Best New Restaurant

16 best new Houston restaurants compete for coveted Tastemakers title

The winners for nine of the 10 categories in the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are selected by our judges’ panel of restaurant industry experts. However, Best New Restaurant is different.

This category gives CultureMap readers the chance to weigh in on their favorites via a bracket-style, head-to-head tournament that pits 16 restaurants against each other until only one remains. The first round of voting runs July 1-5, followed by rounds two and three from July 6-10 and 11-15, respectively. Two restaurants will compete for the title from July 16-20.

People may vote once per matchup per day. The results are closely monitored for cheating and other shenanigans, so don’t try any funny business to game the results. Voting is open now.

Considering our matchups feature a wide range of dining experiences — everything from some of Houston’s most luxurious dining rooms to casual, come-as-you-are spots — along with serious culinary talent, expect every contest to be close.

Who will win? Find out July 22 at the Tastemaker Awards party. We’ll dine on bites from this year’s nominated restaurants before emcee Bun B reveals the winners. Buy tickets now.

Acadian Coast vs. Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House
Despite being separated by roughly 40 miles, these restaurants have quite a bit in common. Both feature talented up-and-coming chefs — Joe Cervantez at Pier 6 and Kenneth Hamilton at Acadian Coast — along with an extensive selection of Gulf Coast seafood that’s anchored by oysters served raw, roasted, and fried. Both restaurants also have offer an extensive selection of cocktails to pair with their seafood. While Acadian Coast features one of the city’s best new patios, Pier 6’s bayside setting that looks onto the water helps justify the drive to San Leon.

Roots vs. Tiny Champions
This matchup features two establishments vying for the title of the best new restaurant to open in the East End. At Roots, chef JD Fouche channels his experiences at restaurants like Riel and Reef to create Gulf Coast-inspired small plates that pair with the 50-plus wines on tap. Tiny Champions takes all the things people like about Nancy’s Hustle — the first-rate service, the wine list built around ciders and natural wines, the come-as-you-are vibe — and applies it to an eclectic menu of pizza, pasta, and vegetable-driven small plates. Dishes like rabbit boudin and a dessert that combines foie gras, peanut butter, and jelly demonstrate that Fouche isn’t afraid to push the envelope, but only Tiny Champions is bold enough to put pineapple on pizza in a way that’s earned nearly universal acclaim.

Bludorn vs. Ostia
Both of these restaurants are home to chefs who trained at some of New York City’s best restaurants: Cafe Boulud for Bludorn chef-owner Aaron Bludorn and Jonathan Waxman’s legendary Barbuto for Osita’s Travis McShane. Although both restaurants are located in Montrose, their styles couldn’t be more different. Bludorn feels likes a party with groups of family and friends tucking into trays of oysters and the towering lobster pot pie. Ostia has a more homey atmosphere that’s anchored by housemade pastas and its peerless roast chicken with salsa verde.

Killen's vs. Xin Chao
Located just minutes from each other along Washington Avenue, these two restaurants put a modern twist on Texas comfort food. At Killen’s, chef-owner Ronnie Killen pairs the fried chicken and chicken fried steak that have long been part of his repertoire with new tastes such as chicken pot pie, chicken and biscuits, and a really excellent German chocolate cake. Chefs Christine Ha and Tony Nguyen channeled their favorite childhood dishes to create Xin Chao’s menu, but they’ve stepped up familiar Vietnamese dishes with preparations that utilize locally sourced ingredients and a willingness to incorporate with smoked meat.

Musaafer vs. Street to Kitchen
In terms of decor, these two restaurants couldn’t be more different. Musaafer boasts one of the city’s most opulent dining rooms, while Street to Kitchen has one of its most humble. Where they’re similar is that both restaurant’s chefs — Musaafer’s Mayank Istwal and Street to Kitchen’s Benchawan Painter — take inspiration from a combination of childhood memories and contemporary fare to bring the flavors of their respective homelands to hungry Houstonians. While anyone would be impressed by Musaafer’s signature butter chicken experience (especially when dining in its hall of mirrors), those who’ve journeyed to the East End for Painter’s larb know she’s serving some impressive dishes of her own.

