Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Address:	1001 Austin St, Houston, TX 77010, USA
Phone:	+1 832-360-2222
Site:	phoeniciafoods.com
Rating:	4.6
Working:	7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 7AM–9PM 9AM–8PM 9AM–8PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

John Koong

First I would like to say that I usually have a great experience at this location. However, today, June 30, 2016, I had a horrible experience. My wife went in to order two shawarma sandwiches but realized that we were charged for two shawarma platters (a little over $6 difference). When she went back in to inform the cashier of the mistake, the cashier was extremely defensive. Instead of being apologetic, the cashier basically said that she charged us according to the the ticket taped on the bag and it was not her fault. Its a fair statement, but no one was blaming the cashier. We simply wanted the situation rectified. The cashier called the manager three times to no avail. Luckily there was an assistant manager on his break that came to assist. After spending five minutes explaining the situation to the assistant manager, the "manager" showed up and got involved. The assistant manager and cashier spend another five minutes explaining the situation to the manager. We simply wanted to get a refund of the difference. But the situation just kept getting worse. The manager seem confused about what happened and couldnt wrap her head around it. After another five minutes of re-explaining the situation, the manager wanted my wife to go back through the line to get a new ticket from the back. It was around 12:00pm during the lunch rush when the line was extremely long. So how the manager decided to handle the situation was to have us go back through a long line that we had already been through, to get a new ticket, so they could refund the original wrong charge, and ring up the new correct tickets. We said no thanks, gave the food back, and just asked for full refund. Spent 45 minutes and ended up with no lunch. Thank you very much Phoenicia. I used to love coming to Phoenicia and ate here frequently during law school but will not be going back. I will also be venting to anyone and everyone who is willing to listen.

Andrew E

Somehow this place has pulled off being a grocery store, delicatessen, restaurant, and bar. Best for: Work lunch - pizza, sandwiches, salad bar, pastas Semi-casual date night - the restaurant & bar has a nice ambiance and the food is good Patrons: During the day youll find lots of different types of folks, but mostly professionals on lunch break. At night, its mostly young trendy people out on a date night. Things to know: - Good for medium sized groups (5-10). - The grocery store is not going to be your typical HEB. Its more of a specialty grocery that specializes in international items. Yes theres eggs and milk, but you also have curry and tzatziki. -The beverage selection by the salad/olive bar is amazingly diverse. - Free parking in the garage that is on top of the store. - Go upstairs to check out the wines and cigars. - Weekend and week nights there are various live performances, including some comedy. Overall: Ive never been disappointed with Phoenicia and its a relatively overlooked/underrated weekend dinner spot.

Stephanie Manley

I love this store. They have all sorts of imported food. They have wonderfully prepared Mediterranean food. They sell wine and beer. Their bakery is outstanding, and their deli is also well stocked. This is before you get to their hot food section. I think this is one of those few stores that it is well on all notes. Oh did I mention they have a coffee bar, a wine bar with live music, and they also have steak night? Oh, I forgot the gelato, they make that there too. I love their frozen food section. They sell a variety of specialty items you cant find anywhere else. Want puff pastry in different sizes? They have it. They have many things your everyday American stores do not well. They have tons of different types of dried beans and lentils. This is the cheapest place in town to buy spices. Go upstairs in the corner, and you are going to be angry you have been buying grocery store spices. Shop here, go here for dinner, or a drink, you wont be disappointed.

Christine Nicole Herrera

What does Twister, Hummus, Ping Pong, Gelato and Steak Night have in common? You guessed it! Phoenicia! Phoenicia has so much to offer! I was most recently there on Monday for Games Night where you and a group of friends can get together and kiss the Monday Blues good bye. They have anything from Candy Land to Hula Hoops to Connect 4 and other games. Its a nice change of pace from the craziness of other bars. They have pizza and beer specials that night too. Besides that you can try all of their gelato or sip on a berries and cream cappucino. They even have steak night on Tuesday and Thursdays. Theres something different every night of the week for your entertainment. Plus you can go grocery shopping too where you will find an assortment of salads, an olive bar, cookies, olive oils, hormone and antibiotic free meat, etc. from around the world. Its a great stop if youre headed to Discovery Green Park for a picnic so dont miss it!

Megan Hurwitt

This place is really good for speciality foods. The spices are ridiculously cheap, as are the cheeses. They have a dine in cafe attached to the back, which does live music almost every night and is constantly doing special events and brunches, but if youre in a hurry they also have pre-prepared meals and two different delis where you can made to order hot or cold meals or sushi. Their naan bread is made fresh in house and is really good. They also have a section upstairs to get kitchenware you wouldnt normally be able to find anywhere besides William Sonoma or Crate and Barrel. The food is consistently good and they have their own parking garage which is nice. The only complaint Ive ever had, and its minor, is that their credit card readers are ancient, so sometimes you have to run your card multiple times before the system accepts it.

Courtney Renfro

Downtown Houston residents were in desperate need of a grocery store within its boundaries. This is a wonderful option for them as well as the downtown business people since they have a wonderful section of freshly made foods as well as a cafe attached. Dont miss out on the second floor which houses the wines, kitchen gadgets and much, much more. Ive been many times since I lived in a downtown condo for about a year. She continues to be a customer for certain specialty items. They make a deliciously smooth coffee and their baked goods make for a great pairing. Im not sure if they offer it anymore, but they used to sell almost all remaining baked goods at the ned of each night for $1. Also, the attached MKT Bar has some of the best gelato in town, in my opinion. Ill leave a separate review about it.

T. B.

Upstairs has many things WF doesnt carry, and for almost all grocery items...the price is competitive or better. This is a fully stocked and full service super market; with TONS of kitchen ware, specialty food items from around the world, a full service cold and hot deli, desert case, coffee bar etc...They will brulee your creme brulee while you wait. It doesnt get better than that for customer service. It has many convenience foods and gluten free items also. If you go during the day you might get to see the freshly baked pita bread going down the conveyer belt. ( It starts on the second floor and travels to the first floor). They also have a full service bar and restaurant adjacent and free parking in the garage.