Brian T.
Yelp
I decided to have my birthday dinner here last weekend and it was a fantastic choice! I was looking for somewhere that had Friday night specials because I love a good deal, but that was nearly impossible. Luckily I had heard lots about Triola's via social media and decided to come here since they have BYOB with no corkage fee!
They advertise as valet only (complimentary) on the weekends, so I ended up doing this. However found out that others in my party self-parked in the adjacent grass lot which the staff and valet confirmed was allowed. Had I known, I would've parked my own car.
We had a reservation for 10 people. About 30 minutes prior, Megan (co-owner) called me and said that they were running slightly behind and asked if we could shift our reservation back about 15 minutes. With most of us already heading that way, we didn't mind waiting a bit once we arrived. They had to put together a few smaller tables in the downstairs area to accommodate our large party. Once we were seated, Chef Frank immediately came over, introduced himself, and explained the menu to us.
We originally came with the intention of trying the Houston Restaurant Weeks menu, however Chef Frank offered to do a tasting menu for all of us and whip up his specialities. Everyone at our table agreed to do this, so without ordering anything, we handed him our menus and allowed him to take us on this journey!
The first appetizer that came out was the Crab Fingers. I had never had crab claws served on a platter to me like this so it was an interesting experience. We had two plates - one came with a red sauce and the other came with a creamy white sauce. My fav was the red! It was their marinara sauce and the crab didn't taste too fishy, which is what generally detracts me from crab.
The next one that came out was Papa's Mushrooms. These were packed full of veal and topped with cheese. The veal was tasty and baked with a slight crisp to it. I loved the savory lemon-butter sauce that these were served in.
Next was the Calamari platter. This plate was filled to the brim with calamari and Chef even threw in some fried banana peppers too. The calamari was hot and crispy and was complemented well with the marinara sauce for dipping.
Our salads came next. Chef gave each of us a half-serving of the Tomatoes Stella. This was sliced beefsteak tomatoes with arugula, artichoke hearts, palm, and jumbo crab drizzled in a basaltic vinaigrette and topped with caviar. Fancy but simple at the same time! All the flavors blended together well and was refreshing on a hot August day.
The first entree that came out was the Wagyu Beef. I believe this one was off the menu, which was a treat. The kitchen did a nice job dividing everything up so that everyone got the same amount of just enough to not get full. The tenderloins were very tender paired well in the glaze they were served in.
The next entree was the Osso Buco. A real treat. Our tasting menu came with 3 orders for 10 people. A good amount, so you can do the math depending on the size of your party. It came with 3 veal shanks, so I would assume 1 shank per order. The veal was so tender and fell right off the bone. The wine flavor in the sauce was prevalent and I loved it.
Now my favorite. The signature Lamb Chops. These were both visually appealing and delectable. Each of us got a chop, and they were topped with a blueberry, jalapeño, and mint demi reduction. The lamb was just as tender as the wagyu beef and easy to cut right off the bone. The reduction sauce is what really made this. Very savory with a touch of sweetness from the blueberry. I scooped more of this onto my plate so that I could douse each bite of lamb in it!
Finally was the Rigatoni Bolognese pasta. Not only was it a tasty bolognese sauce that I know is a labor of love, they added in the osso buco sauce and topped it with beef tenderloin, meatballs, Italian sausage, and brisket. This couldn't have been made any better! Plenty of meat to go with the thicc noods, much respect.
Chef then brought out the Dessert Sampler for 10, which was split up in 3 plates so that we didn't have to pass plates down the table. These were all not too sweet and had a light texture. Chef even brought me a blueberry banana ricotta cake with a candle for my birthday. What a nice touch!
Following the tour of food we just had, we were offered post-dinner cappuccinos and espressos to top off our meal. Exactly what I needed so that I wouldn't fall asleep immediately at the table!
Do note that they automatically charge 25% gratuity for large groups. I'm not sure at how many people this kicks in, but with our 10 people I assumed 20% would be added. 25% minimum seems a little steep to me, especially when half of our service was the owner himself.
I did enjoy coming here and will definitely be back. If not for anything else, for the complimentary BYOB. Thanks Chef Frank for taking care of us and making this birthday special.