Bradley’s Fine Diner

We had Sunday brunch with our 2 young kids and it was very good — the French toast sticks were ridiculously good, and my husband’s short rib hash stack was amazing. They don’t have a separate kids’ menu but there are plenty of picky-​water choices that can be shared (we went with fish & chips). Service was very attentive. We will come back!

Had the black-​bean hummus and Moscow mules.
Service was good, the hummus was not. The mules were served in glass cups…

To be honest I’ve never eaten here. First time I tried to stop by it was lunch. I didn’t catch they weren’t open. Completely understandable.
Tonight however is a different story, we hit their doors at 8:40. A hostess timidly walked up to us and informed us they were closed. Much to my surprise because there was tables still eating and staff cleaning. I confirmed that they closed at 9:00, I didn’t want to make the same mistake. She confirmed they closed at 9. The only answer I received was that it was slow so we closed early. A manager never came to say hello or inquire. I just an apology although genuine it didn’t make up for arbitrarily choosing early.
That being said, I won’t be giving them another try. I can’t imagine turning away customers because it’s slow. If anything you need to work on bringing in more business.

Checked out Bradley’s Fine Diner for happy hour on a Thursday and it was pretty dead but hey I’m not complaining! Their happy hour goes till 7 which is a plus in my book because other spots have their HH end at 6. Most of us get off of work at 5 so less than an hour of drinking is definitely not enough! They had a good selection of beer, wine, and cocktails on special.
Good deals on food too. Unfortunately, they were out of the mozzarella sticks grilled cheese. Mozzarella sticks inside a grilled cheese??! That sounds like something I would get at the Rodeo so I was amazed. Alas, I went will the BBQ pulled chicken sliders and a half order of the mac and cheese. Sliders were good and everything but the mac and cheese stole the show. The half order was still a hearty portion and had ham mixed in along with breadcrumbs to top things off. Good stuff!
Large parking lot so parking isn’t an issue. The regular-​priced entrée seemed a bit overpriced for a Southern-​style restaurant but I’ll give it a try next time I check them out for dinner.

I hesitate to give this place a good review out of fear that people will start coming. This is one of the few places in town that have great ambiance, great food, great service, and you can still get a table on Friday night without a wait. It’s really become my go-​to spot whenever I want to eat well but forgot to make a reservation the day before or don’t want to wait two hours for a table.
If you’ve not tried it, please don’t. I really like my secret gem and don’t want that to change.
Thanks,

The food is ALWAYS great! Today I tried the Asian Slaw as an appetizer which was really good (for all you healthy people)! I also tried the Pork Ribs, Mac n Cheese, Grilled Corn, and Deviled Eggs with a roll. Pretty Tasty! It’s good that they change the menu every now and then with different dishes! If you’re ever at the bar ask for Tracy or Reid!

Bradley’s menu has a great variance of offerings. The best thing about BFDs is the staff particularly the bartender Tracey, I met her once and she remembered my name and drink order the second time. The menu is ever changing for the better and evolving to meet its diners needs. If you have been there in 2014 I encourage you to try the new chefs menu — and definitely have Tracey treat you at the bar.

Went here once when it first opened and it was great. I have been here twice since then and was disappointed each time. The quality of the food is subpar. The service is not consistent either. I walked in and stood up at the front for 5 to 10 minutes before I chose to seat myself then had to wait another 5 minutes before getting service. I will most likely not go back here.

I need to agree with the other reviewers; the price exceeds the quantity
The good: The spaces design is really beautiful, with a great amount of attention to detail. Great ambiance. Great service and staff
The meh: This place is really pricey for what you get. That may fly well in River Oaks, but this is a shopping center next to Wal-​Mart and Starbucks near the Heights. We were hoping for a little more bang for the buck. The menu very recently changed, so other reviewers comments on certain dishes are moot. The current menu is very small, with not much to offer a vegetarian. I have dietary restrictions, but can usually find something on a menu I can eat. Here I was pretty much stuck with sides to order. They offered to adapt something for me, but then weren’t able to come up with alternatives with what they have. The food was OK. Not stellar. And the portions were really small. My boyfriend and I were hungry an hour after eating, but now hurting too much on $ to buy more food
Suggestion: Maybe hit up this place for drinks at the bar? The ambiance is really great, and you’d probably be happier with a drink and a snack.

I would love to see some additional nods to the diner theme on the menu, such as some rocking milkshakes and a take on steak and eggs. I think there’s a lot of room for growth there. Make sure you get the butterscotch pudding for desert! It’s not overwhelmingly sweet, like most butterscotch. It’s light and delicious.
The décor is lovely, parking is easy, and the service is amazing, however, making this place redeemable with some menu editing.

