Da Vinci

I travel world wide, and seek the best places to eat. So I consider myself a bit of a fine food fanatic. Had dinner for first time at Da Vinci’s since it opened recently and put it in the ranks of a very good classic european boutique restaurant. The kind of place that a local businessman would take you out to if you visited Paris or Monaco and wanted to impress. In Europe such small boutique restaurants are more common and part of the character expected in old cities, but in Houston, the land of mega chain restaurants, this is truly a gem! Question is whether or not Katy is ready for this type and level of restaurant. Anyhow as far as my experience went, it was by far the best dinner I’ve had in Houston (and I have been living here 25 years). Don’t let the location fool you. Indoor decor and atmosphere is great. Note: the place filled up quickly when I went, so I would recommend making a reservation.

The bread with the two sauces was delicious . We tried one appetizer and two entrees and a dessert between the three of us and all the dishes were very tasty. Especially the Service was wonderful . Our waiter- CJ was entertaining, friendly and a jolly guy. We went in there with tired faces and with his friendliness he made us smile and laugh .. We left the place with smiles .. A totally different experience we had than other Friday dinners that we always have . Hats-off to the. Restaurant for providing such an excellent service .

After all my friends talking about this place I went there last Tuesday with a reservation…The decor, food and the service is behind our expectations…I really understand why this little restaurant is so famous in Katy. They really do a great job.

I have been wanting to try Da Vinci. I finaly went for dinner and I was not disappointed at all.
The service was wonderful and attentive. The bread that they put on the table before the meal and the sauces were excellent. The palm salad with crab meat and lobster is very light and nice. I had the salmon and my husband had the mahi mahi. It was wonderful. I would definitely recommend Da Vinci and Iwill return soon with my friends..If you go to Da Vinci for your birthday you will be suprise with a table side desert…Thank to Da Vinci..

My husband and I ate here this weekend. This is by far the best food that we have eaten in Katy. In my opinion the food is much better and much more reasonably priced than Perry’s and the food and interior of the restaurant far superior to Antonia’s. 3 Olives and Cafesito do not even come close to this place.
The manager and the staff were extremely friendly. If you live locally, please try out this restaurant, as it would be a shame to lose it. If you are European, like my husband, you will love this place.
A great night out without children.

We will be going back once a week to try a new dish. The Ravioli stuffed with mushrooms was excellent as well as the Redfish with seasonal vegetables. I’m no food critic, but I like good food and they have it… Hope they stay around long enough for people to discover them.

First I must start of by saying I am an admitted Italia lover! I lived in New York before moving to Katy, the epicenter of Italian food stateside. As well, I spent a summer in Florence and Rome and ate and ate and ate. So believe me I know Italian food and DaVinci’s has “it”. The way to know a truly great Italian restaurant is simple, try the spaghetti, marinera and meatballs. Seriously, if they can make the simplest dish perfectly, most likely the rest will be too. The marinera at DaVinci’s is definitely up to par. I really question the other reviewer…. seems overly critical and frankly like a competitor or something. My experience could not be further apart from his. By the way, my husband got the lambshank and as the sign of a great lambshank it melted of the bone. Needless to say we both loved it and the sauce was absolutely yummy. (anything but rancid!) I also had the creme brulee for dessert perfect. The chocolate thing made me laugh…not sure what Mr. was talking about there. Mine had a nice lil’ drizzle across the top to garnish. Also, my husband had the sorbet. Yummy again! I can not say enough about this place. If you want fresh truly authentic Italian flavors, this place is a must. Oh and before I forget, it also has the intimate, dim lit ambiance you look for in Italian restaurants. Love it!

Stay away from the scallop appetizer. At $9 a plate (four scallops) I figured they would be fresh (shame on me for not asking). Instead, they were perfectly bland with no golden sear to mask the grainy and string texture of thawed shellfish. And they were about the size of a quarter (think U/20 or 30). On the plus side they were not overcooked. The lamb shank came with linguine in broth. The lamb melted off the bone. The broth for the linguine tasted bitter – as though herbs had been steeped for too long and gone rancid. The redfish sounded great but fell short. No big mishap – just bland. The tortellini was also disappointing although the sauce was good. But how wrong can you go with a cheese, cream, and garlic sauce? The crème brulee had the most awful texture I have ever experienced. It would appear that the chef received squeeze bottles for Christmas because chocolate sauce was everywhere – from the top of the crème brulee itself (Blasphemer!) to the plate underneath. Crème brulee is perfect decadence that needs no embellishment. The cheesecake reminded me of Naples in the summer – very dry. The service was great but don’t be surprised if it takes a while for the initial meet and greet between server and table. The server is responsible for reciting a specials menu about a third as long as the regular menu (a slight exaggeration). The specials are written on a 3×2 ft. chalkboard propped up on a chair that is lugged around to each table but only when the server is done with the previous table and not helping the food runners. Bottom line, skip it. This is not the ‘great hope’ for authenic quality food in Katy.