The year may be coming to a close, but many Houston restaurants are just getting started. A new wave of openings is sure to make the holiday season a festive time to dine out. Here are the latest restaurant openings to add to your list.
Tokyo-based Ginza Onodera, a globally-renowned sushi brand lauded for its Michelin Guide recognition, has opened Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera in the NewQuest West on West development. The company’s Houston outpost is the first Kaiten sushi concept for the mainland United States, and only the second outside of Japan, after recently opening in Honolulu. The Kaiten-style of dining gives customers convenient access to sushi served on a conveyor belt. Along with sourcing fresh fish from Japan, Kaiten Sushi Ginza Onodera incorporates local ingredients and features a Texas-inspired menu exclusive to its Houston location.
The Montrose space that once housed Muse and Emmaline has been transformed into the Kennedy, a posh restaurant and piano bar with a day-to-night menu created by chef Adriana Maldonado. In partnership with Prime Meat Markets, the Kennedy’s menu is protein-forward with highlights including ribeye tartare, a mozzarella stick topped with caviar, wagyu smash burger, and gremolata lamb chops. Plush seating vignettes, banquettes, and sofas offer ample room to enjoy a meal, and linger around for live entertainment, including singers, pianists, and DJs.
Mahesh’s Kitchen, the modern Indian restaurant that opened in Sugar Land’s Town Square in 2021 has revealed a new outpost in the Fountains on the Lake development in Stafford. Like its sister restaurant, the menu features a combination of traditional and fusion dishes like avocado bhel, lamb chop masala, and mango habanero salmon. While both locations are open for lunch, the location in Stafford features an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet Tuesday through Sunday.
Coinciding with the highly anticipated reopening of the River Oaks Theater, Culinary Khancepts has opened Leo’s River Oaks, a ritzy supper club and live music destination, adjacent to the historic site in the River Oaks Shopping Center. Open for happy hour and dinner service, the menu of new American fare was created by former Underbelly Hospitality chef, Tim Reading, and features a bountiful raw bar including various crudos, caviar service, and hearty mains like roasted whole fish, lobster thermidor, and premium cuts of steak.
The Kirby Group, which operates Verde Garden in the Harlow District, has opened Emma Jane, an English-style tea and cocktail concept in the same development. The main attraction is the restaurant’s classic afternoon tea service presented between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, featuring up to three organic teas, a glass of bubbles, sweet and savory scones, tea sandwiches, and fresh pastries made in-house for $65 per person. Breakfast, dinner, and weekend brunch are also offered, with the restaurant’s elegant dining room serving as a pleasant backdrop day and night.
Traveler’s Cart, the global street food-inspired concept from the team behind Traveler’s Table, is now open in Montrose. Like its sister restaurant, Traveler’s Cart honors a multitude of cuisines from around the world, showcasing them in a casual, counter-service space with a full bar and patio. Journey from country to country with dishes like butter chicken samosas, arancini, Thai fried chicken wings, Jamaican jerk pork ribs, peri peri chicken and hefty handhelds like the churrasco steak sandwich. The beverage program is just as inspired, with drinks like the peach cobbler old fashioned and a frozen pandan cream Vietnamese coffee cocktail.
Rex Hospitality, the team behind the Maven Coffee + Cocktails carts at Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center and all-day cafe at the Thompson Hotel, has opened Maven at Sawyer Yards. Led by Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers, with partners Juan Carlos de Aldecoa and Jimmy Doan, the restaurant is the group’s first foray into full-service dining. Maven’s signature caffeinated cocktails are a highlight of the restaurant, but guests can experience so much more by way of an all-day menu created by chef Nicolás “Nico” Baizan de Aldecoa. Expect approachable eats like breakfast tacos and avocado toast by day, and a more involved menu featuring dishes like deviled eggs with caviar, roast chicken, and octopus by night.
