This place is kind of hard to find - but what a treasure! My big group of girlfriends and I meet for dinner every month and this was our first time here. I had the chicken piccata and it was absolutely delicious! Italian music played in the background. Very nice quiet atmosphere. The waitress was so pleasant and sweet and attentive. You can bring your own bottle of wine. We will definitely be back! It's been here for two years. I can't believe I have never known about it until now. read more

HIDDEN GEM IN OLD KATY! My MIL was craving Italian for Mother's Day, but with the unpredictable weather this weekend we wanted to stay close to home. We wanted true authentic Italian and wanted to stay FAR from the chain Italian restaurants and we were not disappointed! The restaurant was very small and family owned. We ordered the eggplant parmigiana, cheese ravioli, chicken piccata, and the veal. It was ALL phenomenal! We will be back over and over again. Side note- it is BYOW, we didn't know that until we got there. read more

Absolutely best Alfredo sauce I have ever had! Large portions, moderately priced. Quaint little Italian restaurant. Location is hidden on 5th street in Old Town Katy, but worth finding!! Very pleased!! Will definitely be going back!! The cook actually helps serve the food he has prepared! read more

La Estancia - Italian Near Me - Katy, Texas

I was disappointed by my visit. The reviews declared AMAZING food and the resturant declared Gluten Free. The food was mediocre and OVER PRICED for the quality. When we sat down the glasses and silverware on our table were dirty one glass had Bright red lipstick on it. The service was tremendously slow...Worse to me I ordered Gluten free for health reasons. I even Verified TWICE about it for every thing I ordered and asked again when my food arrived. Still I was sick from eating gluten after eating only part of my meal. Over All very POOR experience and while I support local businesses... we wont go back there are too many other options in this area. read more

Like others have said, empty parking lot. Food and Service both were fantastic! PSA: This place charges extra when paying by CC. $4.50 extra charge. Way to alienate your customers! I took off one star for this. PSA 2: Bring cash. Enjoy. read more

I'd leave no stars if that were possible, the food came out ice cold, the wait staff never refilled ur drinks or checked on us. Terrible food- terrible staff!! read more

We had lunch there today and both thought it was delicious and my wife recognized Peppino from his prior location in Montrose. We will return with friends in the near future! read more

This was our first time having dinner in a Old Katy area restaurant. La Estancia did not disappoint. Great food, nice atmosphere and very friendly. It was nice having a meal while listening to Andrea Bocelli. The alfredo and marinara sauces were superb. The fried ravioli was real good. read more

We stopped at this restaurant because we were in the mood for Italian food. We were not disappointed. We can recommend, from experience, the eggplant parmigiana, chicken fettuccine alfredo, pasta figioli, the sausage,and the house salad. We asked for a taste of the sausage, and it was just a little spicy, perfect for me, not for my daughter. The best part was that the house salad had no iceberg lettuce. read more

So, just looking for food and Italian sounded good. However we got there and they was an empty lot. Seemed like the stats may be wrong. Well we went in to eat and it was wonderful. I had the tortilenni, sister had the red snapper. Both were delicious. I would recommend this place to anyone anytime. read more

Wanna be Italian. Way overpriced, for what you get. Setting is nice, but no alcohol (BYOB). Claims to be only made when ordered, however it showed up at the table awful fast. Appetizers cost as much as an entree, entree was costly, the specials where outrageously expensive. Salads do not come with the meals ! Dessert prices where not even listed. Finally, food was warm at best, not cold but not far from it. Sorry to say it will be a one time only visit. read more

Prior review's are spot on. This place is a gem. The 2 owners run the place and the food was excellent. I would say the Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken and thr Lasagna were our favorites. The eggplant and chicken parm were also very good. Big portions but note, the red sauce is very light and has a different seasoning than most. Good but different. We are glad we found this place since good italian is hard to find in Katy. Did I mention it is BYOB on your wine! read more

This is a cozy, authentic, gem of a place! Food was amazing, fresh and authentic. I didn't give it 5 stars because the soda was just a bottle, I prefer fountain drinks and refills when I go out. But otherwise we will definitely be back to try more delicious Italian dishes. read more

Bad service! Waited for an hour for our food with no heads up from waitress of what was holding our order up. We ended up walking out. Never coming back. Terrible dining experience. We left starving and lost our appetite all together. read more

