Houston’s newest fine dining restaurant is ready to make its debut. Mack Allen’s will open this Monday, September 14.

Located on the first floor of the 28-story, 5POP office tower (4400 Post Oak Parkway), Mack Allen’s is the latest project from Houston restaurateur Mack McDonald, who’s known locally for his Creole restaurant The Rouxpour. At a hefty 16,000 square feet, the restaurant has the ability to host as many as 500 people at a time.

McDonald worked with Houston-based Montgomery Roth Architecture & Interior Design to create a space that includes a 2,000-square-foot lobby lounge, a U-shaped bar, three private dining rooms — including The Champagne Room that features its own bar and floor-to-ceiling windows — and a spacious garden patio that includes dozens of trees and a 10-foot fire and water feature.

Joining McDonald in the project are executive chef Carlos Andrade (The Rouxpour. Brennan’s of Houston, etc.) general manager Shaun Stockton (Turner’s, Vic & Anthony’s, etc.), pastry chef Karen Romero (Brennan’s, Underbelly), and wine director Anthony Salazar, who brings experience from three-star Michelin restaurant Eleven Madison Park (New York) and Houston’s Michelin-starred March.

Andrade and regional chef Manny Viveros have created an expansive, New American menu that begins with starters such as seared scallops in saffron cream, tuna crispy rice, escargot with bone marrow and garlic scampi sauce, lobster bisque, and smoked duck gumbo. The restaurant also offers sushi and other raw selections, led by chef Matthew Mui, a Kata Robata veteran who also operated the pioneering Muiishi Makirritos food truck.

Entree options start with steak, including domestic prime and Australian wagyu cuts. They’re joined by choices such as roasted Chilean seabass with jumbo lump crab, braised beef short ribs, rack of lamb with foie gras fondue and gnocchi, and pan-seared snapper with crab and yuzu risotto.

The restaurant will also be open for lunch, with lighter fare that includes a chargrilled pork belly bowl, steak salad, and Cobb salad. Plans for brunch will be announced at a later date.

Salazar oversees Mack Allen’s extensive beverage offerings, which include a 1,000-bottle wine cellar and premium spirits — including a rare bottle of Macallan from McDonald’s birth year of 1954.

“Mack Allen’s represents everything I’ve learned over the past 15 years in hospitality and the opportunity to take that experience to another level,” McDonald said in a statement. “My goal was to create the kind of restaurant that becomes part of people’s lives – a place where you can celebrate a milestone, close a deal, enjoy an incredible meal with friends or simply have a great night out. We’ve taken the spirit of the classic steakhouse and expanded it with exceptional seafood, sushi and a raw bar, all within a setting that feels distinctly our own.”

For now, Mack Allen’s is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday beginning at 11 am and dinner on Saturday from 5-10 pm. Valet parking and self-parking in the building’s garage are available. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

Photo by Michael Anthony

The Champagne Room features its own bar.