We were so excited to have one last meal before the change of ownership took over. Excitement quickly turned into disgust. The service was terrible, the food was worse, and then the manager made us feel like it was all our fault.
Disapointed
Took over 10 minutes before a waitress even came over to take or drink water. Or appetizer come out and one was wrong had to be sent back to the kitchen. Took over 50 minutes to get our main course while other people receive their's and some were even leaving. Desserts are not worth the money one with a very very small scoop of icecteam. The manager gave us $20 off our ticket.
ConnieD
The steaks and the dressings were cold. We we're done with the appetizers but the main courses came out and there was no place to put the food on the table. One of the staff put the plate on top of the napkin. I had to ask them to comeback and take the empty plates. I specified in the reservation that we were celebrating my birthday. It would have been nice to be acknowledged on this occasion. We're not coming back.
DonnaJ
We came here during Houston Restaurant Week. Hands down, Peli Peli had the best menu and the best tasting food out of all the restaurants we visited during HRW. In fact, it was so good we opted to come back another night with friends in tow, because we couldn't rave enough about the food. Would highly recommend.
born2receive
Food was flavorful depending on selection and personal taste. Steak on skewer needed a hot plate and further cooking of green vegetables ,otherwise flavorful with sauces, Cocktails were unique. and appetizers were flavorful. Desserts were unique.
Brett N.
Why 5 stars? Because I'm so glad I was able to finally visit this place. --- --- --- I've had Peli Peli bookmarked for a few years now, but I think I initially discovered a location in a different part of Houston that's now closed. Since we recently moved to the north side of town, I was stoked to see a Peli Peli at the Woodlands Mall. For my birthday, I opted to come here because I figured it was a place we may not pop into under typical circumstances. I'll admit, I know nothing about what would be considered "South African cuisine," but I saw the great ratings and reviews and was ready for an adventure. So why not make this special occasion meal, review #2700? There were only two things we did not love about this experience: 1) The samoosas were just okay. They had a gamey flavor to them, despite the fact that they were beef. I tasted a hint of goat and am not a fan of goat meat. 2) The service was incredibly slow. We would go an obnoxious amount of time in between visits from our server. This is the second review in a row I've written mentioning this, so I believe this to be more an issue of the federal government causing a terrible labor shortage, more than Peli Peli screwing up. But our server was usually not even on the floor for extended periods of time, which made me think it was a combination of both. But that's where my complaints end. Now it's time to rave: 1) Rissoles 2) Shrimp Curry 3) Prego Sandwich 4) Seafood Platter 5) Lobster mac-n-cheese 6) Ribeye Espetada 7) Brussels Sprouts All of these things were amazing. We actually did not order the espetada initially, but after seeing it on another customer's table, we went ahead and did so. It was so ideal to save this for last because I think it was the best thing we tried. And we ordered brussels sprouts as one of the sides, which were also unbelievable. It almost tasted like they were soaked in syrup or something because they were really sweet. And the ribeye was like straight marble. It was one of the better bites of food I've had in 2021. I would definitely come back again and would definitely recommend doing what we did - going in a group full of other adventurous eaters who are willing to share a bunch of different things. The variety of great dishes is too big to just go and eat one thing!
Mohsina N.
New ownership - awful food and ambience. Went there for lunch Houston Restaurant week. Ordered salad, soup, Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich and Fish and Chips - all were awful and had bad oil smell. No flavor like it used to be. In fact doesn't even taste South African. Would not recommend.
Andrea W.
