Ken Schwart

A lovely restaurant with a view, on Lake Houston. All the staff were friendly and our waitress, Emma, was extremely helpful and polite. The food was absolutely delicious and the prices were fair. The wife and I are already planning our next visit.

+15

Greg Bailey

What a wonderful atmosphere, food and the people serving the food and the chef's presentation. Wow. Just got back from London and amazed we are do blessed in Kingwood with a place like Raffas. The fish tasted like they caught it fresh and cooked it the same day. Amazing.

Highs and Lows, but the food was worth it! A lot of overlooked simple details for a prefix event. This is a beautiful restaurant. So, much classy logo-etched glass, custom ornamental iron hanging racks over the bar, cavernous vaulted dining room ceiling, Glass wall overlooking the lake. Really, grandeur without feeling pretentious. I love this place. We only have to wait a few minutes after for our 8 o’clock reservation. Not bad for V-day. This place is packed. Plenty of smiles, bustling conversations, kind of old country club crowd vibe. All of our staff are very friendly. Emma is exceptionally accommodating and kind (a real pro). The 3 star service is for the back of the house, she gets a 5. The only dent in the table service side is a couple of empty water glasses that stay empty for an uncomfortably extended period. You know, when there is nothing on the table, BUT empty water glasses… But, after that first hiccup, they are on top of the “top offs” for the remainder of the evening. Two of the appetizers come out slow which ends up meeting the second course crew delivering the salads at the same time. Just poor management at the Pass. Now time for food! STARTERS: Shrimp and Crab Crêpe, spinach, mushroom, Gruyère Mornay sauce. Wow! I think it got left on the Pass accidentally, because it comes late and barely warm. But, it is layered with great texture and flavors. Surprisingly original. Mini Chicken Wellington, Dijon cream sauce. Smart idea, fun appetizer. Panko Fried Brie, apple and golden raisin chutney. Inspired, Let’s Go!!! Crunch, followed by creamy cheese, and tangy, sweet, tart small chunky goodness and a heat that creeps in like a tardy party guest. You don’t even notice them come in until they are dancing on the coffee table in the middle of the room. SALAD and SOUP: Poached Pear and Arugula Salad, goat cheese crumbles, toasted pecans, champagne vinaigrette. yum. Crawfish Bisque. Just imagine crawfish in a soup made predominately of butter! This was a table favorite. Love bisque. ENTREES: Pan Seared Halibut, caper beurre blanc, parmesan risotto, haricot vert (skinny green beans). The amazing crust from the sear busts with flavor over this tender flaked fish. The beans are a shock; normally the boring dutiful soldier on the plate. No. these are seasoned perfectly and dripping with the beurre blanc puddle they are soaked in. Delicious. Medallions of Beef Tenderloin, peppercorn cream sauce. “Medallions” is an understatement. It is like somebody ordered two filets, got confused and threw them on the same plate. Lot of food on this plate…tasty, food. DESERTS: Triple Chocolate Cake, raspberry sorbet on graham dust. This plate wins Best Presentation for the night. Lemoncello Mascarpone Layered Cake. Fun. Red Velvet and White Chocolate Bread Pudding. This thing jiggles. Like it is sitting on a block of jello (it is not, by the way). I want to post a video of how mind-boggling this wobbling is without falling over. But, one final note: Presentation. Aside from the Triple Chocolate Cake, all of these plates look like they are sent out and skipping the station where the guy puts the finishing touches on, to make it look like “restaurant food”. Very little color on many of the dishes. large awkward oceans of empty white expanses on the plates. Shame too, because those dishes are actually very tasty. Deserves the deft hand of a Chef de Partie (the guy whose job is to fix the dishes before they go out). Finally, the restroom review. Remember the rain earlier? Despite the carpet drying fan they have in the entryway…the trek between floor mats is downright frightening. Slippery, but once you safely reach the men’s room, it is small, clean and fresh. Neat and well lit. Thumbs up, I will definitely use this restroom again:)

Heidi Kircus

For our anniversary on a Tuesday we decided to try out Raffa's. Very pretty place and on the water. We were seated pretty quickly, not sure if staff was short that night but our server was decently attentive. We had the grilled brie, wedge salad, stroganoff and ribeye. All were very good in our opinion and they did treat us a dessert to take home for our anniversary, very much appreciated. The Malbec wine was very good with our meals as well. Definitely worth a second visit.

