Seafood Sponsored by Valentino's Seafood Reviews / Profile Regular Menus / $5.95 Daily Specials Website Valentino's Seafood All Oysters - Half Price - Thursday Nights (Excl. Holidays) Bienville, Fried, Smoked, Texicana, On the Half Shell Hours: See Profile   20801 Gulf Fwy Webster TX 77598 281.332.2921 Reservations Daily Specials Add Review PROFILE   Website  Menu MY REVIEW: This place has excellent seafood. We've tried most of their specialties and the crab cakes, salmon on a cedar plank, and shrimp & grits are all top notch. And their specialty drinks are very good as well. Excellent daquiris, mojitos, margaritas -- anything you want. Just ask Dora to make it - she's the best! NAME: LSUrules SUBMITTED: 3/3/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/08 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: My review: Just got back from Valentino's. After reading the other reviews I had to try it. Today was my birthday and I noticed on b4-u-eat that you get a free dessert on your birthday. So, my family of four started out with the crawfish balls which were very good. My husband and I both had the seafood platter which was delicious (bacon wrapped shrimp, oysters, fried shrimp, and fish). This place is definitely not fast food. I am not referring to the service, but the quality of the food. My daughter had the crab stuffed flounder which we all sampled, again very good. Excellent hush puppies. My youngest had the half order of shrimp and loved them. Did I mention the dessert? My weakness Bread pudding in a rum sauce (free for me) yea! Nice and warm. My wife and I had to get go boxes, because we could not eat all of our platters. We will go back soon very soon. The waiters are very attentive. NAME: Cynthia SUBMITTED: 2/8/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 02/08/08 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I was wondering around and didn't want to go to a big restaurant. So I drove the feeder looking and ran into Valentino's. I didn't know much about the restaurant but i was not disappointed. I orders chicken strips for my one year old and shrimp and a crab cake for me. They were excellent. The crab cake had a beautiful presentation and was delicious(juicy and big).Shrimp was great to. They were breaded perfectly. The wait staff was great they were really nice and had great personalities. They were not selfish with who had what table or anything. Everyone was just great. And the owner wasn't just sitting in an office he was introducing his self to people and was very nice. This is a great place to go and i will definitely be back. NAME: Kayla and Ryleah SUBMITTED: 1/19/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2008 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: The place was packed on a Friday nite, but we were seated in 10 minutes just like they promised. Good to see that the place has really caught on----Mark and his staff work hard to earn your business. The staff seem to work together to offer the very best service. Case in point: the chef actually took our order and answered questions about the menu; then we had 3 different servers----one brought out the food; another checked on us asking if everything was ok; a third filled water glasses, brought extra napkins and took care of our check. The staff seems to be unselfish. The result is great service because if you need something you just flag down the first waitperson you see. Wife ordered coconut shrimp----plump and tasty. You have to ask for it, but try their remoulade sauce. They have two, one is spicy, both are very good, and both are excellent to dip fried anything in. I had heard of but never tried shrimp grits, so that's what I got. Never been to South Carolina (where the dish comes from), but if their's are better than Valentino's, then Carolina here I come! NAME: Sandy SUBMITTED: 12/23/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: Those ARE some plump, luscious fried oysters, just as Alison said. My companion's plate overflowed with oysters so I got a few. 5.95 Lunch special was shrimp alfredo but I had my heart set on fried shrimp and Margie's large, butterflied, crispy and not overcooked ones did not disappoint. Hushpuppies are crispy outside and soft inside, not like usual, and to me means they must be homemade, not frozen supplier provided? Stopped after a Galveston daytrip and will definitely be an inbound or outbound stop every trip. NAME: Gloria SUBMITTED: 11/19/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Nov 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: THis past weekend my husband and I visited Valentino's Seafood in Webster. Tx. We started going after reading the review in the Houston Chronicle and seeing both their chefs written up in the scene. There is a good reason for the media attention they have recieved, THE FOOD! I cannot express enough how wonderful it is! THeir crab cakes are just that, Crab, not bread, not crackers and onion and celery but pure meaty crab magically held together and seasoned perfectly! The coleslaw is wonderful and I love that they serve asparagus as a side option. No