J. Christopher's Italian Grill

There's been several ownership changes and I hope this business survives. The menu keeps changing so this time we only ordered appetizers. Service was exceptional and everyone was pleasant. The food was mediocre and bland in my opinion. I hope that changes and I would be open to trying again

My wife and I met some friends for dinner last weekend at J. Christophers. It was our first time to visit since the local favorite re-opened under new management. After reading all of the negative comments, we have been hesitant to visit. But, after actually going there I can report that we found all of the negative comments baseless. We had a wonderful evening, enjoying some of the traditional flavors that made J. Christophers a local favorite, and equally enjoying some of the new dishes. The meal started with an order of focaccia that was amazing. Even though it was complimentary, we would gladly have paid for an extra serving or two. We started with the Arancini and fried zucchini - one new dish, one old. Both were outstanding. The Arancini and marinara sauce were as good as we have had anywhere. The zucchini was lightly breaded and cooked just right. We then decided to order a number of entrées to again sample some of the old dishes alongside some of the new. We ordered a thin crust pizza that we are happy to report is just as good as any pizza we have had a J. Christophers over the past 30 years of dining there. No new flavors, no new techniques, but the same pizza that has made this place a local favorite. We also ordered the Truffle Gnocchi, the Pappardelle Bolognese, and the Cacio e Pepe. All three dishes blew us away. They were as good or better than you can get at far pricier restaurants in Houston and better than most of the pasta dishes prior to the re-launch. And the new décor and wait staff were both a key to making our dining experience fully satisfying. We can not recommend strongly enough to ignore the noise on social media and give J. Christopher's a try. We will definitely be back.

When I first came there, I was expecting some really good stuff now the one thing I will say is the pizza was really good but what they call deep dish wasn't that deep. The staff was kind of slow and on the ambient side it seemed very cliché. I am 46 years old and I was in there for lunch during the week and I felt like the youngest person in the room. The service took a long time to get our food once we got it it was pretty good.

JUST OKAY-The restaurant was clean and bright and our server was green but good. The complimentary fresh hot garlic bread was delicious and we had two plates. The house salad was served with fresh greens, cherry tomatoes and I had the balsamic dressing, which was awesome. My husband had the Caesar salad and said it was just average. Croutons were crunchy, which is always a plus. The Bolognese was above average. The eggplant parmesan was not the best. Three of the four slices were so tough they were not edible. The side of spaghetti was okay. Not sure we would go back for just okay.

The food was so awful that for the first time in our lives since we were born we did NOT finish the food or take it home. The service was..off to say the least. If a 0/5 rating was possible this place would have it.

Let me start off by saying I've eaten here at least a dozen times over the last 3 years and this is the 3rd ownership change I've seen occur at this establishment. We were brought bread to the table.......i mean a brick of bread. This was the most dense bread I've ever seen. I passed on this. The table bread used to be soft focaccia style bread that was light and airy. No more. So I then ordered the chicken Parmesan which I've had before here with the past 2 owners. Under this ownership, as seen in my pic, this was a fried chicken cutlet topped with a sprinkle of mozzarella, overcooked spaghetti, and watery flavorless marinara. On top of that, the green stuff I assume is parsley was the dried herb version and not fresh. Now I'm no chef but I can tell you no one uses a dried herb as a topping/garnish - it's always fresh. The dried parsley was an afterthought frankly and not palatable. This was NOT an Italian chicken Parmesan dish and I was truly disappointed. So I figured I'd fill my disappointment with something sweet. I ordered what's advertised as a Nutella Pizza a la mode. What I received was not a pizza but some Nutella stuffed and fried dough item. When I've ordered this before, it arrives as a small thicker style open pizza smeared with Nutella and topped with ice cream. Nope, not this time. Call this what it is which is a Nutella stuffed Fried Dough. My 2 stars are for the service which was great. Early in the meal, there was a gentleman going around to the tables asking if things were ok, he was wearing a pullover with Rancho Paloma's restaurant name and logo on it. Seems a bit unprofessional if you're acting as a lead/manager at J Christopher's. I'm sad that this establishment has watered down Italian style food now.

I really wanted to love this place because I love to support local business's, I was very disappointed. The food was very average, no flavor. I got the pasta that they mix in the cheese and it had no flavor, the pizza was good I'll come back for pizza on and it will be take out. The service was ok but they were under staff and over worked. The Calamari was ok. I'll stick to take out pizza.

Another new owner. We were told the old recipes were back. Sadly they are not. Service was still good. Food was too salty for me. Both meals lacked flavor time to let go and just remember the good old days.

This restaurant is a treasure trove of magnificent Italian dishes. Tonight my son had delicious fettuccine Alfredo while I tried the Manny's pizza. Let me just say...I usually go for my go-to (margheritta) but chose something different and am so glad I did. The flavors came alive in a way I didn't expect and this will now be my new go-to. Much love to Juan Nambo and staff.

The food is as good as a can of Chef Boyardee however the locals have loved it for decades & we've tried it twice over 40 years.The people are very nice.