The cute eatery on the corner of Rice Boulevard and Chaucer Drive has been quite a few restaurants in my life, but I’m quite satisfied with what it is now: the newest Island Grill location. The Mediterranean chain has locations all over Houston, but is based right here in Houston and owned and operated by Syrian immigrant, Faysal Haddad. First location opened on Woodway in 2000.
What impressed me most about Island Grill (my first visit, actually!) was that it was really good for everything. Open most days from 7 am to 9 pm (Sundays are 8 am to 4:30 pm), you can enjoy IG for everything. Lemme show you what I mean…
For breakfast…
You can start your day off with a smoothie (I got the Island Nectar — it was incredibly refreshing). There’s gotta be 25 smoothies on their menu, so something for everyone (or you can get something different every day).
There is also a HUGE breakfast menu — omelets, tacos, pancakes, bagels, breakfast pitas — but I didn’t get to try any—YET!
For a snack…
Again, those smoothies make for a great snack too, but if you just want to hang out in the swanky new restaurant space, I support it. Grab some tea or a glass of wine or beer (no liquor though) and have a quick bite, I highly recommend the hummus or the french fries.
For lunch…
Salads and sandwiches would be my rec for a midday visit to IG. This turkey club was amazing and everything I wanted. The gyros are a solid pick, obviously, and come with an overwhelming amount of lettuce, so it’s like a salad in a pita (top photo, bottom right). Healthy. The actual salads are clutch — I got the classic, old reliable Island Salad (top photo, bottom left). It had some slightly cooked veggies mixed in and I added shrimp. I think this was my favorite dish I tried!
For dinner…
For dinner, go with one of the entrees — we got a kabob (top photo, top dish). The marinated meat was yum, and the juices soaked the pita that comes with the dish (also a side salad!), and that might have been my favorite part.
You HAVE to get dessert when you visit the Rice Village IG. The head chef there is also a pastry chef and makes an AMAZING bread pudding. I was so full from all the other things I ate, so I was just going to take one bite…. half the bread pudding dish later, I was miserably full but happy with all the decisions I had made.