Birraporettis Reviews

Went here for Valentine s Day and had a wonderful meal and fantastic entertainment! They had a wonderful singer sing some romantic songs during dinner! I would highly recommend this excellent Italian restaurant! The food is awesome!

It's downtown Houston in the Theater District. Great location. Food was just okay. The pasta sauce was WAAAAAY too salty. For the money it was not a good value. Our waiter was very mediocre. Brought the check before even asking if we wanted dessert. Brought coffee but no creamer. Couldn't get him to come back for 10 minutes to request creamer. Overall, somewhat disappointing, meals were uneven. Mine was not even Olive Garden worthy. My wife enjoyed her soup and sandwich. Desserts turned out to be really the best part of the meal. Atmosphere though was really cool. I could see this being a great pre event stop or even a nice date spot.

I didn t like the food here, but music was amazing!

Food smelled delicious. I left before ordering because my kids were a little to young for the setting and tone but was really excited to try it all

I really like this place
Very appetizing pasta
Great service
Relaxing atmosphere

My first visit to birraporetti's was excellent, the service was good and the food was great tasting and the prices were bad at all. Will definitely return.

My boyfriend bought a Groupon last October and we were going to the November 4th dinner show, however, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston and the facility flooded so we had to wait until they reopened. I was cool with that, which was not a problem for my boyfriend and I we just wanted to be able to use the Groupon and have a fun date night!

The food was pretty good for Italian buffet style and it was pretty cool how the staff made you draw cards for different sections to go a grab their food. The drink service however was not the best. The way the tables are is you pick which ever table you want to sit at so if it's just two of you attending you will more than likely site with two people you do not know. My boyfriend and I ran into some of my longtime family friends so we actually got to sit with a couple I knew very well! I was a little disappointed in our server, he forgot our drinks a few times and my boyfriend and I would have to remind him a few times.
The show was fun, the main lady was really good and had a fantastic opera voice. She was also very entertaining and a hoot to watch.

Parking - I was not impressed with the parking situation, keep in mind I do not go downtown a lot, I called the restaurant and asked about the parking situation because most places you have to pay downtown. They informed that parking was above the restaurant. My boyfriend called them and asked about parking too just to make sure we were covered, they never said anything about that it was cash only. So we had to find another lot that took a card which can be very frustrating when you are downtown and not familiar with the area. As we were leaving I asked if they validate parking, they said no there is a garage above the restaurant. I informed the employee yes I am aware but they charge and it's cash only he then states that the streets are free after 6:00 PM. Where was this information when we called twice and asked specifically about parking?

All in all it was an experience and a fun date night. I don't know if we would go back but I am glad that we got to try it out.

Response to the owner's response :
I am not sure, I did not catch his name

A beautiful place to eat, with an amazing staff to wait on your every need.

The food is pretty solid. Decor is outdated but kinda cool and dark.

Birraporetti separates its pizza selection from the rest of the menu under the "Award Winning Pizza" section in the menu. The size difference between the Medium and the Large is significant, and thus justifies the $2 extra dollars for a large specialty pizza. Seriously, there is absolutely no reason to get the medium.

Let's start off with some pizza basics. Presentation is orthodox. The Za is brought out on a tray and placed on a rack above your table (the right way). Surprisingly the pizza does not have a strong scent. This is indicative of a creamier cheese. Sure enough, my veggie pizza was generously topped with black olives, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Veggies were quite fresh. The topping to whole pizza surface area ratio was on point! The crust is ever so slightly charred, but very forgiving for those who dislike a crunchier crust. The sauce had a nice calm presence, nothing too special. Finally, the cheese confirmed my assumptions. It was melted goodness!

Birraporetti's offers a great pizza, although it does hype itself to a level I disagree with. I would actually rate this pizza a 4.3 / 5.

Went for my graduation dinner and the food was awesome and my server was great. I can't remember his name

Fairly good food, but feels like big chain atmosphere

Classic spot to visit after the theatre. Chill atmosphere and good food.

Nice atmosphere and the food is always on point. Service is awesome too.

They really need some help at the door. Even w reservations its embarrassing to watch.

