Artista

We have had tickets to TUTS for the past 5 years. In the beginning we only ate at Artista due to the location and they typically can get you in and out rather quickly. However I have never had a meal that I could say was outstanding. more

This Cordua empire dining room aims to add its characteristic Latin spice to typical pre-theater dining. Its prime location withing the Hobby Center and expansive patio offering views of the Downtown city lights should serve as a warning that you will be paying for just that - a patio and convenience. The Latin touch, however, surprises the typical theater goer and tricks them into thinking they are getting something special while the staff is making fun of them in the back discussing how unbelievable it is that someone would pay such a price for that food, all in Spanish of course. To offer up further novelty, the menu at Artista lists various items and lets you decide how you want your to dish prepared and what you want it to include. It does not seem to occur to anyone that no self-respecting chef would ever entertain such a concept. It is a shame that Michael Cordua has sold himself short here but after his years of hard work bringing innovative Latin cuisine to the City, I suppose he deserves to be laughing in the back with the rest of the kitchen staff. more

Went there with a friend before a show and had a fabulous girls' night out. Although the restaurant is definitely upscale, our waiter was very attentive and friendly. Everyone starts with fried plaintains with three different sauces that were delish. We had the empanadas as an appetizer and loved them. I chose the salmon for the entree, and it was cooked perfectly. We ended the night with the most delicious Tres Leches I've ever had. I will DEFINITELY be going back! Pros: Tres Leches! Cons: On the pricey side, but to be expected with convenience of being in the theater more

Wonderfull after show dininng expereince. Fabulous food, great service and the interior is very interesting. Nice view of the Houston skyline. The dinner menu is a bit expensive, but that's what you'll pay for upscale dining with a highly recommended rating. The lunch menu is a better value. Go often. If you like the restaruant, then you'll need to try Churasco's next. Cordoba is doing a good job. Pros: Highly recommended for dates and romantics. Cons: No booth for you. Hostess is a Booth Nazzi. more

I really wanted to love Artista because I am huge fan of the other Cordua restaurants (Americas and Churrascos and Amazon Grill) BUT twice I have had bad experiences for weekday lunches. First, the menu is an unsophisticated pick and choose. As a fine diner, I want the menu to describe the dishes as the chef makes them and not just list the entrees like a burger joint. A pro: the executive lunch is a good value especially if you get the signature tres leches as the dessert choice. Other than the tres leches, the food is my second complaint. The chicken and steak dishes were dry, unflavored and poor choices of meat. The empanadas tasted like they were from the frozen food aisle. The meals I?ve sampled in the two groups I?ve dined with are not bad but not at the level you would expect for the price or expectation. Finally, the service. Like the food, it just doesn?t live up to one?s expectations for a nice lunch downtown. I had to continuously flag down staff to get refills on drinks and sauces. It was very distracting. Overall I felt like it was everyone?s first day, the chef, the wait staff, and the hostess. Very disappointing! Pros: Fabulous atmosphere and great location Cons: Food and service more

Been coming here for a long time, because traditionally it's been a great business lunch spot. The last two times have been awful though, with the last time arguably the worst service I've ever experienced. We had reservations, but had to wait close to ten minutes to get seated. Then once we were seated, we didn't have a waiter wait on us for another 15 minutes, at which point I got up and grabbed someone. After we ordered, which we did right away, we didn't see the waiter again until the check came. In the meantime, they had forgotten to bring out our salads (they never came), never refilled our drinks, and the bus boy I grabbed didn't bring the ketchup I asked for. Then it was like pulling teeth to get the waiter to bring the check. And it wasn't even a theater day!! Cons: awful service more

I had a lunch meeting with a business associate followed by a business meeting at city hall. Artista seemed like a perfect venue since it's directly across the street. I had eaten at Artista before-but it had been a year or two. The room is quite lovely and my waiter was charming and helpful. HOWEVER, the Pros: Beautiful room, great view, good service (at least in my case) Cons: Subpar food more

