With one of America’s most diverse populations, the largest city in Texas is also home to one of the most vibrant culinary palettes in the world. Thousands of restaurants dish out cuisine that takes its cue from American regions and places around the world. From award-winning, celebrity chef-driven restaurants to barbeque havens to iconic eateries to ethnic favorites, H-Town has it all, and the list keeps evolving.
“With 10,000-plus restaurants representing over 70 different cuisines, Houston is the ‘Culinary & Cultural Capital of the South.’ Our amazing restaurant scene as ethnically diverse as our 2.3 million residents,” said Mike Waterman, president and CEO of Visit Houston. “From Xochi’s Oaxacan cuisine to The Rustic’s American fare or Caribbean soul dishes at Kulture and Kau Ba’s Vietnamese Cajun, visitors can experience the world’s delicacies in one visit.
“Plus, with so many options, it’s not surprising that Food & Wine, GQ and TravelZoo all named Houston as the best foodie destination this year,” he added.
Following are six standouts on the Houston culinary map nowadays, some new, some tried and true—all well suited to visiting groups, starting with three in the city’s completely reimagined convention center district: Avenida Houston.
The Rustic Houston
One of the city’s hottest new performance venues is also one of its tastiest. The Rustic Houston debuted in November 2018 as the third installment in The Rustic series. The flagship is in Dallas and the other is in San Antonio. In Houston, The Rustic stands on Polk Street right next to the George R. Brown Convention Center, so groups are loving the vibrant venue just steps away.
The 25,000-square-foot, event-ready dining and entertainment establishment features farm-to-table, home-style fare, daily concerts, a retractable roof, an outdoor stage and a large outdoor patio.
The Rustic
Live music is on the calendar daily.
Home-style dishes inspired by Texas flavors and traditions are a highlight, such as beer-can hen with jalapeno bread and slow-cooked carnitas with orange peel.
Groups can rent portions of the space or take advantage of buyouts.
Xochi
Chef Hugo Ortega won the 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest for his eponymous Hugo restaurant after being nominated for the title for six consecutive years.
At Xochi, located in the Marriott Marquis Houston, he brings even more of his culinary flair from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the table.
Dishes include house-made masas, a variety of moles, beans cooked with avocado leaves and endlessly creative items such as callo de hacha, featuring scallops in mole verde, white beans, green beans, chayote and masa dumplings. Imported Oaxacan coffee, tlayudas (huge tortillas, fire-roasted with toppings) and other distinctive Oaxacan-inspired dishes are also on the menu.
The restaurant has several private dining spaces and is available for larger events and buyouts.
Xochi
Grotto Downtown
Next door to the George R. Brown Convention Center is the on-site Grotto Downtown restaurant. The mod, industrial-chic space is a favorite for locals, who come for its upscale trattoria vibe. Grotto specializes in Southern Italian cuisine, including unique small plates, Neopolitan pizzas, pastas and entrees such as whole branzino drizzled with a warm pancetta vinaigrette and served with celery slaw.
Grotto also boasts the largest Grappa lineup in downtown Houston.
Groups can utilize several areas of the restaurant for meals.
Kulture
The Breakfast Klub’s Marcus Davis has brought his take on Southern and African-inspired cuisine to Avenida Houston with the recent opening of Kulture. Davis dubs his restaurant an urban comfort kitchen exploring food and spirits rooted in African diaspora. Spanning across Caribbean and even Southern delicacies, aromas of gruyere mac and cheese or crispy riblets fill the space and add to its minimalistic approach to lunch and dinner meals.
Kulture was named No. 20 in Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants of 2018 in the Houston Chronicle and one of the Top 12 Houston Restaurants of 2018 by KPRC’s Click2Houston.com.
Phoenicia Specialty Foods Downtown
Phoenicia Specialty Foods Downtown is a 28,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art food market for culinary-minded attendees, and it also features venues for group meals. Phoenicia offers more than 10,000 products imported from more than 50 countries. The one-stop gourmet haven is an inspirational foodie paradise, providing residents and visitors quality culinary products and unique household basics at competitive prices.
From a vast wine selection and unique produce to a popular bakery, Phoenicia has something for everyone. The store offers prepared foods and catering services as well as delivery to offices.
Grotto Downtown
The downtown Phoenicia location also features MKT Bar, an in-house wine and beer bar that serves distinctive international fare and is available for group meals and events. The industrial chic space seats up to 250 guests.
Meanwhile, guests strolling through Phoenicia Specialty Foods can discover a gelato bar, gourmet sandwich station, salad bar, olive bar, demonstration kitchen, wine and cigar department, fine housewares section, full-service bakery and fresh-baked pizza corner. The store even has a 150-foot pita bread conveyor belt that transports freshly baked pita bread and artisan flat breads from the market’s mezzanine bakery to customers below. The spectacle is popular with visiting patrons.
