Major Restaurant Closes

Katsuya suddenly closes to make way for a hot new local restaurant

Katsuya — the hot sushi restaurant in West Ave that stood out as a favorite of pro athletes and scene setters alike — has closed, clearing the way for another high-end restaurant to take over its coveted space.

Sources tell CultureMap that the shuttering has nothing to do with the dramatic restaurant's culinary success — the swanky LA-import didn't lack buzz or crowds. Instead the restaurant is closing because of disagreements between its partners. This move was apparently in the works for months.

Master sushi chef Katsuya Uechi — who built the celebrity-beloved sushi concept in LA, Miami and San Diego — no longer wanted to be involved with the Houston project, according to our sources. Instead, the local GEG Group involved in Katsuya has turned to Korean chef Donald Chang — the man behind Uptown Sushi, Nara and Bluefin — to helm a new restaurant in the space.

Katsuya's most striking features — its much buzzed over Philippe Starck design — will get a complete makeover from architect Isaac Preminger.

A new version of Nara is now slated to open in the Katsuya spot this fall.

“We’ve been waiting for the right time to do this,” Chang said in a statement. “We’ve seen restaurants around town feature one or two Korean items on their menu. I want to give the full inspired menu while blending it with my Japanese cooking background to create an experience like none other in this city.”

Chang grew up in Seoul, South Korea and he's been in Houston for 37 years.

Katsuya's most striking features — its much buzzed over Philippe Starck design — will get a complete makeover from architect Isaac Preminger. The goal is to make the restaurant a more comfortable space, one where the chefs will be put on center stage and be visible to diners. An outdoor patio and a Bun Bar also will be created.

The dramatics aren't completely going away either. A large Sakura tree made from petrified wood and hand-made pink silk leaves will greet diners at Nara's entrance.

But it's still quite a change from Katsuya.

The LA import had a hype-filled opening in West Ave last year. Starck laid out its interior like a bento box to create interlocking private dining spaces, a complement to the sushi and robata offerings that promised to be Japanese cuisine shaped for an American palate.

With Chang, the emphasis could be returning more to the food rather than the scene.

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NYT best dishes

Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen is the only Houston restaurant on either list.

The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025. Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)
Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)

Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen Konafa Naama Don't skip dessert at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen.KSayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

Already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appetit, Krishna singles out a honeybun at Mercado Sin Nombre. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” she writes.

The picadillo mac and cheese at 2M Smokehouse showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue. “Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

The New York Times regularly shines its spotlight on Texas restaurants, In September, it named four establishments — ChòpnBlọk (Houston), Isidore (San Antonio), Lao’d Bar (Austin), and P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles (Austin) — to its list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

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