I'm not usually a yelper but I had to create one to share my memorable experience. I started off by making a To-go order. Ms. Asia helped me, she was so amazing! She talked me through the menu and informed me of something called Restaurant week. She asked if it was a special occasion and I informed her that it was my mom and dad's anniversary dinner. (They don't like leaving the house since covid). So I thought I'd bring them some of there favorite food. She was so nice and even suggested we come in to have the full experience. I told her because she was so welcoming I'd ask my parents if they'd like to go out to eat. I called around 5 (mind you this was hours after she helped us). Once again she answered the phone and made us a reservation. Once we got there the beautiful colors and amazing casual atmosphere made my parents feel at home. (There from Nigeria). They were still worried about covid so she suggested the patio. She guided us outside and we were happy they had fans and misters outside. Asia brought out a champagne toast, we informed her we didn't drink. It was red syrup with sprite which I thought was a cute touch. Alex was our server and he was great! He was very knowledgeable on the menu and our dislikes (my father hates seafood) He recommended the non alcoholic punch which was delicious. We all got our meals and were so full we took some home for left overs. Asia came to check and make sure our experience was excellent. Our experience was memorable and made my parents happy and me and my husband can't wait till we go back for our anniversary to have another great time. Good job woodlands.
tim swanson
We had a reservation but still had to wait half an hour. Service was slow. The steak I ordered was more well done than medium. Our food was very tasty though which saves this review.
Lanell J.
My family and I have been going to Peli Peli for years now. This was our 1st time going to The Woodlands location since they have closed The Vintage location down. We were so disappointed and disgusted by the poor service we received at this location where Mike The general manager was on location on Saturday evening 8/21/2021. We were here to celebrate our son's birthday who came down from California. Our reservation was for 7:45 which we got there around 7:23pm. We were seated at 7:43pm. Let's start off with ordering drinks, basic drinks took about 30 mins, getting sugar for our tea an extra 15-20 mins. No silverware when our 1st coarse arrive, we had to get up and look for someone to bring us silverware as our food got cold. We found Mike the General manager who made the comment "we could just eat with our hands!" He later brought silverware. We ordered our food before 8:00pm after many complaints we finally got our food around 9:15pm. Our food came out at different times, some food to our courses were missing, Brussels sprouts were burnt, my chicken was over cooked. My son had his food an hour before we had ours. I had a private conversation with Mike about my disappointment and the number of years we have been coming here, he took what I was saying lightly with a smirk of laughter behind his mask. Given the long weight for everything, when they brought our food out we asked if we could get boxes for our food and dessert to go bc now it's pass 9:30pm. We had no idea how long they would make us wait to get anything we asked for. We drove all the way from Cypress, Texas to enjoy my sons birthday celebration and we chose Peli Peli to do it, we didn't sing happy birthday to my son, the service was offensive with general manager telling us we could eat with her hands, his relaxed attitude about the whole situation made this experience one we would never forget. I was so disappointed bc we love love love love Peli Peli. Not to mention they no longer have many of the foods on the menu we have grown to love. We will no longer be patronizing Peli Peli as a business any longer. They stole an important moment a memory we could never get back and it's very upsetting. We came home, song happy birthday to our son and apologized that he didn't get to experience Peli Peli the way we always have at the Vintage park location in Houston!!! Very, very, very disappointed!!!
Overall great experience from the time me and my family walked in till we left. Our server Ariel was absolutely phenomenal. She was super attentive, helpful and informative about the food and beverages. Can't to come back.
Troy J.
Today we had an opportunity to enjoy a three course meal. Shrimp Mozambique we started with and It was great starter.Next, was a Chicken Trincado, the meat was cooked perfect, new flavor, you may want to at a little salt. Then I had a steak Espatada, again meat cooked perfectly, it came with two sauces and that made the dish awesome! Then I finished with a chocolate Lekkar very nice. I'm very full and happy. We also had champagne to toast our anniversary. Service was awesome and it is a nice cozy place.
Ana Garcia
This was my first time here and I was more than impressed. Everything was absolutely delicious! Our server was also very friendly.
william smith
The food was extraordinary the curry and mango sauce over the brisket was delicious
Isabella M.
