Belly G.
Yelp
I'm going to be honest here. I've avoided dining at Morton's for the longest time. Even during Houston Restaurant Weeks when I would go and dine at prime steakhouses a lot, I'd still avoid Morton's.
The reasoning? Back in the days when I used to travel for work, I'd been to various Morton's locations in different cities, and I don't remember ever being impressed. As a matter of fact, I'd say that all of my experiences were underwhelming that it made me not want to visit another Morton's restaurant if I had to pay out of pocket. And that's why I never visited the one Morton's that's local to me.
Until now.
My friend was celebrating her birthday and she wanted to dine at Morton's so being a good friend that I am, of course I agreed to join her.
Upon arrival at the shopping center where Morton's is located, I remember another thing that made me avoid this restaurant: location.
Morton's is located in the shopping center off of Post Oak and Westheimer that also houses Marshalls, Nordstrom Rack, Grand Lux Cafe, and some other restaurants and shops. This shopping center is always busy, has tiny parking spots, and has really bad traffic. Now imagine all that during the holidays season? Yeah, it was a lot worse.
Let's just say that I absolutely loathed having to come to this shopping center.
Morton's does offer valet parking for its guests so they don't have to worry about looking for parking. However, it's not complimentary and will cost you $5 - a small price to pay. However, since I absolutely hate valet parking, I opted to park in the parking garage and walked to the restaurant.
When I finally arrived at the restaurant, I was the last one to arrive to the party. The waitress came quickly to introduce herself and to answer any questions I might have had about the menu/cocktails.
Long story short, I ordered the Sand and Stone cocktail to drink, Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella Sticks for appetizer, and the special of the night: Filet Mignon with Lobster Tails. We also ordered some side dishes to share for the table: Sauteed Brussel Sprouts, Smoked Gouda and Bacon Au Gratin Potatoes, and Creamed Corn.
My expectations at the beginning of the night was pretty low due to the reason I'd mentioned above. However, I was surprisingly impressed with the quality of food that this Morton's had to offer. I enjoyed all of my meals: the mozzarella sticks were delicious; the steak was done perfectly (medium rare), and even the sides exceeded my expectations.
The only downside? Somewhere along the way, the waitress who originally served our table disappeared and a different waiter started serving our table. This second waiter never introduced himself to us (at least not to me) and didn't seem as friendly as the waitress.
At one point, I had to ask my friends who was supposed to serve our table and they told me that for whatever reason they had the bartenders served our table. Sure enough, when I glanced to the bar, the waitress was working behind the bar.
All in all, it was a good dining experience and I wouldn't hesitate to dine at Morton's again in the future.