Houston Black Restaurant Week

Where to eat during Houston Black Restaurant Week: 5 delicious dining options

Houston Black Restaurant Week has begun and organizers have partnered with over 20 restaurants around the city to offer special menus for diners. From now through April 30, Houstonians are invited to support efforts to highlight African American culinary talent as well as raise funds for the historical Blue Triangle Community Center.

This special two weeks of dining will also feature several other events including the SoundBites Food Truck Festival, Power of the Palate Bartending Competition, and the Art of Flavor Pop Up Dinner featuring chef Jonny Rhodes with a special cocktail hour sponsored by DeLeon Tequila.

While there are many delicious fine dining options priced from $35-$45, we've selected five of the top menu offerings that are not to be missed.

Lucille's
Chef Chris Williams has created a three-course menu at his Museum District restaurant that has become a favorite among Houstonians longing to satisfy their taste for Southern food. Offering a $45 dinner menu, Lucille's features such dishes as fried green tomatoes, roasted fish with pistachio pistou, and bread pudding with bourbon creme anglaise. Suggested wine pairings include Doolhof Malbec and Crystallum Chardonnay. (5512 La Branch St, 713-568-2505)

Kitchen 713
Washington Ave hotspot Kitchen 713 will serve up tasty options of its self-described "Global Soul" cuisine for Houston Black Restaurant Week. Turkey neck lettuce wraps with nuoc cham, crispy catfish bouillabaisse, and sweet potato bread pudding with molasses ice cream round out this $45 dinner menu. The restaurant's simple yet flavorful approach to Southern cuisine has drawn some national attention, thanks to Eater restaurant editor Bill Addison, who wrote that chef-owners Ross Coleman and James Haywood "prove exceptionally adept at distilling a worldwide array of tastes and textures into dishes that leave you invigorated." (4601 Washington Ave. #130, 832-286-7425)

Live Oak Lounge
Chef Javani King showcases his talents via a special Sunday brunch and dinner menus at Live Oak Lounge in Third Ward for BRW. Blackened cajun salmon with crawfish Mardi Gras sauce, herb crusted chicken with fingerling potatoes, Andouille shrimp & grits, and vanilla creme beignets offer just a glimpse of what to expect when you visit this popular new locale. (2533 Southmore Blvd., (346) 818-9814)

Phil and Derek's
Phil and Derek's recently reopened in Midtown after moving from its former quaint location in River Oaks. While the locale has changed, what diners have come to expect from this lively lounge has remained the same. Live jazz music will accompany your dinner while you nosh on the likes of lobster ravioli with lemon herb butter and gruyere, grilled Atlantic salmon with mango salsa and angel hair pasta, homemade peach cobbler, and other palate-pleasing entrees. (701 Webster St., 281-501-3261)

Holley's Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar
Chef Mark Holley offers special brunch, lunch, and dinner menus for the duration of Houston Black Restaurant Week. Serving quality oysters as an option is a given, but you can also choose other specials like Koonce's peanut soup, LH gumbo, Thai curry mussels, and the Down South Chocolate Cake, just to name a few. (3201 Louisiana St, 713-491-2222)

These are just some of the menu highlights during Houston Black Restaurant Week, but the complete lineup includes an an all-star list of restaurants. With additional options like dining on Nigerian food at Cafe Abuja, licking your finger-licking-good fare at Ray's Real Pit BBQ, or getting a taste of the Caribbean at Cool Runnings Jamiacan Bar & Grill, BRW has you covered.

With the help of sponsors Verizon and Uber, Houston Black Restaurant organizers invite you to engage via social media and share your experiences visiting the participating restaurants. For a full list of restaurants, events, and additional information about the Blue Triangle Community Center visit here.

Chef Mark Holley offers special brunch, lunch, and dinner menus for the duration of Houston Black Restaurant Week.

Courtesy photo

Chef Mark Holley offers special brunch, lunch, and dinner menus for the duration of Houston Black Restaurant Week.

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Coming soon to Fredericksburg

Houston restaurant vet serves up Roman-style eatery in the Hill Country

Photo courtesy of Bottega Salaria

Valerio Lombardozzi is opening Bottega Salaria in the former home of La Bergerie.

Valerio Lombardozzi’s culinary career has taken him to the world’s finest kitchens, including restaurants owned by icons like Alain Ducasse, Giorgio Locatelli, and Joël Robuchon. In Houston, he led La Table and Tavola, where he earned a reputation for being one of the city's most engaging front of the house personalities.

But his latest project might be his biggest accomplishment yet. The hospitality veteran is opening Bottega Salaria, a homey Italian osteria and artisan market, in the former home of La Bergerie at 312 E Austin St in his adopted home of Fredericksburg.

Lombardozzi says the restaurant, expected to arrive in winter 2026, fills a gap in the Hill Country dining scene, but, more importantly, it's a reflection of his personal history and time spent working at his family’s restaurant in Rome.

“[It’s about] where I grew up, how I grew up, and how I eat,” he shares.

The three-concept experience is inspired by Italy’s Via Salaria, the ancient route Italians used to transport salt from the Adriatic Sea to Rome. The menu acts as a sort of travelogue, borrowing from the different cultures along the road, and the way village fishermen and shepherds ate.

Lombardozzi is quick to say he didn’t want to open a chef-driven restaurant. Instead, the osteria will serve traditional Roman staples such as cacio e pepe, amatriciana, carbonara, saltimbocca with sage and prosciutto, and branzino carved tableside.

“I was one of the last to be exposed to the old generation of professionals who knew how to carve elegantly for the guests,” he says.

The adjacent bottega will stay open during restaurant hours, offering fresh pasta made on-site, house-made sauces, imported Italian pantry items, cheeses, salumi, breads, and biscotti. Patrons will be able to shop for individual items or put together custom gift baskets.

Outdoors, La Fraschetteria will debut a new hospitality experience in the U.S. The self-guided experience invites diners to grab wine directly from garden shelves, gather a spread of meats, cheeses, bread, or pasta, and linger around long communal tables lit by string lights.

Keeping the chit-chat going will be a thoughtful beverage program anchored by a primarily Italian wine list and imported beer. Lombardozzi says the cocktail menu might be a surprise, offering only gin and tonics, spritzes, and negronis. The latter has been made into a game where diners roll dice to determine the evening's combination of gin, vermouth, and bitters.

After dinner, guests can select an amaro from a rolling cart, sip grappa and limoncello, or sip a neat whiskey.

Lombardozzi shares that he wants Bottega Salaria to be just as comfortable for Fredericksburg locals as it is for destination travelers. Beyond daily service, Bottega Salaria plans community events such as garden wine nights with live music, Sunday movie nights, and hands-on cooking classes.

The space is designed for ease with a warm palette combining olive green and pomegranate reds. The decor blends heritage and modernity, bringing in objects like antique mirrors, plates, custom-made lamps, and even old tablecloths and curtains for an Old World feel.

"We’re not just opening a restaurant,” Lombardozzi says. “We’re creating a gathering place. A home for everyone who loves Italian food, culture, and the joy of sharing a meal with others.”

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