I wouldn't let the experience with the rude waiter stop me from enjoying dinners at Artista (for all you know he's probably not around anymore). I think you are over-exaggerating...I have traveled to many different places and wouldn't feel ""humiliated"" for not knowing the ""etiquette"" of the hospitality industry in that country...I would take it as a learning experience for the future and laugh it off. Period. more

HoustonGal, that is TOTALLY UNEXCUSABLE!!!!! I would leave a comment on their website so Mr. Cordua can see it. I left a positive comment for Americas long ago (when it was still in the right decade, CULINARILY SPEAKING), and I am guessing they still have that feature on the site. The nerve of that server... and for him/her to use the Manager as an excuse is terrible respresentation! more

I used to love Artista. I am a frequent theater patron and always enjoyed having dinner at Artista before a show. That was before the Great Insult of 2008. A good friend of mine is from London and her parents were visiting Houston. I invited them to the theater as my guests. My friend's father wanted to treat us all to dinner. I recommended Artista believing that it would be a wonderful experience for them. We had a lovely dinner - food was great, had a super bottle of wine. This kindly old gentleman paid our bill, and we sat enjoying our coffee for a few minutes waiting for showtime. The waiter approached him and asked if there was a problem with our service. Mr. U.K. said that everything was fine. The waiter then said that his manager insisted that he ask becuase the tip was so low! I couldn't believe it! I found out later that my dinner host had tipped 10%. But please bear in mind, this was not out of being cheap or unsatisfied with the meal. In Europe, they don't tip at all for meals. It's just the way it is. This sweet little old man thought he had tipped generously and simply wasn't quite in tuned with the American rules of the road. But he was thoroughly humiliated by the Artista staff, and I simply can't forgive them for that! I will never return. Pros: Great view and good food Cons: Terrible (and insulting) service staff more

My husband and I went there last night as part of his birthday celebration. It was our first time there so we were excited about it since we have enjoyed many meals at the other Cordua restaurants. I won't say that we will never go back but it will certainly not be a first choice for future celebrations. The service was very slow; in fact, we had to ask for our waiter. This should not have been the case as we were the second of the first three tables filled and there were at least six waiters lounging at the back of the restaurant. We both ordered appetizers - ceviche and crab taquitos - which were excellent. Based on those, our expectations for dinner were high. We were very disappointed. I ordered a seafood combo of swordfish, lobster, scallops and shrimp. The shrimp were good as were the mashed potatoes. The rest was, to put it mildly, awful. The swordfish was overcooked to the point of being flavorless and the lobster was salty to the exclusion of any other flavor. My husband ordered a surf and turf combination and his experience with the lobster was the same as mine. His steak was ordered medium but was deliverd to the table on the verge of being a true rare. We ordered desserts in the hopes of saving the meal; he ordered the bread pudding and I ordered the chocolate hazelnut tart. The bread pudding was ok but unspectacular and the tart was difficult to cut and the chocolate so dense that the hazelnut notes did not come through. Over all, the meal was mediocre. For the money, it should have been better and the service more attentive. There are many other restaurants in Houston that deliver a fine meal for the money spent on that one so we will think a long time before we go back to Artista. Pros: appetizers were excellent, very near the theater district, view was nice Cons: service was SLOW, main course and dessert were mediocre at best, cost for value more

My hustand and 7 other guests dined at Artista before the theatre last night. Artista still does a great job and service is fabulous BUT they need to go back to the original menu. The theatre menu reminded me of a cheap offer lunch. We used really enjoy choosy the different side items, the different sauces and having more options. Don't get me wrong the service and the food hey offered was all good and served timely, but there were no specials and the menu was not as appetizing. We really enjoy being able order drinks for intermission at dinner. Pros: Always Good Food and Service is Great Cons: The new theatre menu is too tiny and not as much fun more

