The 10 Restaurants That Defined Houston Dining in 2024
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We asked our contributors to the Resy Hit List to share their top dining experiences in their cities this year — to choose 10 restaurants that define the state of great dining right now. Welcome back our Best of The Hit List for 2024.
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It’s been both an incredible 12 months for dining in our fair city, and a challenging year for the hospitality industry. Two extreme back-to-back weather disasters struck Houston in 2024, forcing dayslong (weekslong, for some) closures. We mourned the loss of beloved spots that weren’t able to overcome the difficulties of May’s derecho and July’s Hurricane Beryl, but we also celebrated those that pulled through — and continue to impress, including favorites like Bludorn, Theodore Rex, and Phat Eatery.
Oh, and yes, this was the year a certain guide debuted in Texas. Michelin’s arrival saw Spring mom-and-pop shop CorkScrew BBQ become one of the nation’s first barbecue restaurants to receive a star, with Mexican fine-dining spot Tatemó and Le Jardinier also getting love. Although the recognition is reaffirming, locals knew long before that Houston is one of the country’s most exciting dining destinations. So here’s a look at 10 restaurants that defined our dining scene in 2024 — just a tiny sliver of what the Bayou City has to offer.
1. neo Hyde Park
In the summer of 2020, Jeremy Truong and former Uchi chefs Luis Mercado and Paolo Justo quietly opened an eight-seat omakase counter tucked discreetly inside luxury menswear boutique Glass Cypress. With no sign on the outside, you’d never know Neo was there if you were passing by. And it functioned differently; the 18 to 20 courses included complimentary sake and wine. And yet, after renovations expanded counter seating to 10, and amid a raft of phenomenal sushi options in Houston, Neo has become even more unique — namely because of its “avant garde-inspired” approach to omakase, which highlights their dry-aging fish program and incorporates global techniques. You might be served sakura-smoked Ora King salmon nigiri with shaved freeze-dried creme fraiche and chives, their ode to the lox bagel (and perhaps, in its way, to Momofuku Ko). For another, you might get lion’s mane mushrooms, first poached in brûléed onion stock then grilled, then served with mole rojo. It goes beyond omakase — it brings together Houston’s many cultural threads in one seating.
2. Tatemó Spring Branch
Houstonians might have Covid to thank for Emmanuel Chavez’s Michelin-starred Spring Branch restaurant. After all, it was during the 2020 lockdown that the chef really began perfecting his tortillas — made with nixtamalized heirloom corn from Mexico — which he and his partner (in life and business) Megan Maul eventually sold at local farmers markets. Soon, Tatemó’s following as a respected tortilleria grew, allowing them to open their own brick-and-mortar spot in March 2022. For $125 per person, diners can experience a seasonal, multi-course tasting that puts maize at the forefront. Chavez’s masterfully crafted, ever-evolving menu includes tostadas, tlacoyos, quesadillas, tamales, and tacos thoughtfully topped and stuffed with the finest ingredients — anything from bluefin tuna to wagyu short rib to the humble tomato. Pro tip: It’s BYOB, so plan ahead.
Find more info here.
3. BASO The Heights
Chefs Jacques Varon and Max Lappe often describe their Michelin-recommended Heights restaurant as being a “Houston-driven restaurant that’s just a little bit Basque.” Opened in December 2023, the restaurant focuses on live-fire cooking, with nearly 99% of the menu’s dishes kissed by the hearth’s dancing flames. The cooking method is reflective of Basque country and the co-chefs’ time training under Joshua Skenes of Saison and Angler on the West Coast. But the dishes are influenced by the Gulf, as well as Varon’s tenure working in Japan. Flavors are simple yet bold, as is the execution, letting the ingredients themselves shine brightly. For example, grilled oysters are broiled in their own juices in their shells before topped with green garlic sauce and “toasted milk.” Shrimp are grilled on the half shell with garlic and chile and served with only a dusting of powdered Calabrian chiles and a small slice of lime. And it works beautifully.
4. Katami Montrose
Katami opened its doors in November 2023, the latest project for James Beard–nominated chef Manabu Horiuchi (“Hori”) and business partner Yun Cheng. Those who have followed the chef’s storied career know him as the man to see behind the sushi counter at Upper Kirby gem Kata Robata. At Katami, Hori found even more freedom to serve his take on “the future of Japanese cuisine.” The sushi-driven menu features fish flown in almost daily from Japan, as well as a variety of hot and cold dishes to share (though you may not want to). The toro tartare — which combines fatty tuna with kimchi sauce, peanuts and a raw quail egg, served with toasted squares of milk bread — stands out, as does the mushroom rice hot stone. The latter is finished tableside by the server, who pours in a creamy white sauce and folds the egg yolk into the mushrooms and rice, before pushing everything into the sides of the searing hot stone bowl to crisp for a textural wonder.
