BB’s Cafe

Came here with a coworker for lunch, and got there as the place first opened. Everyone was really nice as we walked in, and genuinely seemed happy that we were there. Our server gave us prompt attention, and was very knowledgeable about the menu and specials. He recommended an appetizer that was bacon wrapped jalapeños with cream cheese (there may have been another ingredient, I don’t remember), so we got that. We both also ordered maw maws gumbo. Now, I had a talk with the server about just how big the bowl of gumbo was (you’ve got two choices. There’s a 5 dollar one and a more expensive one) and he ensured me the 5 dollar bowl was on the bigger side. So when it came out and it wasn’t, I was a little disappointed, but it was still good. So my tip on that, if you’re looking to eat a lot, skip the value and spend the money on the bigger bowl.
The gumbo was good. I had the chicken and andouille sausage gumbo, which also had rice atop the gumbo. It was good… not as good as my moms gumbo. but for a restaurant I was pleased. My coworker got the same gumbo and added crab (or lobster, can’t remember which) to it and said it was good too.
So between the excellent customer service, and the enjoyable food, I would def recommend this place.

18 $ for a bowl of seafood gumbo. Come on man, really. It’s not even good

I’ve been to a few of their locations and the Studemont to me has the best crawfish — plus it’s across from Fitzgeralds (if that’s your thing). Highly recommend Tex Cajun fries, crawfish, red beans n rice, and most of the Po boys. Great Cajun food!

BBs crawfish is the best in Houston! The seasoning, the size, the purging, and the quality are all on point. Cannot be beat.
But the BB’s experience needs a major attitude adjustment. We are regulars and spend at least $ 100 each time we go for crawfish and drinks. Last night we were told it would be a 45 minute wait for a table. Not a big deal, I know they get busy, the crawfish is worth the wait, and we usually get a drink and an app at the bar. Much to our dismay, after waiting 20 minutes for the bartender to acknowledge us, we tried to order a couple beers and fried pickles but were told we could not order food unless we were dining at the bar because it «upsets» the waitstaff. What?! We are expected to wait almost an hour for a table and we are not allowed to order some freakin fried pickles while we wait? Absolutely ludicrous. BB’s you realize you lose money by not allowing patrons to eat apps at the bar while waiting for their table. This is a stupid way to operate your restaurant. We didn’t order 8 pounds of crawfish and 3 meals, it was a basket of pickles FFS. The customer’s experience should be valued more than the waitstaff’s experience. Which mind you the previous 2 times we went to BBs we had terrible service from our waiter. He was completely rude and put off by serving us the entire time. And he was upset our 80 year grandmother took a seat while the table was being cleaned. She’s 80, she can sit.
Management take note, do something, you’re becoming a complete pain in the ass. Here’s an idea, if you don’t want people ordering food at the bar then comp a few appetizers because you are grateful for all the business the Heights brings you everyday. Problem solved. It’s chaos parking, getting to the hostess stand, ordering a drink, and getting seated; it’s the least you can do for us. This kind of treatment is unacceptable. We are not retuning until things change.

Love their crawfish!
Great food and great service! It took a little bit to be seated because of the number of people but that just shows how amazing the food is! Valet company was great too!

So last time we visited for lunch about a week ago, we walked in, stood waiting for a table, received blank looks from the staff and were given no greeting. We assumed we should seat ourselves after the indifferent exchanges with several of the staff. The New Orleans experience is there as the whole place reeked of old seafood soaked trash sitting in a NOLA backstreet. Really an unpleasant smell. The table was sticky, food was all over the floor, I was given a filthy plate, a dirty fork, and then waited 30 minutes! for just a po-​boy. The icing on the cake was the food poisoning later that evening. I used to love BB’s, but this location is not what it used to be. So disappointing!

