Julia's Bistro A refreshing introduction to Houston's gastronomy, Latino cuisine prepared with rich tangy spices and fresh ingredients Hours: See Profile   3722 Main St MetroRail Line: Ensemble Station Houston TX 77002 713.807.0090 Profile Description: Julia's is a vibrant urban bistro located in midtown Houston, The decor is done in clean, color fields of ruby, pink, magenta and orange, the floor is a deep, flashy red. The menu is a Beautiful fusion of Latin-American cuisine. Dining at Julia's is a true epicurean experience.   Add Review PROFILE   Website  Menu MY REVIEW: The food was excellent! The lamb special was seasoned & cooked to perfection, served with lump crab meat...really good. The waitstaff and the Maitred were very good, engaging, kind, and professional. I really liked the ambience, decor--fresh. Booking a reservation online was cool. We will definitely return. NAME: Nice mom SUBMITTED: 7/19/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: July/2008 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: We were looking for a South American restaurant we had never been to and came across Julia's Bistro. We had dinner there to celebrate my brother's birthday. It's a small restaurant. There were already a good number of diners there when we arrived for our 6:30 reservation. As the previous poster had mentioned, prices really weren't bad. We ordered 2 appetizers: Pinchos de Puerco and Shrimp Quesadilla. Both very good! Their soups were quite large too. Other entrees ordered were: 2 Pan Seared Scallops, Camarones Criollos, Pollo Poblano, and Grilled Pork Tenderloin. Most of us ordered the Chipotle Mashed Potatoes...very good! We were all satisfied with our entrees. The desserts: definitely try the bread pudding. Our order for 4 appetizers, 1 Mojito (very good by the way, 4 entrees, and 2 desserts was about $150. Overall we had a wonderful dining experience at Julia's. The even comped my brother's dessert as it was his birthday. NAME: JO SUBMITTED: 4/14/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: April/2008 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Excellent Food I ate here with my boyfriend, and the first thing I found that differs to the consensus here is that I didn't find the food too expensive and they have superb wine list. We ate the soft shell crab special and it was great, we followed with a chocolate desert, and salmon croquettes to start. We thought everything was excellent, well balanced flavors, and perfectly cooked. It was also very timely in arrival, and paid tribute to the local flavors/dishes. The service was pleasant, friendly, the waiter gave us a little introduction to the food when he brought it. Just little things like having to wait too long for the first drinks order, the best caipirinha and mojito I ever had thou. Atmosphere was very nice, and the colors on the walls are very interesting contrasting with the silver chairs and white tablecloths. And I loved the beautiful flowers!! Is a lovely and romantic restaurant, with great food. NAME: Carla w SUBMITTED: 2/18/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/16/2008 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Maybe management is reading the reviews, as several improvements from last visit....flowers on the table...makes a difference....new Host / Manager has experience and some new ideas, hopefully that will get them out of a rut that has been chronicled here. And the food was good...the night's special was excellent, scallops topped with crab and a bit of a zing...the weekend specials are normally a good bet, as is the soup which was asparagus and excellent. The ceviche is ok, but it is now more of a shrimp cocktail with lime juice, might as well make a shrimp cocktail with a good tarter sauce. Service was good and the place was busy. One small item....if "Jr" the bartender / manager is going to come to customer tables, he really needs to dress nicer. NAME: Bernadette SUBMITTED: 9/4/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/31/07 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: I had never been to Julia's in the whole time it has been open, and it had been on my list of places to try. I decided to go with a group of friends, none of which had been before. We all are young professionals and dine extensively at places like Julia's. The general consensus at the table was that it was merely "normal". This is not a complement. For the price paid per person, the meal should have been considerably better. As mentioned in other reviews, the bus boy was attentive and water never ran dry, and the waitress was friendly. Beyond that...nothing stood out. Different appetizers and soups came to the table for different people at different times. The pork was too salty, the scallops were undercooked, and the salmon croquettes were overall flavorless. Additionally, the design of the space had a cute appearance, but one with a “fast food” feel to it. It was not warm and inviting and did not make you want to stay and enjoy your experience. Too bad, too sad….this would have been a great little neighborhood location to frequent. Step up the flavor....step up the service....step up the atmosphere.... NAME: rob SUBMITTED: 8/25/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Once is enough. Unfortunately for me and my companions we did not hit Julia's on a good night. Yes I agree the bus person was very attentive although I do not think receiving chipped china and when pointing it out to the waitress and nothing done about it is an example of fine dining. We are all foodies and appreciate exquisitely done food. In fact we went because the couple we went with had a great first experience. We also noticed the back of the house coming out to speak to another table of four to apologize for their meal, don't know if they finished it or just walked out. I am normally hesitant to write reviews because this is just my experience but in this instance I think people