Came originally because of a Groupon but after tonight I would come again and dine even without it. The portions were great and food tasty and priced well. Service was good. The waiter was always available and kind. I ordered Mediterranean Salad with shrimp. You could see the shrimp :) would have preferred a light grilled shrimp on the salad but overall great. Also ordered almond crusted chicken with spinach pasta , delicious. The crust on chicken was nice and crunchy not greasy and you can still taste the almond. Also ordered large Philly Steak Pizza. The bread on pizza was very very good. People underestimate the power of the bread on the pizza but makes a difference. Cheese was wonderful and of good quality. Steak meat was cooked well. I'm an ice tea drinker and the ice tea was fresh because you can tell if it sits awhile due to different taste but here it was done right. Apparently they do murder mystery downstairs so that should be interesting for next time visit. I will be happy to come again.

The staff take great care of us, good menu, well prepared and served in a timely manor so we were not late for our show. Thanks Chris and Chuck. And, of course, Michael.

Unfortunately, the statement of "you get what you pay for" does not apply at all to this establishment. It's overpriced, the food is mediocre at best, and the service is downright horrible. Upon arrival, we were not greeted and led to a too small table even though we've had reservations for weeks. The waitress never smiled was not at all friendly. She got our order wrong and came back twice to ask what came with our meal (even though they were standard menu items). One of our dinners came out 15 minutes before the rest. We finally asked the manager to come over and told him what had so far transpired at and that point I requested a new waitress as they were not that busy. The manager never came back to check on us, it took another ten minutes to get the rest of the food, and we were stuck with the same awful waitress. All of our pasta dishes were cold, the steak was overcooked, and the shrimp was extremely tough. Overall, I won't be back until it's under new ownership or a different establishment.

One of the few places to go late at night in downtown after a show, but the quality is just average Italian. Service is nice but slow. Prices are reasonable.

From food to service to the music. Everything is just a great experience at Birraporetti. I love this place

Birraporettis is our default dinner spot before seeing plays at the Alley. The food is always good, but we generally refrain from eating too much or else the we'll be moaning during the play. They appear to have many good dishes on the menu, but we generally get the same thing (which agrees with us for the play). The prices are good, and the place looks clean. Their only problem is that they appear to over commit on reservations, and sometimes you have to wait to get a table.

Dishonest billing tactics by the waiter to pump up the bill, did not tell us garlic bread had acost just brought it out. Automatically have is the largest beer, appetizer without asking. Did not fix the whole bill after "fixing" the problems. Food was so so but waiter was the worst part. Had the gall to say "you must not have been here before" in a very snooty way when confronted by the issue with not informing us about the garlic bread. And we had drinks, appetizer, entrees, dessert!? Not minimal consumers. Won't go back

I like this place, especially its chiken alfredo pizza

The service was good...The food was meh just normal food nothing I went OMG about. Was suppost to had Jazz brunch but it was no jazz just a lizzard lounge singer that was disappointing. Would i go back? Nah... Would i recommend... Nope. Too expensive, no jazz as promised and food wasnt the greatest. $75.00 for two with tip no drinks.... Save your money and go some place else.

My wife and I stopped here for a late lunch and Wow we had a great experience. I ordered the salmon and my wife had the linguine with clams. The food was cooked perfectly. The service was awesome. We will be back. Thanks

Old school classy, upscale, tablecloths, servers who know what they are doing. This place is the real deal. No corners are cut. Food is amazing. All of it. Drinks. Dessert. We had pizza, pasta, apps, wine. It's somewhat pricey, but worth every penny.

Really admire Chuck Gardner's spirit to re-open after the place had flooded. We were treated to some excellent choices of soups, appetizers, and main entrees. Anything with the italian sausage was great and I don't think you can make a bad choice with any of the dishes. I look forward to visiting again!

