Brunch here is great. The atmosphere is cozy and clean. I like that it is child friendly. Food is fresh. Portions are ok. Prices could be better considering it is a walk up and order place. read more

Do you like breakfast? What about pancakes? Omelets? Okay, good. We're going to Black Walnut Cafe. No, no, don't look at me like that. I know it gets a little crowded on the weekends and it's self service. Hell, I know the prices are a little on the high side, but, damnit, it's delicious. No, no really. Try the roasted vegetable omelet. You won't regret it. What? lactose intolerant? Okay, then what about the pancakes I mentioned? They come with honey butter and organic maple syrup. I think you'll like it, if you give it a chance. Okay, okay, I know. It's 11:00 a.m. Now you say you want lunch? Fine. Get the open-faced pot roast sandwich. It's one of the cheapest items on the menu, and I swear to God, it's delicious. You'll be pretty well stuffed in the event that you manage to finish it. *** There. Now aren't you glad I suggested this place? Oh, quit freaking out about paying for parking. We got our parking validated when we ordered at the counter. Cripes, you're high strung today. You know what you need? You need some gelato. This place has some truly amazing gelato. Here's $4.00. Go get yourself some and calm down. Crimeny. read more

The best way to describe Black Walnut is as follows: good (but not great) and always a good standby. I've never had a "Wow, this is the best thing ever!" dining experience here, but I've never had particularly bad experience either. For lunch/dinner, I'm a fan of the "Anderson's 'Bout Time"--a grilled chicken breast sandwich with swiss and avocado (always a plus in my book). The portion is a tad on the small side considering it's $9.50, but it's still a solid choice. For brunch, the omelets are good, especially the roasted vegetable omelet with cream cheese. Like the sandwich, they don't top any of my lists but still made for satisfying meals. Since you order at the counter and pick up your food, there's not too much I can rate in terms of service, though this past visit a couple of things disappointed me. First, on a Sunday at the peak of the brunch hour (i.e., 11:00), I'd like it if you had all of your varieties of coffee available (rather than being out of the light roast). Second, for whatever reason, the first person who ordered in our group was the last person to receive her food--by a long shot. When everyone's food comes out at such different times, it's hard to eat together. All in all, though, Black Walnut will always be an old standby when I'm in the village. Yes, it's a little expensive, but the atmosphere and location make up for it. read more

OK, I've already raved about this place a couple times, but I hadn't been there at night yet. I've been going on a weeknight about once a week for a few weeks to catch up with my besties. The ambience is nice. The wines are tasty. The staff are patient and friendly. What more could we want? Ooh, I should warn you, though, that one thing I did not know was that the parking validation is only good for up to three hours. We stayed a little longer than that one night, and were surpised when we had to pay a few bucks. But that's nothing to do with Black Walnut; that's the Village Arcade being boo boo. The Verdict: a great place for breakfast, afternoon cawfee talk, or unwinding with friends over a glass of wine. read more

This place just sucks....no other way to put it. Every time I come here I swear I'll never come back. Unfortunately, they have the luxury of having a prime location so it's mostly out of convenience that I even bother. However, this recent visit has convinced me that even La Madeleine is a better bet. I usually go in to great detail with my "yelps" but I cannot even muster up the energy to do so. Food is just so mediocre it's like the definition of mediocrity...and for what they are asking for in price...it's just ridiculous! Furthermore, the entire approach is extremely backward. They serve small portions on huge plates to be eaten at the tiniest tables....who's the brainchild behind that concept??? I cannot justify spending money here. read more

I really like black walnut cafe for the ambience, the food and the wifi. Ambience - they have large wing backed chairs that you can just disappear in for hours. the food- they serve brunch until 3pm on sundays and its really good! during the week i usually have a salad. the black walnut salad is decent. the wifi - self explanatory, never had a problem with the connection and they have a ton of outlets.... only complaint...the coffee sucks! read more

I freely confess that I am a regular here and I really enjoy this place, so was shocked by some of the 2 and 3 stars. But hey, to each his own. No place is perfect. I used to live right next to Rice Village so would walk here often to eat. You can order takeout, of course, or call ahead to order, and they are pretty fast. But BWC offers free wi-fi and comfy, cozy seats in the back, so I spent many an hour hanging out in the back and studying. I think you can also surf the net on the patio, btu I have never tried it myself. As for the food, I have never had anything bad on the menu, and the breakfast items are served at all hours. So good! BWC is a walk up and order place and you receive a buzzer to be paged when your food is ready, but this is due to the wide range of patrons that come here. Come in for lunch on any day during the week, and you'll have business lunches next to med students, next to Rice students, next to ladies' lunches, next to a date, next to a pharma sales lunch. Saturdays and Sundays: anything goes! A little bit of everything happens here at all times. The atmosphere is pretty upbeat inside and the outside patio area is heavenly on nice days. The outside patio seating area is right on Morningside, so you have a view of Little Woodrow's and Brian O'Neils and can hear the live bands playing (if there are any). Go, and enjoy! read more