Kau Ba Saigon Kitchen
Kau Ba Saigon Kitchen recently opened to much fanfare in Montrose, with celebrity chef Nikki Tran bringing her take on “Viejun”, a fusion of Vietnamese and Cajun, to Houston. Tran, known for her Netflix shows Ugly Delicious and Somebody Feed Phil, is one of the most recent celebrity chefs to open a brick and mortar location in Houston. She owns two popular restaurants in Saigon.
With Kau Ba, her aim is to bring the last recipes of Saigon to life again, melding them with Cajun influences. Tran prides herself on using the freshest ingredients and absolutely no MSG.
Houston CVB Information
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Omni Houston Hotel reopened in November 2018 following a property-wide $30 million renovation. The inspiration drew from an authentic local aesthetic that includes leathers, bronze, brass and lush greens, providing a new take on a “modern Texas.” The urban oasis now has natural light throughout with floor-to-ceiling windows, open communal spaces and the idea of bringing the outdoors inside. The property features 378 guest rooms and suites, more than 30,000 square feet of meeting space, the 7,100-square-foot Mokara Spa and numerous high-end dining options.
The Lancaster Hotel, which opened in 1926 and is registered as a Texas Historic Landmark, reopened in fall 2018 after undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation following flooding damage from Hurricane Harvey. The renovated hotel, well suited for small meetings, boasts a redesigned lobby and guest rooms, a new restaurant and bar, an outdoor mezzanine, an espresso bar and a new cardio fitness studio. Additionally, the hotel is a haven for art lovers, with the work of more than 60 artists displayed throughout the property and a TV channel dedicated to art.
In March 2018, The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston opened as Houston’s newest luxury destination. The 10-acre development boasts a 38-story tower with 250 guest rooms and suites, 20 executive residences and a 35,000-square-foot conference facility. Unique amenities include a two-story Rolls-Royce showroom and an on-site Bentley and Bugatti Post Oak Motors dealership, as well as signature restaurants, including Texas’ first Mastro’s Steakhouse and the new Willie G’s Seafood.
Z Resorts, the management company responsible for Hotel ZaZa, partnered with MetroNational Corp. to bring the sophisticated boutique hotel brand to Houston at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Bunker Hill Road. Hotel ZaZa Memorial City, which opened in late 2017, provides 158 creative guest rooms, including seven specialty concept suites, more than 22,000 square feet of meeting and event space, an outdoor poolside experience with a neighboring pool bar, ZaSpa, a fine-dining restaurant and a nightlife-oriented lounge.
Hotel Alessandra debuted in October 2017 and now serves as a new anchor for downtown’s GreenStreet mixed-use development. Designed by Gensler and with interiors by internationally acclaimed Rottet Studio, the contemporary 20-story tower is located at Fannin and Dallas streets. Midway developed the project, which includes 223 guest rooms and suites, approximately 5,000 square feet of meeting and event space, Bardot lounge, Lucienne restaurant, Spa by Alessandra and a rooftop pool. Valencia Group is the operator.
The Melrose, a vacant, historic downtown office building originally constructed in 1952, was renovated to become an Le Meridien Houston Downtown, which opened in September 2017. Highlights include a rooftop pool, outdoor sundeck, restaurant and bar. The property features 225 guest rooms and 8,000 square feet of meeting space in its 21-story design. The building was Houston’s first modern skyscraper and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A Washington-based hospitality group will bring its 10th Hotel RL concept to Houston in early 2019. Located at 1005 St. Emanuel St., the 150-room Hotel RL Houston Downtown will feature retail space, a signature restaurant and bar, and meeting space. The Hotel RL concept aims to capture the spirit of adventure and creativity within comfortable and modern conveniences designed for a new generation of traveler, complete with exciting lobbies, free Wi-Fi, trained Victrola Coffee baristas, performance spaces and other unique amenities. Hotel RL is one of RLH Corporation’s brands.
Intercontinental Houston Medical Center debuted Jan. 15 in the heart of the Texas Medical Center. The 21-story, 353-room property features 12,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 7,800-square-foot ballroom, and unique restaurants such as Safina.
C. Baldwin Hotel Houston, a high-end, hyper-localized, independent property, is slated to debut this summer. The hotel is inspired by the Bayou City’s unsung hero, Charlotte Baldwin Allen, who was a land developer, cattle rancher, brash businesswoman and philanthropist who used her inheritance to finance the City of Houston. Highlights will include stylish guest rooms, common areas, a signature restaurant—also named after a groundbreaking woman—a luxury nail salon, curated local retailers, activated green space and 14,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
The former Southwestern Bell Telephone Company building in downtown Houston will be the location of a new Hyatt Place Hotel, expected to open in 2019. The $22.8 million project will transform the 16-story building into a full-service hotel complete with 150 guest rooms, ground-level dining, rooftop cocktail bar, indoor pool and fitness center.
Downtown Houston’s century-old Houston Bar Center is being transformed into an AC Hotel by Marriott. The $44 million property, slated to open in summer 2019, will be located at 723 Main St. and bring 185 new rooms to the area.