I’ll be frank — food is not worth the price in a sense of quantity and quality. I just paid $ 9 for a grilled cheese sandwich with conservative amount of cheese (I didn’t even taste the cheese). They called it ‘grilled cheese bites’ which is just grilled cheese cut in small rectangles.
The menu seems to be embellished and when you get your food you feel nothing but cheated.
I gave a three for the awesome decorations and great service. But not coming back until their prices match their food.

I went there last week for Brunch not knowing what to expect. I love nearby now and figured it would be a great way to get some food with my girlfriend.
We payed a little over 30 $ for our meals and no drinks other than water, but that is my only knock on this establishment.
She ordered a fried egg sandwich, and I ordered fish and chips. Both were delicious. The fish and chips are one of their signature dishes and they weren’t kidding. I went to England two years ago and love fish and chips, and these were some of the best fish and chips I have ever had, including England.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to eat somewhere a little different but with quality food that’ll fill you up, go to Bradley’s

Really, really enjoyed this place! Stopped in for a late Friday lunch last week and was a little surprised the place was so empty, but that was fine with me.
We were immediately greeted and seated and given menus and water. I’m in love with the décor of this place. It has a kind of bare-​bones, warehouse/​industrial look, but also very nicely decorated. They have the coolest chandelier. I’m guessing the open/​concrete dynamic makes it a little echoey when it’s packed, but this wasn’t a problem for us when we visited.
I ordered the patty melt with fries. Best. Patty. Melt. Ever. Simply for the fact that it was delicious and flavorful without being greasy. The rye bread was delicious and the cheddar was very good. I was only able to eat about half of the burger. I also really enjoyed the fries. They were a little hard to describe, but they were also not greasy. They were light and pillowy– yet still crunchy. Usually a meal of a patty melt and fries would make me feel overloaded. Totally not the case here.
My coworkers were equally impressed with their entrees and we’ve already been talking about putting this place into our regular rotation. I would like to check out their brunch some time.

I live so close, but I haven’t been here until last week.
Started with the crispy pork belly appetizer — so good. The piece of pork belly was tender on the inside but crispy on the outside, perfectly seasoned. The grits were delicious as well, I don’t usually like them. Everything was perfectly balanced with this dish, even the celery. Yum.
Entrée — pot roast. There was so much of it!!! I probably should’ve gone with a lighter entrée since the app was pretty rich. Again, tender meat, great complements but probably could’ve used a light veggie or something crispy to counterbalance.
Dessert — none of them were appealing to me, but our waiter suggested the butterscotch pudding. I typically do not enjoy puddings, but this had a nice texture, and the rosemary cookie was great.
Drinks — I had the La rosette I think? Refreshing.
Apparently I need to come back for brunch and have the grilled chicken sandwich!

This review is based on the brunch food.
Came here on a Sunday around 1 and it was surprisingly dead. I got the chicken sandwich since it was recommended by our waiter. It was one of the best chicken sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. I believe they brine the chicken which is why it was so juicy. It is a bit on the pricey side but it was worth it!
Service was good here. We were actually very surprised how fast we got the food. Can’t wait to try the dinner menu.

HRW — mash up of random friends edition
I was very excited to check this out. James Beard award winning Bradley Ogden? Umm yes please! His son Bryan is the executive chef here and they also have the Funky Chicken at the other end of the strip. The location is deceivingly low key. Also, I think BFD is still flying under the radar as a new restaurant so it wasn’t very busy. I’m actually a bit torn about this review because I don’t want it to get crazy and I’ll have trouble getting in later ;) Great big windows, reclaimed styling, vintage lighting… love it. All the staff was great and sommelier Sebastian talked with me about their (very well priced) wine program.
Regular menu items (of course)
BERKSHIRE PORK BELLY anson mills grits, Texas pecans, tomato jam 12 — pork belly? grits? done and done!
MARYLAND BLUE CRAB CAKE fennel slaw, arugula, roasted red pepper aioli 18 — warm and crispy with freshness of the veg
LOADED FINGERLING POTATOES white cheddar, applewood bacon, scallions 9 — guilty pleasure food
HRW
POPCORN SHRIMP cilantro, chili-​lime aioli — fantastic-​ly fried
SOUTHERN FRIED TOMATOES house-​made buttermilk ranch — batter stayed on the tomato wedges, crispy out, juicy in
BRADLEY’S CAESAR* whole leaf romaine, parmesan, croutons — just a really good Caesar
YANKEE POT ROAST garlic mashed potatoes, roasted baby carrots, buttered breadcrumbs — fall apart meat, creamy potatoes, total comfort food
PAN ROASTED RAINBOW TROUT corn relish, cherry tomatoes, brown butter caper sauce — delicate fish with nice crispy skin
BERKSHIRE PORK CHOPS fingerling potatoes, asparagus — BEST. PORK. CHOP. EVER. yes, better than Perry’s — don’t judge me til you eat this!
BRADLEY’S BUTTERSCOTCH PUDDING Brown sugar rosemary cookie — smooth and not too sweet, good cookie!
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE vanilla bean whipped cream, strawberry compote — just what you want strawberry shortcake to be
CHOCOLATE BANANA CAKE charred banana pastry cream, salted caramel ice
cream — I don’t like bananas so I only tried the chocolate, which was rich, and the ice cream was very tasty
Totally going to try and hit this place a few more times before people figure it out!

