The Ion's New Jewel

Prominent young Houston chef reveals new restaurant in innovative mixed-use development

David Cordúa is returning to the kitchen. The chef and restauranteur will open The Lymbar at The Ion, Rice University's innovation-focused mixed-use development in Midtown.

Slated to open this fall, the Lymbar will occupy The Ion's "jewel-box" corner suite. Described as a bar forward, small plates concepts devoted to both Latin and Mediterranean flavors, the 120-seat restaurant will feature meats prepared on a vertical roaster that will be visible from an open kitchen. Gin Braverman of Houston's Gin Design Group (Axelard, Eunice) will design the restaurant.

Cordúa's name is well known to Houston diners. The chef worked with his father, legendary Houston restaurateur Michael Cordúa, at Cordúa Restaurants — the hospitality group behind Churrascos, Americas, and Amazon Grill — before the duo parted ways with the company in 2018. They're teaming up again on this new project.

While the father-son duo is known for their South American fare inspired by the family's Nicaraguan heritage, the Lymbar will take a broader approach. The restaurant's name is taken from Lymbar Drive, the street in Southwest Houston where the family once lived; the area's diverse community and the French training Cordúa received at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris will guide the menu.

“If Churrascos and Américas were our family story in Central America, The Lymbar is our first opportunity to tell our family story in Houston,” David Cordúa said in a statement. “We’re really excited to be a place where people meet, think, eat, and drink in The Ion, and we look forward to being a part of the heartbeat of Houston’s new innovation district.”

In addition to its food offerings, the Lymbar will feature a craft cocktail program built around barrel-aged spirits. Like the food, the drinks will showcase Latin American, South American, and Mediterranean influences.

The Lymbar is just one of four new restaurants under development at The Ion. Previously announced concepts include: Late August, a new restaurant from Top Chef contestant Dawn Burrell (Kulture) and Lucille's owner Chris Williams that will "explore the soul of Afro-Asian flavors;" a new location of Common Bond On-The-Go; and STUFF'd Wings, a brick and mortar home of the popular Third Ward-based food truck.

A rendering shows The Lymbar's main dining room.

Courtesy of Gin Design Group

A rendering shows The Lymbar's main dining room.

news-you-can-eat openings

Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”