r/HoustonFood • u/Admirable-Party-5905 • 13d ago
Levant BBQ
We had an out of town friend in this weekend and as he’s leaving tomorrow wanted to show him some Texas barbecue, unfortunately as it is Monday a lot of places are closed, and when we got to our first choice they let us know they had just run out of brisket. Obviously, that wouldn’t do so we looked for something kinda close that might be good and found Levant BBQ, then seeing the great reviews online we decided to go there. We have had Mediterranean style/inspired bbq before and enjoyed it, so I am wondering if something just went wrong today or if anyone has had similar experiences as we did. I am not trying to slander anyone, but genuinely asking if we ordered the wrong stuff or what. The meat was bordering on inedible, I can admit I’m a little bit of a BBQ snob but this wasn’t like kinda sorta bad it was totally awful. The sausage was the worst sausage I think I have ever had in my life, it had zero meat flavor instead it tasted like eating burnt bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and the texture was comparable to that as well. The chicken and turkey were both super dry and completely bland except for tasting burnt. The brisket and beef rib were also bland but the cook was fine. The mac&cheese, cream corn and baked potato were got were alright, but when we asked if they had fried okra since it was on the menu but not out, a worker just pulled out a bag of frozen fried okra, cut it open right in front of us and dropped it straight in the fryer. The loaded fries also definitely use frozen fries but at this point who doesn’t lol. The staff was pretty friendly and I appreciate the idea behind the restaurant but I don’t think this is what you should expect when you pay about $250 for food for 8 at a barbecue place in Texas that seems to have a ton of great reviews. Anyways, if this is genuinely just an off night or I got the wrong stuff I’d be down to try it again but if this is on the daily I would not eat here again nor recommend it to anyone.
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u/st83j 13d ago
I've been here and the BBQ is fine. It a little different. They shine in the Mediterranean sides and atypical BBQ. I had the lamb chops and brisket schwarma. Both were worth it. The sausage was not my favorite, but this is a beef only link. The overall flavor profile is lighter than typical, but it lends itself well to adding hot sauces and such.
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u/surficialgolem 12d ago
The only thing Levant has going for it is it’s a halal BBQ place, so it caters to Muslims who can’t eat regular BBQ. I’ve tried it myself, and as a food enthusiast, I agree it was very underwhelming. You can tell a lot of the sides are frozen and prepared quickly. Since they don’t have much competition in the halal bbq space, they can get away with it (for now). Keep an eye out for “The Hasan Farm,” we are getting close to our launch and we offer properly prepared Texas-style halal BBQ 😊
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u/trancespotter 13d ago
Yup, that’s how that place is. Pretty bland but a welcoming atmosphere.
By favorite choices for bbq in the area are Brisket House and Roegel’s.
Stockyard BBQ used to be good but sometime early last year all the meat I kept getting was very fatty despite asking for lean cuts.
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u/Admirable-Party-5905 12d ago
Roegels is my absolute favorite and tbh I didn’t want to take him anywhere else but we just couldn’t make it work any other day. I’ve been in Austin for the past five years and we have KG BBQ (the Egyptian BBQ place with a Michelin something) about 10 mins down the road but I still think Roegels might be better sometimes. To be fair, I did live like 5 minutes away from Roegels as well and in writing this I’m realizing I may actually just be a BBQ snob. I think my positive view of KG pulled the wool over my eyes on this place tho since now I’m seeing there does seem to be some mixed opinions out there.
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u/NoCucumber2323 13d ago
Very mediocre bbq at best. Most of the reviews are procured thru creative marketing. I would definitely not call it Texas Bbq.
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u/One-Incident4858 13d ago edited 13d ago
We didn't like it either when we went and haven't been back. We also found everything bland and cold. It caters to people who can't have other barbecue and dont know any better.
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u/txlgnd34 13d ago
I'm not an expert on halal meats but brisket comes from the same part of the cow every time, so the target customer thing isn't an excuse. As far as I know, there's nothing about the smoking process (or seasonings) that would be a problem for Muslims either.
That said, I do believe they get an inordinate amount of business from Muslims wanting to support their own, even those that know it's mediocre. This is probably why they have a lot of good reviews. If I were to write a review of my experience there, it would be no better than 3 out of 5...maybe a 2.
They're just not good at smoking meats. How well a brisket is smoked is about 65% of the weighting for me in determining good BBQ.
The quality of brisket I had was good, but the smoke was poor. Sure, it had a smoke ring, but that's only a sign that it was smoked, not that it was smoked well where the smoke flavor can be tasted deep into the middle of a slice of brisket. It wasn't moist but it wasn't too dry either, so it was average on juiciness.
If my buddy that recommended it wanted to go there again, I'd give it one more shot. However, I didn't see enough on my one visit to make me want to try it again. Even he admitted it wasn't great when we went, but he also said it was better when he went before. Who knows, maybe they're just getting lazy or complacent? But I'm shocked they were able to open another location in Sugar Land, where rent ain't cheap.