Peli Peli is definitely authentic South African food; delicious ingredients, beautiful aesthetics, and very friendly waiters. We had Gerardo and he was super helpful! * The only downgrade points towards the slow service, but it is understandable since it is an elegant and expensive restaurant. * The food is certainly richer so enjoy it with caution
We were so excited to have one last meal before the change of ownership took over. Excitement quickly turned into disgust. The service was terrible, the food was worse, and then the manager made us feel like it was all our fault.
Took over 10 minutes before a waitress even came over to take or drink water. Or appetizer come out and one was wrong had to be sent back to the kitchen. Took over 50 minutes to get our main course while other people receive their's and some were even leaving. Desserts are not worth the money one with a very very small scoop of icecteam. The manager gave us $20 off our ticket.
The steaks and the dressings were cold. We we're done with the appetizers but the main courses came out and there was no place to put the food on the table. One of the staff put the plate on top of the napkin. I had to ask them to comeback and take the empty plates. I specified in the reservation that we were celebrating my birthday. It would have been nice to be acknowledged on this occasion. We're not coming back.
We came here during Houston Restaurant Week. Hands down, Peli Peli had the best menu and the best tasting food out of all the restaurants we visited during HRW. In fact, it was so good we opted to come back another night with friends in tow, because we couldn't rave enough about the food. Would highly recommend.
Food was flavorful depending on selection and personal taste. Steak on skewer needed a hot plate and further cooking of green vegetables ,otherwise flavorful with sauces, Cocktails were unique. and appetizers were flavorful. Desserts were unique.
Why 5 stars? Because I'm so glad I was able to finally visit this place. --- --- --- I've had Peli Peli bookmarked for a few years now, but I think I initially discovered a location in a different part of Houston that's now closed. Since we recently moved to the north side of town, I was stoked to see a Peli Peli at the Woodlands Mall. For my birthday, I opted to come here because I figured it was a place we may not pop into under typical circumstances. I'll admit, I know nothing about what would be considered "South African cuisine," but I saw the great ratings and reviews and was ready for an adventure. So why not make this special occasion meal, review #2700? There were only two things we did not love about this experience: 1) The samoosas were just okay. They had a gamey flavor to them, despite the fact that they were beef. I tasted a hint of goat and am not a fan of goat meat. 2) The service was incredibly slow. We would go an obnoxious amount of time in between visits from our server. This is the second review in a row I've written mentioning this, so I believe this to be more an issue of the federal government causing a terrible labor shortage, more than Peli Peli screwing up. But our server was usually not even on the floor for extended periods of time, which made me think it was a combination of both. But that's where my complaints end. Now it's time to rave: 1) Rissoles 2) Shrimp Curry 3) Prego Sandwich 4) Seafood Platter 5) Lobster mac-n-cheese 6) Ribeye Espetada 7) Brussels Sprouts All of these things were amazing. We actually did not order the espetada initially, but after seeing it on another customer's table, we went ahead and did so. It was so ideal to save this for last because I think it was the best thing we tried. And we ordered brussels sprouts as one of the sides, which were also unbelievable. It almost tasted like they were soaked in syrup or something because they were really sweet. And the ribeye was like straight marble. It was one of the better bites of food I've had in 2021. I would definitely come back again and would definitely recommend doing what we did - going in a group full of other adventurous eaters who are willing to share a bunch of different things. The variety of great dishes is too big to just go and eat one thing!
New ownership - awful food and ambience. Went there for lunch Houston Restaurant week. Ordered salad, soup, Crispy Fried Chicken Sandwich and Fish and Chips - all were awful and had bad oil smell. No flavor like it used to be. In fact doesn't even taste South African. Would not recommend.