Belly of the Beast vs. 93 'Til
Admittedly, a Mexican restaurant in Spring and a Japanese-inspired record bar in Montrose may not seem to have much in common, but both of these establishments feature chefs with solid pedigrees — Belly of the Beast’s Thomas Bille worked at some of Los Angeles’ best restaurants while 93 ‘Til chefs Gary Ly and Lung Ly bring extensive experience from New York, Houston, and beyond — who are stepping out on their own for the first time. While its tempting to order each menu’s most trendy dish, which is birria tacos at Belly of the Beast and a fried chicken sandwich at 93 ‘Til, those who explore more broadly will be wowed by the diversity of each chef’s cuisine. While Belly of the Beast recently closed to seek out a better location, 93 ‘Til is writing a new story for a space many had considered “cursed.”

Turner's vs. March
This matchup features two of Houston’s most luxurious restaurants. Turner’s blends a throwback menu that includes dishes such as lobster Thermidore, artichoke soup, and Dover sole with an ultra-posh setting and plenty of tableside service touches. Chef Felipe Riccio utilizes everything he knows about Mediterranean cuisine into March’s nightly tasting menus, which are served with a refined level of service that's consistent with restaurants that earn Michelin stars. While it’s hard to beat the whimsy of Turner’s bar menu that features a wagyu hot dog and pigs in a blanket, March’s 11,000 bottle wine cellar guarantees diners will always have the perfect pairing.

Degust vs. Hidden Omakase
This round’s final matchup features two tasting menu restaurants. At Degust, chef-owner Brandon Silva blends his Mexican heritage, his travels across Europe, and his time at restaurants like Uchi and Peche to create a menu that draws upon a wide range of influences. Chef Niki Vongthong draws upon her experiences at Uchi and Aqui (among others) to create a Japanese-inspired, 12-course experience that features the expected toro and wagyu dressed up with housemade sauces and other condiments. Both meals feature counter-style seating that puts the chefs on stage as they prepare each course, but it will be up to voters to determine which restaurant moves on to round two.

-----

The 2021 Best New Restaurant Award is presented by Savve.

Bludorn recently added brunch to its offerings.

Photo by Caroline Fontenot

Bludorn recently added brunch to its offerings.

tastemakers

Trend News

America's hottest food trend is going bananas in Houston

Photo by Vinn Koonyosying on Unsplash

Banana dessert and latte.

After centuries of being taken for granted, the everyday banana is having its moment. This tropical fruit, long prized for its rugged built-in packaging, has emerged on the foodie front as the viral It Flavor, surfacing in some unexpected food and drink, and acquiring the sacred ranking of "buzzy."

In the past two years, banana has risen from lunchbox staple to starring role in upscale desserts, cocktails, and even coffee drinks. That ascent just officially peaked with its debut as a Starbucks flavor for fall '26, appearing in two beverages inspired by freshly baked banana bread: Iced Banana Bread Latte and Iced Banana Bread Chai, available through the fall season and beyond.

When you've scored a flavor designation from Starbucks, you have arrived — and will be embraced by every other coffee chain, from banana bread cold brew at 7 Brew to banana cold foam at PJ's Coffee of New Orleans to banana cold foam at Dunkin'.

According to menu research company Technomic, banana-flavored specials have surged by 70 percent in 2026. Banana bread is being hailed as an “extra hot” trend; after steadily rising since 2024, the flavor has surpassed pumpkin spice over the last two years in online searches.

Old school banana
Banana is hardly new to the dessert world, ruling in classics like bananas Foster, banana bread, banana pancakes, and banana pudding — a dessert that's been championed by Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn, whose passion for the pudding has helped get it on the menu of pretty much every barbecue restaurant across Texas.

"I love banana pudding because of the payoff it provides for such a simple recipe," Vaughn says. "Banana pudding requires just three basic elements: The pudding, fresh banana slices, and some sort of cookie, most popularly Nilla wafers. Layer them in the right order, and you'll get layers of textural variation and different intensities of sweetness from each layer."