Here it is... my first bad review in quite some time! Since this place opened a couple of years ago, I've frequented it with my wife and kids enough to see both the service and the quality of food decline. It takes quite a bit to irritate me enough not to ever want to go back to any food establishment, and I think I finally had it with the Black Walnut Cafe. Long story short, I ordered the Steak Eggs Benedict and my kids ordered the usually breakfast tacos. As if it wasn't enough that we waited an excruciating 25 minutes to get "beeped" to retrieve our food from the kitchen, the steak benedict was dead cold! I had no choice but to give it back... NOT, asking for a refund, because I didn't even want to give them the satisfaction of even trying to console me after such a gigantic disappointment (it was, in fact, 7:15am, and I was starving - so, probably not at my best diplomatic state of mind). Ultimately, the manager insisted on refunding me, which I thought was very kind and courteous (the only reason I gave this review 2 stars, by the way, and not one), but it did not change the enormous loathing that I developed for this restaurant. Unfortunately, I don't expect that I will ever feel the need to return to this restaurant willfully, and if ever I find myself there for any reason at all... I sincerely hope my next experience will be good enough to pass this last one as a fluke. read more

I went to Black Walnut with a friend expecting it to be a good backup dinner place. Even though it's a chain, it has always had solid quality. I haven't been to this particular one in 2 years, and it has gone very downhill. I got the garlic shrimp zucchini noodles. The sauce was tasteless and too watery, and there lacked a distinguishable garlic taste. The shrimp was only okay, and should have been grilled more. Theoretically, it was edible, but for the price I paid ($13.50 pre-tax), I expected better quality. My friend had worse luck as she ended up with a soggy veggie burger. read more

This rating is for this experience only! I normally love Black Walnut, but this time, my chicken and vegetables came out COLD! When I took it back up to the counter, they said they would remake it. In the meanwhile, the others at my table were already eating and after 5 mins, the manager came and asked if there was anything he can bring out while I wait. I just asked for a salad and he brought out a small, side salad. After a little over 10 mins, my plate finally came back out. It was totally obvious that it was reheated...AGAIN. The chicken was super dry and veggies were shrunk down from being over cooked. I ate it anyway as it was noon and I hadn't eaten all day...I was starving!! Next time, can I please have some fresh food??? read more

Black Walnut - Re-heated, very dry chicken. - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

YES to Black Walnut Cafe! Delicious and fast food; great for lunch or getting a quick bite to eat! The gelato is amazing as well. I would pass on the cheesecake...it's a tad mediocre and quite pricey for an average/kind of small sized slice. Lunch hour is crazy busy, so bring a book and grab some gelato around 4 o' clock; you'll be a happy you did! read more

Great food , great service all the time! I usually go in for breakfast and they have the best french toast and chicken and waffle! Waiter Jose Luis is always very kind, friendly and efficient. read more

Very good and quick food to eat. The short lady that takes the orders, is kind of rude and seems to lack people skills and customer service. I ordered two entrees to go, and had to ask for flatware. Then when she came back with the flatware, she only brought one. I advised I had ordered two entrees, which she should have known, since she bagged my order...that I needed a second! Like come on lady! read more

This is one of my favorite places in Houston. While you can get similar food in other places I like this location because is close to home, staff is friendly and food always comes fast and is good. read more

I really wanted to like this place. It was so busy when we came in that they had actually shut the kitchen down. We had to wait for 20 minutes. This created a huge line and lots of annoyed customers. When we ordered they didn't have what I wanted or what my husband wanted to order. Then when we got the food it wasn't right. Once everything was in order I enjoyed the chocolate chip pancakes, but not enough to deal with all that again. I think next time we'll just go to LePeep or Empire Cafe read more

I have always been a fan of Black Walnut since it opened. It is always clean and the staff is friendly. Their brunch is great with a large selection of different types of foods. Everything from the Breakfast Quesadilla to a Pancake Sandwich. The walk up and order is great for larger parties to have separate checks. The down side is to find tables you can push together for your large party. This place is definitely one of my brunch groups favorites! read more

