The Resy Hit List: Where In Houston You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

It’s been a long time coming — 13 years to be exact — and it was worth the wait. Katami, which opened its doors in November, marks the latest project for four-time Beard award-nominated chef Manabu Horiuchi (“Chef Hori”) and partner Yun Cheng, the team behind perennial favorite Kata Robata. Here, Chef Hori has the space to stretch his creativity further, with his take on the “future of Japanese cuisine.” Expect a sushi-driven menu that features fish flown in almost daily from Japan, as well as a focus on premium A5 wagyu and an impressive sake program. Pro tip: Stay for dessert, namely the super-fluffy kakigori, or Japanese-style flavored shaved ice.

Esquire crowned Nonno’s America’s “Pizza Joint of the Year” for 2023, and it’s easy to see why. In addition to its stellar, crispy-thin Chicago tavern-style pies, the walk-in only restaurant (from husband-and-wife team Martin and Sara Stayer of Nobie’s and The Toasted Coconut) hits all the important notes. Namely, its retro pizza-parlor vibes and vintage arcade games bring the nostalgia, while the menu’s supporting players — including classic Italian dishes like spaghetti and meatballs and cacio e pepe — and a tightly curated drink list round out the experience.

The Pappas family has been feeding Houstonians for decades, and they’re doing it once again with their chef-driven concept, Little’s Oyster Bar in Montrose. Led by seasoned California chef Jason Ryczek, the seafood-focused restaurant opened in the old Little Pappas Seafood House space in May. It’s been garnering buzz ever since for Ryczek’s slick culinary creations using fresh catches from the Texas Gulf Coast. The chef also harvests Little’s white sturgeon caviar himself — we’d recommend treating yourself.

Whether you’re looking for a place to dine after an afternoon exploring the exhibits at the Museum of Fine Arts, or searching for a beautiful date-night restaurant, you can’t go wrong with Le Jardinier, located in the museum’s Kinder Building. Led by Michelin-starred chef and culinary director Alain Verzeroli and chef de cuisine Felipe Botero, the menu here puts a contemporary French spin on farm-fresh produce and well-sourced proteins. For an indulgent experience, go for the seasonal expression tasting menu. Each colorful, flawlessly plated dish could be considered a work of art unto itself.

French cuisine has experienced a resurgence in the city, and yes, veteran chefs Lionel Debon and David Denise (who worked together for years at the now-closed Le Mistral) are both French. But Cocody — which opened to acclaim in December in the River Oaks Shopping Center, and has been dazzling since — doesn’t serve typical French fare. Rather, the chefs use French cooking techniques but draw on global influences and seasonal, locally sourced ingredients to execute their vision of what modern fine dining is today. Case in point: The Texan blackened red snapper, served with a Madras curry.

Call 832-203-8899 for more info.

Since opening in the Heights in early 2020, this hand roll hotspot from Uchi alumni Patrick Pham and Daniel Lee has remained consistently exquisite, even as they expanded their sushi empire to Aiko and a second Handies location in Montrose. (The duo’s first non-pop-up Japanese concept, Kokoro in Bravery Chef Hall, is also still going strong.) Carefully wrapped in nori that’s always impossibly crisp — how do they do that? — the hand rolls here are teeming with fresh ingredients and bursting with bold flavors. It’s no wonder we keep going back, and telling everyone we know to check it out, too.

It’s not hyperbole to say dining at March every season is like dining at an entirely new restaurant. That’s exactly the novel experience Goodnight Hospitality partner and chef Felipe Riccio aims to provide guests. In order to accomplish this gargantuan feat, Riccio and his team shut down the dining room for a one-month break each quarter, and dive into researching their next Mediterranean culinary destination. So far, diners have been transported from Northwest Africa and Andalusia to Greece and Italy, with each nuanced tasting menu divulging the gastronomic history of the region. The current focus lies on the Catalan countries, and if past experiences are any indication, prepare to be charmed — and then return next season (and the next) to be wowed all over again.