Food is fresh with lots of flavor. Fresh seasoned bread, eggplant parmigiana with thin spaghetti was great! Take a drive to Old Town Katy and check it out. I will post more photos next time, I forgot to take a picture of my meal today only remembered with dessert. read more

La Estancia - Cannoli.... yum! - Italian Near Me - Katy, Texas

Seeing only a few reviews should have given it away. Walked in around 7:45 pm with only four tables having customers and it took a couple of minutes for someone to show up to seat us. Same happened half an hour later when a couple decided to leave after waiting to be seated for several minutes. The waiter was sighing every time he came over and telling us how tired he was and so busy. (5 tables including us). He even sat down at our table to take our order. Not sure if that was supposed to be a joke or not. Drinks and appetizer came out pretty quick, however, the three dishes took at least 40 minutes. A couple next to us who had been there before us actually left before getting their food, after we got ours. The staff and the cook seem overwhelmed. Not sure how they can survive with that kind of service. The dood was just o.k. Nothing to write home about. read more

So glad this restaurant is in Katy! The food is so fresh and delicious. Nice quiet evening with wonderful freshly-made Italian food. Some of the best I've eaten. Prices were so reasonable. Cannot wait to go again and try some other dishes!!! Please give this new place your business!! read more

I love this awesome Italian restaurant! The food is some of the best around. Period. I only give 4 out of 5 because you should Expect a wait - limited wait staff and crowed restaurant are to blame! Blessed to have them in old Katy. read more

In a hurry? No problem, if you go elsewhere. We made advance reservations for a family birthday, which also happened to be Valentine's day, and there was no mention of a special limited menu at triple the regular menu prices! We even called a second time to up our number of guests and again, no mention of a limited menu. Got there and the special menu has only 4 entree choices. Their explanation was that they had so many reservations they had to do this limited menu. The food was delicious, but it was overshadowed by the service being VERY slow or non-existent. No one ever came back to refill our drinks or ask if everything was ok. We even had to go to them to ask for additional drinks, silverware and to-go containers. The older lady appeared to be handling only taking orders and payments, yet there were two younger people doing little to expedite and provide customer service. One only cleared plates and the other brought a couple of drinks to the table once and seemed frazzled at doing that. We were very disappointed in the way they went about charging such a high price for a meal without any warning. If we had not been pressed for time, we would have walked out and gone elsewhere. It got to the point where our party was just watching and taking bets on which new guests would stay or walk out when they saw the price of the meal. They made a big mistake in changing the dinner menu for this one night, but it just shows how ill-prepared they are to handle a few extra tables. read more

I wanted this restaurant to be wonderful. We waited two hours for our food, which was ridiculous (especially because there were only 8 tables sat) but forgivable if the food was amazing. But sadly, the food was awful. We were told everything was made from scratch but there is no way. I ordered fettuccini and received spaghetti that tasted like it was from a cheap jar. My husband's pasta bolognese was on par with Olive Garden but double the price. We were all happy to go back home and eat our kids left over pizza. read more

Came with a large group before an event. We were asked for drinks and what kind of salad we wanted. The food took long to come out and they were very slow to bring out those salads. When my food finally came out (spaghetti and meatballs), I was disappointed because the plate was filled with water (from not having strained the pasta enough) and the meatballs were lackluster. When paying, we had to wait over 30 minutes for them to tabulate the bill and tell them that our bill would be separate after they didn't ask and rung up one check. I received the bill and was shocked to see the already pricey spaghetti and meatballs and a charge for the $7 Caesar salad no bigger than my hand. After paying, I told the man (presumably the owner) that we weren't aware the salad didn't come with the meal and that he ought to disclose that. He said nothing but "you eat you pay" and put his hand up to me. He takes no criticism. I have never been treated so badly at a restaurant in Katy after living here for 18 years. Supporting local business isn't all that easy with businesses like this. read more

Had a great meal there tonight. Service and food were outstanding. Delicious pasta. Tiramisu and cappuccino were good as well. Good wine "samples" since they don't have a liquor license (byob as well). Awesome to have a place like this in old Katy. read more

My boyfriend and I went to dinner here last night and we were very pleased. I ordered the Penne al Forno and he ordered the Chicken Marsala. They both were delicious! The pasta was cooked just right and the Marsala wine sauce was amazing. The staff was very friendly and attentive and our food was out in a decent amount of time. We found out that this place is BYOB when we arrived. We definitely will be back soon and with wine! read more

