fm in the montrose

Bar-forward Houston restaurant taps open date for buzzy new Montrose location

The new location opens next week.

Courtesy of FM Kitchen & Bar

Montrose's wait for its very own location of FM Kitchen & Bar comes to an end next week. The popular comfort food restaurant will open its outpost at 907 Westheimer Rd. on Wednesday, June 23.

Like its sibling on Shepherd Drive, the new FM Kitchen & Bar will feature a menu of comfort food built around burgers, sandwiches, salads, and wings paired with an extensive selection of draft beer and cocktails. However, it will distinguish itself with a broader cocktail program and an all-new late night menu.

“We look to the Montrose neighborhood as an opportunity to evolve the FM brand and build on the momentum we’ve gathered over the past 18 months as a more bar-forward concept," managing partner Jason Mok said in a statement. "We are excited about how the more elevated design not only fits this location, but also inspires what we do as a brand."

Part of that evolution will be later operating hours. The Montrose location will be open until midnight on Thursday and 2 am on Friday and Saturday and feature performances by live DJs.

Similarly, FM Kitchen utilized local design firm Gin Design Group to give the space — formerly East Hampton Sandwich Co. and the Magical Unicorn Dessert Bar — elements that are approachable at lunch and dinner and more "moody" later in the evening. With four TVs over the bar and a 96-inch projector screen for special events, FM Kitchen aims to be an ideal game day destination.

Chef de Cuisine Valentin Garcia has added lighter options such as grilled salmon tacos and a crispy Brussels sprouts salad to FM Kitchen's familiar fare. The late night menu features dishes such as birria tacos and chicken toastadas, along with signature items like the FM burger and a spicy chicken sandwich. Brunch will be served on Saturday and Sunday.

“Valentin is an incredible asset to the FM family, and has already made a huge difference to our team’s culture in his short time with us. His talent, work ethic and commitment to making improvements every day is exactly what we needed during this period of growth for FM,” Mok said.

General manager and beverage director Rochelle Touga's offerings start with a 26-tap wall that will feature 24 beers and two draft cocktails. In addition, a highball machine will dispense a properly mixed Jim Beam and soda.

"We've built a really solid craft cocktail program already, but we are raising the bar with the Montrose location," Touga said. "We'll have some new and more elevated Montrose-only cocktails, plus the addition of the highball machine."

Chef Ryan Hildebrand and business partner Chong Yi opened the first FM Kitchen & Bar in 2017. Hildebrand departed in 2019 and will open Hildee’s Dine-Inn in Wimberly later this year.

news-you-can-eat openings

the more things change

Houston's essential Jewish diner looks better than ever after refresh

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

It’s tricky to renovate a restaurant that’s as essential to its community as New York Deli. A staple of Houston’s Jewish community for almost 50 years, the tiny restaurant near Meyerland will serve as many as 400 people during a busy Sunday brunch.

Still, the time had come, as the tape on the deteriorating banquettes and peeling wallpaper illustrated. With the restaurant’s lease up for renewal, co-owner Michael Saghian saw an opportunity for some updates.

“I couldn’t be the new guy who ruined the place by moving it,” he tells CultureMap. “We worked out a deal with the landlord [to stay] and did a big refresh.”

The most noticeable change is the removal of the restaurant’s front door and vestibule. Instead, diners enter through the restaurant’s companion bagel shop. Separate entrances made sense when the bagel shop was certified kosher by local religious authorities, but now that designation only applies to the Bellaire location that opened in 2020. Not only is the new setup easier for people with mobility issues to navigate, it allows more light into the dining room, brightening the place considerably..

Saghian and co-owner Riana Sherman worked with interior designer Erin Hicks on the refresh. Tables, chairs, and banquettes are all new, but the color scheme remains the same. The process yielded 10 more seats, and the furniture is a little more durable, too.

“People have flipped chairs because they’re so lightweight,” Sherman says. “We got a sturdier chair.”

Behind the scenes, an expanded kitchen allows for the restaurant’s cooks to work faster and more efficiently. An additional egg cooker should cut down the amount of time people wait for their food to arrive.

“The kitchen had one of everything. Now we have two of everything. We can pump out a lot more food,” Saghian says.

Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers such as the “bagel girls,” a group of woman who’ve eaten breakfast at the restaurant since the ‘80s. A piece of old wallpaper has been framed and hung on the wall, too, as a nod to the space’s history.

New York Deli interior changes Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers.Photo by Sergio Trevino

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

Saghian says he suffered from sleepless nights as he worried about people’s reactions to the changes, but so far his customers have been effusive.

“It still feels like an old school diner,” Saghian says. “It has pieces you remember. Even the new stuff is old school.”

While the physical environment is new, the staff remains the same. To ensure he kept the same team of cooks and servers, Saghian paid their wages for the two weeks the restaurant was closed for renovations.

Even more importantly, the prices are the same. That’s something that will make even the oldest regulars happy.