Voice - Hotel Icon
| | 220 Main St
MetroRail Line: Preston Station | Houston TX | 77002 | 832.667.4470 | |
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MY REVIEW: My girlfriend and I went to Voice for their desserts after a nice dinner at Z*ula's on Main. I heard of Voice and read about its menu. Everything seems delicious, but this night, we went to try their warm chocolate cake a la mode. I recommend parking somewhere away from the hotel and take a nice stroll down on Main toward this restuarant.
The restaurant and the hotel looked to be built within an old bank building. The entrance and elevators at the front brings you a taste of the old 40s feel. It was a busy night and no seats were available for walk in. However, the host sat us at a small table perfect for 2 right behind the bar area and we loved it. The host was extremely attentive and came by twice to make sure we got a waiter. The wait staff people were good looking and attentive as well.
We ordered our dessert and two french pressed coffee. The coffee was delicious and made to order. The warm chocolate cake with ice cream was fantastic. The cake was moist but the best part was the warm chocolate that was hidden inside. The vanilla ice cream was covered with wafer crunch and together, the dessert was divine! It makes you want to come back for more. We saw two couples, each sitting at the small tables enjoying their dinner. I am thinking about coming back and doing the same. We loved the ambiance!
NAME: LO
SUBMITTED: 8/3/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: 8/2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: Voice is not the typical restaurant you will go to, but it should certainly rank as one of Houston’s finest. Located in the Icon Hotel at the corner of Congress and Main, the restaurant isn’t exactly in the middle of what’s happening, but it’s well worth the venture. You valet your car, enter through the hotel lobby, pass the reception desk to arrive at the hostess station. And this is where the experience begins. The space is stunning. Souring high ceilings are supported by just as grandiose marble columns. Beautiful golden chandeliers are juxtaposed next to impossibly long velvet brocade drapes, evoking old-world glam and new world luxe. I know I’m raving about the décor, but the highlight is the food.
The menu descriptions whet my palate and I want to sample just about every starter: mushroom soup cappucino, a patchwork of baby beets, grilled baby octopus, gulf blue crab cakes, Costa Rican hearts of palm salad...I defer to my waiter, Nicolas’, recommendations of crab cake for the appetizer while my husband orders the hearts of palm salad. The entrées sound just as appetizing – Alaskan halibut with fennel, baby carrots and truffle emulsion; gulf yellowtail snapper with English peas, hearts of palm, sorrel butter; black grouper with melted leeks, sunburst squash, herb broth; honey-laquered duck breast, parsnip puree, fava beans, black pepper gastrique; coffee rubbed filet of beef, fingerling potatoes, caramelized onions, bacon, garlic cream; I could go on... but I choose the duck and my husband the coffee rubbed filet. The wine list is extensive and we ordered a great zin – Dynamite – to complement our meal.
The only thing I didn’t really like was the bread. Dry, pasty, tasteless, textureless. There were 4 varieties but they all tasted like paper. The accompaniments, a trio of olive tapenade, creamed butter, and my favorite - roasted garlic butter - were a big hit if only the bread were better. But no matter.
My crab cake was artfully presented on a rectangular plate atop a green and orange puree. Shaped like large tater-tots, I was a bit apprehensive until I took my first bite. Lightly crisped, with just the right amount of seasoning and garnish, my crab cake was perfectly executed. My husband’s hearts of palm salad was a beautiful thing of simplicity, with the perfect mélange of flavors and textures. Arugula mixed with thinly shaved hearts of palm, diced cucumbers and toasted almonds were lightly tossed with a citrus-y vinaigrette. At many restaurants, the compliments stop after the starters are finished. Not so at Voice.
My duck, which I ordered medium, came to me the perfectly perfect shade of pink, not too rare, not too overdone. The first bite melted in my mouth, so tender was the duck breast, so flavorful the marinade and garnish. I cleaned plate, as did my husband, who is not at all a beef connoisseur, but whose meal was so deftly prepared that he did not leave a single morsel. "One of the best steaks in Houston, and it’s not even a steakhouse," he proclaimed. Not surprisingly, we ordered and ate the entire dessert, a yummy concoction of smooth and creamy peanut butter custard topped with fresh bananas and crunchy crème-brulee style caramelized sugar.
As far as fancy meals go, this was one of my favorites – EVER – in Houston. This restaurant is not headed for the A-list, it’s already made it to the A-list.
NAME: happyfoodie
SUBMITTED: 5/18/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: May 15, 2008
FREQUENCY: Visited once
MY REVIEW: We were looking forward the newly renovated Voice from the previous Bank. The staff are friendly, service suffers because the venue is still new. The place can't seem to handle the restaurant at 70% capacity. We ordered our entree with our appetizer, while the first course came out in decent time, the entree took over 40 mins to arrive. I have a feeling that's why our food wasn't steaming hot when it came out. When ordered my coffee, the cream curled, and for a place like Voice, I expect it would be corrected quickly, but it didn't.
The food... the Potato Gnocchi was delicious, even the salad was good. The Braised Beef is great, the Jumbo scallops can be more buttery. Dessert was nice, but by looks I had expected more.
Bottomline, for that price, I expect the food to be more flavorful, it is definitely not bad, but could be better. The music is more for dancing than for dining. The managers were worried about the large party and forgot to tend to the smaller tables. The other big table had decided to pour their own wine. Dessert is good, but the coffee that goes with it should not need for me to send back twice and request for it to be remove from my tab.
NAME: WannabeFoodie
SUBMITTED: 5/8/2008 LAST VISIT WAS: 5/08
FREQUENCY: Visited once
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