all about us
What we are.
Founded in 2003, The Tasting Room (TTR) is family-run wine bar, wine retail store and gourmet café. TTR is "a comfortable place to get serious about wine." With currently four locations in Houston, each one offers a unique wine and food experience.
All four locations feature fine wines from around the world in all price ranges and delicious gourmet foods to pair with them. Guests come to TTR for the expansive selection of unique wines, gourmet pizzas and other delicacies, the casually elegant atmosphere and the superior service from our knowledgeable and highly trained staff.
Each location also carries a number of beers for the non-wine drinkers in your group. The original TTR location in Uptown Park opened in the fall of 2003 and has grown from 1,000 square feet to over 7,600 square feet. It features a bar with the most seating of any wine bar in the city, multiple rooms and spaces for private events, a large outdoor patio and garden area and Houston's only luxury wine room – the Reserve Room. Our second location opened in Midtown in 2005 and had a great five-year run. The River Oaks neighborhood gained the third Tasting Room in late 2006. At just under 3,000 square feet, it offers multiple private event spaces, including a unique indoor/outdoor air-conditioned patio room. The CITYCENTRE location opened in west Houston in February, 2011 and features wines stored in and served from the beautiful EnomaticR wine service systems, which keeps wine perfectly preserved at the optimal temperature. And the most current location, The Tasting Room at Kings Harbor, located in the 'liveable forest' of Kingwood, opened March of 2012 as the long-awaited neighborhood destination for community friends, co-workers, families and anyone who loves food and wine to gather. With 3,000 square feet of interior space and a beautiful patio overlooking Lake Houston, guests enjoy their favorite wines while relaxing to live music in TTR's comfortable, European-style setting. All of our locations feature live music on selected nights of the week and some of the best retail wine prices in the city.
What we do.
At TTR you can sip, taste, linger, socialize, eat, have a business meeting, a wedding, learn more about wine, buy wine to take home, purchase a gift card or just enjoy all of life's pleasures.
TTR sells wine "by the glass, bottle and case." Our goal is to provide you with the exact wine and food experience you are seeking – from a casual glass of wine after work to a full 6-course dinner and wine tasting under the direction of our chef and head sommelier.
Our wine prices are based on a retail model and not a restaurant model, so you will never experience the "sticker shock" of seeing your favorite wine priced three or even four times its retail price like you may on a restaurant wine list. We have extensive "by the glass" selections, with wines from around the world that will satisfy any guest's desire for a particular style of wine. With over 200 selections in our inventory at any given time, we have wines ranging from $15 per bottle to over $1,000 per bottle. We want you to experience and taste as many wonderful wines as possible – the process should never be intimidating and our staff will make you feel right at home. Since we change our selections often, we're happy to help you find just the right wine for you. All of our food options are designed to compliment this vast array of wines, and there is something for everyone at all four of our locations. At our Uptown Park location, we serve lunch daily and, when the weather is nice, we're outside grilling up great food. All of our locations feature live music on selected nights. Finally, we sell TTR gift cards at all locations – the perfect gift for your wine and food-loving friend, colleague or loved one!
How we do it.
TTR appeals to novice wine drinkers, as well as seasoned aficionados. When you arrive, check out the "by the glass" list to see if something catches your eye. Or, peruse the "wine wall," which features all our great selections.
Since our wine selections change so often, we don’t reduce our choices to a static "wine list" — our beautiful "wine wall" acts as a constantly-changing wine list. In the mood for a bottle? Visit our "wine wall," which has all of our selections arranged by style - from the lightest whites to heaviest reds - labeled with important information about each wine.
If you can’t decide on a wine, be sure to visit with one of our experienced servers, who can walk you through a quick tasting to determine what strikes your fancy on that particular day. If you see something on the wall you would like to try (and it's not already open as a "by the glass" selection), one of our bartenders will gladly open it up for you when you commit to drinking at least two glasses from that bottle. Of course, all of our bottles are available for retail sale – so if you love what you've tried, take some home with you!