Bradley’s Fine Diner definitely does a good job sticking to the upscale diner theme. The inside is cute with clever details all around. From the rustic looking yellow dining chairs to the modern and highly styled plates and glasses, they’ve made a décor that’s warm and inviting.
Our service was excellent and the drinks were even better. With lots of options to pick from we chose a few starters to share (I went in a group of 4) and I was particularly impressed by the mushroom bread. For my entrée I chose the beet salad topped with grilled steak, which was unique and probably not something I would normally order, but they waiter gave it huge hype. My boyfriend’s steak appeared to be slightly overcooked but still had tons of juicy flavor.
I think my main issue with BFD is (the same as other Unilocalers have noted) it’s upscale food in a not-​so-​upscale setting. If I go somewhere and drop over $ 50/​person, I’d like it to feel like a treat. Their strip center location facing the Chipotle across the street just doesn’t do it for me. I imagine a «fine diner» theme is hard to pull off for exactly that reason, but it certainly doesn’t stop some of the other restaurants we have nearby. While BFD excels in their service and food preparation department, it’s seriously lacking in location.

OMG I am so impressed with this diamond in the rough! Was running errands when my husband and I decided to stop by to grab a quick dinner.
The décor alone impressed me: reclaimed wood, great lighting, unique atmosphere, floor to ceiling windows, beautiful chairs and leather booths. We were underdressed but they didn’t care– seemed high brow but was very casual. The service was IMPECCABLE. Ask for Omar, he was a 5-​star server and was so attentive and polite. Not pretentious, easy-​going but extremely well-​done.
The food blew us away! First they brought us blue corn muffins with homemade whipped butter. Warm and soft — very yummy! Overalls gorgeous presentation. We asked to split and they did so in the kitchen, plated beautifully! The fried tomatoes were delicious: homemade buttermilk ranch, perfectly fried green tomatoes (not sopped in grease) with green onion and bleu cheese. Meatloaf set perfectly on a mound of garlic mashed potatoes with carrots and one piece of bacon — comforting and classic and plenty for 2 servings!
For dessert we finished with their famous buttermilk bread pudding. Vanilla bean infused into a butterscotch custard with vanilla bean whip — rich, sweet and creamy!
Our drink of choice was a French 75: gin, champagne, lemon and lemon zest with simple syrup. Not on the menu but definitely worth ordering because they did a great job! Perfect refreshing summer beverage.
Good contender in competition with Down House. We will definitely be returning and we think you should too! Highly recommended.

First visit after they have been open for 6+ weeks. A Wednesday night and the dining crowd was small. Note that their website is not up-​to-​date…
A nice space with plenty of parking.
Staff knowledgable and friendly. Only downside is a bit too quick on the entrees — 2 of our group were still finishing appetizers. They of course have the latest cocktails. Food overall good — they did not have their signature yukon gold potato perogies. Reasonable pricing.
My gut is that they are still getting their act together. We’ll give it a few weeks and try again.

My husband has been here for lunch previously, and we both dined for lunch today. He really liked it, so I thought I’d scope it out too.
Very easy to get here, as it’s right off of I-​10 west, between between Yale and Heights blvd. with plenty of parking in front. Still very new, so the service is overly attentive, and it’s smells and looks fresh. Nice warehouse/​industrial décor.
It’s definitely a ‘splurge’ for lunch. I ordered the steak and potato (skirt steak and fries), $ 18 and hub ordered the burger and fries, $ 16. Total with 1 iced tea was $ 40 (before tip.) The steak was tasty, around 6oz, and the burger was very juicy. Fries were fresh cut and crispy. On his previous visit, he ordered the chicken sandwich /​burger and it was large and tasty as well.
I may come visit again for dinner, or brunch. I did check out the brunch menu, it’s slim (as are the lunch and dinner menus… Kinda repetitive).
It’s def an upgrade from which wich and chipotle across the street!