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    Masks still required

    Master list of Houston restaurants maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 3, 2021 | 5:09 pm
    Rosie Cannonball exterior
    Rosie Cannonball is one of dozens of restaurants maintaining their COVID protocols.
    Photo by Julie Soefer

    Houston restaurants may have the legal authority to cease operating with state-mandated protocols to limit the spread of COVID-19, but many are choosing to maintain following the practices they’ve had in place for a year.

    Reasons vary, but operators generally cite limited access to vaccines for their employees as a major factor. Maintaining protocols also appears to be what most Houston diners want restaurants to do, at least according to an informal Instagram poll.

    Restaurants listed below have indicated either on social media or directly to CultureMap that they will maintain their existing COVID protocols beyond March 10. These typically include capacity limits and mask requirements for both staff and customers.

    CultureMap will update this list for the next few days. Restaurants that would like to be added may email eric@culturemap.com.

    Montrose/Midtown/Museum District

    AL Quick Stop
    Anvil
    Avondale Food & Wine
    Axelrad
    BCN
    Bistro Menil
    Blacksmith
    BlendIn Coffee Club
    Bludorn
    Brasil
    Brennan's of Houston
    The Burger Joint
    Café Poêtes
    Catbirds
    City Cellars HTX
    Cliff's Grill
    Cloud 10 Creamery
    Coaches Pub
    Common Bond
    Damian's
    Divino
    Eugene's
    Fix Coffeebar
    Georgia James
    Grand Prize
    Inversion Coffee
    Kau Ba
    Lucille’s
    Hay Merchant
    Hugo’s
    La Mexicana
    Love Buzz
    Lua Viet Kitchen
    Milk & Sugar Creamery
    Montrose Cheese & Wine
    93 ‘Til
    Nobie’s
    One Fifth Southern Comfort
    Paulie’s
    Poison Girl
    Present Company
    Red Dwarf
    Riel
    Roost
    Rosie Cannonball
    Rudyard's
    Sable Gate Winery
    Siphon Coffee
    Sixes and Sevens
    Southside Espresso
    Spanish Village
    SweetCup Gelato
    Thirteen
    The Toasted Coconut
    Tres Tacos
    Two Headed Dog
    UB Preserv
    Uchi

    The Heights and surrounding neighborhoods

    Alice Blue
    Alma Latina
    Amsterdam Co. Coffee House
    Awesome Bites Co.
    Beccacakes
    BCK
    The Barking Pig
    Better Luck Tomorrow
    Boomtown Coffee
    The Burger Joint
    Canary Cafe
    Cantina Barba
    Cloud 10 Creamery
    Coltivare
    Common Bond
    Dak & Bop
    Dolce Neve
    Dumpling Haus
    Eight Row Flint
    Fluff Bake Bar
    Flying Fish
    Gabby's BBQ
    Ginger & Fork
    Golden Bagels & Coffee
    Good Dog Houston
    Handies Douzo
    Hando
    Harold's in the Heights
    Jenni’s Noodle House
    Johnny’s Gold Brick
    Ka Sushi
    La Lucha
    Lei Low
    Local Foods
    Maison Pucha Bistro
    Melange Creperie
    Ninja Ramen
    Pearl Bar
    Revival Market
    Scott Gertner’s Rhythm Room
    A 2nd Cup
    Sonoma
    Spring Street Beer & Wine Garden
    Stanton's City Bites
    Star Sailor
    Sticky’s Chicken
    Squable
    Superica
    Sweet Bribery
    The Taco Stand
    Tea & Victory
    Tenfold Coffee
    Teotihuacan Mexican Cafe
    Truth BBQ
    The Union Kitchen
    Urban Eats
    Verdine
    The Waffle Bus
    Xin Chao
    Yellow Cup
    Zoa Moroccan Kitchen

    Downtown/EaDo/East End/Third Ward

    Brasserie du Parc
    Bravery Chef Hall
    Cafe TH
    City Acre Brewing
    Common Bond
    Coral Sword
    East End Hardware
    8th Wonder Brewery
    The Flying Saucer
    Frenchy's Chicken (Scott St. and other locations throughout Houston)
    Guard and Grace
    Indianola
    La Calle
    La Fisheria
    Mandola's Deli
    Miss Carousel
    Nancy’s Hustle
    Neil’s Bar
    Phoenicia/MKT Bar
    Rodeo Goat
    Roots
    Saint Arnold Brewing Company
    Seaside Poke
    Street to Kitchen
    Tiny Champions
    Turkey Leg Hut
    Underground Hall
    Vinny’s
    White Rhino
    Xochi

