Masks still required

Master list of Houston restaurants maintaining COVID-19 safety protocols

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

news-you-can-eat

food news roundup

6 things to know in Houston food: Openings, chef dinners, and beef ribs

Photo by Rebekah Flores

Yuma is now open on Washington Avenue.

In this edition of CultureMap’s look at the latest Houston restaurant news, a sandwich pop-up has opened its permanent home on Washington Avenue and a growing local ice cream chain is helping Bellaire chill out. Plus, Landry’s chefs are getting their annual chance to shine.

Read on for all the food news Houstonians need to know.

Restaurant openings

Sandwich pop-up Yuma has opened its brick-and-mortar restaurant in the former Ninja Ramen space at 4219 Washington Ave. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Mike Hartley and Miriam Leek-Meira, Yuma serves sandwiches that blend Brazilian and Cuban influences, including the Classic Cubano (roasted pork, ham, gruyère, pickles, and mustard), the El Penny Cubano Banh Mi; the Sampa Gallo (chicken sandwich); the A Caipira, a Brazilian-inspired cheesesteak; and more.

Having a permanent location has allowed the couple to expand their menu with bar bites such as pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese rolls), empanadas, and yuca fries, as well as desserts that include Basque cheesecake and grilled banana pudding. The bar program looks to both Cuba and Brazil, with a wide array of alcoholic and non-alcoholic sips.

"This concept is one-of-a-kind but also approachable, much like this amazing city that we live in," Hartley said in a statement. "Miriam and I have set out to create something completely unique, and we're excited to share it with everyone. We love the location and want to strike a balance between something new and exciting while still feeling comforting and familiar."

Yuma is open Wednesday through Monday from 4 pm to midnight.

Modern Mexican restaurant Cochinita & Co. has opened its second location in Lindale Park (4928 Fulton Street). Open daily from 8 am-3 pm, the restaurant serves chef-owner Victoria Elizondo’s tacos that are made with house made corn tortillas and matched with fillings such as cochinita pibil, shrimp, barbacoa, roasted chicken, and lion’s mane mushrooms. Breakfast options include tamales, breakfast tacos, and chilaquiles.

Once the new location is dialed in, Elizondo plans to launch Corimar, a dinner series with guest chefs.

“Corimar is very personal to me. It’s my way of creating space for new ideas without changing what people already love about Cochinita,” Elizondo told CultureMap in February. “By day, we’ll remain the café our community knows. By night, Corimar will become a platform for occasional experimentation, (and sometimes) collaboration, and dishes that don’t always fit into a traditional menu.”

Cosmic Ice Cream has opened its fourth Houston-area location in the Bellaire triangle. The scoop shop serves a range of creative and traditional flavors, including banana pudding, birthday cake, peanut butter brownie, and Cookie Monster, which is dyed blue in homage to the iconic Sesame Street character. Options include scoops, milkshakes, and “Ice Cream Nachos,” two scoops of ice cream served on a bed on waffle cone chips. It’s open daily from 12-10 pm.

Upcoming food events

Landry’s Signature Group has released the 2026 edition of its chef series. Each menu is inspired by a classic movie that will be revealed during the meal. The schedule includes July 9 at Brenner’s on the Bayou, July 16 at Del Frisco’s, July 23 at Grotto Downtown, July 30 at the Palm, and August 6 at La Griglia. See menus and buy tickets here.

Camaraderie will host the next edition of its Better Together bake sale with guest chefs Rebecca Masson (Fluff Bake Bar) and Kripa Shenoy (EaDough) this Sunday, June 28, beginning at 10 am. The menu includes a Franklin Barbecue brisket croissant, Basque cheesecake croissant, butter chicken kolache, chai sesame cookies, cardamom buns, golden sesame kouign amann, and many more.

Other news and notes

The Kirby Dr. location of Goode Co. Barbeque has rolled out a bi-weekly features menu that will showcase limited edition menu items every Thursday-Sunday. This week’s specials include a jalapeno-cheddar sausage and slow-smoked beef ribs. Plus, families can order a platter with three pounds of meat and three sides.

Photo by Rebekah Flores

Yuma is now open on Washington Avenue.

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6 things to know in Houston food: Openings, chef dinners, and beef ribs