toro toro time

Downtown's newest luxury steakhouse reveals hotly anticipated opening date

Toro Toro Four Seasons Houston dinner spread

Toro Toro pairs steaks with a selection of shareable dishes.

Courtesy of Four Seasons Houston

Downtown's newest luxurious steakhouse debuts this weekend. Toro Toro opens inside the Four Seasons Hotel this Saturday, October 30.

As CultureMap has previously reported, chef Richard Sandoval, known as the "Father of Modern Mexican Cuisine," developed Toro Toro to offer a pan-Latin American perspective on the traditional steakhouse. Chef de cuisine Rafael Villalpando brings an impressive resume to his role, including time at the Rosewood Hotel in San Miguel de Allende, the J.W. Marriott in San Antonio, and Toro Toro's Fort Worth location.

Inspired by Brazilian-style rodizio restaurants, the menu features a selection of steaks and wild game dishes along with shareable dishes such as empanadas, tacos, and ceviche. Instead of creamed spinach and shrimp cocktail served at traditional, American-style steakhouses, diners will find dishes inspired by Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian), Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian), Mexican, and Brazilian cuisine.

A meal may start with shareables such as tuna Nikkei ceviche, lomo saltado empanadas, or grilled octopus. Entree options include individual steak and seafood dishes or large format platters

Signature items include a 52-ounce mezcal-flambéed Prime tomahawk steak that's presented tableside and the Churrasco Mixed Grill Skewer that offers Brazilian-style picanha steak, ribeye, lamb chops, Texas antelope, and more.

Beverage options include an extensive selection of wines from Latin America and spins on Latin American cocktails including the Mercado Margarita with hibiscus-rosemary foam or the Negroni Norte with El Silencio Mezcal, Campari and carpano antica.

Sandoval is no stranger to Houston. The chef, who operates over 50 restaurants worldwide, developed Bayou & Bottle for the Four Seasons. Houston's Toro Toro will be Sandoval's sixth restaurant in Texas.

“The Four Seasons always signifies excellence and offers distinctive experiences in each city," Sandoval said in a statement. "Toro Toro Houston will be a destination that defines vibrancy through its flavors and Houston’s rich culinary, sports and arts and entertainment culture.”

To transform the former Quattro space into Toro Toro, the Four Seasons worked with New York-based design firm Meyer Davis. Elements include a stone bar near the restaurant's entrance, marble fireplaces, and distressed blue and saddle leather accents. The restaurant also includes a 2,700-square-foot private event space.

"This is a tremendous opportunity to usher in a new era for dynamic downtown experiences in Houston with the addition of a world-class, global steakhouse led by chef Richard Sandoval and our design team Meyer Davis," Four Seasons Hotel Houston general manager Tom Segesta said. "After the success of Sandoval’s Bayou & Bottle’s addition in 2017 during the Houston Super Bowl, now, it is equally fitting to welcome Houstonians and global travelers alike to Toro Toro while the Houston Astros are playing in the World Series."

Toro Toro will be open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday beginning at 5:30 pm. Lunch and weekend brunch service will follow in the coming weeks.

chefs hotels news-you-can-eat openings

what's on tap

Dough-obsessed pizzeria picks River Oaks for first Houston location

Courtesy of Pie Tap

A Dallas pizzeria known for its artisanal dough is coming to Houston. Pie Tap will open its first Bayou City outpost in June.

Located next to Fielding’s River Oaks in the Novel Residences luxury apartment building, Pie Tap is an endeavor from Dallas restaurateur Rich Hicks and Italian chef Giovanni Mauro. The chef is responsible for the restaurant’s pizza dough, which uses a mother starter and a 96-hour fermentation process that uses natural yeast to achieve a good balance of crunch and chew.

"Without great dough, you can't have great pizza," Mauro told CultureMap Dallas when the first location opened in 2016. "The idea that the crust is simply a vehicle for toppings is the wrong approach. There has to be a perfect balance of sauce and topping, but you have to have a commitment to the dough. If dough is everything it should be, the pizza is stellar."

Using Italian flour and natural yeast are essential components of the dough’s flavor, Mauro added.

"It's the kind of dough our great-grandparents used to eat," he says. "It's a very natural, slow process. We don't use any commercial yeasts. We started a 'mother dough' with a starter that's proprietary to us. It's a five-day process, an absolute minimum of 96 hours, from when we start to when we put the pizza on the plate."

The restaurant uses that dough to create pizzas that include classics like a margherita, pepperoni, and veggie. Some of the more creative options include the Prosciutto (topped with dates, pistachio, arugula, cheese, and balsamic) and the Salami (calabrese salami, fennel sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and mozzarella).

In addition to pizza, the restaurant touts its rotisserie chicken, which is served both as a half bird with mashed cauliflower and vegetables and as part of sandwiches, pastas, and salads. Other pastas include pappardelle bolognese, ricotta gnocchi, and the on-trend rigatoni in spicy vodka sauce.

Having covered “pie,” let’s turn to the “tap” portion of the restaurant’s name. The bar program starts with 30 beers and wines on tap. They’re joined by cocktails, more wines by-the-glass, and non-alcoholic options. Taken together, it’s a compelling package that earned Best New Restaurant in the 2017 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards.

“Our talented and dedicated team has been anxiously awaiting this exciting entrance to the Houston market as it is the epitome of all things interesting in food and culture and one of the friendliest and most diverse cities in the U.S. When it comes to our brand, if it is not exceptional, it is unacceptable,” Hicks said in a statement. “We are proud that we have one of the most clean, healthy, and delicious artisan pizzas you can enjoy out there because it has no preservatives, fillers, or additives.”

Pie Tap will be open for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and weekend brunch.

Courtesy of Pie Tap

That's what crust looks like when its dough is fermented for 96 hours.

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