    Upper Kirby/West University/River Oaks

    a'Bouzy
    Ambrosia
    Backstreet Cafe
    Brasserie 19
    Café Rabelais
    Cavo Coffee
    Cloud 10 Creamery
    Common Bond
    Coppa Osteria
    D'Amico's
    DUO Coffee
    Eighteen36
    El Topo
    Feges BBQ
    Giacomo’s
    Helen Greek Food & Wine
    Hu's Cooking
    Hungry's
    Istanbul Grill
    Izakaya Wa
    Jenni’s Noodle House
    Kata Robata
    Local Foods
    McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
    Mia Bella Trattoria
    Michael's Cookie Jar
    100% Taquito
    Ouisie’s Table
    Picnic Box Lunches
    Pondicheri
    The Raven Grill
    Red Lion Pub
    Relish Restaurant & Bar
    Roka Akor
    Shun Japanese Kitchen
    Sonoma
    State of Grace
    Sweet Paris
    Under the Volcano
    Verandah
    Vinology

    The Galleria and surrounding neighborhoods

    Bosscat Kitchen
    The Brisket House
    Cabo Bob's
    Caracol
    Christie’s Seafood & Steaks
    Craft Pita
    Etoile Cuisine et Bar
    Hidden Omakase
    Jenni’s Noodle House
    Kenny & Ziggy’s
    Liberty Kitchen
    Local Foods
    MAD
    Michael's Cookie Jar
    Musaafer
    Roostar Vietnamese Grill
    Thai Gourmet
    Tom N Toms
    Tribute at the Houstonian Hotel

    Memorial/Spring Branch/West Houston/Katy

    Battlehops Brewing
    Bistro 555
    Bori
    The Branch
    Caliente
    Caobao Hot Steamy Buns
    Craft Burger
    Degust/Diversion Cocktails
    Hungry's
    Izakaya Wa
    Jonathan's the Rub (both locations)
    KP’s Kitchen
    KUU
    La Tartine
    Lazy Oaks Beer Garden
    Liberty Kitchen
    Luliet Creamery + Bake Shop
    Masraff’s
    Moderno Tacos & Tex-Mex
    A Moveable Feast
    Palazzo's
    Palazzo's Cafe
    Phat Eatery
    Phoenicia
    Proper Rose Garden
    Roostar Vietnamese Grill
    State Fare
    Sweet Paris
    Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen
    Tobiuo Sushi
    The Union Kitchen
    Yelo
    Yi Peng Thai Dining

    Southwest Houston/Chinatown/Sugar Land

    The Bagel Shop Bakery
    BlendIn Coffee Club
    Cajun Kitchen
    Costa Brava Bistro
    Dandelion Cafe
    The '401
    Jasmine Asian Cuisine
    Lotus Seafood
    Pho Binh by Night
    Saigon Pagolac
    Shri Balaji Bhavan
    Spanky's Pizza
    ​State Fare
    Sweet Paris
    Umami Japanese Restaurant
    Watershed

    Cypress/Spring/The Woodlands/Kingwood

    Alicia’s Mexican Grille
    Bocca Italian Kitchen
    The Brisket House
    Buy the Glass Wine Bar & Lounge
    Common Bond
    Dario’s Seafood & Steakhouse
    Galiana’s Tex Mex & Agave Bar
    Fajitas Pete’s
    Grazeables
    King’s Blu Jam Café
    Lotus Seafood
    Lupo Pizzeria
    Marvino’s Italian Steakhouse
    Mia Bella Trattoria
    Mom's Country Kitchen
    Sweet Paris
    Tumble 22
    The Union Kitchen

    Clear Lake/Webster/Friendswood/Pearland

    Brasserie 1895
    Lotus Seafood
    Spanky's Pizza
    Sweet Paris

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    Wine Guy Wednesday

    Chris Shepherd breaks bread with chefs and musicians at new conversation series

    Chris Shepherd
    Feb 25, 2026 | 2:00 pm
    Chris Shepherd headshot
    Photo by Tiffany Hofeldt
    Chris Shepherd will host three Breaking Bread conversations.

