With Houston’s dynamic dining scene cultivating as it is, enjoying a meal in one of the city’s many chef-led restaurants is a bonafide thrill. Some chefs are going the extra mile to add tailored tableside experiences, giving new meaning to dinner and a show. From push carts that roam the dining room to dishes set ablaze right before your eyes, tableside displays ignite excitement and curiosity, and add an extra layer of fun to dining out. It doesn’t hurt that guests can take full control of their order and oversee its thorough preparation.
Whether it’s a tailor made martini you seek or a push cart serving up a side of nostalgia, these are the city’s best tableside experiences, sure to captivate your senses.
Fielding’s
Since debuting its new River Oaks location, Fielding’s has been wowing guests with headturning tableside offerings that bring the “oohs” and “aahs”. The 35-ounce cowboy steak, which pairs 44 Farms beef cooked over live fire and house fries, is carved tableside. But, the bananas foster manages to steal the show. Set aflame tableside, the dessert is given an indulgent twist with a Belgian waffle, chantilly, and vanilla gelato. 3750 Westheimer Rd., Houston, fieldings.com
Toca Madera
With its live performers and flame dancers, there is no shortage of fiery displays at Toca Madera, but the flaming tomahawk gives guests an up close view of the action. The meat, a 40-ounce American Wagyu tomahawk ribeye rubbed with chipotle charcoal ash seasoning, arrives on Toca Madera’s custom tomahawk cutting boards that feature sachets of fresh sage and thyme. The sachets are set aflame to arouse the senses, before Wild Turkey 101 bourbon is drizzled down the hanging steak before it is entirely lit on fire. A Toca chef scraps roasted bone marrow into housemade chimichurri sauce to fortify its flavor, before slicing the meat tableside and presenting the steak, with bone, chimichurri, and a roasted head of garlic to the guest. At $325, the dish is a splurge, but well worth it for its thrilling presentation. 1755 Allen Pkwy. Ste. 101, Houston, tocamadera.com
State of Grace
The dimly-lit and well-appointed interiors of State of Grace serve as a dramatic backdrop for a variety of tableside offerings. Guests can start a meal with martinis shaken tableside, before witnessing the action of steak tartare hand-mixed with wood-roasted bone marrow and oyster mayo, fresh bread service presented with butter topped with a generous dollop of caviar, and whole fish fileted in full view. The head-turning moments hardly end there, as dessert brings a flambéed bananas foster that offers a fiery show. 3258 Westheimer Rd, Houston, stateofgracetx.com
Hai Keii
The awe-inspiring design and whimsy of this Kill Bill-inspired restaurant in Upper Kirby extends to its food and drink. The Murakami roll, which packs king crab and A5 wagyu into a round with Kaluga caviar and gold leaf arrives at the table with a crab butter candle that is lit upon delivery, giving new meaning to candlelit dinner. 3300 Kirby Dr. Ste. 9-A, Houston, haiikeii.com
The Marigold Club
The bespoke sundae cart that roams the dining room at the Marigold Club gives diners plenty of reason to save room for dessert. Designed by sommelier-partner, June Rodil’s husband, Aaron, the cart gives guests the opportunity to live out childhood fantasies of building their perfect sundae. Taking an elegant approach to the comforting dessert, guests can choose from scoops like strawberries and cream, clotted cream, and chocolate, plus toppings that include candied hazelnuts, vanilla marshmallows, brownie bites, chocolate and caramel sauces, banana jam, sprinkles, and luxardo cherries. 2531 Kuester St, Houston, themarigoldclub.com
Bari Ristorante
At this stylish Italian restaurant in River Oaks District, the presentation of dishes is just as much fun as the people watching. The branzino al sale is baked in rock salt and served tableside, but for something truly indulgent, try the truffle pasta, which is finished in a wheel of parmigiano before being topped with freshly shaved truffles and transferred to the table. Desserts are equally captivating, with bananas foster set aflame at the table; and, when in season, cherries jubilee, flambéed and poured over vanilla gelato. 4444 Westheimer Rd. Ste. A175, Houston, bariristorante.com
