Click here and tell b4-u-eat what you need!

Cafe Natalie

MY REVIEW: I previously wrote a negative review for this caterer. My rating was based on my experience at my wedding. Since then, the owner had given me a partial refund and a discount off of another catering, which I availed of. The owner made right for the mistake made by his staff-- which is excellent business practice and a good sign of his personal integrity.

NAME: Diana A
SUBMITTED: 6/21/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/5/11
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Cafe Natalie is purely a catering business now, advertising itself as a wedding reception catering business. I had them cater my wedding, and the food was so-so, the salad was cafeteria level, the beef dry and overcooked. (The food tasting weeks earlier was so much better.) But worse, they forgot the coffee and tea service, and refused to serve one of my cakes. My printed menu specifically stated what was to be served (two cakes, coffee/tea-- among others). Their waitstaff unilaterally decided they were going to serve only one of the cakes (?!?-- why?) without consulting me (the bride) or the wedding coordinator-- who specifically asked them to serve it. They outright lied and said the bride had instructed them NOT to serve the second cake. Gusts were asking for cake, they were asking for coffee. WTH?! Why on earth would they do that? The owner, Chris, apologized for the mix-up only after I emailed him-- and he replied only after much delay. Either he did not give a hoot about it, or did not know what is going on in his business. He offered to give a free dinner for me and my husband ONE YEAR LATER at our anniversary. When I emailed him that this was an incredibly inadequate (not to mention cheap!!) recompense, and that he did not even offer to partially refund my payments, he finally said he will send me like $2 per guest refund (less than two hundred dollars total). Well, it's been nearly two months and I am still waiting. What a loser. Mediocre food, atrocious service. Everyone has a bad night every now and then, but his total disregard for his client after they messed up is Bad form, Bad Business.

NAME: Diana A
SUBMITTED: 3/30/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I called for a dinner reservation and found out that it no longer serves diners and is exclusively a catering business now. So sad, but they should update their website to reflect that.

NAME: QTM
SUBMITTED: 11/12/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I had Sunday brunch at Cafe Natalie before and I liked it a lot. We all went there again last Friday for dinner. We had pasta and steak and they were both really good. The service is superb too. Our waiter is very friendly.I I like how the whole place look, not too trendy, family oriented and very relaxed. I was glad that we did not go to a chain restaurant as we originally planned. The place is worth to give it a try.

NAME: H.D.
SUBMITTED: 5/10/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 05/10
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I live in Louisiana and my daughter and her husband took me here to eat. The food here is great. The waitress recommended the penne pasta with chicken and it was delicious. Our server was very friendly -She is the only waitress there and her customer service was excellent! my daughter loved the creme brulee, one of the best in houston she says.

Whenever I visit Houston, I will definitely come back to try the other food in their menu and to visit the wonderful server who made us laugh the entire night! Great service and excellent food just the way we like it.

NAME: Emily J.
SUBMITTED: 5/8/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: April/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I go here every friday or saturday night with my husband. there is only one waitress there so the service is pretty slow when there's about 5 other tables she has to take care of all at the same time. but nonetheless very friendly.. she can hold a conversation. we always come back because the food is superb. large portion to satisfy our hunger. the only thing i don't like is the lamb shank sauce which is too salty. we returned last friday, the restaurant happened to be dead, but we received excellent and fast food and service. great food and service, you must check it out for yourself before you read the rest of the reviews on this website.

NAME: Christina Kemp
SUBMITTED: 4/16/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: APRIL/2009
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: I used to frequent this restaurant for several years but it is not the same restaurant it used to be. I went on a Friday night and the restaurant was almost empty. There was no one to seat my party so we had to find a table and seat ourselves. There was only one waitress waiting on everyone and she had made a few mistakes with our meal. She brought the wrong wine, a salad ordered was not brought to us which our waitress acted like it was never ordered because she didn't write anything done, and had to wait a long time to get bread refills. The greek salad is still very good there, but the cream of mushroom soup was just okay and it was always my favorite. The service was very slow and our waitress just didn't seem to care. You never see the owner anymore who used to always go to each table and chat with you. It is just very sad because this used to be a very good restaurant.

NAME: Clair
SUBMITTED: 3/11/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: March/2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: The first time I ate here was about a year ago. It was good the first time, but has gone downhill seriously since then. The service was OK, but the food quality was poor. The crab bisque was seriously over-salted. The wedge salad was the worst I have ever had anywhere - poor quality lettuce with a bottled blue cheese dressing and a pale, limp slice of tomato. The redfish dish was mediocre with a fairly good sauce, but I am sure the crabmeat in the sauce was canned. Terribly dissapointing. I will not go back.