one has asparagus on thier menus and it is one of my favorite Veggies! Everything we have tried so far has been great! THey offer a new dish that we tried, shrimp and Grits. I know it sounds wierd but these are not breakfast grits of our past, they are yellow stone ground corn grits(as our waiter informed us) and they were cooked with heavy cream and cheddar cheese. While definately not diet food, they were amazing! the shrimp, bell peppers, onion and sausage was cooking in a blackening seasoning and then a sauce was made (more cream i think) and poured over the hot cheesy grits. It was awesome! I think this dish is made in the Carolinas but I had never seen it on a menu before and boy am I glad we tried it! Their desserts, what can I say, are sinfully delicious! We have had the bread pudding and it was really hard not to get it again, but we opted for a tiramisu and it was a study of creamy chocolatey, coffee infused goodness with just a hint of orange (Grand Mariner maybe?) Anyway it was awesome and we will definatally be returning for more! NAME: LYNMR37 SUBMITTED: 9/30/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Strong points: BEST CRABCAKES EVER!!!! -What makes them so good you asked? The answer is simple: 1. They are full of crabmeat and not doughy/cornstarchy filler. 2. Seasoned to perfection, doesn't overwhelm the delicate crab flavor. 3. The lemonbutter sauce is the perfect garnish. 4. The portion is ample. 5. Comes with two sides, I recommend the hush puppies and coleslaw. We've also tried the coconut shrimp, crawfish pie, and stuffed mushrooms. Coconut shrimps were big and fresh. Crawfish pie perfect blend of cajun spices and a most delightful flakey crust. The crab stuff mushrooms were were very good. As for desserts, we have only tried the tres leches cake. Also very good, however, my boyfriend who is from El Paso said he has had better. In addition to excellent flavored foods, I also thought the menu was very reasonably priced. 2 entres + 1 appetizer + 2 ice teas = approx. $55. Oh, and we met Mr. Valentino, the owner today. He was a really cool dude. We will definitely bring friends with us next time. NAME: Bottomless pit from L.A. SUBMITTED: 9/29/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: september 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: After reading good reviews about this restaurant, my husband and I tried it last night. He was really skeptical at first since it is in an older strip center, next to a mattress store! But the nice atmosphere inside, the amazing food and the friendly attention from the staff quickly made this our new favorite seafood restaurant! I got the crab cakes and as I had heard, they were awesome! Lots of crab meat, seasoned just right, about 3" in diameter and 2" tall! He got the fried shrimp which he truly enjoyed. Large, tender on the inside and cruncy on the outside, with some really great tartar sauce. We will be going back regularly. NAME: oliver SUBMITTED: 9/15/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 09-14-07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: We tried it this afternoon. We went about 4pm on a Saturday to avoid any crowds and did. While I am a chauvinist New Orleanian and did't find it competition for the better New Orleans seafood houses, we all thought it was good and worth a trip down. No one wanted appetizers, so I got a half dozen of the smoked oysters. While early September is not the best time for oysters, they were good. My wife and I each had the crabcakes. They were certainly ample: about 4 inches in diameter and about 2 inches tall. While some here have raved about them, we thought they were good, but not great. My brother in law and and sister in law each had fried shrimp, which they thought were very good. My wife tasted one and agreed and will probably get them next time. We had a variety of sides and tasted each other's. Everyone liked the cole slaw. We were puzzled by the rant about the overpowering cilantro. The flavor was nicely balanced and the slightly hot flavor was novel and good. We were full enough that we did not even think about desert. A good measure of how we liked it was the fact that the only leftovers from four people were one hushpuppy and a half crabcake. And we are not the typical Houstonians you see waddling around :) The asparagus was cooked well: not overcooked. Hush puppies were good and not greasy. Service was pleasant and excellent. We'll be back. NAME: Bigmike SUBMITTED: 9/1/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/1/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: It did not look like much from the out side when we went, and they were about to close. The waiter was really cool, nice guy and very at tentative. He had a certain way about him he liked to recommend stuff and was even confident enough to offer to take it back if you didn’t find it satisfactory, there was a head chef that came to the table more than once that was a student at the Art Institute of Houston which was really cool he had a lot of nice stuff to say and was very concerned with the service and the food. I