2 acclaimed Houstonians sharpen their knives for newest season of Top Chef

One of this year’s most eagerly anticipated new restaurants has opened its doors. Charolais by Chef Austin Simmons begins dinner service tonight (Tuesday, July 14).

Located in the Hughes Landing district in The Woodlands, Charolais builds on the legacy chef Austin Simmons established at Tris, the innovative steakhouse that closed abruptly at the beginning of 2025 when Simmons resigned from his role as executive chef. Since then, he’s been focused on growing Chef & Rancher, his cattle business with Texas rancher Larry Ludeke, cooking for private clients, and traveling the country to feed soldiers and first responders.

“I cooked for 150,000 soldiers last year from Washington, D.C. to the Palisades fire,” Simmons tells CultureMap. “I traveled almost 200,000 miles.”

Those experiences reinforced two beliefs that guided the creation of Charolais. First, the chef working in a restaurant. Second, the menu at Charolais needed to include Tris’ most popular dishes.

“You don’t go to Garth Brooks and not hear ‘Friends in Low Places’ or ‘The Dance,’” Simmons says with a laugh. “I’m in shoes where people expect my hits. I’m known for these dishes. A lot of what people loved about Tris, I realized I had to have.”

So yes, Tris staples such as the kimchi crab appetizer, tuna sushi pizza, and watermelon salad are all present and accounted for at Charolais. They're joined by new items such as beef bacon with Texas goat cheese, hummus with braised tri-tip, and and a Thai-style lettuce wrap made with flank steak.

Steak boards — as documented by a particularly famous meal Simmons served media personality Joe Rogan — are bigger and better than ever. Charolais’ open kitchen puts Simmons and his cooks on stage, allowing diners to watch him assemble the boards. Sourcing from Chef & Rancher also gives Simmons more cuts than ever to serve.

“On the opening menu, we have bavette, pichanha, ribeye, Denver, flatiron, filet of strip, and the big rib,” Simmons says.

The chef also has more ways to prepare those meats than ever before, including an ember grill that allows beef to cook slowly over coals, a flat top for burgers, and cast iron for cuts such as filet that benefit from a hard sear.

“It has been so exciting for me, cooking all these different cuts with different fuel sources. That’s extremely different from Tris. I didn’t have any of that,” Simmons says.

People looking for options other than beef will find a number of options, including salmon, sea bass, fried chicken, a pork chop, and shellfish dishes. Similarly, Simmons refreshed all of his sides. For example, the Brussels sprouts are no longer served with miso caramel, part of the chef’s commitment to reducing his use of refined sugar.

Similarly, Charolais’ fryers use beef tallow rather than cooking oil. So far, it’s producing excellent results.

“The french fries are ridiculous,” Simmons says. “I have never eaten a french fry that I like this much. It’s not just because I’m making it. It’s this damn tallow that doesn’t have anything in it other than olive oil.”

Inside Charolais

The chef worked with Houston’s Gin Design Group (Haii Keii, ChòpnBlọk, etc.) on the restaurant’s design. The 200-seat restaurant is bright and open, with a 25-seat bar, 34-seat lounge, and 80-seat patio that provide plenty of space for casual dining. Two private dining rooms are available for groups of up to 24 and 36 people, respectively.

“It’s not over the top fancy. It’s just beautiful,” Simmons says. “A lot of my career I’ve been trying to make up for a bad dining environment. We were always trying to make up for the lack of ambiance. Here, you’re blown away when you walk in the door.”

Not only is the bar pleasant to look at, it has been designed to produce cocktails quickly, including 12 house originals that are on the opening menu. Simmons hails the bar team for understanding that they’ll have to work fast to keep diners properly quenched.

Photo by Claudia Casbarian with Julie Soefer Photography, courtesy of Howard Hughes Communities.

Simmons worked with Gin Design Group to create Charolais.

“I believe we have the best cocktail program anywhere around us,” he says. “A lot of cocktail bars are really small, and it takes 20 minutes to get a drink. Not in this place.”

To market

Adjacent to Charolais is C&R Market, a butcher shop that allows diners to buy Chef & Rancher cuts to prepare at home. Simmons and Ludeke are also building up related items such as beef tallow candles, soaps, and lotions as well as bone broth that help maximize the yield from every cow they raise.

The market will be open Tuesday-Sunday. Charolais will be open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday. At this time, Simmons says he does not plan to offer lunch or brunch.

“Chef Austin Simmons is not just an acclaimed chef,” Jim Carman, president of the Texas Region for Howard Hughes Communities said in a statement. “He is a talent people here know and are excited to see return in a major way. Charolais brings a distinctive new experience to Hughes Landing and reflects our commitment to continuing to elevate the quality and character of The Woodlands.”