We came here on an early Tuesday evening to meet up with my wife's friend. She was visiting from Boston and had previously lived in the area surrounding the restaurant, so she recommeneded that we meet up at the Black Walnut. We had no problem finding free parking next to the restaurant. We ordered our meals at the counter; the food war delivered to our table. The interior was nice but we decided to find a table outside since the weather was nice for this time of year in Houston. I had the BBQ pot roast with sweet potato fries. The sandwich itself was good but the fries were even better. My wife had one of the their salads which she seemed to like as well. We followed up with some dessert. I had a craving for red velvet cake so I decided to give their's a try. I was little disappointed (not sweet/buttery enough for my liking) and will probably try the gelato next time. Overall, it's a neat place, the food is good, and the staff was friendly. We'll be back again. read more

::sigh:: A few years ago I thought the food here was amazing, but I was really disappointed the last week when I dropped by after my BON run. The place was super packed, and there's no doubt that the desserts were just calling my name! However, I was trying to be healthy and ordered their "Anderson's 'Bout Time" sandwich. Instead of french fries, I ordered their steamed broccoli. A friend of my (for a dollar extra) ordered substitute out his fries for sweet potato fries and it seemed worth it because he had a HUGE portion, while I stared at my 2 piece broccoli. Anyway, my chicken was dry... so dry I had a hard time cutting it. Even the cheese that was melted on top did not help :( I then remembered that this was not the first time I had dried chicken here. The time before (about 2 months ago) I was here for dinner with some friends and ordered BWC's Southwest Chicken Salad. The salad was awesome because for the money I paid I felt like it was a decent portion. However, the chicken was dry! I had to keep dipping my chicken in the dressing to make it easier for me to swallow. ::sigh:: Overall, I am okay with this place. The desserts look amazing, but I haven't tried it (not sure why tho). Parking is your typical rice village parking scenario. If you park in the garage, you can get your parking validated. read more

I went here for a really late lunch/kinda early dinner yesterday and the food wasn't bad... but it wasn't something to write home about either. Between the three entrees my friends and I ordered, 1.5 of them were good. My boyfriend's was probably the best (he got the second to last burger on the burger list -- something with avocado that was really good). Mine was okay (I got the BWC Gyro), and my sister got a salad. Not the best, but not bad either. Their spinach and artichoke dip was good too. I would come back just to try other things on their list. Maybe they were having an off day or my sister and I just picked two of their not-best entrees. read more

I came before but I didn't leave a review. I had good impression of it that's why I came back again. Last time I think I ordered a pasta plate. It was pretty good. I liked it a lot. Thats why I decided to come back and ordered something else. Today I ordered a Black Walnut Fish Tacos for $11.50. It comes with a side of salad and you can choose one dressing from a variety of dressings they offered. I chose Caesar dressing. Then they ask how I want my fish to be, fried or grilled. Since it comes in two taco, I can choose one of each, which I did. It took a little long for it to be served, which I am totallly fine with it. However though, the taco itself is kinda bland in comparison to the things they put jn the taco. I still like it, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed GRILLED than fried, even though I love fried food. The grilled fish has more taste than the fried. Side Salad was good. My boyfriend got a burgee for $9.75 and a side of sweet potato fries for $1.00 extra. I tried a little of it, it was pretty good. We then ordered boston cream cake $6.75 /slice (because it looks AWESOME) from the pastry window... and indeed, it was good. Not too sweet, which is totally my taste. :) Overall I'd recommend this place! :): read more

Black Walnut - Black walnut fish taco. One fried fish another grilled fish - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

See all

Although I personally would never choose Black Walnut on my own, I have been about a million times because everyone loves it! The menu is quite extensive and their beer and wine selection is pretty average. I find the food to be good, but not great. The ambience is nice at this location. I love sitting outside and people watching the Rice Village crowd. Parking is great since they will validate your garage ticket. The garage is attached to the restaurant, so it is really handy. read more

It's been a few months since I visited this location, but I have been to other BWC's before and they never really impress me too much. Some friends wanted to try it and I thought maybe my previous visits had been an anomaly and I would like this location. I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak omelet - and when it came out it was done wrong. They did make the extra effort to correct and then reimbursed me so I basically got a free meal. So while I'm not really a fan of Black Walnut, I will give them that extra star for the effort. I also have to honestly say I'm not a fan of waiting in line to order and then going to pick my own food up unless I'm at McDonald's. Even Whataburger brings my breakfast to me! read more