should know that the experience can be very inconsistent and since one is spending about $100.00 per couple you should keep this in mind. Sure wish we had one of those superb nights. Yes when food is exotic and I do not like it would not be fair hold it against the restaurant but the majority of our food was lukewarm and had very little flavor in the protein although the sauces were generally good. In fact I was disappointed because I did not taste the richness of flavors I would expect from the advertised regional cooking. Perhaps the owner could spend some more time there. Perhaps I should have trusted my instincts when I read such a very variety of experiences. I hope that these reviews help future dinners to get the high quality food that some have experienced. But for us with the quality of restaurants in the city we don't need to give the place a second try. NAME: Daring Diner SUBMITTED: 8/3/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: July 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I don't know when the other reviewers went, but I have never had any bad experience at Julia's. The food is great, very flavorful and very nicely presented. Maybe some of the people who were not satisfied ordered an "exotic" vegetable and it was not what they expected. They do serve Jimaca, which depending on how it's cooked can look like potatoes, but have neither the consistency nor the taste of potatoes. They also serve Nopalitos and other central and south american vegetables which may not appeal to the average american eater. As far as service goes, I think it's great. The waiters are professional and polite. And unlike one of the previous reviewers, I'd rather have to get my waiter's attention rather than have them barge into you conversation every 2 minutes or ask me if I'm still "working on that". This is especially annoying when you are on a date (or when your fiance proposes to you...) Overall, a great restaurant, especially for an intimate dinner. NAME: Houstonian SUBMITTED: 8/2/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: april 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: I sympathize with the last reviewer (who I do not know, but he seems on target on other reviews)....if you catch Julia's on a bad day it is not too good and I have been going there regularly since they opened....some recent experiences include...filet tacos, same experience as below, not filet and not good....last time I had ceviche, it was not fresh....the time before it was fresh and excellent...last time I had ceasar salad, had to search for the dressing.....and those maduros (hockey pucks) are terrible, always get something else. The service is also inconsistent, they do not have a consistent business for planning purposes and can be under or over staffed. And the owner is no longer on the premises at busy times, or really hardly any time. I have had some really good dishes and great service over the past three years, but the inconsistency makes it a hard place to recommend. NAME: faceofdowntown SUBMITTED: 7/31/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/07 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: Where are the good reviews for Julia’s coming from? Come on, is the water boy writing these reviews? Maybe it was our waitress? This had to be one of the worst dinners we have had in a long time! And someone please tell me what were those hockey puck like things on our plates? Potatoes? They were awful! Really, I am not kidding. There were these round hockey puck shaped things on our plate that were suppose to be potatoes. You could not even cut into them with the side of a fork! And the spinach that everyone said was a good side dish? Ours looked and tasted as it was beat up, boiled, and thrown in a heap on the plate. There were no capers, onions, garlic, or anything else with it and it just did not taste good. Here is a positive; we never had to wait for water refills. The water boy was so good, he was the one that brought our dinners, but of course we had to tell him who ordered what... Where did the waitress go? She must have been in the back writing positive reviews! And the nice square ceramic dishes were cute, but the ones that are chipped on the corners should not have been taken out of service! The Picolito (a type of Molito) we ordered was a good drink. The Shrimp Quesadilla appetizer was okay because it came with this small dish of sauce that was really good when you put it on top of the Quesadilla, but I could not find any shrimp in the Quesadillas. I found corn in the Quesadillas. We had the same problem with my broiled flounder stuffed with crawfish mentioned on the menu. Whatever was stuff in the flounder was, it was pureed and unidentifiable. And when I see broiled flounder on the menu, I usually expect a top and bottom of a de-boned whole flounder, but this was a tiny piece rolled over to hold the pureed sauce. An order of duck was almost raw and had to be sent back, and the Tuna was so-so. Everyone at the table agreed, this meal was one of the worse! All of our entrees lacked on taste and were not appealing, the servings were very small, the entrees were over priced, and in my opinion, in reality, the food was not as described on the menu. One other positive, If you like Metro’s Train, you can watch it go by and by and also watch street people walk by the windows looking in. Parking is very limited and in the rear with a valet. NAME: REVIEWER "X" a.k.a. Markh SUBMITTED: 7/29/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: July 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Management must have addressed some of the problems mentioned by previous reviewers. Our group of 4 was attentively served, never waited for water refills, and we were frequently asked "is everything ok?". The food was excellent as well, and beautifully presented. NAME: RonnyG SUBMITTED: 5/13/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 5-12-07 