The city is awash in first-class barbecue options, but Truth is truly a cut above. This revered restaurant originally hails from Brenham, Texas, where pitmaster Leonard Botello IV’s small roadside shack won raves soon after launching in 2015. He chose the Heights for a highly anticipated second location, opening the doors in 2019. The crowds descended and haven’t stopped. Botello’s incredibly tender, peppery-barked brisket is, of course, the main attraction. But don’t sleep on the sides, either: The buttery tater-tot casserole and sweet corn pudding deserve accolades of their own.

Since debuting in  2020, Aaron Bludorn’s eponymous New American, French-inspired restaurant has become a dependable favorite of Houstonians — a place you can easily go to for a casual weeknight meal (pop in on the last Tuesday of every month for their traditional fried chicken dinner) or a celebratory occasion alike (lobster-chicken pot pie, anyone?). The fact that the restaurant has become a mainstay of the city’s dining scene so quickly isn’t that much of a surprise given Bludorn’s pedigreed background — before arriving in Houston he served as the executive chef at Manhattan’s acclaimed Café Boulud (where he met now-wife Victoria Pappas Bludorn, whose family is Houston restaurant royalty). A seasonally changing menu and frequent collaborations with local chefs keep things fresh and exciting.

Underbelly’s latest concept opened in November, replacing the hospitality group’s Texas comfort food-themed Wild Oats (which moseyed on over to Spring Branch) at the Houston Farmers Market. In a city with no shortage of tacos, the Mexico City-inspired Comalito — helmed by Mexican chefs Luis Robledo Richards and Atzin Santos — has already won over fans with their signature pastor variety. Meats are expertly marinated before they’re grilled on the piping-hot plancha or spit-roasted on the trompo. But the tortillas make the difference. Comalito imports organic heirloom corn from central Mexico, nixtamalizes it, and then grinds it into a fine masa. Don’t fill up entirely on tacos, though — a tough request, we know — because the oh-so-airy churros also deserve your attention. Trust us.

Houstonians are serious about their crawfish, and with the season running from January to July, there’s ample opportunity to enjoy the mudbugs, not to mention a host of places at which to get them. Houston institution Crawfish & Noodles, from chef-owner Trong Nguyen, is one such place and is well-known for its finger-licking Viet-Cajun fare. At both the original location in Asiatown as well as the second outpost at the Houston Farmers Market on Airline Drive, the crawfish are boiled first in seasonings before getting drenched in a flavorful concoction of Cajun spices and loads of garlic and butter. Pro tip: No one will judge you if you suck the heads.

Owned by Sean Jensen and executive chef Jason Vaughan, this charmingly unpretentious East Downtown bistro has been serving high-end, award-winning fare since late 2017 and has become well-known for its unbridled love of butter and innovative dishes — made with the finest produce, naturally. From the shareable savory plates (get the toasty Nancy cakes with cultured butter and smoked trout roe, and thank us later) to the inventive desserts (they change with the seasons and the whimsy of the pastry chef) and the impeccable service, Nancy’s continues to impress.

Chef Billy Kin, formerly of Blackbird Izakaya and Hidden Omakase, poured a great amount of passion into 5Kinokawa, his Edomae-style omakase restaurant on White Oak Drive. A master carpenter, Kin even carved and built the 14-seat rare wood countertop at which he personally prepares, serves, and entertains guests. (It’s dinner and a show!) The multi-course menu here is constantly changing, with ingredients like buttery otoro, creamy uni and magnificently marbled A5 wagyu sourced and flown in weekly from places including Japan. It’s rare you’ll have the same experience twice, so visit regularly.

This Houston institution, opened in Midtown by radio host and restaurateur Marcus Davis in September 2001, regularly has a long queue out the door for a reason: It’s traditional soul food at its very best. People come in droves from around the city — and from out of town — for a taste of the Breakfast Klub’s famous fried chicken wings and golden Belgian waffles. (Though, we’re also partial to the fried seasoned catfish and grits, and the buttery biscuits smothered in pan sausage gravy.) If you haven’t gotten up at the crack of dawn at least once to stand in line with your friends at the Breakfast Klub, are you truly a Houstonian? You know what you need to do.

Call 713-528-8561 for more info.