5. Bludorn Montrose
It was probably inevitable that Aaron Bludorn would have found his way to Michelin recognition when the tire folks came to town. In November, Bludorn’s eponymous Montrose restaurant was recommended in the first-ever Texas guide. Of course, that came as no surprise given his pedigree — he served as the executive chef at Manhattan’s acclaimed Café Boulud. The chef brought his expertise to Houston in 2020, opening Bludorn with his wife, Victoria Pappas Bludorn, and their business partner Cherif Mbodji. And this year, it felt like all the pieces of their mini-empire catalyzed: Diners appreciate Bludorn being a place to go equally for a casual weeknight meal at the bar (their burger is a thing of beauty) or a celebratory occasion (the dry-aged duck with foie gras jus is a winner). And now the roster feels fleshed out, with two more hits, Navy Blue and Bar Bludorn, and a fourth, Perseid, very close to opening.
6. CorkScrew BBQ Old Town Spring
It’s common to show up at CorkScrew at 1 p.m. on a weekday and find that the only meat left is turkey. Those in the know understand that the most in-demand choices — lean and fatty brisket, pulled pork, pork ribs, and sausage links smoked to perfection — go quickly. Translation: Get in line early. After receiving a Michelin star in November, you should feel motivated. And it’s a fitting honor for husband-and-wife team Will and Nichole Buckman, who began CorkScrew as a catering business in May 2010. They grew business on social media and through word of mouth, and opened a brick-and-mortar in Old Town Spring in 2015. The star may have truly surprised the Buckmans but perhaps not the rest of us. They’ve been doing their thing all along: serving up the best barbecue they can.
Find more info here.
7. Phat Eatery Katy
To say 2024 has been a tough year for the Phat Eatery team is an understatement. In March, their fearless leader, chef Alex Au-Yeung, passed away after a private battle with cancer. It happened in the midst of opening a second location of his popular Malaysian restaurant in The Woodlands. With Au-Yeung gone, it was up to his protégés Kevin Lee and Marvin He to fulfill their friend’s final project — and they’ve more than succeeded after launching this past summer, derechos and hurricanes be damned. The aesthetic continues — Au-Yeung wanted to share the hawker-style Southeast Asian cuisine he launched at the original locale in Katy Asian Town with a broader slice of Houston. And this new location does that. The tender beef rendang remains a trusted choice, as does the savory sizzling tofu. With Lee and He at the helm, Au-Yeung’s legacy lives on in very good hands.
8. Theodore Rex Downtown
Since chef-owner Justin Yu closed his acclaimed restaurant Oxheart to open the more easygoing, French-influenced Theodore Rex in its place in 2017, he hasn’t stopped innovating. Yu’s downtown darling prioritizes the freshest ingredients, demanded by a seasonally rotating menu. In spring, there might be fish roasted in brown butter and orange wine, served with fermented ramps and cucumbers. By fall that’s evolved to amberjack collars fried in a chickpea and brown rice batter. The sheer creativity was enough to get TR a Bib Gourmand from Michelin. But Yu is playing at a higher level, with not just seasonality but perennial signatures like tomato toast and the soured pork sausage with chorizo spices. The latest honors just affirm the obvious.
9. Viola & Agnes’ Neo Soul Cafe Seabrook
That Viola & Agnes’ recently caught the attention of The New York Times as one of its 50 best restaurants in America came as zero surprise to Houstonians. We’ve been gladly putting up with the drive to Seabrook since it was opened in 2015 by chef Aaron Davis. Named for his grandmothers, the restaurant honors Davis’ Louisiana roots, serving up soulful, stick-to-your-ribs Southern fare that makes you want to clean your plate every single time. The menu remains short and simple, with classic dishes like crispy fried catfish, barbecue shrimp and grits, and a flavor-packed gumbo. But we also know to be mindful of the specials, like a South African-style oxtail stew and chargrilled lamb chops with garlic butter. This is Creole cooking of the best sort, and now everyone knows it.
Find more info here.
10. Little’s Oyster Bar Montrose
The Pappas name is synonymous with the city’s dining scene, as the family has been feeding hungry Houstonians for decades, and though Little’s technically doesn’t bear the moniker, versus other restaurants in the group, it still pays homage to Little Pappas Seafood House, which once stood where the group’s latest concept lives in Montrose today. Little’s is expertly led in the kitchen by executive chef Jason Ryczek, a native Californian who quickly made an impression with a menu that celebrates and honors sustainable Gulf Coast cuisine. He brings balance to seafood dishes such as Texas redfish served with Castelvetrano olive salsa verde and flaky Gulf grouper garnished with beurre blanc and caper-dotted brown butter. The chef also harvests Little’s white sturgeon caviar himself, so treat yourself accordingly.
