Common Bond debuts downtown

Common Bond's new brasserie elevates downtown dining with sweet treats and dinner service

Houston’s newest Common Bond debuts downtown this week. Located in the Bank of America tower (800 Capitol St.), it’s the growing company’s first brasserie location.

After being delayed when the pandemic disrupted downtown's regular crowds of office workers and event attendees, the restaurant will be open for lunch with the same bistro menu found at the other locations beginning today (Tuesday, September 28), along with a grab-and-go bakery section fully stocked with Common Bond’s signature pastries, breads, and sweets that's available for breakfast and lunch. The brasserie’s dinner menu starts Tuesday, October 5 with bistro breakfast and happy hour menus to debut in the coming weeks.

Developed by executive chef Jason Gould, president Chris Fannin, and owner George Joseph, the brasserie offers a more elevated experience than Common Bond’s fast casual bistro locations. That starts with full service at dinner, which allows for a more traditional, coursed meal.

Gould’s menu takes a similarly elevated approach by adding dishes that wouldn’t work in a fast casual setting. For example, diners may begin their meal with a seafood tower that includes freshly shucked oysters, scallop crudo, crab fingers, and a poached lobster tail or a smoked duck rillette. Entree options include roasted rack of lamb, seared Gulf fish, and a sous vide beef tenderloin.

All of which leads to an obvious question: does this mean Gould is recreating some of the fare he served at Gravitas, the pioneering Houston restaurant that closed in 2012?

“It’s hard not to fall back onto my roots, but I have tried to be a little bit difference, a little more diverse,” Gould says. “There’s still elements of it, because it still bistro/brasserie food, which is what Gravitas was. Hopefully it’s a little bit familiar to people who know my food.”

Similarly, executive pastry chef David Berg has developed a handful of new desserts that will be unique to the brasserie, including a chocolate cake and an apple galette.

Fannin has sourced high end wines that will be poured by the glass from an enomatic wine system that keeps them fresh. Expect labels like Caymus, Duckhorn, Kosta Browne, and DuMOL.

“You can taste really good wine without having to buy a bottle,” Gould says. “I’m looking forward to tasting some of them myself.”

Roasted rack of lamb.

Photo by Andrew Hemingway

Roasted rack of lamb.

news-you-can-eat chefs openings downtown

All-day cafe with boutique hotel vibes coming to downtown Houston

Rendering courtesy of Rebees

Lila's is the newest restaurant to arrive at GreenStreet, the three-block downtown complex.

Downtown Houston is adding a new restaurant to its roster with Lila’s at GreenStreet. Slated to open this fall, Lila’s is envisioned as an all-day New American restaurant that starts the day with coffee and breakfast and ends with dinner and cocktails.

Located at 1201 Fannin Street, Lila's occupies a 5,100-square-foot space in the former lobby of the office tower, with its entrance tucked into an alleyway between McCormick & Schmick’s and The Palm. The restaurant aims to capture the experience of a boutique hotel, without the hassle of overnight guests.

“We’ve spent years thinking about how hospitality can fundamentally change the experience of a place,” Matt Ragan, chief hospitality officer for Rebees, said in a statement. “With Lila’s, we’re taking the level of service, attention to detail, and sense of welcome you expect from a great boutique hotel and applying it to an everyday restaurant. We want someone grabbing coffee before work, meeting a client for lunch or settling in for dinner and drinks to feel equally at home.”

Executive chef Garee Battad will lead the kitchen, drawing on his two decades of experience largely at hotel restaurants such as Nobu at Hotel Crescent Court and Charlie Palmer at The Joule Dallas. His most recent position was as executive chef at Azumi, the elevated Japanese restaurant in River Oaks District.

“Some of the most memorable restaurants where I’ve worked have been gathering places inside great hotels, and that’s the spirit and sense of place we’re bringing to Lila’s,” Battad said. “We want every dish to feel familiar yet unexpected.”

Behind the bar, mixologist Zach Smigiel is crafting an ingredient-forward cocktail program with a focus on seasonal flavors, complemented by a wine list, local beers, and nonalcoholic beverages.

The eatery is the latest endeavor by Rebees, the Houston-based hospitality management firm behind GreenStreet, and its second venture into the culinary world. Its first was Dallas restaurant Billy Can Can, led by executive chef and partner Matt Ford, who will also develop Lila’s menu alongside Battad. Lila’s is named after a French Bulldog owned by Rebees founder Tristan Simon.

This is the hospitality firm’s second endeavor into the culinary world, joining its Dallas restaurant Billy Can Can, led by executive chef and partner Matt Ford. Ford will also be developing Lila’s menu alongside Battad.

Tenants of GreenStreet, the three-block, mixed-use development, will be able to order meals and drinks from Lila’s directly to their offices through a proprietary app.

Rendering courtesy of Rebees

Lila's is the newest restaurant to arrive at GreenStreet, the three-block downtown complex.