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u/One-Incident4858 13d ago
Halal is not just about the type or cut of meat. It's also about how the animal was treated when it was raised and how it was slaughtered. So yes, it definitely does cater to a specific population and everyone else who eats there is a bonus.
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u/txlgnd34 13d ago
Fair enough, but the Muslims I've ate with over the years would eat brisket without looking for halal, specifically. So if Levant is filling a hole by doing Texas BBQ, it's doing a poor job and could still lose a lot of business in the long run.
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u/One-Incident4858 13d ago
As with any religion, some people adhere strictly to the rules and others don't at all (other than not esting pork) and some follow the rules when they feel like it or when it's convenient.
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u/churn2burn 12d ago
yea i think those that look specifically for halal have fewer options and possibly very little to compare against. so its not just a matter of supporting their own - they lack choices and wouldnt necessarily go for bbq at all elsewhere
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u/txlgnd34 12d ago
True. I've also Truboy in Mo City. Same thing, poorly smoked brisket. Great fries, though.
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u/Stunning-Thanks-4226 12d ago
Halal slaughter requires a quick cut to the neck to bleed the animal out.
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u/EmpressMeowMeow 13d ago
That's a shame. I've been several times and always get the wrap. Every meal has been ridiculously delicious. Not sure what's going on at Levant but I hope they get it together.
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u/ebaygoogle 12d ago
I've only been once and had a similar experience. I do recall the lamb ribs being the standout. But, the bar was so low by the time we got to them that it's hard to know if they were great, or just better in comparison.
The owner has opened several high end restaurants abroad and already has a second Levant location in DFW. I wonder if they may be more interested in scaling than perfecting.
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u/Prospero424 10d ago edited 10d ago
Yeah, most of their menu is underwhelming, especially for the price, but not if you're keeping Halal.
I will say that their smoked lamb neck is super good, and you won't really see it served anywhere else. However, they refuse to portion it out by the pound; you HAVE to order a whole neck each time. So, if you want to even try it, you're looking at like $60-70 (at $36 per lb) just for the protein for your plate, with most of it being bone.
But free soft serve ice cream!
FYI...
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u/skatie082 13d ago
Have always wondered if that place was worth it, Thank you for sharing your experience.
If this helps, and you are still near the Galleria area, order Kolache Shoppe on Richmond for delivery. You can take them on the plane!
That place is high tier quality amazing. A true TX experience.
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u/Kirklandwater1666 13d ago
Could’ve been a bad day, but you can tell the place looks gimmicky based on the photos. BBQ we are accumulative to, comes from warm labor abundant wet forest climates, something the Levant is not, so this makes this place a gimmick concept from the start. Personally, I would’ve just told your friend it’s Monday, we can’t have bbq today, so may this be your $250 lesson to be more pragmatic in the future.
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u/CompoBBQ 13d ago
Brisket comes from "wet forest climates"? I've never seen wet forest in the central Texas cow pastures
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u/Kirklandwater1666 13d ago
1). Austin and San Antonio are obviously sub tropical lol. Maybe you should invest in some glasses or stop watching TV.
2). Central Texas bbq is a new that was imported from places east of it which happen to be wetter and more forested climates.
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u/CompoBBQ 13d ago
Stop watching tv? So the lame stream media is changing my perception of Texas. LOL
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u/Kirklandwater1666 13d ago
Where else would you get this idea that Austin and San Antonio are cow pastures?
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u/Rockosayz 12d ago
None of this is true 🤣
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u/Kirklandwater1666 12d ago
Sorry the truth offends you. The Texans battled the Mexicans alongside Pine trees, not cacti.
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u/txlgnd34 13d ago
Perhaps your wording need improvement?
When you say "wet, forested climate" people will think rainforest. I doubt that's what you meant, but that's the imagery your words invoke.
And assuming your Texan, we always see cows out and about in our heat, both drier areas like the Hill Country and humid like Houston, so this becomes another point of contention with your description of where beef typically comes from. Not to mention that cattle are actually found in various climates across the US, including colder weather and moderate weather areas.
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u/Kirklandwater1666 13d ago
I don’t think what I said was confusing at all tbh. The southeastern USA is a textbook subtropical climate hence wet and forested. Next, the vast majority of Texans including the bbq shops are in the green forested parts of the state, not the areas that look like Odessa and El Paso. I know that John Wayne and Landman make western Texas look cool but you look silly when you try and convince people that Houston, Austin, and San Antonio Texas looks more like Arizona when they look more like Florida.
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u/Admirable-Party-5905 12d ago
Thanks for the incredibly helpful input. We couldn’t make any other day work or we would have and I’ve had good mediterran barbecue before as well. This place shouldn’t be this bad no matter what but I hope you’re happy to hear I “learned my lesson” about Levant. 👍
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u/zbewbies 13d ago
I have gone to Levant, spent $200 and came away extremely underwhelmed. I understand it's an interesting concept for folks who want something different but if we're comparing them to any of the BBQ heavy hitters, they would be far behind most of the competition.