NAME: Jeanne from Houston
SUBMITTED: 2/8/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: Februaru, 2009
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: My husband and I started eating at Cafe Natalie around June and ever since we have been back 3 more times because the food was EXCELLENT. sure, it looks a little sloppy on the outside but if you like the old school and little tiny restaurant atmosphere then this place is for you. i think it's very romantic. the servers are wonderful. we never fail to tip them less than 20%. they have a huge selection of wines. my husband and I usually get steaks, i prefer Filet Natalie and Steak Diane. We also love their salmons, they are EXCELLENT. Overall, the service was great and judging the outside we thought we were going to have a horrible experience but in all honesty the food was delicious and worth every penny (and they are affordable prices too!) and the server we've had was amazing, she seems a little nervous at first but she made us feel comfortable at the place. great food, excellent wine list, and great service! would definitely recommend. do NOT judge this place based on the outside until you actually experience the wonderful service and food they offer.

NAME: Kelly S.
SUBMITTED: 7/14/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: July/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Wow--has this place gone downhill in the last year. Before, it was a family favorite--a balance of breakfast and lunch selections at a reasonable price. The chocolate fountain to dip fruit, etc. was always fun for the kids. However, my last trip there had no fountain, lukewarm foods and an omelet chef that appeared too pre-occupied in conversation to pay attention to the customers that were eying him from the omelet station. The dining room seemed emptier than usual--maybe others have noticed the decline as well.

NAME: Them's that eat out
SUBMITTED: 6/15/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/08
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: We went to Cafe Natalie's on Valentines Day for a romantic dinner. Never having been there before, we did some research on this website and also on the restaurant's website. According to the pictures on the website, it looked like a beautiful interior with lofty ceilings and large windows. When we arrived at the restaurant the outside was less than impressive with a large fiberoptic "sparkler" in front of it. Inside I didn't see any signs of large windows or lofty ceilings, just ratty carpet, cheap wood panneling, and ceiling fans with broken light fixtures. We waited almost an hour for our table which is not an unusual occurrence at any restaurant on V-day even with reservations, however, they had nobody in the bar even though there were numerous people who were asking to buy drinks, and there was limited seating. We were seated finally at a tiny table in a very crowded room, if I put my elbow out I would have hit the person at the next table. Since we were right on top of each other you could hear everyone's conversations and couldn't hold a private one. After waiting 20 minutes without seeing a waiter, one of the tables next to us complained loudly and a waiter came out to assist them. He apologized and told them that half of their staff hadn't shown up that night and they had made the bus boys waiters for the evening and he had been busy helping one of them out. At that point, my date and I decided that we may have better luck at another restaurant and left. I wouldn't be averse to trying this restaurant again at another time. The food looked and smelled wonderful, but if you're going for a romantic dinner with good ambience, go to another restaurant. The pictures on the website are definitely false advertising.

NAME: Lindsey
SUBMITTED: 2/15/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 2-08
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I have eaten there twice, once for dinner and once at the Sunday brunch. The Sunday brunch was excellent with a wide variety of both breakfast and lunch items available, as well as a fruit and dessert bar. The dinner was good, but the portion size could be increased a bit. The appetizer choices as well as the variety offered for the entrees is remarkable. The service lagged a bit from one waiter, but another graciously made up for this with free salads for the table of four. The prices are reasonable and the staff is friendly. The brunch is worth every penny of the $10.00 and I understand that an omlette station and a carved roast beef station are in the making. I will be back.

NAME: Fabe
SUBMITTED: 11/4/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Nov. 4th, 2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: went here for my birthday and the food was very good, everyone enjoyed what they had, they take the entertainment card. the only downside was time, seemed like it took awhile, if you want a liesurely meal and you have good company to visit with, this is the place!!!!

NAME: tim cormier
SUBMITTED: 11/3/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/07
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Great food.....reasonably priced.....AND excellent service.

I don't like to be hovered over..... or forgotten. Our server got it just right.

NAME: Becky
SUBMITTED: 12/3/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/06
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: Service was great. Food was pretty good. I think for the price you should have a little more on your plate.

NAME: Babs
SUBMITTED: 10/15/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/06
FREQUENCY: Visited once

If you don't agree with these comments, agree with them or have additional comments,
click here to Add Your Review.