Anejo Shuttered

Adios, Anejo: Upscale Tex-Mex restaurant suddenly shutters

Fancy guacamole couldn't save Anejo.

Photo by Julie Soefer

Anejo, the Uptown Park restaurant dedicated to serving upscale Tex-Mex cuisine and an extensive selection of tequila and mezcal, has closed. In response to a request for comment about the restaurant's suddenly missing website and social media pages, Anejo owner Lasco Enterprises issued the following statement from owner Jerry Lasco:

We are all very sad to have to close Anejo. At the same time, I couldn’t be more proud of our team, from Chef Alberto Gutierrez, who created beautiful food and GM Celina Salinas, who stepped up and provided leadership during challenging times, to the entire restaurant team who worked together every day. We’ve learned important lessons through this process and I’m thankful to have met such great people and fortunate to have them remain in our work family.

When it opened two years ago, Anejo attempted to bring high end techniques and preparation to Texas' most popular cuisine. For example, the queso utilized a four cheese blend and even the tortillas used in enchiladas were made to order. The restaurant also offered steakhouse elements like Prime beef and shrimp cocktail. All that quality came at a cost; the restaurant charged $49.50 for a pound of fajitas when competitors like Ninfa's and El Tiempo charged at least $10 less per order.

After chef Gutierrez took over in 2016, he moved away from some of the higher-priced items and added more interior Mexican dishes, but Anejo never quite connected with diners. The closure means Lasco still operates four restaurants in the Houston-area: two locations of Max's Wine Dive (Washington Avenue and Montrose) and two locations of The Tasting Room (Uptown Park and CityCentre).

Lasco chief of staff Tiffany Cullum Hulquist stated that the company does not plan to open another restaurant in the Anejo space.

Anejo joins the wave of prominent restaurants that have closed this year, including Triniti, Arthur Ave, and Up. If Reef chef-owner Bryan Caswell's recent prediction in the Houston Business Journal is true, more restaurants will soon follow.

tex-mex closings

Rumor no more?

Global dim sum powerhouse Din Tai Fung may finally be coming to Houston

Din Tai Fung/Facebook

Din Tai Fung is known for its soup dumplings, noodles dishes, and more

One of the world’s most famous Chinese restaurants could be coming to Houston. Global dim sum powerhouse Din Tai Fung appears to be moving forward with a location in the Galleria.

According to an entry on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation website, the restaurant will replace Japanese restaurant Nobu, along with some adjacent suites, to create a total area of almost 16,800 square feet. The project is expected to begin in February 2027 and end in mid-June, although that timeline is only an estimate and is very likely to shift significantly. Its projected cost is $1 million, although that is also an estimate that could change. TDLR filings are preliminary and may not indicate an official lease has been signed.

At this time, Nobu's Houston location is still open and has not announced plans to close. The restaurant debuted in 2018 with a splashy grand opening party that featured an appearance by its three co-owners: chef Nobu Matsuhisa, co-founder Meir Teper, and legendary actor Robert De Niro.

Founded in Taipei, Taiwan in 1958 as a cooking oil shop, Din Tai Fung rose to prominence on the strength of its xiao long bao (soup dumplings) that are known for their delicate skins and savory, aromatic broth. Since then, the restaurant has grown to more than 165 locations worldwide, with U.S. outposts in cities such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, and New York. Four of those locations hold Bib Gourmand designations in the Michelin Guide.

In addition to their massive size, Din Tai Fung’s location are known for the sheer quantity of food they can produce. Its New York location reportedly makes more than 10,000 dumplings per day — by hand. In addition to dumplings, the restaurant is also known for its vegetable plates, noodle dishes, and other dim sum-style fare.

CultureMap has contacted representatives for the Galleria, Din Tai Fung, and Nobu to learn more information about this development. We will update the article when they reply.

Axios Houston was first to report on the TDLR filing.

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