Chef-owner Justin Yu’s downtown darling never stops innovating, even with the recent departure of head chef Kaitlin Steets. In February, for instance, the restaurant is returning to its would-be roots and changing half the menu to be vegetable-focused and vegan. That means warming cups of delicate broth painstakingly made from kombu and brassicas. It means Pink Lady apples nixtamalized and poached in sherry. And it means Theodore Rex’s signature tomato toast, which will forever be a fan favorite. Then again, whether it’s winter, spring, summer or fall, diners can rest assured they’re being served the finest ingredients on offer in the most inventive ways the Theodore Rex team can dare to dream up.

If there’s one thing Houston doesn’t lack, it’s top-rate Vietnamese food. And when it comes to a steaming bowl of pho, the options are limitless. But there is one reliable Asiatown standby we keep returning to: Pho Dien, where pho is the only thing on the menu. The nourishing bone broth is aromatic and clear, the noodles have just the right amount of chew, and the protein is plentiful. Just choose the size of your bowl (small, large or extra-large) and your meats — anything from tender marinated steak and meatballs to tendon and tripe — add the accoutrements, and slurp to your heart’s content. Pro tip: Order the bone marrow and egg on the side, mix it up, and add a spoonful or two to your broth for a richer taste.

Call 281-495-9600 for more info, or check the website.

The unlikely partnership between Eculent chef David Skinner and Street to Kitchen’s Benchawan Jabthong Painter (“Chef G”) and her husband, Graham Painter, has produced one of the most unexpectedly thrilling dining experiences in the Houston area. Their collaboration, th_prsrv (pronounced The Preserve), focuses on Native American and Thai indigenous cuisine, taking guests on a tantalizing voyage that showcases precolonial ingredients, thoughtfully prepared using ancestral techniques and presented through a thoroughly modern lens. Each culinary stop on the 12- to 15-course tasting menu is an enlightening experience, and on the whole, it’s a journey you won’t want to miss. With two seatings per week, on Thursdays and Fridays, planning is required — but trust us, it’ll be worth it.

The smash burger competition in H-town is quite fierce, but if one spot gets it right every time, it’s food blogger Abbas Dhanani’s Burger Bodega, an ode to quintessential Big Apple grocers found on every corner. Formerly a pop-up, Burger Bodega is known for its double smash burger, cooked to crispy-juicy perfection on a flat-top griddle, with a perfect balance of melty American cheese and creamy Bodega sauce. People also come for the chopped cheese, a meaty hoagie similarly New York-inspired. And in true bodega fashion, the shop sells goods from other local merchants as well, so you can pick up a jar of Khoi Curry No. 1, a bottle of Bludorn’s fiery hot sauce and a giant cookie from Pudgy’s all in the same trip. Pro tip: Save room for a shake — the mango lassi flavor is heaven in a cup.

No reservations. More info here.

Humble is likely not the first Houston-area suburb that comes to mind when looking for good Sichuan cuisine. But it should be, namely because of Bamboo House. Truly a neighborhood gem, the restaurant is tucked away off a quiet stretch of North Sam Houston Parkway East and serves one of the best — if not the best — Peking duck meals in the city. The chef’s careful preparation and skilled slow roasting of the bird yields a beautifully red, paper-thin skin that’s oh-so-crisp, and meat that’s tender and succulent. Wrapping the duck in pliable pancakes rather than steamed buns means you can enjoy more without filling up too quickly. If there’s one thing you travel outside city limits for, let it be this.

No reservations. Call 281-441-3456 or check here for more info.

This rustic trattoria by Ryan Pera, Morgan Weber and Vincent Huynh — the team behind Agricole Hospitality, which also bestowed upon us Eight Row Flint and Vinny’s, among others — has been winning over Houstonians since 2014. Now in its 10th year, the restaurant’s wood-fired pizzas and comforting Italian cuisine (made with fresh produce from the backyard garden) still hits every time. Of course, you can’t go to Coltivare without ordering the cacio e pepe. Made with just four ingredients, including freshly cracked Tellicherry peppercorns and sharp-nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, this homey pasta dish is undeniably simple, but magical, nonetheless. When people are willing to wait to score a bowl, that’s love.