Courtyard Cuisine 宅门

This is the best Peking duck I’ve had in a long time

Courtyard Cuisine is a great addition to the Sugar Land dining landscape. My husband and I went on a quiet Saturday as soon as it opened. A very friendly server promptly seated us. After bringing our drinks, she gave us a brief summary of their house specialties. We ordered their famous Peking duck and fried squid.

Since it's still considered a soft opening, we expected a long wait (as expressed by other reviewers). However, the food arrived at a decent time, about 15-20 minutes later.

The duck arrived. Crisp skin with rendered fat. Subtly flavored meat. Julienned cucumbers and spring onions for texture. All these wrapped inside a thin crepe. It was remarkable!

A few minutes later, the server brought the next dish, a thinly battered fried squid smothered with sauce. The giant squid was butterflied with its surface area scored (to curl, I think). I'm very surprised how the well-balanced sweet and tangy sauce complemented the tender squid.

The soup (which comes with the peking duck) arrived last. Another surprise: it was a clean and flavorful broth. Wow!

So far, we're very impressed by both the service and the taste. We will be back. Hopefully, the other dishes have the similar quality.

Note: Don't be discouraged by the negative reviews. It's one thing if they have consistently terrible quality and service. However, they just opened and still ironing out the kinks. We need to give local businesses a chance to flourish. It takes time and support from locals. Feedback is important for businesses but it needs to be tempered with common sense and understanding.

This restaurant has been open only about a month of this writing. The wait staff is probably still getting things lined up and not fully trained yet. The food was great and authentic. Their Peking duck is in demand and runs out. Spoke to the manager here, who seems like a very nice guy. The wall painting covering the entire one wall near the bar is exquisitely handmade and imported from China. The decor is nice and makes a dine in meal worthwhile.

Summary: Delicious food, nice atmosphere but horrible service

I’ve been here three times and the service has been the same. They sit you down and forget about you. Don’t even give you menus or water until you ask for it.

They don’t really check on your table after you order and don’t refill your water. It takes forever to get the bill.

The food is amazing. I recommend the fried rice, lamb and Peking duck.

The food is very delicious! The service is very good and the staff are friendly! Sour plum juice and corn juice are both delicious drinks and are all handmade! Will come again! I like it very much!