One of America’s top Mexican chefs is opening his third Houston restaurant. dLeña, a live-fire concept from chef Richard Sandoval, will open at The Greenleigh hotel in spring 2027.
Known locally for Bayou & Bottle and Toro Toro, the lobby bar and pan-Latin steakhouse at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston, Richard Sandoval Hospitality operates more than 60 restaurants in the United States as well as international markets including Canada, Mexico, the Middle East, and North Africa. Houston will be the second location of dLeña, a concept that Sandoval developed with his son Giancarlo and daughter Isabella, where many of the dishes are cooked on a wood-fired grill.
The menu will include dishes such as hamachi ceviche with achiote leche de tigre; a range of tacos, including a shrimp taco on a jicama tortilla with pickled onion and chipotle aioli; bone marrow and tuna chicharrón; and 14-ounce, 30-day dry-aged ribeye with herb wagyu butter and chimichurri.
In addition to cooking meats and vegetables over live fire, the restaurant puts an emphasis on presentation. Select dishes will be flamed tableside with tequila, while others will be served on a hot rock.
Similar to Toro Toro, dLeña’s cocktail program will be centered around tequila and mezcal, with more than 300 spirits available. Diners will be able to taste them in cocktails and tasting flights.
The restaurant will be divided into a main dining room, fireside lounge, private dining room, and outdoor patio. Overall, it’s expected to seat about 120 people indoor and 15 outside. Design details include a chef’s table, vaulted ceilings, pecan and mesquite installations, ancestral art, and multi-tiered chandeliers.
“My hope is for our Houston guests to experience Mexico through fire and smoke. Cooking over wood fire, charring ingredients, and roasting over an open flame are techniques deeply rooted in Mexican culinary tradition,” Sandoval said in a statement. “At dLeña, we build on those traditions, using fire to bring out the natural sweetness of vegetables, deepen the flavor of chiles and create char and texture in meats and seafood. Fire touches nearly every part of the menu, but always with purpose. It’s about taking an ancient way of cooking and showing how exciting and relevant it can still be today.”
Located in the former Hotel Derek space at the intersection of Westheimer Rd. and 610, the Greenleigh will offer 299 rooms when it opens next year. The hotel will be part of the Marriott Autograph Collection. In addition to dLeña, it is also expected to offer a rooftop lounge called Highgrass PaperCity reports.