I am a huge fan of Black Walnut Café and has gone to the West University location a couple of times with family. Like the other locations, I have not had any issues with the meals I have ordered. The wait time was quick, and the staff seemed to be friendly. The low score with this location is because of parking. If you are fortunate enough to find a parking spot in the parking garage, Black Walnut will validate your parking for up to two hours. If not, you are forced to use 24/7 metered parking. read more

This place has a nice and cozy feel to it. Nothing too crazy, decor-wise. So the first time I came here, I was meeting a friend at 8am for breakfast. However, I had a bit too much fun the night before and had the worst hangover when meeting my friend. There was no way I could stomach anything so we just opted for coffee instead of getting real food. Coffee was pretty good, from what I remember. And I kept it down, so that's a good sign. Second time I came here was for dinner. I got the Black Walnut Salad and my friend got the Santa Fe Salad. I enjoyed my salad. It had chicken, gorgonzola, apples, walnuts and greens with some sort of tomato dressing, which I got on the side. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of the dressing so I ate the salad without it. Everything was fresh and the components blended well together. My friend's salad looked pretty legit too. Nice and colorful. Both salads were a good size; neither of us finished ours and had leftovers to take home. All in all, it's a decent restaurant. I'd like to come here for brunch sometime because I hear that's where they shine. The salads were pretty good, but not spectacular. read more

I had breakfast for the first time here on Saturday morning around 10 and left wondering why I haven't done that before. The staff here is awesome; They are very outgoing and friendly; It appears they enjoy working here.The food is always good. read more

Black Walnut - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

I like the atmosphere - the plants hanging from the ceiling are great. My initial impression upon walking in was good, but the dining experience didn't echo the first impression. The person in line in front of us took forever - the staff was having some kind of an issue with the pos system. The table we sat at looked clean, but then there was sticky honey on the side of it that got all over my arm. Ewwwwww. Then my chicken sandwich buzzed, which could have made up for this but the chicken was itsy bitsy. Like, they tried to marinate a chicken tender and put it on the grill and called it a sandwich. Pretty lame. Also, it was hard to find the napkins. I wish I'd gone to ruggles down the street. read more

I came here on a Saturday night since it's in Rice Village and didn't require us to drive - surprisingly, it wasn't too crowded. The restaurant is lit dimly but has an upscale feeling to it. You seat yourself and then order at the counter when you're ready. Then they give you a beeper which lights up when your food is done, and you go pick it up at the counter. I really liked this since waiters make me nervous. The menu prices were a little expensive to be honest and since I wasn't that hungry, I just ordered some veggie soup with toast on the side. My friends ordered pasta and burger and salmon dishes which all looked good but were definitely above $10, a little pricy for college students. The soup was okay but nothing special that I couldn't make myself at home. I've heard good things about the gelato here but wasn't in the mood to try any. Overall, the food was very very average, not worth the prices at all. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone or ever return again. read more

First time going, the food, service and promptness is on point! I will def be back. read more

Black Walnut - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

Convenient location in Rice Village. Good quality food at decent prices. Stopped here for breakfast today and everything was cooked perfectly. This is a order at the counter then pickup when ready type of restaurant. read more

I have been to this location and the other one in Sugarland several times. I have to agree with some of the other Yelp'ers on here, their brunch/breakfast is where I feel this place stands out. Having had their lunch menu on more than one occasion, I find the breakfast food more memorable. I feel their omelets are pretty tasty and for some reason I really enjoyed the wheat toast. Only downside to this location is that the seating is limited on the weekends, in the afternoon, it's a popular spot. I do find the staff to be above average at both locations. Today for instance the guy taking our order gave us his name and assured us that if we had any problems he would take care of it. Typically at places where you give your order at the counter, it's order, pay, go. Not here and they are also quick to help you at the pickup counter if your hands are full. read more

I enjoy this place! I love the atmosphere and the staff. I love the different food options they have. I absolutely love the Hummingbird Cake! Its Everything!! I usually get the pot roast grilled cheese with the tortilla soup which is awesome! Today I tried the Turkey burger with sweet potato fries and it was great! read more

