Coffee anyone?

Acclaimed Houston coffee shop brewing up lattes at downtown food hall

More and more, 2018 is shaping up to be the year of the food hall in Houston. Three are currently slated to open in downtown by the end of the year: Bravery Chef Hall in the Aris Market Square apartment tower, Lyric Market in the Arts District, and Finn Hall at at the Jones on Main in the JPMorgan Chase & Co. building.

Of the three, Finn Hall has been the most aggressive about recruiting tenants from some of Houston's most popular restaurant groups. The food hall has already announced that it will include concepts from Mala Sichuan, Goode Co., Dish Society, Love Buzz, and Harold's in the Heights. On April 17, the operators revealed that one of Houston's most prominent coffee purveyors has also signed on to the project.

Catalina Coffee owner Max Gonzalez will open Amaya Coffee at Finn Hall. Amaya will offer the same beverages as Catalina, including brewed coffee, espresso drinks, teas, seasonal syrups, and pastries. Those looking for something sweet have the option of an affagato made with Fat Cat Creamery’s Amaya-sourced ice cream flavor, Amaya Coffee and Cream, topped with espresso.

"Amaya customers can expect the quality they have come to know from our roasting company and sister coffee bar," Gonzalez said in a statement. "We’re excited to be the coffee offering within Finn Hall and we’re excited to work alongside some of the city’s most notable concepts and restaurant groups. Our goal with Amaya Coffee is to serve high quality coffee and highlight the years of behind the scenes work we have been doing with our roasting company, thus helping people understand where their coffee comes from."

As the name implies, Amaya will serve coffee roasted by its sister company, Amaya Roasting Company. Gonzalez sources coffee from countries all over the world, including Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Ethiopia.

Amaya will join a downtown coffee scene that's become slightly more competitive over the last year. In September, Blacksmith owners David Buehrer and Ecky Prabanto opened Prelude Coffee & Tea in the 609 Main office tower, and Boomtown Coffee recently took full ownership of The Honeymoon near Market Square (now Boomtown Coffee Main St. Café & Bar).

Still, knowing that Finn Hall will serve expertly crafted lattes can only enhance its appeal with diners. In the year of the food hall, it's important to stand out.

Amaya Coffee is coming to Finn Hall.

Courtesy of Catalina Coffee

Amaya Coffee is coming to Finn Hall.

coffee news-you-can-eat openings downtown

NYT best dishes

Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen is the only Houston restaurant on either list.

The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025. Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)
Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)

Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen Konafa Naama Don't skip dessert at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen.KSayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

Already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appetit, Krishna singles out a honeybun at Mercado Sin Nombre. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” she writes.

The picadillo mac and cheese at 2M Smokehouse showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue. “Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

The New York Times regularly shines its spotlight on Texas restaurants, In September, it named four establishments — ChòpnBlọk (Houston), Isidore (San Antonio), Lao’d Bar (Austin), and P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles (Austin) — to its list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

news-you-can-eat media lists desserts