Houston’s Newest Restaurant Openings, Now on Resy

It only took 13 years for the Kata Robata team to launch a second restaurant … and what a restaurant it is. With a razor-sharp focus on sushi, Katami is where “Chef Hori” goes deep on premium Japanese fish (à la carte nigiri is offered, but if you want to splurge, there’s an omakase). A5 Wagyu and a stellar sake list complement the menu, but don’t skip the more creative dishes — we’ve got our eye on the foie gras PBJ milk bread …

Dress to dazzle at this opulent, lavishly appointed restaurant and lounge (elegant hardwoods, luminous marble, gilded palm trees) where the imaginatively fused Asian and Mediterranean dishes are enhanced with live music and show-stopping dance performances. Pro tip: The semi-secret lounge is a must for a nightcap.

This Midtown must, named for Mississippi-born chef Lucas McKinney’s great-grandmother, features Gulf seafood — shrimp, blue crab, redfish, and more — cooked with an irresistible Southern accent. But be sure to try the fried chicken on a stick with buttermilk ranch, an Ole Miss favorite, too.

Come to this seafood-forward charmer from the folks behind Il Bracco for its casual-elegant dining room (dark green banquettes, acres of natural wood), its fire-pit-and-fountain covered patio, and above all, its enticing West Coast-inspired menu, offering everything from sushi to miso salmon, with steak and chicken along the way.

There’s an antique sewing machine on a shelf in the dining room, and the decor might remind you of your favorite aunt’s parlor, but the spirit behind this Houston Heights bottle shop and wine bar is as modern as can be, with a knockout selection of natural wines, attractive non-alcoholic options, and an array of craft cheeses, cured meats, and other light fare.

Because this is one heck of an Indigenous tasting menu restaurant, where chefs of Thai (Jabthong Benchawan Painter) and Native American (David Skinner) descent have found unexpected parallels in their traditional cuisines and turned them into something truly special.

You’ll want to become a regular at this hip but homey restaurant from chef Terrence Gallivan (famed for his now-closed favorite Pass and Provisions), where the combination of cool raw seafood and bubblingly hot pizza is so right you’ll wonder why nobody thought of it before.

Dress up and bring a date to this elegant second-floor River Oaks dining room (think marble, crystal, and silk, with plush banquettes and gold-and-green basket chairs) from the team behind Mary’z Mediterranean Cuisine, where the menu ranges across the Middle East and the cocktails have a spice market flair.

If you think breakfast (or brunch) is the best meal of the day, you’re in the right spot. The menu covers all the morning bases, from omelets to avocado toast, chilaquiles to shrimp and grits (with bacon-and-egg “sunrise sushi” along the way) — thankfully, you can enjoy everything all day long.

You’ll know you’re in for something special when you walk through the door of this high-style charmer in the Montrose Collective, with its mile-long bar, curving booths in patterned fabrics, avant-garde terrazzo floors, and art-filled walls — and the innovative American-international menu, strong on shared plates, more than delivers.

Say hello to serious coffee (including wellness lattes) and epic brekkie bowls at this sunny, Aussie-inspired breakfast and lunch purveyor, an import from New York City. And, yes, the choices include Australia’s iconic contribution to breakfast menus everywhere: “smashing” avocado toast.

An uncommon Italian restaurant from chef Fernando Rios and beverage guru Mike Sammons (Weights + Measures), Mimo is heating up the East End with its menu of antipasti, pastas, main dishes, and desserts of the kind you’re more likely to find in Italy itself than in the Stati Uniti.

A cheerful, clean-lined import from Austin, Picnik takes a deep dive into mindful eating, with an allergen-free menu, a focus on superfoods, a roster of “put ’em on anything” adaptogens, and a list of grass-fed-butter coffees and teas — but also all-day brunch and plenty of craveable dishes, from tacos to bibimbap.

You’re going to want to become a regular at this high-style gathering place from Brian Doke (Heights & Co.), where the first-rate Italian fare from chef Ilias Gugole is part old-school (pappardelle Bolognese) and part contemporary (duck breast with carrot cream).

Is this a breezy beer garden offering more than 50 brews? A serious cocktail spot with a dozen frozen rum and agave drinks? A vibrant Tex-Mex restaurant with a ceviche-to-enchilada menu? Yes to all of the above — and we couldn’t imagine a better combination.

Here’s a standout in Rice Village — a seafood-rich modern French bistro conceived by Benjy Levit of Local Foods fame, intimate but brightly furnished (think stained glass windows and golden barstools), with a wood-burning oven and a friendly community atmosphere.

Here’s one that’s almost off the radar — a semi-secret 10-seat sushi bar in Rice Village from chef Jimmy Kieu of Hidden Omakase, offering a 30-minute 12-piece sushi tasting menu, with the particulars changing nightly according to what market fish is freshest and best.

Local sushi stars Daniel Lee and Patrick Pham just keep knocking out the hits with this stylish Montrose sibling to the Houston Heights original. Hand rolls are the focus, but do save the omakase menu for a special occasion.