Okaaaay, so I’ve been here twice.
The first time — Gumbo Jeaux was closed so we settled for BB’s instead. «A» was our waiter. Let me just get this out of way & say that the service was hor-​freaking-​rendous. Communication was absent among the staff & so was «A» majority of the time. It’s one thing to be inattentive & it’s another to have the «I hate my job» attitude. He never peaked a smile, not even a smirk, not once! Makes me feel like it was a burden for him to take our orders. On top of that, he was training a newbie. Way to go, coach. His service was the prime reason as to why I never wanted to come back. No matter how amazing their poboys are, ugh.
The second time — I was indecisive about where to eat so I had the boothang surprise me. Of course, he chose BB’s because he is utterly OBSESSED with their poboys! Lo & behold, «A» was our waiter. again. Service was still lacking the 2^nd time around & so was he. Geez, «A», get your stuff together!
— Half & Half Poboy (⁴⁄₅): One of the best poboys I’ve ever had. It’s half fried shrimp & half fried oysters. The bread was so buttery, flaky & well dressed that every bite was like a mini celebration in my mouth. The fried shrimps & oysters were all so scrumptious & I loooved the coating!
— Texas Cajun Fries (²⁄₅): Not a big fan. There was something about it that made me feel a bit nauseated. The gravy perhaps? It’s a huge batch of thinly cut fries topped with roast beef, queso cheese & all dat gravy. Definitely an artery clogger & sadly, it clogged my appetite as well.
— Shrimp Gumbeaux (³⁄₅): Didn’t really have that wow factor because I’m honestly being biased. Captain Tom’s has the best gumbo. But BB’s ain’t too bad. The roux was a bit on the heavier side but the handful amount of shrimp & rice were great.
All in all, BB’s wouldn’t be my first option if I was craving for poboys. I really hope their service picks up (or at least «A») — maybe I caught him on an off day. Hm but twice? Lol eh, I’ll only come here if I didn’t have a choice.

Tuesday night at almost 8 and this place was packed making me think I made a good choice. I’m talking a 20 minute wait for 1 person packed! So rather than wait for a table, I decided to sit at the bar and looked longingly at the oysters sitting on ice in front of me, wanting to reach over and grab a couple. I ordered a simple but delicious dinner: a shrimp and oyster po boy and a cup of shrimp gumbo. I’m thinking the gumbo was having an off night, but not having ever been here before, I couldn’t say for sure. It tasted extremely salty, lukewarm and the rice tasted a bit old. I’m thinking I got the last of the rice and the bottom of the gumbo pot because there wasn’t a lot going on in my little bowl. If I were around in Houston for a bit longer, I would come back for a gumbo rematch.
The po boy on the other hand, was flippin’ awesome. Bread was soft, their mayo mix was perfect and the fried shrimp and oysters were on point, just stuffed full and spilling out of the sandwich. A lot of times I feel cheated whenever I order a po boy because of the amount of seafood/​meat in it, but this had the perfect amount. I also realized that while I detest shredded lettuce (it’s like being forced to eat confetti), a po boy is an exception for some reason. If you’re into great seafood with a New Orleans party vibe, give BB’s a try!

I always bring friends to BB’s when they are in town & this place has never disappointed me. I am somewhat surprised by the recent negative reviews. Now, I have never had Crawfish at this location before but the other items I have always enjoyed. My two girlfriends who happen to be my Sorority sisters were with me and they both are from Louisiana. We were celebrating our Founder’s Day & this was a convenient spot for us. Everyone enjoyed their food.

Crawfish is back! That’s the good news the bad news they are small. Now I know better than. To eat them this early but all of my confirmed reports told me that they are big this year! Well the crawfish here were very small like fired crawfish small. And they are $ 8 bucks a lb. total rip off!
They now offer valet parking at $ 8 bucks as well! Another rip off. Even Other well established places in the heights offer FREE valet. Such a huge disappointment not sure if I’ll come back anytime soon.

When I was a little kid, I used to call myself Bebe for some weird reason. So naturally, I have to be a fan of a restaurant called BB’s Café. BB’s is a Houston establishment with several locations throughout Houston and a bar/​dining concept that kind of reminds me of Onion Creek in terms of the décor and patio. There is a parking lot but not too many spots so it all depends upon your luck.
BB’s serves Cajun fare and I went with the frog legs and the Texan-​Cajun fries. The frog legs are served with fries as well as BBQ sauce. The Texan-​Cajun fries take a sprawling heap of fries, pour some queso and gravy over it, and mix in some roast beef. Talk about artery-​clogging but also one of their most famous dishes.
Service was average but the manager stopped by our table and provided us with a free appetizer on our next visit for no apparent reason. A nice and unexpected surprise! When at a Cajun restaurant, go ahead and pretend like you’re in Louisiana and order yourself an Abita beer.

The Gumbo here is too legit to quit!
My cousin, friend, and I decided to an «Anthony Bourdain Food Adventure» by sampling a bunch of popular places in the Heights in one day. What’s that you ask? You drive or walk all over the a popular area and stuff your face without ever quitting! We went to Good Dog, Houston Dairy Maids, Asian Market Thai Lao food, Gelazzi, Lee’s Chicken and Waffle, Revival Market, and then BB’s! (Sharing allows you to eat more so you can sample everything and try more and more food)
We ended up sharing a cup of Gumbo. I didn’t expect much because I was never a fan of gumbo, but man it was actually pretty good! It had a decent amount of meat inside and it was balanced in spices/​seasoning. A little bit of hot sauce helped kick it up a bit.
Our waiter was very friendly. He talked super fast but always had a smile. He brought us food, drinks, and refilled our cups without hesitation.
Good gumbo and service. I’ll be back!