really liked all the attention. The CRABCAKES, man they were yummy, as you can see in all the above comments as well. The stuffed flounder was yummy to. And the beer and wine selection would surprise you. Everyone should at least go once, we had fun. =) NAME: AWDFTW SUBMITTED: 8/23/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Aug/23/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Wife and I split an order of crab cakes and oysters bienville. Side of asparagus, now you don't find that offered anywhere else around here. As always owner comes to visit most tables. Sometimes chefs as well. This attention to the customer shows in the food, especially crab cakes. We were there Friday nite, nearly full. Only problem, the noise level because floors are 100% tile. But this is a very friendly place, so noise is to be expected. NAME: Steve SUBMITTED: 8/8/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: My family's first visit and we were impressed. Every table was full and we had a 10 minute wait at the bar. We started with the Shrimp Kisses and moved on to the Crab Cakes and Fried Shrimp with the Cole Slaw and Hush Puppies. The Kisses were tasty with the mild celentro sause. I have eaten at F*isher's Seafood (Philadelphia) and P*hillips Seafood (Annapolis) and never had crab cakes this good. They're all meat and little filler. The fried shrimp were large and really good. My wife and I liked the spicy cole slaw and my son and I liked the hush puppies (they weren't sweet enough for my wife). Of course we had the Bread Pudding and couldn't finish it. It was great the next morning with my coffee. I'm ready to go back. It sure beats Kemah and Seabrook. NAME: Craig Hood SUBMITTED: 7/30/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: This is a great little spot to go to! I come here all the time and it is always fantastic! I have tried the crab cakes and believe me once you do it is very hard not to order them EVERY time!! BUt seriously, muster up your will power and try some of their specials. THe Chefs have created some amazing things off menu like a salmon trio, grilled with a cucmber sauce, smoked salmon and salmon roe, and a wahoo that took me straight to Jamacia! I wrote a review on the chrom=nicle website too i think this place is that good! The chefs always try to talk to everyone and the sometimes tend bar too! They are so much fun! This place is amazing and i cant wait to see them expand and take on the greater houston/Galveston Area. L*andry's corporation will never get my money again! Hooray for privately owned small businesses who still care about quality!!! Two thumbs way up!! NAME: Anita Blake SUBMITTED: 7/20/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 7/14 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: I have been to Valentino's almost every week and I love there food. Anyone that is not pleased with there food just is not a seafood lover or is just use to that bad seafood we are use to in Kemah. I think it is great to find a place that knows how to cook great seafood. That is why I keep coming back, week after week as they treat me as im family. I love the Shrimp that are so good and the Crab Cakes that live up to what every one in the area is saying. They always are coming up with new things for me to try as specials. I love having a place that puts freshness and good food before money. These chain restaurants have just taken over down here and I really like this place that is looking out for our health. I hope you do well and you have me and my family in your restaurant for life. Thanks for all the good times and the best of luck. NAME: LiveLWP2135 SUBMITTED: 7/8/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/07/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: Tried Valentino's last night and was a bit disappointed. The ambience is a bit thin and does say "strip mall". The service was enthusiastic but everything took a long time to get to the table - both drinks and food, and the restaurant was not that crowded. Our group of five started with a dozen oysters and a mix of the smoked and Bienville oysters. The raw were small and not as firm or as tasty as at P*ppas. The smoked were smaller, blander and nowhere near as good as G*llhooley's, as mentioned in the Chronicle. We had entrees of crab cakes, crayfish pie, stuffed flounder and shrimp brouchette. The crab cakes were good but dry to my taste. The shrimp was not too special, again not as good as P*ppas. The bread pudding at the end looked and smelled great and may have been the highlight. Overall, a B-, and there was nothing to make me want to rush back. NAME: bbq bob SUBMITTED: 6/12/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/11/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: My wife got crab cakes. I knew from a previous visit how good they are, but I decided to try fried seafood platter. It was ok but from now on will stick with the Maryland-style crab cakes. One of the things I liked about the fried platter was not everything had the same breading. Fish was in beer batter (very tasty); shrimp had cracker crumb coating (very good, fresh taste, but they really varied in size); fried oysters were disappointing (small and cornmeal coating fell off----probably because cooking oil was not hot enough). Nice Fri. nite crowd. Looks like the place is catching on. Will return again, this time stay with crab cakes. NAME: Steve SUBMITTED: 6/9/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 06/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Tries the crab cakes and they lived up to all of the great reviews! We also tried the "Shrimp Kisses" appetizer, which was a skewer of eight bacon-wrapped grilled shrimp served with spinach dip -- it was very enjoyable. The sides were interesting but not exceptional; tried the unusual cole slaw and asparagus (large stalks). By the end we were pleasantly full, but got an order of bread pudding to go and enjoyed that later at home. All of our food was served hot. The ambience is nice, but it still feels like a strip shopping center space. Give them a try! NAME: Mark W. SUBMITTED: 1/27/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Jan. 26, 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: There are two words which best describe Valentino's: CRAB CAKES! Order them if you want to know about the quality of the food and the quality of the restaurant. At under $17, they are an amazing find. You are presented with two large crab cakes and two sides. The crab cakes are just that, not a bunch of breading or filler, just fresh crab meat along with the right amount of spices to complement them and very little else. The food is fresh and creative. On our first visit, we had oysters on the 1/2 shell. At under $2, we thought it would be a disappointing gimmick to get us in the door. We were only half right, since they did NOT disappoint. Each person can have their first dozen oysters for $1.95. After that, they go to menu price, which is also good at around $8 a dozen. These are not low quality oysters, they are large, fresh and flavorful. They make a visit to Valentino's worth it if you only stop there. Lucky for us, we continued on to the sesame crusted, seared ahi tuna on our first visit. At under $17, the tuna is phenomenal. The portion of fish is large, and it is served over bok choy with sauteed diced potatoes and topped off with a teriyaki-based glaze. The other important thing about Valentino's is that it is owned by a local family. The Valentinos have fished the Gulf for nearly a century, and some of the items on the menu are family recipes. We have spent some time talking to Mark Valentino (the owner) and his passion for serving the best food to his customers is quickly evident. His head chef Devin shares his passion, and his creativity and skill are quickly apparent. Dishes look as good as they taste, and you can see the pride which goes into each one. The waitstaff may still be a little new to it, but they are eager and cheerful and do a fine job. A quick word about the decor. You might think that a restaurant in a strip center can't create ambiance. That would be a mistake in this case. The paintings and colors inside are bright and fun. A colorful fish tank greets you as you come in the door, and the seating areas are well thought out. Even the restrooms are meticulously fitted with unique sinks and glass block walls. Mark and his team have left nothing out, and create a great dining experience. As we like to tell our friends, "Come for the oysters, but stay for the crab cakes!" Give it a try, you will not be disappointed. NAME: Tom & Kim SUBMITTED: 1/14/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: January 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: I stopped by Valentino's last night on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. Not only is the food top notch but the customer service was excellent!!! The crab cakes were the best I’ve ever had in Houston!! The vegetables were fresh and cooked to perfections. This was my first visit but definitely not my last. Keep up the Great Service!!! NAME: Mechelle SUBMITTED: 1/6/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Jan 2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Our second visit was just as great as the first one! My husband had the crab cakes and they are incredible! Each crab cake is 5 ounces of solid lump crab meat. It is not a crab stuffing formed into a cake. The seasoning was very tasty. I had the crab stuffed flounder and again, the crab stuffing was not a bunch of dressing with a little crab mixed in. It was crab! The slaw was still great, and all the veggies are fresh--not canned or frozen, and the portions are large. This is now our favorite seafood restaurant. Some soft music in the background would add to the ambience. It would be nice to include margaritas in the happy hour. NAME: Jamie SUBMITTED: 12/8/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: December 2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: I dont know what the other person was talking about. the slaw was very unique, one of the best i have had, and i've been around. It is deffinatly different, but well, thats what food is all about