Where You Need To Eat

Where to eat right now: 10 cool, must-try restaurants for August

August is here! Need a lunch or dinner recommendation? Here’s where you should eat right now in Houston.

Camerata
Camerata, the new wine bar from Paul Petronella, has officially opened and is racking up fans by the truckload. Grab a spot at the community table for a glass of wine, or pull up a seat at the bar for a blind tasting. Hungry? No problem. Order up a salumi plate or a selection of cheeses from the Houston Dairymaids, or just run next door for some good eats at Paulie’s.

Fusion Taco
Houston loves a good taco, and the new Fusion Taco aims to satisfy. Located in downtown’s burgeoning Market Square, Fusion offers a small variety of tacos, each with fabulous meats and creative sauces and slaws. Don’t miss the tempura shrimp taco or the Chinese BBQ pork. There’s also a handful of other options — sandwiches, salads, and quesadillas. We recommend dropping by for Happy Hour from 3-7 p.m.

Third Coast
The owners of Stick It Truck have converted their mobile unit to the new Third Coast Truck, offering fantastically awesome, Houston-inspired steak sandwiches. All sandwiches start with thin-sliced ribeye and Slow Dough bread, and then add culturally inspired toppings. You might try the El Guapo (with chilaquiles, queso fresco, and cilantro) or the Parthenomnom (with Feta, Grecian pico, and tzatziki).

Sandy Witch
Houston needs an over-the-top sandwich shop, and now we have one in Sandy Witch, now open within Grand Prize Bar. Sandy Witch comes to us from the owners of the well-received Pi Pizza Truck, and the menu is similarly split between classics (like the meatball sub or chicken parm) and creatives (like the chana masala or braised short rib). Or if the sammiches are too daunting, try the smart range of bar snacks.

D&T Drive Inn
Beer lovers are flocking to the new D&T Drive Inn (on Enid and Cavalcade) in the Heights for its fabulous line-up of taps. And just last month they launched a full menu from Down House chef Benjy Mason — sandwiches, snacks, and meat/cheese plates.

Revival Market
Revival Market is the place to be this summer… In addition to a fab line-up of summer meats and dishes (we love the beet sandwich), Revival now offers full breakfast service every day. (Don’t worry—their rotating Saturday breakfasts are still firmly intact.) Grab an iced latte at the coffee counter, check the cooler for some Fat Cat ice cream, or grab a Fluff Bake Bar treat from the pastry counter.

Houston Food Park
Food truck lovers rejoice! The new Houston Food Park is now open on St. Emanuel, just east of downtown. The park brings together multiple vendors — like Pho-Jita, Churrasco to Go, Muiishi Makirritos, Yummy'z Kitchen, Coreanos, and dozens more — for easy access and fun food. The space can accommodate eight or nine food trucks at a time, ensuring a nice variety. Stop by lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Bellissimo
We love Bellissimo for its creative Italian food with a Mexican flair — think jalapeno fettuccine, pastas with chorizo, and a sprinkle of cilantro on your pizza. They’ve already outgrown their funky space on Studewood, though, and moved to a larger location on Airline to better accommodate the crowds. Don’t worry — the appealing menu and friendly service are still gloriously in place.

A donut shop old or new
Donuts seem to be Houston’s dessert du jour these days. River Oaks Donuts opened in June to much fanfare, Pena’s Donut Heaven in Pearland made headlines with its mock-cronut “dosant,” and two new Dunkin' Donuts opened last month (with another set to open next week). But can any of them live up to Shipley’s, our hometown golden standard? Perhaps this is the time for a blind taste test.

Somewhere for Houston Restaurant Weeks
This annual meal deal is a nice opportunity to try restaurants that might be too spendy for your usual budget. This year’s list features outstanding names like Eleven XI, Coppa, Kata Robata, and La Casa del Caballo, plus scores of others. Each offers a special menu with a portion of each meal’s cost going to the Houston Food Bank. This year’s prices vary among restaurants, so be sure to check the menus on the official website before you choose.

Need more recs? Try our where to eat right now lists from previous months:

January
February
March
April
May
June

Houston loves a good taco, and the new Fusion Taco aims to satisfy.

Photo by Joel Luks

Houston loves a good taco, and the new Fusion Taco aims to satisfy.

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What's Eric Eating Episodes 459 and 460

Meet the men behind Houston's most under-the-radar Italian restaurant

Courtesy of Mimo

Chef Fernando Rios and sommelier Mike Sammons are this week's guests.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” sommelier Mike Sammons and chef Fernando Rios join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Mimo, their Italian restaurant in the East End. The duo, whose history goes back to when they worked together at iconic Houston fine dining restaurant Da Marco, opened Mimo in 2023.

The conversation begins with Rios explaining the progression of a career that took him from Backstreet Cafe to Da Marco to Weights + Measures, where he worked as the chef de cuisine while Sammons was a partner who oversaw the beverage program. Since they both live in the East End, they saw an opportunity to team up by claiming the former Kanomwan space on Telephone Rd.

They discuss several aspects of the restaurant’s business, including Rios’ changes to the menu, the evolution of Mimo’s wine list, and how its been received by residents of the East End. A digression about Da Marco prompts Sandler to ask about its chef-owner Marco Wiles, who generally stays out of the media spotlight. Sammons shares that Wiles is the only chef or restaurateur who makes him nervous when he dines at Mimo.

“He’s really not forgiving about things. This is very consistent with the Italian way of looking at things — there’s a right way to do things and that’s it. If it isn’t done that way, it’s wrong. A lot of my other mentors and friends can be more forgiving, but the standards Marco has kept for years has motivated me,” Sammons says.

“He’s still the same way,” Rios adds. “That was insane to me. I thought, you get older, you’d be more relaxed, but the way he looks at you makes you nervous. Working in the kitchen, there was times he’d throw all my stuff away and say ‘start over.’”

Was he right, Sandler asks.

“Absolutely, yes. He was right all the time. I just think he was one of the best to do it,” Rios affirms.

Listen to the full interview to hear both men discuss the one thing they’re most proud of about Mimo. They also discuss their plans for the future.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Houston’s finalists in this year’s James Beard Awards, the owners of Jūn adding a daytime concept called Third Place, and Aaron Bludorn promoting chef Allie Pena to be Bludorn’s new executive chef.

In the restaurant of the week segment, Sandler and Clarkson visit Camaraderie, chef Shawn Gawle’s new restaurant in the Heights. They share their thoughts on the restaurant’s prix fixe menu, as well as its decor and beverage offerings.

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