I really LOOVED the Shrimp and Grits. SO decadent, large shrimp, other seafood, delish! However, not a fan of the shrimp po-​boy which was just «meh» to me. The wait staff was amazing and because it was our first time the Manager came over and gave both my friend and I a gift certificate for a free appetizer and desert next time we come in (the reason I am giving an extra star). Overall very good experience.

BB’s is a safe option — they do Cajun food that fixes your craving in a jiffy, and they stay open pretty late, too, especially on weekdays!
Service here is very friendly, and they’re pretty on top of making sure you’re taken care of. Even then, the restaurant itself is pretty huge, so you never feel too cramped. Onto the food:
The surf & turf poboy is a veeeeeeery interesting combo; I actually liked the shrimp and roast beef together, as odd as that may sound. It’s quite different from your typical poboy, but also quite tasty.
The sausage gumbo and red beans and rice were your typical dishes — very dark roux on them, so very deep flavors going on. Worth trying!
Not worth trying: hush puppies. At 5 for $ 6, I can literally eat an entire meal at Chick-​fil-​A for that much… and I would rather eat CFA instead of 5 hushpuppies.
Don’t know where to go when it’s getting late? BB’s is definitely a solid contender.

Service was prompt & food was tasty. The place was clean and the price wasn’t bad either.

A friend of mine wanted to eat here for dinner. Initially, I was thinking to myself whhhhyyyyyy??? The last two times I’ve dined at BBs Café was months ago at the montrose location and it was a total miss. I decided to try this location, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The service was outstanding. I mean, not once did I have to ask for a menu, utensils, or a drink refresher. Thanks to the photo posted of the small fried shrimp platter ($ 13)by the previous Unilocaler, my mind was already made up before visiting. The entrée was served popping hot…(can I say that?) and it was very fresh. The fries were not cold, and fries did not taste like 3 day old grease.
The chances I will return to this location in particular are very high. Maybe next time I’ll bring hubbs.

BBs café was a nice surprise. Located on busy Montrose next to a gas station I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, the food tasted fresh, service was friendly, and outdoor seating was pleasant.
I had the fried shrimp platter and it was one of the best I’ve had! Seasoned fries are a welcomed side and staff is very friendly. Last time I went service was a little slow but they were fairly busy and perhaps short staffed.
Parking can get cramped but I’ve always been able to get a spot.
Take your dog and sit out on the patio!

Me: «Hey guys, I could totally use a po boy from Deanie’s or some oysters from Acme! Team road trip to NOLA?»
Guys: «YEAHHHHH!!!»
Well, this isn’t «Harold and Kumar go to White Castle» since ain’t nobody got time for that, so BB’s Café is a pretty good substitute for when you don’t have a few hours to drive east to get some legit Cajun eats.
Service was incredibly nice. Really sweet girls working.
Cool balcony for when Houston decides to stop being 100 degrees.
Vibes are pretty good for some football season action.
Food:
— Hush puppies– ²⁄₅ While excellent in flavor, you get 5 hush puppies for $ 6. Look, I can eat 5 hush puppies by myself, and I don’t see the value-​versus-​cost aspect in these. They probably cost all of .50 to make and are often a free item in other restaurants. The bang for the buck is just not there.
— Surf n turf po’ boy– ⁴⁄₅ Bread is nicely crisp, and roast beef is tasty. Sammich came out lukewarm though.
— Red beans n rice– ²⁄₅ GUYS! Popeyes makes better red beans and rice! Don’t get these! All 3 of us got them and thought they were just boo boo. There’s no tasty purée action going on. Just massive beans and rice that don’t mix together nicely. It’s quite spicy, so if you don’t like hot food, stay away.
I probably wouldn’t drive across town for this place, but it’s a good fix if you live nearby and want to have a beer while watching a game.

Probably my favorite spot ever. I’m a huge seafood/​Cajun connoisseur.
I recommend this place to everyone all the time forever.
Oysters gumbo poboys and my oh my that delicious spicy crawfish. Drools.

As they expand, there are ups and downs, but they do a good job moving product. Maybe some of the simplest things are best, like beans and crawfish… spicy boiled shrimp are excellent, also the Tuesday special!
If your hanging a bit on the weekend, the very underrated Morning magic kicks ass. Essentially a Cajun, French bread,**muffin, OE fried egg, w’ cheese with ham & spicy sauce. Be careful when biting into it that yolk doesn’t shoot out on your cheek or shirt.