I went on a business lunch today and we had to sit by the bar since the room was full already and we didn't have reservations (we arrived at 11:45). By the time we left the place, the seating area by the bar was full too! We had to wait 15 minutes for our menus and another 15 minutes to order. Terrible service. They didn't have their executive lunch special today, which is part of the reason why we wanted to go there. Overall I was very disapointed with the lack of service. The food was decent, but I've had better from there. I would go back only because I know Artista has good food and their service is immpecable when you have an actual waiter to attend to you. more

Given the quality of the ingredients used in the food and the knowledge-base of the staff, I wouldn't put this restaurant in the category of ""fine dining."" Pros: Location, location, location Cons: the kitchen more

I?ve been to Artista twice and will likely go back in a few weeks when I see Rent. Both experiences were great. My first experience with Artista was before a show. The waiter made sure we were out with plenty of time before curtain. I was very impressed with the food. My second experience was just for drinks after a show. I don?t remember what I had. I only remember it was a great atmosphere. I thought the food was a little expensive but the convenience of being inside Hobby Center is probably worth it. Pros: Inside Hobby Center, Food, Drinks Cons: Price, Parking more

My husband and I went to Artista before a show at the Hobby Center. The interior is nice and the view of downtown is beautiful if you go after dark. The food was not bad, but it wasn't that good either. My husband and I ordered the Savory Empenda appetizer and it was very good, the complimentary plantain chips and sauce was delicious, but that was about it. The entrees were just okay. My husband ordered the Ribeyey cooked medium with a side of roasted potatos and a sauce that was comprised of pico de gallo with bleu cheese in it. The only comment that he made as he ate was, ""this is a good steak, but I've had better, and unfortunately it was at Salt Grass."" I ordered the Grilled Shrimp with homemade ravioli in a cheese sauce. My plate arrived with four shrimp and three ravioli. The shrimp was a little tough but the flavor of the cheese sauce was wonderful. The ravioli unfortunately was not very good it was overcooked, and the inside was bland it tasted like plain ricotta was added and that was it. The food was not bad, it just was not that good. For dessert we ordered the Chocolate Torte. It was pretty good, but the best part was the small scoop of coconut ice cream that was served with it. The service was pretty good, but nothing about the place stood out enough for us to go back. Pros: The view was beatiful and the location was great if you are going to a show. Cons: The food was just average. more

I LOVED this place! The complimentary plantain chips with yummy condiments were spectacular, the menu is inventive without being too artsy, and the blend of flavors is perfect! I love how you get to choose an item from each column. Dessert was delicious too! Great service, good wine recommendation... I will definitely go again and take more friends! Pros: Spectacular food, service, ambience, and view! more

This was my 1st time (and last) to Artista. Our party of 6 had 5:45 pm reservations prior to a show @ Hobby Center. Despite their checking twice to confirm our reservation, when we arrived our table for 6 was seated at a table set for 5 where we were all squeezed in. The restaurant is way overpriced for the quality of the food and service. Service was slow & our food was not hot when it arrived. I had 4 scallops & potatoes for $26 which is outrageous. The icing on the cake was when our 3 separate checks arrived. All 3 checks were wrong. The waiter had put charges belonging to other couples on the 3 bills. It was 10 minutes before the show so we were forced to pay what the bill said & figure it out among the couples later. There is no excuse for such lousy service. at these prices. There are tons other restaurants in Houston better than this one. Pros: nice decor Cons: expensive and bad service more

We have been to artista three times now. on each occasion, the food was fantastic and the service was excellent. churasco steaks were great; lobster and scallops were great, and the crab claw appetizer was magnificent. I found the onion and jalapeno dish a little spicy, but still good. carmelized plantains were great also. I had no complaints about any of the food or service. It is expensive, but no more so than other nice places and I felt it was a fair price. jim Pros: quality of food, quality of service, ambience more

This is a great restaurant when attending the theatre. It has a great atmosphere, and the food,and presentation thereof, if oustanding. Pros: relatively quiet, uncrowded tables Cons: expensive more