Brenner's Steakhouse

Oldest Steakhouse in Houston

In this ever-changing city, you have to search hard to find iconic, family owned restaurants that have been around for generations. Brenner's is one of them.

Herman & Lorene Brenner started attracting loyal customers to "Brenner's Cafe" in 1936.  It's clear that the restaurant still has a large following. What's not clear, is how long this building has been around.

The Original

Don and I arrived and valet parked for lunch in mid December. As we headed on the walkway towards the entrance, I tried to figure out the building. The flagstone and wood shingled exterior looked a little mid-century modern.  But once inside, I studied an old photo.  The hostess said the original building pictured, had been located down the road a bit. When they began construction of the Katy Freeway, the Brenners had the building moved to this location. 

2 Windows

She pointed to the two windows in the old photo and showed me where we had just passed them outside. That's odd, because all the internet write-ups say the old building was torn down.  

Maybe just a portion of the old building was saved. I'm confused.

Festive Retro

When we moved into the main dining room, it felt very 1960's to me. The vaulted ceiling, picture windows, wood paneling and flagstone fireplace took me back to my childhood. It even had that smokey, comfy aroma... not as in cigarettes.

White Cloth Lunch

The white tablecloths and men dressed in jackets for lunch, also gave the place a retro feel. But mostly my eyes were drawn past all that, through the wall of glass to the garden beyond. I'm a big fan of a table with a view and pretty much all tables had one. 

Looking Up

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Surely this light fixture was not from 1936.  I imagine it was a pretty grand feature when they added it. The clock hiding behind, also made an impressive decorative statement! 

Champagne at Lunch

Don and I don't usually have champagne at lunch, but we were celebrating.  It was December 13th and I had just completed my final radiation treatment an hour earlier. We were toasting the end of a long 7 months, which included surgery, chemo and radiation. But actually, the bread in the basket was enough to make me offer a toast! It was fabulous!

Prime Rib

Neither Don nor I are big prime rib people, especially at lunch.  But it was PRIMETIME TUESDAY, with 3 courses that ended with Lorene's warm apple strudel! Why not?  

Don was a good sport and paused a moment to let me snap a shot. 

The Food!

Someone had to order steak, since we were at Houston's oldest steakhouse. I let Don order the prime rib, since I knew we'd end up sharing.  I ordered the Texas Fried Chicken with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and smoked bacon gravy. It felt as decadent as dessert and I loved every bite. It was about as healthy as dessert, too.

Through the Bar

The cozy bar was actually packed with lunching customers by the time we finished eating. We took a walk through it, to take a closer peek at the garden we'd been enjoying from our table. 

Curious

There was a sort of corny "stage set" feel to the buildings, which created a wall around the garden. The Brenners supposedly created the garden to remind Lorene of the gardens she remembered from her childhood in Germany.

Outside Dining  

There were a few tables beside the koi pond and waterfall. The water sounds helped mask the noise of the nearby Katy Freeway. The wall of cottage images masked the view of the freeway and some not so lovely buildings.

Walking the Path

We wandered the path over the pond and checked out the well and waterwheel. The garden was just the place to ponder the news we had just learned about the restaurant's new ownership. Landry's owner, Tilman Fertitta now owns Brenner's! Don and I rolled our eyes at that news. He seems to be taking over all of Texas and beyond. But Mrs. Brenner needed to retire a few years ago. 

And...

It was nice to learn that Fertitta had more of a connection to Brenner's than money. He evidently has fond memories of coming as a child, with his family. He was able to work with Mrs. Brenner (who shared family recipes) to help preserve the history and character. In this day and age of tear-downs, I'm sure this oddly located landmark would have disappeared had Fertitta not jumped in.  So I guess I'll toast to that!