Roma
With its rustic dining room and low-lit patio, Roma offers the romantic allure of dining at a quiet Tuscan hideaway. Add an order of the fettuccine cacio e pepe, and be fully transported. The pasta is presented tableside, mixed simply with fettuccine pasta, cracked pepper, and pecorino. Splurge on black truffle shavings, and have no regrets. 2347 University Blvd., Houston, romahouston.com
Annabelle Brasserie
Annabelle Brasserie’s epic showcase of melty, cheesy baguette with raclette is pure comfort food and reason to venture into the dreamy Autry Park restaurant. A wheel of melting raclette cheese is brought to the table and scraped directly onto a housemade baguette. Add a Frenchie martini and make it a glorious girl dinner. 811 Buffalo Pk. Dr., #100, Houston, annabellebrasserie.com
Turner’s
While Turner’s impresses with its old world design, live pianist, and white glove service, the fine dining restaurant from Berg Hospitality shows its playful side with a tableside Wagyu hot dog service that offers an elegant take on a nostalgic meal. Beginning with a 100% Texas Wagyu frank, guests can customize their dog with toppings like pushcart onions, house-fermented sauerkraut, melted gruyère cheese, and Russian dressing. 1800 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, turnershouston.com
Chardon
Chardon’s two-pound Maine lobster pot pie is a magnificent tableside display in which a dome of flaky pate brisée crust, encased with a stew of Maine lobster, roasted root vegetables, and brandy-lobster cream, arrives at the table before it is punctured and served. Layered with cognac, reduced lobster stock, cream and truffle, the sauce itself is a feast for the senses. 1711 Allen Pkwy. Ste. 101, Houston, chardonhouston.com
Toro Toro
At this pan-Latin steakhouse by Richard Sandoval, an array of dishes entice with tableside flair. The Toro Toro tomahawk tableside experience features a 52-ounce prime tomahawk steak presented on a Himalayan pink salt block that begins with the meat being topped with a bundle of tightly packed herbs, doused in tequila, and set aflame. Carnivorous diners will also appreciate four specialities of the Toro Toro churrasco, including Brazilian-style wagyu picanha steak, prime ribeye, chicken Cusco, and Colorado lamb chops presented on skewers and carved tableside. End the journey with La Bomba, a chocolate half-sphere filled with ice cream, brownie pieces, berries, and a sweet crumble that is dropped on to the table, creating a tasty masterpiece, which is then topped with vanilla and berry sauce. 1300 Lamar St., Houston, torotorohouston.com
Tony’s
Tony’s salt-crusted snapper has long impressed wide-eyed guests, but the restaurant has a number of other tableside experiences that keep things interesting. Beloved starters like Caesar salad, and tartare of beef, tuna, or salmon are all prepared tableside, and Tony’s Portonova caviar service certainly elevates an evening to new ranks. The presentation features fresh tagliarini, prepared on a tableside stove, tossed with one-ounce of caviar, butter, and horseradish fish fumet, before being finished off with chives and served. 3755 Richmond Ave., Houston, tonyshouston.com
Turner’s Cut
Among the newest and most glamorous of Berg Hospitality’s concepts, Turner’s Cut offers guests a stellar start to a meal with its tableside martini cart. Guests are given the opportunity to fully customize their martinis with a choice of prime vodka or gin, and the option to incorporate vermouth, orange bitters, olive juice, citrus, before having it shaken or stirred tableside and garnished with a lemon twist, or plain and blue cheese-stuffed olives. 811 Buffalo Pk. Dr. Ste. 160, Houston, turnerscut.com
Brennan’s
Brennan’s bananas foster is an iconic tableside dessert offering that has come to be synonymous with the fine dining Midtown mainstay. It’s not uncommon to witness the dessert cart wheeled around often in the restaurant’s sprawling dining room, displaying its flambé of bananas with Caribbean rum and a dusting of cinnamon to excited guests. Served over vanilla bean ice cream, the dish is a flawless showcase of the popular New Orleans dessert. 3300 Smith St., Houston, brennanshouston.com
