Underbelly (Number 6)

This weekend, we celebrated Ashley's birthday with a little dinner at Underbelly and a little dancing at South Beach.  The highlight of the night was definitely the dancing at South Beach!  I have to say, for the first restaurant on my Alison Cook restaurant adventure, Underbelly was not what I expected.  The atmosphere was great...It was very industrial with an in house butcher shop and open kitchen.  In the main room, there was community dining with large picnic tables and in the side room, there were smaller, more intimate tables.  Despite the more intimate setting, the acoustics were TERRIBLE, and it was extremely hard to hear even the person sitting right next to you.  HUGE pet peeve of mine when dining out.    


The restaurant was started as an attempt to "tell the story of Houston food," but I guess our ideas of "Houston food" are very different.  I am by no means a chef or food critic, but I know what I like, and this was not my style of dining out.  The menu starts with something like..."To share, or not to share," implying that the portions were "family size," but NONE of the items that we ordered turned out to be remotely close to family size.  In fact, the waitress suggested that we get two entrees per person!  WHAT?!?!  We all tried a little bit of eat person's food, and the only one thing that I was truly blown away by was the "Lambburger Helper."  It was really good, and if it's on the menu the night that you go [the menu changes based on what is available locally], you should definitely try it!  


At this point in time, I give Underbelly two out of five stars.  I'm still hopeful though!  I would love to visit them again and have great experience!


Cuisine: American
Entree Price: $$-$$$
Location: 1100 Westheimer
Phone: 713-523-1622
Website: underbellyhouston.com