Underbelly's last meal

Chris Shepherd reveals Underbelly's bittersweet closing date, thanks Houstonians

Underbelly will close March 31.

Photo by Julie Soefer

The final countdown has begun for Underbelly. The celebrated Houston restaurant will close March 31, the restaurant announced Thursday.

We've spent six years "reppin' Houston with love," and we're not stopping any time soon. We opened Underbelly to thank our city for being such an inspiration to us and to show the world how badass Houston is. Thank you to the farmers, the ranchers and the fisherman for providing us with such incredible product. Thank you to our city and all the cultures that exist within it for always inspiring us. Thank you to our staff for believing in our vision and helping us execute it every day. Our last day of service will be March 31, and we’re throwing a party on April 1. Details in our bio.

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Mar 1, 2018 at 10:58am PST

Hay Merchant will also close April 2 to make renovations to its beer cooler. When it reopens April 22, it will begin serving lunch as well as a few of Underbelly's signature items, such as the celebrated Korean goat and dumplings.

That this day would come isn't a surprise. Chef-owner Chris Shepherd and business partner Kevin Floyd originally announced their plans in December. In its place, the space will become a new restaurant called Georgia James, a steakhouse inspired by One Fifth Steak that's slated to open this summer. Underbelly will morph into a new restaurant called UB Preserv that will open in the former Poscol space in mid-April.

Since opening in March 2012, Underbelly has become one of Houston's most prominent restaurants. Chef-owner Chris Shepherd broke Houston's 22-year long drought in the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest category for his innovative cuisine that utilized carefully-sourced, locally-grown to create dishes inspired by Houston's immigrant communities. Underbelly never made any secret of its sourcing; pictures of the people and places that inspired its cooking hang on a wall by the entrance.

It has also served as an important training ground for the next generation of culinary talent. Ryan Lachaine (Riel), Lyle Bento (Southern Goods), and Patrick Feges (Feges BBQ) have all gone on to launch their own projects. James Beard Rising Star Chef winner Daniela Soto-Innes worked on Underbelly's opening crew before moving to New York to join up with superstar Mexican chef Enrique Olvera on his award-winning restaurants Cosme and Atla.

The restaurant doesn't have any specific plans to bring back former cooks or revive favorite dishes during its final month, but either of those things are certainly possible. It will celebrate both its closing and the sixth birthday of its sister concept Hay Merchant with a party on April 1 that will include food, beer from Sierra Nevada, and Makers Mark cocktails. Tickets are available for $40.

Shepherd has mostly kept his plans for UB Preserv under wraps, but he did offer diners a preview last week during a pop-up at Fluff Bake Bar. His dishes included Sichuan-style pork dumplings, char siu octopus with chili sesame puree, and a dim sum-style scallion pancake filled with pork. Which of these dishes make the menu remains to be seen, but Lindsey Brown, Shepherd's longtime girlfriend and publicist, said she's challenged him to make Houston's best dumplings.

That sounds like a pretty good start.

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

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Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review