John S

I think this place is great. I would give 5 stars except several friends and I went for a weekend brunch, many of us ordered bloody Mary’s and bloody Maria’s and they had no mix. I then ordered a michelada and I couldn’t get that either because it was the same mix. We all switched to unlimited mimosas (great deal) and had some great appetizers and meals. My salmon was delicious and a very light dish.

Ariyah Mandel

Entire team did our VIP dinner here last night. Great location and the food was delicious. Views of the lake are amazing, we really had a great time and staff was very accommodating for our big group of people. The chicken and chicken fried steak came out amazing. Others had the flounder, the chicken Alfredo, and the wedge salsa, everyone enjoyed the food. My only word of warning is regarding bar drinks, make sure to order one ahead, while the staff was prompt to bring them over when ready, we were always waiting a bit before they were ready to be served.

Fiona L

My husband and I stopped by Raffa's Waterfront Grill during a quiet afternoon, drawn in by the scenic lakeside setting. We must've visited during downtime, as the place was nearly empty so we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves--giving us our pick of seats with a great view. We started with the Salt & Pepper Calamari, Crab Cakes, a Lemon Drop Martini, and a pour of bourbon. Unfortunately, the cocktail experience was underwhelming. While the bartender/server was friendly, she didn't seem very familiar with the drink menu, and when we asked if they could make a bourbon-based cocktail, the response was hesitant. We settled on the Lemon Drop, which wasn't terrible, but lacked balance and didn't stand out. She also wasn't very detail-oriented as she accidentally spilled some of my drink on me and either didn't notice or chose to ignore it. As for the food, the calamari was disappointing. It arrived without lemon (which we had to request), and the flavor was lacking. I ended up relying heavily on the jalapeño ranch just to enjoy it, which isn't something I usually need to do at a seafood restaurant. On the brighter side, the crab cakes were a pleasant surprise--crispy on the outside, soft and flavorful inside. Easily the best item we tried. Because the appetizer experience didn't leave us confident in the kitchen, we chose to skip entrées altogether. When something as simple as calamari misses the mark at a waterfront seafood restaurant--especially at this price point--it's hard to justify going further. The location is lovely and would make a great setting for drinks with friends, but overall, the experience didn't meet expectations for a seafood-forward restaurant. If you do stop by, I'd say skip the calamari and go for the crab cakes.

M RC

We were visiting from out of town and this place was recommended to us. The location is on the water so the ambiance is great. Unfortunately that is where the greatness ended. The front desk hostess (glasses) was unfriendly and asked in deadpan way, “ Do you have a reservation?” We did have one. But she remained cold. We sat outside which has a nice view of the water. My husband ordered a steak and I ordered chicken breast. The food took 40 minutes to come out. At one point the chef came out and was greeting people around us and asking how their food was. He did say hello to us and we told him we were still waiting. He gave no explanation and continued on to another table where he conversed and laughed for too long considering we were still sitting without our food. A waitstaff came by to ask if we were ok and said they were backed up in the kitchen. When the food finally came , my chicken breast had a strange off taste. Like rotten milk. Like the butter sauce was rancid. I did not want to make a scene so I ate small bites , slowly hoping the taste would improve. My husband tasted the food and became upset. Waitstaff came by to ask how things were and I said “ OK…” but my facial expression told the truth. Her expression told me she understood. She left and then another staff member came by to offer a complimentary desserts. Which we accepted but boxed up to take away. It was crème brûlée. We left silent and disappointed. We are not the type to make a scene. Back at the hotel , the dessert had the exact same rotten milk taste and smell. Ironically , the free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express had the same rotten taste. Go figure. We have eaten in many fine dining restaurants , mostly in NYC so we know good food. This place is not it.