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: I visited this resturant with a girlfriend of mine on a Saturday afternoon. The restaurant's staff were very slow and did not come to our table but one time. I had to raise my hand several times in order to get attention. The food was good but not excellent. I have had better at other restaurants in Midtown. The prices were high for the quality of food they serve. I would not recommend anyone to visit this place. NAME: b4 you eat SUBMITTED: 1/13/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 1-12-07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Cute restaurant, but the service was incredibly slow. Food is decent, but seemed overpriced. Overall, not that memorable and we will probably not be returning. For this amount of money, I'd rather eat at M*ark's. NAME: DS SUBMITTED: 12/24/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Exquisite food and worth the price. We had four different entrees at our table and each had its own unique flavor. The white chocolate torta for dessert is wonderful, it tastes like freshly baked coconut macaroons. I very rarely eat cakes out and I can assure you that this one is a winner. Highly recommended. NAME: Jay Francis SUBMITTED: 10/28/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/06 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: great special ....scallops & crab over risotto...strong drinks...good wine list...great service....excellent soup and ceviche....you must try the pumpkin flan...we love this place NAME: Bernadette SUBMITTED: 10/7/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/06 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: Having heard and read much hoopla about Julia's, I popped over for lunch when I found out T*afia's was closed:( The Pork skewered with pineapple appetizer was divine. The cuts of pork were succulent and the blackberry sauce was the perfect compliment. However, the beef tenderloin sandwich I ordered was definitely NOT tenderloin. Being a chef myself, I was, needless to say, shocked that someone with such a reputation as Julia's would try to pass off this obnoxious cut as tenderloin! I told our food server that I was not impressed with the sandwich. Would he please mention to the chef that what was being served was not what was on the menu, just in case? He was noticeably taken a bit off guard (or perhaps ill-trained to deal with complaints), because he offered no response nor offer to remedy the situation, merely accepting my comment with a nod. He later returned, after obviously speaking with a manager, to offer a complimentary dessert, menu in hand. Moments later a Coconut cake arrived from Mr. Mananger himself with apologies (accepted). Coming back to clear our plates, our server attempted to smooth things over still (poor guy- I know it's a tough business) and make small talk about the dessert - which was not my personal favorite, but it wasn't awful either. But I just wanted him to know that "genoise" and "ganache" are not the same thing. I didn't have the heart to tell him, but may I suggest a good food dictionary ("The Food Lover's Companion")? Really, Houston is full of sophisticated diners and I, not being much of a food snob at all-just after some good grub that is was it says it is and a side note to someone who goes out of their way to "talk the talk" KNOW what they are talking about. Or does it pertain here "Fake it until you make it?" NAME: not a food snob SUBMITTED: 10/4/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 100406 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: This was my 2nd visit, the first being when they opened. I took a friend for lunch to celebrate her birthday. The entrees were excellent. The portions were perfect and everything was well prepared. We also ordered desert, trying the chocolate creme brule and the pumpkin flan. The pumpkin flan was more like pumpkin mousse, but it was still very good. My only criticism is that the service was a bit slow. The waiter disappeared for some time before coming to take our order for the entree, dessert, and to take my credit card. However, the food arrived speedily. The entire lunch took two hours, most of the lag time being our waiter. However, he was friendly so all in all, it was a good experience. We will definitely be making the trek from downtown again. NAME: jordan SUBMITTED: 9/27/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 09/27/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: I was taken to Julia's Bistro for my 26th birthday. It was the most superb meal I have ever had. Ever since I have moved to the midtown area two years ago I have told my partner that I wanted to eat there. I mentioned it every time I went by the restuarant. When I finally went, it was better than I had ever expected. The service was more than excellent. The food even better. The meal started with a delicious pork/pineapple appetizer. I had the most phenomenonal Beef Tenderloin and the coconut desert. I will definetely be back again! Hopefully soon! Thanks for the most enjoyable birthday meal ever! NAME: Hutch SUBMITTED: 8/26/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: August 25, 2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: went for the first time on 7/27 and it was spectacular...i had the beef tenderloin sandwich and my friend had the special(red snapper with crab-best ever).i really enjoyed my sandwich so i returned the following day for the same thing. To my surprise it was not as good as the day before. Overall, it was not bad but inconsistent...my first visit was WONDERFUL! Nice place for lunch. I will try dinner one day to see if it's any different. NAME: love to eat SUBMITTED: 8/21/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/28/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: A girlfriend took me out for my birthday today. Although I have been to Julia's several times, it had been a little while and every time