Booked our holiday party here. Started off on the wrong foot 2 months ago when we booked - emailed my credit card info, which was then hacked the next day. Couldn't say for 100% sure though until I sent them another card number and sure enough, it also got hacked the next day. Despite that, we stayed the course for our event. Fast forward to the night of our event - our party had 7:00 reservations, but weren't seated until 7:30. We had set it up so that only house wine and beer were available options for our team, but they were initially told they could order off of the full drink menu until we caught it. The menu that we had pre-selected had the incorrect entrees listed. Most of the drinks that were ordered were wrong. I ordered 3 glasses of Pinot Grigio, and each time I received a different wine. Another person at our table ordered a white Zinfandel and ended up with a red wine. When we ordered our entrees, most of them came out wrong. The sides on the menu were listed as asparagus and mashed potatoes, yet we all received broccoli and fettuccine Alfredo. One person ordered shrimp scampi that was shrimp and fettuccine Alfredo. I'm pretty sure that shrimp scampi is universally known as shrimp with noodles in a butter sauce, not a creamy white sauce. But the manager argued the point with me when I brought it up. You can make it however you want, but at least let people know. It's like ordering a hamburger and they bring you a plate of tacos. The kicker though was the automatic gratuity. We had a group of 14. I fully expected an included tip. But 23%?????? I wouldn't go that high for stellar service, much less the poor service we got. The standard auto gratuity is usually around 16-18%. I'm not sure why they think they deserved that, since I had multiple visits from multiple managers apologizing for the poor service. That's great, but maybe back the "I'm sorry" up with some action? The free bellini's were a start, but pretty gutsy to demand a 23% tip on service the restaurant admitted was not good.

Comfortable welcoming environment, friendly professional service and well prepared visually appealing food.

Was so good the first time we had to go back! Friendly atmosphere with great food. They add some live dinner music to make it perfect! Highly recommend!

The food was good but not great. We got the spinach dip as an appetizer and about half the chips were stale and the other half were good. The service was a little on the slow side but we weren't in a hurry so that was okay.

It's been several years since I'd been to Birraporetti's and now I recall why I didn't rush back before. This most recent dinner was simply underwhelming.

We started with the escargot and the calamari. While the calamari was edible, it was overcooked and tough. The escargot was rubbery and gritty and was covered in the thickest, soupiest "sauce" I've ever seen served with escargot.

For dinner - nothing impressed. I had the linguini with clam sauce - it was nothing more than cooked pasted, canned clams and a bit of pan sauce that had no flavor. The garlic bread was atrocious and seemed like frozen/store bought (of which I've had better) and the most odd part was that the bottom of the bread was damp or moist - almost as though it was sitting in a puddle of water.

Service was slow and average.

I won't rush back - and I'll probably never return unless under duress for a late night meal and friends don't want to walk to a nearby food hall.

It was AMAZING! ! The food, service and the Host!! Best ever!!

Service with a smile (and a song). Great experience with Felix, our server. He was delightful -- helpful, attentive, and fun. I'm Vegan and was actually able to get a plant based meal (pasta with Marinara sauce and sauteed spinach). I went More

It was my first visit to this restaurant. My father-in-law reserved a table at 6:15. We got there at 6:08. Our table wasn't ready when we arrived. We waited for additional 20 minutes.

I was disappointed lack of reserve table. Then a couple came in after us, they sat the couple down at a table while we waited.

The food was okay. My mother-in-law ordered double asparagus. She got broccoli, spinach, and asparagus. We ordered garlic bread for our appetizer but we got it after our meal...

Disappointed in the false advertisement.

I'm giving this place 3 stars because, the food is very good but the service is horrible. This is the second time that we have visited this location. Both times we had to find somebody to help seat us. Then to have a waiter or a waitress, give as much attention to us as tables who are drinking either wine or alcohol. As we discussed at our table we probably will not come back. Sure is sad to not be able to go someplace to eat after you go to the theater and have decent service.

Great spot. Good food. But before you have a Birthday Party there find out the price for bringing a cake in to the restaurant. They have a fee. :(

I had a great time, the waitstaff is very courteous and I had a great time. The food was great.

Calamari was a fun choice! Salmon was wonderfully tender and tasty! Our waitress, Ashley, showed excellent service... I did not want for a thing! And the band, with Big Al Bettis and Freddy Pate... Just Fabulous; the music was excellent! Great show!

Edit - tried the pizza again and it was better this time! This pizza was a pepperoni, sausage, basil combo which is my favorite vs last time which was supreme veggie style.
Updated to 5 stars!

Original - The pasta was good. The pizza was disappointing. Edit - i wish I could remember which pizza. It looked really good and another of my party tried it as well and agreed it unfortunately didnt taste as good as it looked. I will come again and give it another try some time. I think mainly it was bland tasting. I still recommend others to come and try out for themselves.

