Best Under-The-Radar Restaurants

Best under-the-radar restaurants: 8 eateries that proved to be the year's biggest surprises

Picking 10 restaurants wasn't enough to sum up what an excellent year 2014 was for dining in Houston. So many new places opened and became important to people that one list of best new restaurant felt incomplete. Here are the eight restaurants that were 2014's most pleasant surprises: the off-the-radar spots that opened quietly and earned acclaim through high quality food and top notch service.

After all, not every restaurant has a splashy opening or a ton of buzz from a high profile chef.

Think of the list below as the companion to the year's most disappointing new restaurants and the best new restaurants. They may not be splashy (well, not all of them), but each of these restaurants offers something special, something that makes dining in Houston a little more fun.

Andes Cafe
David Guerrero returned to the dining scene with this casual cafe in the Second Ward that serves comfort food classics from across South America. As Andes Cafe has evolved from its January opening, Guerrero has added dinner entrees to the original breakfast and lunch offerings. Don't miss the Thursday night parillada special, a sizzling platter topped with meat and housemade sausages.

Dosi
Korean flavors and small plates are two emerging trends that come together well at this River Oaks restaurant. Dishes like scallion pancakes, kimchi and Korean fried chicken wings deliver the signature spicy/sour mix Korean cuisine is known for in a slightly more accessible package than might be found at more traditional restaurants on Long Point. Beverage options built around various fruit-infused sojus add to the appeal.

Georges Bistro
Georges Guy brings his history serving Houstonians French cuisine to the former Feast space on lower Westheimer. His menu of unpretentious bistro fare, backed by a reasonably priced list of French wines, offers the sort of sustaining comfort food that's becoming hard to find. Keepiing it classic is the way to go here, as in the elegantly plated duck d'orange or puff pasty wrapped snapper quenelle.

The Honeymoon
This cafe gives the 300 block of Main a daytime destination. Backed by Boomtown Coffee that's roasted on site, the daily menu of breakfast and lunch options includes the crispy, gooey chicken liver po boy that's one of 2014's best dishes. At night, the New Orleans inspired cocktail menu makes The Honeymoon a placcid escape from the frenetic scene at nearby spots. Both sides come together during weekend brunch diners fill the room for grillades and grits and an appropriately spicy Bloody Mary.

Kitchen 713
This restaurant that blends classic Southern dishes with Asian flavors is another promising Second Ward newcomer. Dishes like crispy fried okra, housemade boudain and turkey necks in lettuce wraps show serious potential. Hopefully, strong word of mouth helps it find a sustainable audience in the up and coming neighborhood.

KUU
This sushi restaurant in the Gateway Memorial City development backs up its high style dining room with serious culinary chops. Chef Addison Lee takes the techniques he learned at celebrated New York restaurant Nobu and blends them with the skills he's showed at a variety of Houston restaurants to create Japanese-inspired dishes. In particular, Lee's use of fruit like apples and pears provides a memorable sweetness to complement the meaty fish. A beverage programs that offers both reasonably priced wines and flavorful cocktails gives KUU even more appeal.

Pappas Meat Co.
What does one of Houston's most successful restaurant empires do when it finds itself in possession of a "spare" building? Enter a restaurant category that was missing from its portfolio, of course. Pappas Meat Co. takes the appeal of casual steakhouses like Saltgrass and Outback and improves upon it with offerings like hand-cut, bone-in steaks and well-executed cocktails. Comfort food dishes including chicken fried steak, pot roast and fried green tomatoes improve upon the classics served at sister restaurant Dot Coffee Shop (and upon higher priced options at more prominent comfort food restaurants). The location at I-10 and Federal Road may be off the radar for most inner Loopers, but don't worry. This concept is so clearly head and shoulders above its peers that it feels bound to expand quickly throughout the Houston area.

Tout Suite
"If you build it, he will come" didn't originally refer to an all-day cafe/coffee shop in EaDo, but it certainly describes Tout Suite. Anne Le and Sandy Tran expanded upon the bakery goodness of surprise CityCentre success story Sweet with a menu of breakfast items, salads and sandwiches. High quality ingredients from suppliers like 44 Farms and Greenway Coffee help ensure deliciousness. A variety of seating options makes it a comfortable choice for students looking to study or downtown office types in search of a healthy lunch. With plans to install a new menu and add beer and wine to the mix, Tout Suite should be even more appealing in 2015.

Tout Suite's varied seating makes it a flexible space for different people.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Tout Suite's varied seating makes it a flexible space for different people.

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the more things change

Houston's essential Jewish diner looks better than ever after refresh

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

It’s tricky to renovate a restaurant that’s as essential to its community as New York Deli. A staple of Houston’s Jewish community for almost 50 years, the tiny restaurant near Meyerland will serve as many as 400 people during a busy Sunday brunch.

Still, the time had come, as the tape on the deteriorating banquettes and peeling wallpaper illustrated. With the restaurant’s lease up for renewal, co-owner Michael Saghian saw an opportunity for some updates.

“I couldn’t be the new guy who ruined the place by moving it,” he tells CultureMap. “We worked out a deal with the landlord [to stay] and did a big refresh.”

The most noticeable change is the removal of the restaurant’s front door and vestibule. Instead, diners enter through the restaurant’s companion bagel shop. Separate entrances made sense when the bagel shop was certified kosher by local religious authorities, but now that designation only applies to the Bellaire location that opened in 2020. Not only is the new setup easier for people with mobility issues to navigate, it allows more light into the dining room, brightening the place considerably..

Saghian and co-owner Riana Sherman worked with interior designer Erin Hicks on the refresh. Tables, chairs, and banquettes are all new, but the color scheme remains the same. The process yielded 10 more seats, and the furniture is a little more durable, too.

“People have flipped chairs because they’re so lightweight,” Sherman says. “We got a sturdier chair.”

Behind the scenes, an expanded kitchen allows for the restaurant’s cooks to work faster and more efficiently. An additional egg cooker should cut down the amount of time people wait for their food to arrive.

“The kitchen had one of everything. Now we have two of everything. We can pump out a lot more food,” Saghian says.

Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers such as the “bagel girls,” a group of woman who’ve eaten breakfast at the restaurant since the ‘80s. A piece of old wallpaper has been framed and hung on the wall, too, as a nod to the space’s history.

New York Deli interior changes Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers.Photo by Sergio Trevino

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

Saghian says he suffered from sleepless nights as he worried about people’s reactions to the changes, but so far his customers have been effusive.

“It still feels like an old school diner,” Saghian says. “It has pieces you remember. Even the new stuff is old school.”

While the physical environment is new, the staff remains the same. To ensure he kept the same team of cooks and servers, Saghian paid their wages for the two weeks the restaurant was closed for renovations.

Even more importantly, the prices are the same. That’s something that will make even the oldest regulars happy.

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