I have gone I make the statement that I need to come back here for dinner with my husband. The food for lunch was fabulous. I had the salmon dish and it was delicious. You get two sides with the entrees and I selected the mashed potatos (based on website reveiws) and the green beans. It was all wonderful. My only comment would be that the mashed potatos were not hot enough, but the salmon was very hot and the beans were good in temperature. Then, of course, celebrating my birthday we had to have dessert which we split. We had the pumpkin flan and it was fabulous. I think they roast a large marshmellow on top. Our plates on everything were licked clean! We did not know it going in, but if it is your birthday, your dessert is complimentary. I thought that was a very nice touch compared to other restaurants that give you a slice of "ho-hum" cake. Another nice touch is they give you a black napkin if you are wearing dark colors (vs. white). I hope more people will try Julia's as they don't seem to have a large crowd for lunch. They do need to get their parking situation together and/or marked well. I tried to valet park, and no on showed up, so I parked across the street (which you can still do even though it appears to be gated in). They need to provide signage so customers will know where they can legally park. NAME: Lynn the birthday girl SUBMITTED: 6/28/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: A new menu has arrived and everything we tried was delicious. This was not the case the time before, so consistency is still an issue...but this time....the filet appetizer is great, ask for hot sauce, it is unique and good...the scallops entree is huge and delicious, as is the halibut...everything was excellent, as was the service...but it helps when Carmen (owner) is there...I am going back this week to try the other new dishes... NAME: Face of Downtown SUBMITTED: 6/12/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/06 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: I will say that I was impressed upon entering the restaurant. From there, my experience went downhill. I went during lunch hour and there were only about 4 tables filled. I ordered the pork tenderloin entree and a side of spinach and broccoli. both the tenderloin and spinach were salty with the spinach salty to an extreme. It had WAY too many capers which hid the taste. Also with so few customers, I expected service to be top notch. It wasn't. I've had better service at W*endy's. NAME: matt SUBMITTED: 4/27/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: valentine's day is probably one of the most dreaded holidays for restaurants. we decided to go to julia's. this was the best idea that i had in a long time. the price was just right, compared to their neighbors. the food was fantastic, except the strawberry shortcake (no cake). that's okay, i really did not need the calories. other than that service was great! having a background in restaurants, that is very important to me whenever i dine out. i was very pleased with the diversity in crowd that evening. it was a great representation of mid-town and also the fact that the rail runs in front of the bistro, you can't beat that. we will definately return. the owner mentioned that she will be changing the menu soon. can't wait! NAME: a new fan SUBMITTED: 3/31/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: february 14, 2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: We have dined here 5 times and find it one of Houston's best new bistros, especially considering the moderate prices for outstanding food. The salads are large enough to split and our favorites are Mixto Exotica and Julia's with her special yogurt slightly honey-sweetened vinaigrette. For entrees, our son tried Sauteed Sea Bass and reported it as outstanding. Our favorite is the original Pollo Poblano, a flattened chicken breast, hand rolled after being stufffed with mushrooms and wrapped in bacon with a mild poblano sauce. You may order 2 sides from a selection of 8 -- all are good, but the spinach catlan is a superb dish and different with a hint of garlic. Our favorite dessert is a cake similar to tres leches, but very moist with coconut and its milk (or so it seems). Our service has been acceptable to excellent. We are an older couple, but find the ambiance of modern lines, colors and furniture pleasingly different, as is the food. We will return often! NAME: Artpeg SUBMITTED: 9/6/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: August 05 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: Julia's is nothing special. I read every review here and used what others said to order the best of the best. If that's the "best", then they're in trouble. The food was good but not jaw-dropping fabulous. I had the cerviche, habenero salmon, mashed potatoes, asparagus and tried 3 of the desserts. Everything was good but the only thing that was GREAT was the mashed potatoes. There are too many restaurants in Houston to ever go back to such an unimpressive one. NAME: dagny49 SUBMITTED: 8/30/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2005 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Food was excellent.....pork tenderloin and a special...crusted snapper...and a great dessert, the pumpkin flan...heavy for a flan, like a pumpkin pie filling, but very good...I am usually satisfied with everything at Julia's, hence my continuous return, plus it is a convenient rail stop....and if the crowd that was there on Friday is any indication, I am not the only one that likes it...and you always see the owner, Carmen, there at busy times...not hiding under her desk on Friday and Saturday nights like some restaurant management...worth the stop NAME: Face of Downtown SUBMITTED: 7/18/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/05 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... ©Copyright 1991 - 2008 B4-U-EAT.COM. All rights reserved. Design and database by B4-U-BUY