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.

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.

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.

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.

The team behind Better Luck Tomorrow — bar mogul Bobby Heugel (Anvil, Refuge) and award-winning chef Justin Yu (Oxheart, Theodore Rex) — opened this cozy Heights spot in 2019, and the restaurant has yet to slow down. In the kitchen, executive chef-partner Mark Clayton runs the show, serving up casual, unstuffy “European fare with American influences” that transforms with the seasons. That said, longtime faves such as the marinated mussels on crusty grilled bread and the decadent French cheeseburger with gooey raclette remain constant menu staples.

Houston-raised chef Emmanuel Chavez and co-owner Megan Maul’s intimate Spring Branch spot has consistently won raves since opening in 2022 (though, Chavez’s tortillas alone already had a following by this time). For $125 per person, diners can experience a seven-course tasting that showcases Chavez’s adept use of different heirloom corn varieties from Mexico. Indeed, maize is the main star of Tatemo’s progressive, Mexican-inspired menu, which includes quesadillas, tamales, and tacos thoughtfully filled with the season’s best local ingredients. Pro tip: It’s BYOB, so plan accordingly.

Follow Tatemó on Instagram to stay in the know.

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.

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.

This Heights gem may only be a year old, but it’s already won the hearts and stomachs of Houstonians — and gained national recognition, thanks to a 2024 James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant. The secret to Jun’s success is in the skilled and flavorful way in which chefs Evelyn Garcia (a former “Top Chef” contestant) and Henry Lu have fused their diverse backgrounds — Garcia grew up in Houston in a Mexican-Salvadoran household, while Lu hails from a first-generation Chinese American home in the Bronx — to create what they describe as “new Asian American” cuisine. The result: compelling dishes (like the fried chicken marinated in fermented shrimp paste, and sweet potato topped with toasted cumin labneh) that have customers returning often.

Call 832-469-7664 for more info.