Celine Samaan

Plating is amazing and the dishes look really fancy and appetizing. The lake view and interior is nice, giving the place a nice eating atmosphere. Along with that, our waiter was very attentive and friendly (though made sense considering business was slow). Food though did not meet up to my standards. Was very bland and there was nothing special about the taste of our dishes. My order of the Migas was very filling but wasn’t anything special. The smoked salmon plate was also boring, looking similar to a small charcuterie board and the price was the same as an entree, despite the incredibly small servings. Overall, I don’t think the bland food and small portions meets up to the fancy atmosphere and pricing. Not worth it

We went for the Valentine's day 4 course menu special. Upon arrival it took 20 minutes to be seated even though we paid online for a reservation. Once seated the candles on our table or the table in front of us weren't lit. We waited over 10 minutes to be greeted and over another 10 minutes to receive our drinks. We witnessed a server place CLEAN silverware on the seats while cleaning a table and then place the silverware BACK on the table for the next guests. Over all the kitchen seemed unorganized as our entrees came out BEFORE our 2nd starter dish. The atmosphere is quite loud, so I wouldn't recommend Raffa's for a romantic evening. The manager greeted every table surrounding us, except ours, apologizing for the slow service. The food was subpar and not worth the wait. Unfortunately we will not be returning.

From one chef to another, with respect, #1 - We don't cook a filet mignon on the grill top - that's culinary 101. #2 - I shouldn't be able to turn a bowl of risotto upside down and have it not move - shockingly overcooked. Staff was less then happy to be there, perhaps I caught the place on an off night? Best of luck in the future.

This place completely ruined our Valentine’s Day. My wife and I had reservations for their special four-course dinner, yet still waited 30 minutes to be seated. We even watched a server place clean silverware on a chair while clearing a table, then set that same silverware out for the next guests. After we were seated, no one greeted us for 20 minutes. The first staff member only asked to take our wine menu, and our actual server didn’t come until 10 minutes later, opening with “Has anyone greeted you yet?” even though we were in her section. Then our entrées arrived before the soup and salad, and she was completely unaware. My wife and I have been together for 9 years and this was the worst restaurant experience we’ve ever had. We spent 2 and a half hours wishing we could leave. First and last time we visit this restaurant.

Cecile Dela Cruz Racosas

We came here today for brunch (3 people in out party) around noon. It wasn’t busy, but we waited for our food more than 30 mins. We ordered pot belly and grits and a cheese burger When we received our food it was cold. The cheese on my son’s burger didn’t even melt. The scramble eggs was dry and overcooked. The pot belly was bland and the pairing sauce didn’t save it, grits was lumpy. Over all the experience felt we were eating leftovers from the night before. Service wasn’t too great either, our waitress didn’t even check if our food was ok. It’s our first time here and not planning on coming back anytime soon.

laura garcia

Updated 10/26/25. We came for brunch and the service is terrible! Took about 15 minutes just to get water. I won’t be back now! The food is great! The service today was so freaking terrible!!! I literally had to walk up to my server and ask her for my check after she had already bagged my food to take home. Why not bring the bill when the food was bagged?! We arrived at 7:30 and left at 9:05. We didn’t have difficult food. They were having a big party there which was understandable but what’s irritating is when the server does t communicate that with the customer! Just bad customer service! We’ve been there a lot of times because I love the crab cakes and the steaks are delicious and have referred many friends to this restaurant but this needs to be changed immediately. I felt bad for the family sitting next to us because they looked like they were starving! I think they knew they messed up because they comped out bread pudding dessert. Do better Raffas!

Lisa Harlan

Really disappointing visit to Raffa’s tonight. We used to be regulars and had hoped they had improved. Our waitress was really terrible. No rapport—didn’t let us know there were specials or what they were. I ordered tea and she didn’t offer sweetener or a teaspoon or straw. I stirred with my knife. She couldn’t keep our glasses full. I ordered the chicken Alfredo. The chicken was delicious but the Alfredo was bland. My husband ordered the risotto and it came out a cold lump of rice—he had to send it back to be warmed up. No wonder the place was empty for Saturday night dinner service. I hate leaving reviews like this but the manager came and dropped off the reheated risotto and didn’t say a single word about it—so clearly they don’t care about a bad experience. They shouldn’t have made me feel this way!