I'm not usually a yelper but I had to create one to share my memorable experience. I started off by making a To-go order. Ms. Asia helped me, she was so amazing! She talked me through the menu and informed me of something called Restaurant week. She asked if it was a special occasion and I informed her that it was my mom and dad's anniversary dinner. (They don't like leaving the house since covid). So I thought I'd bring them some of there favorite food. She was so nice and even suggested we come in to have the full experience. I told her because she was so welcoming I'd ask my parents if they'd like to go out to eat. I called around 5 (mind you this was hours after she helped us). Once again she answered the phone and made us a reservation. Once we got there the beautiful colors and amazing casual atmosphere made my parents feel at home. (There from Nigeria). They were still worried about covid so she suggested the patio. She guided us outside and we were happy they had fans and misters outside. Asia brought out a champagne toast, we informed her we didn't drink. It was red syrup with sprite which I thought was a cute touch. Alex was our server and he was great! He was very knowledgeable on the menu and our dislikes (my father hates seafood) He recommended the non alcoholic punch which was delicious. We all got our meals and were so full we took some home for left overs. Asia came to check and make sure our experience was excellent. Our experience was memorable and made my parents happy and me and my husband can't wait till we go back for our anniversary to have another great time. Good job woodlands.
We had a reservation but still had to wait half an hour. Service was slow. The steak I ordered was more well done than medium. Our food was very tasty though which saves this review.
My family and I have been going to Peli Peli for years now. This was our 1st time going to The Woodlands location since they have closed The Vintage location down. We were so disappointed and disgusted by the poor service we received at this location where Mike The general manager was on location on Saturday evening 8/21/2021. We were here to celebrate our son's birthday who came down from California. Our reservation was for 7:45 which we got there around 7:23pm. We were seated at 7:43pm. Let's start off with ordering drinks, basic drinks took about 30 mins, getting sugar for our tea an extra 15-20 mins. No silverware when our 1st coarse arrive, we had to get up and look for someone to bring us silverware as our food got cold. We found Mike the General manager who made the comment "we could just eat with our hands!" He later brought silverware. We ordered our food before 8:00pm after many complaints we finally got our food around 9:15pm. Our food came out at different times, some food to our courses were missing, Brussels sprouts were burnt, my chicken was over cooked. My son had his food an hour before we had ours. I had a private conversation with Mike about my disappointment and the number of years we have been coming here, he took what I was saying lightly with a smirk of laughter behind his mask. Given the long weight for everything, when they brought our food out we asked if we could get boxes for our food and dessert to go bc now it's pass 9:30pm. We had no idea how long they would make us wait to get anything we asked for. We drove all the way from Cypress, Texas to enjoy my sons birthday celebration and we chose Peli Peli to do it, we didn't sing happy birthday to my son, the service was offensive with general manager telling us we could eat with her hands, his relaxed attitude about the whole situation made this experience one we would never forget. I was so disappointed bc we love love love love Peli Peli. Not to mention they no longer have many of the foods on the menu we have grown to love. We will no longer be patronizing Peli Peli as a business any longer. They stole an important moment a memory we could never get back and it's very upsetting. We came home, song happy birthday to our son and apologized that he didn't get to experience Peli Peli the way we always have at the Vintage park location in Houston!!! Very, very, very disappointed!!!
Restaurantji Recommends
Overall great experience from the time me and my family walked in till we left. Our server Ariel was absolutely phenomenal. She was super attentive, helpful and informative about the food and beverages. Can't to come back.
Today we had an opportunity to enjoy a three course meal. Shrimp Mozambique we started with and It was great starter.Next, was a Chicken Trincado, the meat was cooked perfect, new flavor, you may want to at a little salt. Then I had a steak Espatada, again meat cooked perfectly, it came with two sauces and that made the dish awesome! Then I finished with a chocolate Lekkar very nice. I'm very full and happy. We also had champagne to toast our anniversary. Service was awesome and it is a nice cozy place.
This was my first time here and I was more than impressed. Everything was absolutely delicious! Our server was also very friendly.
The food was extraordinary the curry and mango sauce over the brisket was delicious
Peli Peli is definitely authentic South African food; delicious ingredients, beautiful aesthetics, and very friendly waiters. We had Gerardo and he was super helpful! * The only downgrade points towards the slow service, but it is understandable since it is an elegant and expensive restaurant. * The food is certainly richer so enjoy it with caution