Bonefish Grill, a chain that started in St. Petersburg, Florida, has recently opened two locations in the Houston area. [Warning: Their website has music, so you might want to turn your sound off if you’re at work.]
One is in Webster off the Gulf Freeway and the other location, which I visited, is near Highway 249 and FM 1960, close to Willowbrook Mall. Holiday shoppers near the Willowbrook location will find the restaurant to be a welcome respite from the maddening crowds – that is, as long as they weren’t looking for a great wine list or cocktails.
That was the one area of disappointment. Cocktails here are overly sweet and predominantly feature vodka. The Black Cherry Guava Mojito, which sounded so promising, reminded me of cough syrup.
With the craft cocktail movement having made such huge advancements at bars and restaurants inside The Loop, it’s frustrating that that evolution has failed to make it to the suburbs. Don’t look to Bonefish to be the groundbreaker. If you really, really want a cocktail, the Bees Knees is acceptable, albeit a little sweet.
The wine list was also a disappointment. Of the by-the-glass options, there were no Old World choices save for a Prosecco. Beyond this, there were four bottle-only Old World choices. It’s not that there aren’t terrific New World wines, but I would have appreciated a few more diverse by-the-glass choices.
Despite finding the adult beverage choices subpar, I actually was pleased with the food. This is a great place to come for seafood, and I thought the quality-versus-price was very reasonable. No, they’re not pulling fish straight from the Gulf like some local restaurants do, but what they serve is well cooked, delicious and comes with a healthful selection of vegetables. Our table agreed that the salmon and sea bass were excellent. I often rant about sea bass as a trite, predictable option, but here it was actually worth ordering. The scallops were also very good.
Best of all, Bonefish didn’t overcook any of the fish we had, and we tried four menu selections. Seasoning was spot-on as well. The vegetables sides (broccoli, green beans, etc.) were probably previously frozen, but I didn’t mind too much. It was nice just to have some green choices that weren’t salads.
There are also some great appetizer selections here. The Bang Bang shrimp are tossed in a remoulade and have a spicy kick to them. They were quite tasty, as was the sliced, fresh tuna appetizer that was crusted in fresh-ground peppercorns, perfectly seared on the outside and left rare in the middle.
Bonefish Grill isn’t for those looking for avant-garde dining, but it most definitely is for families who live in the area and want a nice dinner out, as well as those looking to eat healthily at a reasonable price. Entrees are in the $15 to $20 range unless you have your heart set on a big steak.
While you can eat lightly here, I cannot advocate you skipping dessert. I know I’m a bad influence, but their specialty is a peanut butter ice cream that is made exclusively for them by Blue Bell, and their huge, fudgy brownies are downright decadent.
It will be interesting to see how Bonefish Grill might be affected by neighborhood favorite Redfish Seafood Grill, a long-standing fish and seafood restaurant that’s just a little farther down Highway 249. Redfish is a lot homier and has quite a fan base. I am sure that Bonefish, though, is a welcome boon both to visitors of the hospital right across the street and people staying at the Hilton Garden Inn next door.
Bonefish isn’t open for lunch during the weekdays or Saturday; they open at 4 pm on those days. On Sundays, however, they open at 11 am for brunch. The atmosphere reminds me of both PF Chang’s (which happens to be next door) and the Memorial location of Union Kitchen.
[Author’s note: We found the lighting inside to not be particularly conducive for good photos, so we took advantage of some that Bonefish Grill made available to the media. With that being said, my opinions are my own.]
BONEFISH GRILL, 7877 Willow Chase Blvd., 281-807-3892, bonefishgrill.com