Vaughn acknowledges that most barbecue joints have added banana pudding.

"Yes, the popularity of banana pudding has grown a bit, but more importantly the banana pudding gets greater attention from barbecue fans and the pitmasters who make it," he says. "The artificial flavors of boxed banana-flavored pudding are nearly extinct, thankfully, so the flavor comes from real bananas."

Using "better" banana is a big factor in its newfound popularity, says chef Casey La Rue, co-founder of La Rue Doughnuts in Dallas and Frisco. La Rue, who worked in top fine-dining restaurants for years, has witnessed the evolution of banana from not hot to ultra hot first-hand.

“Banana used to be a difficult flavor because people associated it with artificial candy, overly sweet syrups, and that fake-banana taste," La Rue says. "Now chefs and coffee shops are using real banana, roasted banana, and more balanced combinations with coffee, caramel, chocolate, and spice."

"It still feels nostalgic and familiar, but the flavor is finally being treated with more restraint and sophistication," he says. "People didn’t suddenly start liking banana — they started getting better versions of it.”

Terrible Love Trrble Latter Terrible Love's Trrble Latte adds banana and chocolate syrups, whipped cream, and crumbled Nilla Wafers. Photo courtesy of Terrible Love

Banana in coffee
Another major influence behind the boffo banana comes from the growing popularity in the U.S. of Asian cuisine — tied specifically to banana-flavored milk, an iconic drink introduced by Korean food & beverage company Binggrae in 1974. Sold in a cute little bottle, it's a childhood staple for generations of Koreans, who were the first to add banana as a flavor to coffee drinks — inspiring Starbucks as well as Coffee Mate and Califa Farms, who both just came out with banana-flavored coffee creamers.

Banana in coffee is now everywhere. Every coffee shop across Texas has a banana latte of some kind: Cafe Duro in Dallas, Smoking Tiger Korean bakery in Carrollton, Bruvana Coffee House in Flower Mound. Cafe Carola, new in Houston, serves a banana bread latte with their own house-made banana purée. Bright Coffee in San Antonio does a popular banana milk latte with espresso and banana sauce they make in house. Terrible Love in Austin features banana in its signature Trrbl Latte, with banana & chocolate syrups, whipped cream, and Nilla wafer crumbles. Matcha shops like Kissa Matcha in Grand Prairie are on the bandwagon, adding banana to their matcha lattes.

banana sundae hai hospitality hai for her Banana sundae from Uchi and Uchiko. Photo by Hai Hospitality

Banana manana
The banana latte trend has spawned a banana rebound in other food groups, like the new banana bread pudding M&Ms and the banana-Nutella bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes. Sonic is all in with a banana pudding shake, banana-pudding soft-serve (blended with vanilla wafer crumbles), and banana pudding cream slush, combining vanilla soft serve with banana flavor and ice.

Habaneros Fresh Mex Cantina in Fort Worth just added banana pudding soft serve; owner Lawrence Caldwell says it's already a smash hit. Austin plant-based restaurant Fabrik recently featured banana creatively in its summer menu with a banana miso mousse with roasted banana compote. Hai Hospitality — whose restaurants Uchi and Uchiko have always been "fruit-forward" — recently whipped up a banana sundae for a charity event in Houston combining banana sorbet with coconut, caramel, plantains, and brûléed banana.

La Rue Doughnuts has had banana on the menu for three months in a row; their September menu features a chocolate-banana-almond croissant, and in August, they did a banana cream pie doughnut.

"My whole life, guests have said they hated banana desserts," La Rue says. "If guests saw a menu prior to dinner and it had banana, they'd request a different dessert. Now, the No. 1 selling items at our shops are all banana."

banana flavor coffee trends

Best New Restaurant

16 best new Houston restaurants compete for coveted Tastemakers title

Bludorn recently added brunch to its offerings.

Trend News

America's hottest food trend is going bananas in Houston

Houston chef takes flight with new Gulf Coast seafood spot in the Heights

Affordable Texas burger joint reaches major milestone for inner loop store

Award-winning Houston smash burger restaurant sets Katy opening date