THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Baroque

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Baroque Restaurant Review:

Baroque is a feast for the eyes-but some may even consider it a tad over the top. But isn’t that what the period was all about? You’re better off succumbing to the irresistible excess that makes this a showplace like none you’ve seen in Houston-possibly this side of the pond. Though diminutive in size, Baroque is big on romance-every nook and cranny drips with ornate columns, gilded cherubs and Renaissance wall murals. A half-dozen huge chandeliers reside in the main room, while another six, somewhat smaller in scale, hang along a wall of windows. Even the huge, velvety roses, grouped low in shallow bowls on each table, evoke the feel another era, as do the frilly, somewhat silly, lace collars waiters are made to wear. Unfortunately, the attention to detail that’s given to the ambience is sometimes absent from Baroque’s Continental menu, but there are a couple of high notes. Try the zippy Tabasco Fried Oyster Salad. It’s described on the menu as a spinach salad, but the chef will top any salad with the shellfish. The stuffed chicken, filled with goat cheese, spinach and pine nuts and topped with capers, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms is also a standout. The Norwegian Salmon in a Potato Blanket, Pistachio-Encrusted Swordfish and Veal de Farcie, stuffed with prosciutto and brie, are also appealing. You owe it to yourself to visit Baroque-if for nothing else, just to see it. But it’s even better to take along someone you want to impress. Better yet, plan a special event there; it’s a place that screams for such attention.