Truly a hidden gem! We have eaten there 3 times and have never been disappointed with the food. The lasagna is the best I have had (and very similar to the lasagna we had in Italy), the snapper piccata was delicious (perhaps just a bit salty), and those who had the lamb special were very happy. Food is cooked to order so it takes a bit more time, but it is worth it. The restaurant is BYOB and no corkage fee! Service may not be as polished as in some restaurants but is friendly and accommodating. We will definitely be returning. read more

We dropped into La Estancia as a result of the reviews posted. We arrived very early for dinner, around 5:30, so there was a very empty parking lot. As the only customers,​ we were greeted​ by the chef, who also became our waiter. I expected some recommendations or specials of the day, but nothing! Let me advise that is a BYOB location, despite​ the fact that they have a makeshift​ bar area, they don't sell alcohol. Bottom line​, the food was okay. We ordered mozzarella​ sticks for an ​appetizer​ and I have to say I have tasted much better. We ordered chicken parmigiana​ and spaghetti​ carbonara​, both of​ which were tasty, but nothing to write​ home about. You can do better within a 10 to 15 min drive. read more

This place is great and I sure hope they make it. It's a husband and wife team and located in Old Katy on 5th st. The location is off the beaten track and maybe why they don't seem busy. But the food is awesome. The service takes awhile and not because they're not working hard but because the chef is alone making every dish back in the kitchen homemade. The food is worth the wait. They don't have an alcohol license because they are located too close to a church so it's BYOB. Give this little Italian restaurant a try. It's a hidden gem. read more

We tried this place on a Wednesday night after hearing good things about it. When we arrived that parking lot was nearly empty and there was only one couple eating inside. It took us a little while to be seated as the server was in the kitchen when we arrived. Once we were seated we were treated well. The food was excellent all around. It is a BYOB place, so bring your bottle of wine. I really want to spread the word about this place. It is a hidden gem. read more

Wonderful food, reasonably priced for such quality, always fresh and tasty. A real gem!

Our first time to La Estancia was a great experience. Our appetizer (sausage and peppers) was delicious, and the quality of an entree. Our server was quite knowledgeable of all ingredients, sauces, and preparations of our food. Our entrees were delicious and the portions were more than we could eat. We had a wonderful time and will definitely return. read more

If you are not in a hurry, bring your own bottle, enjoy the ambience and order the best Italian food you can imagine. They do not have a liquor license but gladly serve you your own wine or champagne while you wait for dinner and during dinner. The reason for the wait is everything is made fresh and from scratch by Peppino, the owner and chef. Peppino's wife, Alicia is usually taking care of your every desire while you are there. Another treat is the wonderful mixture of tasteful background music (yes, it is background and does not interfere with quiet conversation). For a relaxing and unhurried and more than wonderful experience, give them a try. I doubt you will be will be disappointed. read more

Second time we've been here and AGAIN the food is delicious, great selections, lovely ambiance. Located in Old Katy and it's a gem

We tried La Estancia for the first time last night and enjoyed the food, atmosphere and service. They make their sauce fresh each day and the texture of the pasta was perfect. All the ingredients were delicious. The location is easy to find in Olde Katy as well. Will definitely return soon. read more

Went in to try this place for the first time. I was really disappointed in this place. The service was really slow but the young lady was trying her best. The garlic bread that was provided wasn't warmed up. I ordered eggplant Parmesan and ended up with chicken Parmesan. They apologized that it came out wrong. The chicken Parmesan was not good. It tasted like it was frozen and microwaved. The pasta didn't taste fresh either. The meatballs that came with the pasta tasted frozen. Disappointed in this place. read more

We had read in a local magazine that the pasta was fresh and the ingredients were hand-selected from a farmer's market in Houston, so we tried it. I cannot say I truly believe the pasta is fresh or hand-made because it was too perfect, but it was cooked al dente, which I appreciate. The vegetables used didn't seem farmer's market style (imperfect is what I am looking for), but the gnocchi was perfect and the sauce was truly authentic and made fresh when we ordered. The pasta dishes we ordered (rigatoni, spaghetti, fettuccini) were too perfect to be home made, and that is the whole reason we went in the first place. We took our kids, and we will probably take them back. It was too dark to really enjoy, but it reminded me of a really small town restaurant - kinda converted from an old home. Hopefully they can convince me the pasta is made fresh with pictures of them making it around the restaurant, or something like that. read more

food was delicious and our waiter was great! will definitely be returning regularly. so glad we tried this restaurant out, highly recommend.