being different and being good. I had the gumbo also, and it was steaming in my bowl. My wife and i have been there a few times, and have recomended it to our friends. i will defifnatly be going back again. the specials were impressive, and who can beat the oyster deals they have. Gotta love this new, and unique, restaurant in the webster are. Better that all the chains that are around. Thanks alot Valentino's. NAME: food lover SUBMITTED: 12/5/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/06 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Our first visit to Valentino's was great! The oysters on the half shell were very fresh, just the right size, and a deal for $1.95 a dozen. The cup of gumbo had chunks of crabmeat, an oyster, crawfish, and shrimp in it, and it was thick and flavorful like gumbo ought to be. Three people in our party had the seafood platter which included a half dozen shrimp and oyters each, 3 bacon wrapped shrimp, and fried fish. What made it really special is that many seafood restaurants use catfish for the fried fish on their platter. Sorry, but catfish is not SEAfood. At Valentino's the fried fish was grouper and the portion was large. The fried shrimp dinner included 12 shrimp for $11.95 and they were a delight! The batter was very light and crispy. The cole slaw was different from the run of the mill kind you get in most restaurants and we thought it was very good. The side orders included fresh asparagus that was delicious, as well as fresh broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, and pasta. I agree that hush puppies and garlic bread should not be a side order. Our waitress was very attentive throughout the meal. We can't wait to go back and try the crab cakes. NAME: Jamie SUBMITTED: 12/3/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: December 2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I cannot recommend this place at all. The food was cold; the portions were small; the prices were high, and the waitress was indifferent. We were not the only ones to be served cold food--diners at the table next to us sent back gumbo that was cold as well. Our entrees were lukewarm, or as my brother-in-law might say, "They barely had a pulse." Also, I ordered cole slaw as one of my sides--cole slaw should not have cilantro in it--and I don't mean the cole slaw had a leaf or two of cilantro--it had cilantro in it as if it were parsley. The restaurant needs to rename this side "Southwestern Slaw," "Cilanto Surprise Slaw," or something else more befitting. Cole slaw has green cabbage, maybe some carrots, and possibly some purple cabbage for color. That side dish gave me the worst heartburn! I am not a big cilantro fan. I don't mind a cilantro leaf or two chopped up in salsa, but anyone who cooks knows that cilantro is powerful, and a little goes a long way. One cannot put that much into a dish and not expect it to be the only taste the diner experiences. Also, in regard to side dishes--hush puppies are a bread, not a side dish. I had to laugh when someone at another table asked for bread, and the waitress told him that the only bread they had was garlic bread, and there was a charge for it. Going back to the server, let's just say that she was not as attentive as she should have been. When I placed my order, I repeated my side dish selections--I kid you not--three times. I don't know if she was distracted, having a bad day, or what, but it got to be like the Abbott and Costello "Who's on First?" sketch, only it was not funny. After she finally took the order, I asked my dining companion if I was mumbling tonight, hoping to blame her lack of comprehension on me rather than the server, but he said, "No, I don't know what her deal is." On the positive side, the atmosphere is nice. They've taken a small, strip-center space and made it pleasant. I only wish the food matched the ambience. NAME: Chynna22 SUBMITTED: 12/3/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: November/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Excellent seafood. Mark Valentino has really outdone himself this time. The fresh fish was expertly prepared and the fried shrimp is to die for. You go guy! NAME: Susie SUBMITTED: 11/13/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/06 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Very good fried shrimp. The crab cakes were WONDERFUL! The service staff was very friendly and the owner even came out to visit with patrons and was very nice. It has a cool atmosphere and just a very enjoyable place to eat. We will definitely go there more often. NAME: Karen Thompson SUBMITTED: 10/20/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: October/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once More reviews If you don't agree with these comments, agree with them or have additional comments, click here to Add Your Review. Restaurant Owners & Managers Curious about your Activity and Ranking on b4-u-eat? Want to Create or Update your Free Profile Page? Click here to Login. ©Copyright 1991 - 2008 B4-U-EAT.COM. All rights reserved. Design and database by B4-U-BUY