Went with my parents who had been here years ago. They loved it and said it was exactly as they remembered. The food, service, and ambiance are great. There's also a jazz club downstairs which is pretty neat.

Enjoyed a quick dinner before symphony. Recommend the spaghetti and meatballs.

The food was expensive and it was okay but nothing great. They charged $7 for a side of green beans.

It was a great experience service was 100 % and the food was even better cant wait till we go back

Dishwasher until i realized this resturaunt doesnt use sanitizer for the dishwater. Me amd my son have gotten food poisoning from eating here

The food was the best answer the service could not be better and Monday night they have live entertainment and don't forget E-Z Parking...this was the Downtown Fannin Street location.

Excellent Italian restaurant if you're down in the theater district.

Large group and service was fast and perfect. Food was amazing!

Great food, convenient location to the Alley Theatre.

Had a reservation for 6 pm. Didn't get seated until almost 7pm. They were amazing though and gave us free drinks and even free parking passes. When we finally got seated, we had amazing waiters and amazing food.

The Murder Mystery venue is poorly planned. Where to start...
They don't take a head count, people were standing waiting for seating. The buffet was the biggest issue.
They were late in serving. Then midway through the food was out. When I approached one of the gentlemen "Guido" that seems to be coordinating he stated: "We're contracted by Birraporetti's, we don't provide the food. They know that we're going to have a hundred people, they never provide enough food. Go upstairs and talk to John."
I went upstairs and talked to John, he went into the kitchen said a few things, didn't reappear and that was the end of that. I went back stairs, but things were still half empty. They ran out of plates, food again, and people were still standing around waiting. People were asking Birraporetti's staff for plates and they didn't understand. Both Birraporetti's and the company they contracted both failed. The murder mystery part started late and it was rather cheesy. I'm posting this as I sit here through this "show" and I'm on the edge of leaving. Don't waste your money or time on the Murder Mystery. Very disappointed.

Excellent cheeseburger and fries...will definitely try the breakfast next time.

Better than expected. Was even able to find dairy free, gluten free options.

Fantastic ambiance, wonderful value, excellent service...highly recommended

Very good food right in the Theater District, plus the kitchen is open till 12 am!

At first this place was a little difficult to find and it actually took me 20 minutes. But when I did find it I was amazed on the size outside looked rather small but when I went in it was bigger then i actually expected! The food was delicious and very good the only flaw is that it is quite costly, customer service was great and fast, and the view is beautiful worth going back!

We were headed to the symphony and stopped by with no reservations. We ate at the bar and everyone including management was working their tales off to provide excellent service. The food was delicious and the people watching delightful. I hope to go back when I go to the symphony again.

Very nice place to enjoy a meal. We stopped in for dinner before a show. Our friends we were with recommended it. The food was amazing and the staff were very friendly and engaging. I highly recommend this place if you're looking for a solid Italian meal.

After a wonderful night at the theater, we thought Birraporettis would be the best spot to have a late dinner, well we thought wrong!
Maybe because it was St. Patrick's Day, but the service was horrible!
I had been here before and the service was much, much better, so i am extremely disappointed! From no waiter, to a waitress who didn't know what cutlery was, are you kidding me?!!!
Unfortunately I will not revisit your establishment nor recommend you to anyone else!

I love this place, the atmosphere, the service and of course the food! I always take friends and family when they are in town to Birraporetti's. Their brunch is espectacular, they have buttomless Mimosas and Bellinies, stop by and have a great time!

Wonderful entertainment by Ray Rogers on Mondays, good HH drinks and food, entrees were delicious. Nice to see so many enjoying a downtown restaurant.

Waiter was way to familiar. Food wasn't great ... won't go back

Great atmosphere, the food is good but not exceptional

Came here before opera without a reservation, fully realizing that there would be a wait time. The front desk said "25 minutes or less". That worked just fine. Fifty minutes later, still no table, and we were not even next ones on the list. The front desk either flat out lies to customers about how long it will take, trying to convince customers to stay, or they are incompetent (which I don't think they are, having run this restaurant for so long). Either way, they are not doing customers any favor. There would have been no time to either have a decent meal there or anywhere else by that time, so we left without dinner to get some snacks at the opera cafe.

Food was excellent, needed more wait staff. Dont be in a hurry.