    I wanted to tell you about something new that I have coming up that we have been working on. I am starting a new conversation series called “Breaking Bread” which is going to be part of the Live at the Founder’s Club series at the Hobby Center.

    Why “Breaking Bread?” I have always said that breaking bread at the table is one of the last true forms of building community. When I had restaurants, I would serve whole loaves of bread uncut and have people break them together to join a communal dining experience where they could have conversations — a breaking of awkward silence if you didn’t know people.

    Breaking bread opens the door for talking and learning over a meal and to build a community that might not have existed before. It is the ice breaker for a lot of people to learn about each other and break down walls and barriers that we have unintentionally put up because of fear of the unknown. It’s not just a saying but a way of thinking that has shifted my life to want to learn about people.

    Through this new Breaking Bread conversation series, I will share the stories of people I look up to and ask them to tell stories they haven’t told before about what led them here to this moment on stage with me.

    Moving this series to Founders Club at the Hobby Center is even more special for me since I’ve had such a great time working with the team to update the food and drink menus so guests can have a really wonderful experience from the time they arrive. We have worked to redo the food menu to make it fun and approachable with items like Full Tilt hot dogs, braised beef birria taquitos, coffee roasted beets, and Altima Caviar with sour cream & onion Pringles just to name a few.

    The wine list is filled with delicious things that I just want to drink all the time. Pierre Gimonnet 1er cru Blanc de Blanc Brut, yep. Marine Layer Vermentino, The Hilt Estate Chardonnay, Robert Sinskey Vin Gris of Pinot Noir, also yes! Want more? North Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir, Produttori Del Barbaresco Barbaresco, and Cruse Wine Co. Monkey Jacket Red Blend are all available, just to name a few.

    Then the cocktails are based on the classics. This is what we should have when we go out to our theaters downtown — delicious things to eat and drink while watching amazing shows!

    I have the opportunity to have personal conversations with my friends, who also happen to be incredible artists and even better people.

    Here is a quick look at the lineup from the Hobby Center:

    “Breaking Bread” 2026 Conversation Series

    Bun B: Wednesday, April 8, 7:30pm
    Grammy-nominated American rapper and Houston legend Bun B sits down with Chris for an unfiltered conversation on music, culture, and a career that keeps reinventing itself. From pioneering rapper to Rice University professor and trusted civic voice, Bun B will reflect on the moments that shaped him. The two will also get into his jump into the restaurant world and how Trill Burgers became a citywide obsession, plus his move into podcasting and storytelling — and what it means to build a legacy that stretches far beyond the mic.

    Joe Kwon: Saturday, May 16, 7:30pm
    Known to many as the cellist of The Avett Brothers, Joe Kwon joins Chris for a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about curiosity, craft, and creativity. Born in South Korea and raised in High Point, North Carolina, the self-described foodie shares his roots on stages around the world as they explore his path from lifelong musician — with a detour through computer science — to artist, wine enthusiast, and collaborator, reflecting on how discipline and instinct shape everything he pursues, from music to food. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how passions evolve, how ideas connect across worlds, and why a melody or a shared meal can mean more than the moment itself.

    A Michelin Roundtable with Felipe Riccio, Emmanuel Chavez, and Mayank Istwal: Saturday, June 13, 7:30pm
    Three of Houston’s Michelin-starred chefs — Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemó), Felipe Riccio (March), and Mayank Istwal (Musaafer) — join Chris for an honest, wide-ranging conversation about what a star really means for their kitchens and their teams. They’ll debate whether rankings push the industry forward or hold it back, reflect on the turning points that shaped their paths, and share the lessons behind becoming some of the city’s most celebrated chefs. It’s a rare behind-the-scenes look at success, pressure, creativity, and what it takes to build something that lasts.

    ----

    Send Chris an email at chris@chrisshepherd.is.

    Chris Shepherd won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2014. The Southern Smoke Foundation, a nonprofit he co-founded with his wife Lindsey Brown, has distributed more than $15 million to hospitality workers in crisis through its Emergency Relief Fund. Catch his TV show, Eat Like a Local, every Saturday at 10 am on KPRC Channel 2 or on YouTube.

    Chris Shepherd headshot

    Photo by Tiffany Hofeldt

    Chris Shepherd will host three Breaking Bread conversations.

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