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Chez Beignets

MY REVIEW: First, beignets are good, you can get them in squares or fingers. They come out hot and steaming, I've seen them do it from scratch. Coffee is ok and he has added teas, americanized lattes, etc.

Second, owner is french guy and he is the one driving the mercedes and there are no asians who work in the place. The owner mainly works the register, very strict about bring food in from other places.

Third, the place plays only asian music because the customers gave it to the owner. Clients mainly asians, he had to move his store closer to his clients, he opens late especially on the weekends and there it is always full of people, good luck finding a spot at night. Place is dead during the mornings.

NAME: onlyoanh
SUBMITTED: 12/23/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: My husband and I went here after eating dinner in the same shopping strip. I was quite excited when i saw the name since i am from Louisiana and havent had good beignets lately, the beignets were alright but tasted a little like doughnuts, but worth having again. They also have beignets strips, and boboa tea. It is very interesting for a beignet place to be in china town though. I will return though.

NAME: kdzb285
SUBMITTED: 8/12/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: august/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We arrived on a late Friday night (around 10:45 p.m.) and were surpised with the vibrancy! The joint was jumping! All the outside tables surrounding the restaurant were fully occupied with large parties, and same inside. We had to struggle to find a vacant table (there were only two available tables).

We really liked the coffeehouse ambience and environment. The thing that struck us first, and most obviously, was that my party and I were the only non-Asians in the place. There were many families, and lots of children, but most refreshing were the number of late-middle-age and elderly people, right along with the hipster yuppies. Pretty cool.

On to the "beignets". Granted, I am a native Midwesterner and have only been to New Orleans once. While there, we went to two different French coffeehouses and had the world-famous pastries there. Also, I've also been to C*rescent City Beignets since living in Houston, and they serve true beignets. So with that experience, I felt pretty confident in my expectation of what a beignet should look and taste like.

True beignets are square in shape and have the flavor and consistency of doughnuts. The beignets here are mere random pieces of fried dough. The flavor, look and consistency remind me very much of the "funnel cake" sold at carnivals and fairs. Even though they were fresh, hot and moist, they most definitely were not beignets. They are strips of funnel cake.

The coffee was pretty good. Not too hot but sufficiently warm. Very strong.

A warning: they do not accept debit or credit cards. Cash or checks only. What restaurant accepts checks but not cards? Whatever.

While the funnel cake was good, I expected beignets. For that reason, we won't be back.

NAME: FoodFanne
SUBMITTED: 6/20/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/09
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The owner was so rude, me & my friends swear to god that we won't return there for any reason. He chased us out of his shop as we brought some food from other store with us after a shopping trip, despite of our food was reserved for home & we did not open it, we left it in our bag. I was so pissed off when he stated that we need to pay 3$ for any single food set carried into his shop, and we can leave the shop if you don't pay and he emphasis that he won't loose any customer. The fact was he lost us & will keep loosing all our friend & relative from now on. Terrible customer service culture.

NAME: Hai Nguyen
SUBMITTED: 5/25/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: May/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I am updating my review from awhile back. I have come to agree with one of the earlier reviewers who says that the beignets here are better than those in New Orleans. And I am a native New Orleanian. They are always cooked to order so they come out scaldng and soft; even at the M*orning Call in New Orleans, which is better than the Cafe D*uMonde, getting fresh-cooked beignets is hit or miss. There they are cooked in large batches which sit until used up.

The wife who runs the place part of the time is perfectly nice if you catch here when she's not busy and talk with her. She has related the problems they have had with people buying frozen yogurt, etc. next door and then coming in and tying up her tables when her place is packed, which it often is.

I would not try going there on a weekend night as it is very popular, unless you really like crowds. It usually opens about 10 am and we find 11 a.m. a good time to be able to sit and enjoy or coffee and beignets.

NAME: Bigmike
SUBMITTED: 3/1/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I have gone to Chez Beignet several times. I had been raving about Chez Beignet to my friends and family. After dim sum on Sunday afternoon, I had my friends and family head to Chez Beignet before me. My sister and friends had purchased tapioca drinks from the teahouse across the way. They went into Chez Beignet and bought a basket of beignets and then tried to sit down outside to enjoy the beignets. My family and friends were asked to leave because they had purchased their drinks from another establishment. The lady at Chez Beignet had told them that in order to bring food or drinks from another establishment they would have to pay them in order to eat or drink it there. My family and friends then took their beignets in a box and their drinks back to the tea house and they did not have a problem for them to eat the beignets from Chez Beignet.

I have never heard of such and absurd statement. So I am writing this review to let everyone know I was so embarrassed to have referred this establishment to my friends and family.

NAME: Julie
SUBMITTED: 2/23/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: January/09
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I never really understood the hype surrounding beignets and chickory coffee. While I've been through New Orleans probably six times, spanning the last several years, and have repeatedly done the whole "Cafe Du M*onde thang", I often found the beignets to have the consistancy of rubber and the chickory coffee to be just plain stank. Chez Beignets has opened my eyes to how good this combination can really be.

