2821 East Atlantic Boulevard
Pompano Beach, Florida 33062
On July 12th, my husband, Marcus, mother-in-law, Enid, and myself were headed to Pompano Beach for a couple of days of fun in the sun. We decided to stop for lunch before we checked into the hotel. Our first idea was The Peking Duck Restaurant on East Atlantic Blvd. We had a Peking Duck dinner here last year that we enjoyed very much and wanted to try dishes from their extensive menu. Unfortunately, we discovered that they were closed for renovations. So, we will have to try back again in the future.
Enid remembered a restaurant she had not been to for a number of years that is just down the road from the Peking Duck. Houston’s (Pronounced like the city in Texas? Or like house? We never found out but Isuspect it is like the city in Texas).
As we drove up to the entrance there were two gentlemen ready to park our car for us. That’s a nice treat but didn’t seem necessary on the afternoon we visited. There were a number of empty parking spaces in the lot. Maybe during high season in Florida, it gets very busy. It was nice to have them park our car though because we could quickly get out of the hot sun. The outside of the restaurant is very underwhelming. There is nice landscaping all around but the building doesn’t look like much. However, this drab exterior is cradling a hidden gem of a restaurant.
The inside of Houston’s is really large and dark. There are a number of tables and a bar on the left with the kitchen and prep center for waiters, food runners and cocktail waitresses along the right side. There is a wall of floor to ceiling glass windows and doors to the outside seating area. It was difficult for me to get a good photograph of the interior because of the bright sunlight streaming into the dark interior.
Wafting through the air outside and throughout the restaurant was they inviting smell of BBQ’d Ribs. We walked the narrow passage that separates the two sides to the hostess just outside the back door.
Immediately outside on the right is a bar and about 25 tables along the patio that looks out over a beautiful harbor scene. Although it was a hot and sunny day, cheerful yellow umbrellas and ceiling fans strategically placed along the length of the patio ceiling and a breeze blowing in from the water, made the outdoor seating very comfortable.
We were seated by the hostess who greeted us just outside the back door and then after we were seated we were immediately greeted by a cocktail waitress who took and delivered our drinks while we looked over the menu.
It was hard for me not to order the ribs I was smelling (maybe next time!). I decided on the Grilled Chicken Salad, Enid picked the Thai Steak & Noodle Salad and Marcus went with the Ruby Red Trout with Coleslaw. We didn’t have too long of a wait for our food even though many of the tables were full when we arrived for our late lunch.
Each of the dishes we ordered was presented in a very appetizing way. All three plates looked wonderful and, honestly, we couldn’t find any complaints with any of the food we ordered-Except that maybe the portions were a little too generous! We were not able to take any left overs with us so we had to do our best to finish our meal. I had no trouble with this task and admit that I enjoyed every bite.
My Grilled Chicken Salad was a combination of mixed greens, plentiful lightly breaded chicken breast chunks, jicama, grilled corn all lightly tossed in honey-lime vinaigrette & peanut sauce. It was not just wonderful mix of flavors, but this salad satisfied the variety of textures that I look for in a salad.
Although I didn’t taste the other two meals, Enid and Marcus both were very impressed with the Thai Steak & Noodle Salad -marinated Filet, mango, chopped peanuts, basil and mint topped with noodles, that Enid ordered. The large pieces of meat were well seasoned and very tender. There was also a wonderful mix of textures that she enjoyed very much.
I admit that I don’t like fish unless it doesn’t taste like fish (think Cod that is used in Fish and Chips) so it isn’t often that I try it when Marcus orders fish. But, this looked really good so I was tempted to try Marcus’s Ruby Red Trout with Coleslaw. He assured me I wouldn’t like it because it did taste like fish. I could see it was cooked perfectly-juicy and boneless. Marcus told me it was one of the best pieces of fish he had had in quite a while. He struggled to finish the whole fillet because of the generous portion, but he managed it!
We didn’t order any wine or mixed drinks. Houston’s does have a wine, cocktail and beer wine list.
When we were talking about the rating we would give the restaurant, I said I would easily give it an 8.5 while Enid and Marcus went as high as 9.5. I withheld the extra point+ because I want to do a return visit for dinner. I find when an experience in a restaurant is so good, both in service, that was attentive but not hovering, and food, that was very good, I wonder if it was a fluke. A second visit will definitely be in our near future to determine if we caught them on a good day or if Houston’s is really this good all the time. Maybe I would be tempted to give them a perfect score. However, I could not deduct any points from Houston’s view-it is a perfect 10!
Jennifer Wheatley-Wolf 
Great as always and thanks Jen, now I’m hungry. Your salad really looked good. Showed Keith the fish dinner and all he said was “yum”. Certainly a good review for tge restaurant .
Houston’s could become a new favorite if our return visit is as good as this first!