Black Walnut - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

This place confused me. I ate here for the first time today with my boyfriend. We were both off and wanted some good breakfast that we hadn't had before. After doing a little bit of research, Black Walnut was close and seemed affordable. Walking in, the ordering process isn't confusing and everything is clearly marked (order here, pickup here, etc), which I very much appreciated. I decided to get a ham breakfast burrito and my boyfriend got the steak and eggs. We also decided to split an order of pancakes. I expected this to be way too much food for just the two of us. I was wrong. Boyfriend's portion of steak turned out to be about 4 ounces. Now, I'm not a huge meat eater, but even I thought that was tiny. It came with two eggs and breakfast potatoes (which were all good and cooked well), but my boyfriend said the steak was waaaay overcooked. He ordered it medium rare, it came out beyond done. I was even disappointed for him considering his love of rare meat. I noticed while we were waiting for our food (which took a little more than 20 minutes to come out!) that my burrito was only $3. I found out why it was so cheap when it came out--I ate it in about six bites. Tiny! I wish someone would've mentioned to me how small it was. This is where the pancakes come in. I hate to have more than half of my breakfast syrup soaked pancakes, even though they were probably the best pancakes I've ever had in my life. All in all, the portions were small (which isn't a bad thing when you're expecting it, but sucks when you're not), the people were extraordinarily friendly, the place was clean, but the service was ridiculously slow. This is why I'm confused--I can't tell if I love it or would never go back! read more

I ordered one of the the pastas of the day which was chicken in a lemon butter sauce. Delicious! It came with melt-in-your-mouth garlic bread. yum! I also tried my friend's pot roast and fajita sandwich. Everything was really good! Fast service. This location gets really packed during lunch, too. We had a large group so we ate outside and put tables together. If you have a large group, it's hard to find seating inside. The seating arrangements are best for up to 6 people. We parked in the garage, which is free if you get parking validated inside the restaurant. (just ask someone at the cashier and they'll give you a new ticket) The gelato looked amazing, but I didn't get it. Definitely will try next time! read more

This is now my favorite restaurant I love the brunch! Parking is affordable at the meter, valet or garage I love it. To order the food you must stand in line they get crowded fast and supper early so early arrival is a must. The estimated time for the food waiting is about 10-15 minutes they are quick!!" Mimosas are awesome! Prices are affordable no complaints! read more

Great casual ambience and fantastic location. Steak salad is excellent, and several of the other salads are really good. The Mexican omelette, however, is super fabulous. Lots of love in that omelette. The tomato soup is far too thin, but my two-year-old son eats it, so it's good enough for me. Don't miss this place for brunch. read more

Black Walnut is a solid "mediocre" and one of the most overhyped places in Houston in my opinion. Place is clean, and the line is out the door for weekend brunch. I ordered the huevos Mexicanos with egg whites, which was accommodated. They were not as spicy as the menu suggested and were greasier than I prefer. And that's typical of every entree I've ever ordered here. "Greasy." We had ordered some fried pickles to share with group. I liked that they were fresh made vs. frozen. However, I found them to have too much breading. And this is coming from someone who likes extra breading / crusts on most things. I will go back to Black Walnut some day, but it'll likely be because a larger group picked it. Would never go there as a first choice. read more

I actually liked this place alot. The customer service was impeccable and the tea here is amazing. I had the french toast breakfast. The toast was a bit tart from the nutmeg or some other type of ingredient. But the potatoes, eggs, and my favorite peppered bacon was magnificent. I will go back and maybe try the pancakes next time but I will be back!! read more

Black Walnut - Texas Cut Challah French Toast Thick-Sliced Peppered Bacon House Potatoes Two Extra-Large Eggs - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

I ordered the zucchini noodles w/shrimp and garlic along with the chicken taquitos from the Rice Village location in Houston. My order had leaked in the sealed bag and my taquitos were soggy as a result and the shrimp/zucchini noodles were dry. Why would anyone put an entree with includes a liquid sauce/jus in a container that has holes in the top (presumably to allow steam to escape)? Of course the restaurant denied any complicity and advised me to contact the delivery service; however the issue was not the delivery driver or the way the driver handled my food as it was sealed. The restaurant should not use this type of container if there is anything in your order that could leak. Common sense is just not as common as it used to be. Diner beware if you are not eating at the restaurant. Update: Restaurant contacted me and listened to my concerns re: packaging of delivery items and made things right. Kudos for their quick response. read more

Fresh ingredients and amazing tasting food. I recommend the chips with salsa and guacamole. I had the black bean burger which was so delicious. The bread was soft and fresh and the patty was well seasoned. read more

Black Walnut - Black bean burger with sweet potato fries - New American Near Me - Houston, Texas

Absolutely love it here! Couple of pastas I like: - Lemon Chicken - New Orleans Noodle - Chipotle Chicken The grilled cheese items were so good too!! As were the omelets... as were the meatballs... Oh, and I LOVE THE GELATOS! Holy crap I sound like a giddy girl with ADHD who can't stop mentioning all the great things about her new boyfriend. I regret not having gone here every night while I was on assignment in Houston :( [Uh, unrelated learnings from personal experience: eating pastas endlessly may add unwanted pounds.] read more