This place is the real deal and exposes Cafe Du M*onde as nothing more than a tourist trap fraud! Chez Beignets body-slams any beignets/chickory coffee I've had from three different establishments in the "Big Eazy". I got a chuckle from the other reviews mentioning the lady's cold demeanor. This was dead-on. She sort of got an attitude when I didn't see the swizzle sticks and reached for a spoon. I say, "So what!". Perfectionists often show impatience with others. Like the grumpy French grandmother I never had. :) She did end by wishing me a very nice day, so it's nothing personal.

I love the fact that they cut and fry the beignets only after you have ordered them. They come out slightly crispy on the outside and perfectly soft in the center, with just the slightest hint of almond. Ah man!! I'm going back tomorrow. The chickory coffee was spot-on as well. Strong enough, but not overly bitter. This place rocks!

NAME: BPC
SUBMITTED: 1/3/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Mom and Pop cafe run with European customer service (the customer is not always right - sorry but its true). I have been coming here since it opened and the quality of the beignets is consistently good and I like the recipe more than "cafe du m*onde" or "c*recent city beignets" (nutmeg maybe?). The chickory coffee is always good and warm too. My wife gives 5 of 5 stars for the hot chocolate. The crowd is more Louisiana expat during the AM hours, and vietnamese during the PM hours. Sorry to see them move westward instead of staying in a more central location within Houston.

NAME: beignet afficianado
SUBMITTED: 9/8/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: June 2008
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: These are the best beignets in town. My husband and I found them back in 2001 when we first moved to Houston and sicne then we have brought all our friends and family there. Everyone has loved them. My family is from mexico and everytime they come visit, one of their first requests is to go eat at chez beignets. The owners are nice once you get to know them; yes; they are a little cold but if try to make converstaion they will warm up to you. For some reason the finger beignets taste different from the regular beignets which are just THE BEST. We will be visiting their new location this evening. Way better than New Orleans' cafe D*umond for sure!

NAME: carmen
SUBMITTED: 8/9/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/16/08
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I've only met the wife, but she is very nice if you take the time to converse. I believe the perceptions of rudeness are cultural. Europeans are a little more standoffish than Americans, but, at the same time, they don't like wham-bam-thank-you-mam style business.

BTW, the beignets are some of the best outside N.O. A little fluffier than what you get in New Orleans, and they have a touch of nutmeg, but they are always cooked to order and very hot when you get them.

The chicory coffee is also good.

NAME: Bigmike
SUBMITTED: 12/28/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/28/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: My family and I visited for the first and only time on a Sunday afternoon. There was only one woman working with maybe three or four tables occupied. From other reviews I gather the woman is one of the owners. She was very busy taking orders, answering the phone, making beignets and serving tables, but she still managed to find the time to remind every single person in my party that we were only allowed one refill on hot beverages (we weren't trying to get more) and to chase after our car in the parking lot as we were driving away to accuse us of taking a booster seat that we didn't even use. I couldn't believe how unbelievably rude she was. We won't be back.

NAME: Unhappy Beignet Lover
SUBMITTED: 12/4/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: December 2006
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I happen to love Teda and Joachim (the owners), who by the looks of a lot of the comments, have been misunderstood. Seriously, they might come off as "rude" or "unfriendly," but flash a smile at them, ask them how their day is and start up a conversation if you have a minute. You will find their quirky idiosyncrasies quite lovable and their conversations interesting. As a matter of fact, I became so close with them that when I moved away from Houston after I got married, we still kept in touch. Teda even sent me a post card from Germany! By the way, the beinets are DELICIOUS!! Have it with a granita and a paper to read and it makes for a very nice break from the business of our days.

NAME: Gigi Shadid
SUBMITTED: 5/31/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: January 2006
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: The owners are so rude. We walked in and they did not say one word to us or even look at us. When we ordered they never smiled and I felt as if I were bothering them by ordering. Then, a woman with her young son walked in to order her son a beignet and the male owner walked up to her and told her she had to leave the restaurant and could not order because she had a S*tarbucks cup in her hand. She walked out and a few minutes later her husband entered the shop w/their son. The owner would not even allow the husband to order even though he didn't have a S*tarbucks cup. Their son looked so upset that he wasn't going to have a beignet. It was horrible! While the beignets were good, the experience definitely left a sour taste in my mouth and I won't be planning to ever go there again.

NAME: Monica
SUBMITTED: 3/26/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: March 2006
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: best beignets I've had in Houston..I've only tried the cafe phap, but it excellent and goes very well with the beignets..the owners are a bit cranky at times, but it doesn't bother me..

NAME: jodi
SUBMITTED: 3/5/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: this place is pretty good. i take my parents there on average twice a week. they love the coffe and the finger beignets there. the owner was rude the first couple of times but after visiting a couple of times he became friendly. thats why i always give him like 2 dollars tip.

a tip to get him to be nice is be quick and know what you want so he wont have to wait and most important of all, be polite! he'll be nice in return.

NAME: jenn
SUBMITTED: 7/19/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: july 2005
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

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