NAME: Jennifer
SUBMITTED: 5/29/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: May/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: My wife and I had a wonderful dining expereince. From the service to the food to the ambiance, we enjoyed it all. Our watier was excellent, not pushy at all, but always there when we needed something. The pork chops we some of the best we have ever tasted along with the veal marsala. BOth were wonderful dishes and large portions. Though an upscale place, nieither of the dishes was over $21 and they were amazing and worth it. I would recommend.

NAME: SC
SUBMITTED: 4/30/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: For my wife's birthday, I reserved the chef's table at Damians. We had seen the unimpressive exterior many times as we brunched at Brennens. A review in here at b-u made it sound worth the chance. Eating out is our vice and only real hobby, I mention this only to let people know that we are aware of what makes a fine restaurant. From T*ony's to M*axim, Cafe A*nnie, La R*eserve, and such.

I cannot remember our having a better dining experience in Houston. Ruben, our waiter was fantastic. His enthusiasm for the restaurant and his job was refreshing.

The breads were freshly baked on site and when my wife commented to Ruben that she loved the special basil pesto on the ravioli appetizer, he rushed off to get us a second appetizer having the pesto as an ingredient.

Soup, great. Salad with grilled shrimp great, appetizers were great, but then came the entrée, a beautifully done fillet and a fantastic sea bass, both were of entrée proportion ny themselves. We were encouraged to move about the kitchen to watch every stage and station. We met many of the staff and one thing that we could not help noticing was the cheerful attitude in the kitchen. At times, they were very busy but they always worked efficiently and cheerfully.

Bravo Damian’s, bravo.

NAME: Stan & Beth
SUBMITTED: 4/7/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: April 2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Went to Damian's with another couple this Saturday for our once a month pick a restaurant we haven't tried dinner. Picked Damian's since the reviews were so good and it was our Christmas gettogether. What a disappointment! Even with a reservation, we were stuck in the side room between two large (20+) tables at a table right on top of a door (which made for very cold dining - at one point I had to put back on my coat and I did have a sweater on). Waited an hour for our entrees and when they arrived they sat on the serving table with covers for 5 minutes. Needless to say our dinners were lukewarm and fettucine alfredo side was pasty. My husband's "straw and hay" had unidentified dried pieces of some vegetable in it (joked that this was probably the "hay") Oh and only when you get there do you find out that they "don't do separate checks". We've been doing the once a month dinner for 5 and a half years and have rarely ran into that, unless it was a newer restaurant. Will probably be our first and last visit....

NAME: Clair
SUBMITTED: 12/11/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/9/06
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We selected the chef's table at Damian's to celebrate our anniversary this year. The chef's table is in a small, private room in the kitchen. The door is glass so you can close it to block the noise and still see everything. The view is actually straight down the line so you see all the action. Our server, Ruben, took amazing care of us. He really took time to get to know us and visited us just often enough, but not too often. Perfect.

After selecting a wine, we had our first visit from Chef Napoleon. He had this quiet confidence about him that made us really look forward to what was to come. After sampling an assortment of fresh breads from their bakery upstairs, we tasted our first course...a delicious lobster soup in a bread bowl. Next came a salad of fresh grilled begetables in field greens followed by a sorbet. The first main course had cherry tomatoes and potato gnocchi in a spicy marinara. At this point, Ruben showed up with aprons and hats and we joined the line to make our own dishes. I cooked up some of Damian's signature shrimp and my wife put together a shrimp fettuccine in spicy marinara. Their spicy marinara was excellent! Then it was time for main course number two...lobster and filet mignon stuffed with gorgonzola and covered in a port wine reduction. There was also an eggplant puree served in a large tomato. It was all so perfect.

Chef Napoleon visited and told us some of his experiences while cooking in Italy. We were then taken into the dessert area where we just pointed at whatever we wanted. Simply amazing. I had a tiramisu and my wife had a lemon tart. We were also given some fudge cake with chocolate sauce, some Italian cream cake, and a tray of fresh cookies to go. They also gave us a chicken fettuccine alfredo for the babysitter. We left with two bags of food! Absolutely amazing. Most highly recommended.

NAME: Boyd
SUBMITTED: 11/20/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/06
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: One of my absolutely favorite restaurants. I used to live in Houston and would go there whenever I got the opportunity. I always ordered the same dish - Shrimp Damian. In fact, I would even get it to go after work when I had to work late some nights. I also loved one of their salads, insalada mista. Service is also excellant! Anyway, I would recommend the resturant to anyone.

NAME: Lisa Moran
SUBMITTED: 1/14/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 2004
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I've always had a wonderful time here with my parents. We believe that the food here is reasonably priced.. especially for tuscan italian food.. and there really are a lot of choices in the Houston area. The ambiance is intimate, and not noisy like some places. I had the Snapper Nino Jr this time, but on a previous visit.. the fish was even better. Not to say that this time, it was horrible.. but that there could have been some more pizazz to it. Other than that.. my younger sister seems to love the Fettichini Alfredo..

NAME: bluefish
SUBMITTED: 5/12/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: May/ 2005
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

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