Still open

Update: Some Houston restaurants are open for business after Hurricane Harvey

Hay Merchant is open with a limited menu.

Photo by Julie Soefer/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Update: For a list of restaurants that are open on Tuesday, August 29, please see the newest update.

Houston has suffered unprecedented damage from the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, but the city is resilient as always. Flooding has limited mobility across the Houston area, but a few restaurants are open.

Keep in mind that most are running with limited menus and limited staff. Be mindful of conditions and don’t stray far from safety just to get a hot meal.

The following restaurants have posted to social media or contacted CultureMap to confirm that they’re open. We will update this list again at 3 pm and 6 pm. To be added, please email eric@culturemap.com.

Blacksmith - Coffee only, accepting donations that will be taken to the shelter at the George R. Brown.
~~Field & Tides~~ - Closed at 3 pm
Oui Banh Mi - Open until 4 pm, accepting donations that will be taken to the shelter at the George R. Brown.
~~Balls Out Burger~~ - Ran out of food
Siphon Coffee - Coffee and baked goods only
~~Paulie's~~ - Ran out of food.
Down House - Limited food menu, hot coffee, cold beer
Corner Bakery - Kirby & 59 location
Brisket House - Cypress location only
Brasil - Limited menu
Empire Cafe - Limited menu of breakfast dishes
Picos - Lunch and dinner, limited menu
Pizaro’s Montrose - Opens at 4 pm
Revelry on Richmond - Drinks only
Four Seasons Houston - Both Quattro and Bayou & Bottle are open
Revolve Kitchen at the Hotel Derek
85C Cafe & Bakery - Chinatown location only, bread and cakes only, no coffee bar
Retrospect Coffee Bar - Coffee only
Crawfish & Noodles - 12pm to 8 pm
Down the Street - Limited menu, but includes steak
Buffburger - Free meals for first responders
Cafe Brasil - Limited menu
~~Bosscat Kitchen & Libations~~ - No longer open
Grotto - Galleria-area location, limited menu. "The pizza oven is hot," per an employee.
Killen's Burgers - Limited menu

Update 3 pm:

Katz’s Deli - Both Montrose and Shenandoah locations
Elevation Burger
Harold’s Tap Room - Limited menu, closing at 7 pm.
~~Hay Merchant~~ - Closed after three hours
Aladdin Mediterranean Cuisine - Open until 8 pm.
Cool Runnings Jamaican Grill - Full menu
Al’s Quick Stop
El Burro & the Bull/Conservatory
Under the Volcano
~~Liberty Kitchen Bunker Hill~~ - Ran out of food
Pimlico Irish Pub - Drinks only
McDonald's - Check Facebook page for specific locations and times.
~~La Mexicana~~ - Ran out of food.
Jenni's Noodle House - Shepherd and Alabama location only

Update 6 pm

Liberty Kitchen - Heights location, limited menu
The Branch - Limited menu
Pondicheri - Limited menu
Porch Swing Pub
Komodo Pub
King’s BierHaus - One free beer per peron 6 pm to 8 pm. No food.
Vasos BBQ
WanFu Cafe - Take out only; no delivery available.

news-you-can-eat

a CultureMap Exclusive

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

openings news-you-can-eat the rice box