Aaron Bludorn's next restaurant

Red-hot restaurateur Aaron Bludorn cooking up new Houston spot

Chefif Mbjodi Victoria Pappas Aaron Bludorn Rice Village

Chefif Mbjodi, Victoria Pappas Bludorn, and Aaron Bludorn are coming to Rice Village.

Photo by Michael Anthony

Looks like chef Aaron Bludorn's motto is "strike while the iron is hot." The chef, whose restaurant Bludorn has been among the Houston's hottest dining destinations since it opened last fall, will open a new concept in Rice Village.

Slated to open next summer, the still unnamed restaurant will be located in the former Politan Row space at 2445 Times Blvd. Other details are light. Bludorn, who will partner with his wife, Victoria Pappas Bludorn, and Bludorn general manager Cherif Mbodji on the project, isn't ready to reveal what type of food he plans to serve at the new spot.

“From the moment we decided to relocate to Houston from New York, our goal was to open multiple concepts, and the opportunities we knew the city would provide to do that was key in choosing the Bayou City over other locations to plant roots,” Aaron Bludorn said in a statement. “We are so thankful for the unwavering support of a phenomenal team, who have created something incredibly special with Bludorn – against the odds of the pandemic – allowing us to take this next exciting step due to its success.”

Chef Bludorn brought an impressive resume to his first solo project. Prior to moving to Houston, he worked as executive chef at New York's Café Boulud, which holds one Michelin star. He also competed on The Final Table, a cooking show on Netflix.

Bludorn restaurant has quickly become a local favorite for its classic, French-inspired fare and welcoming atmosphere. Powered by dishes such as short ravioli, tarte flambée, and baked Alaska, any meal there feels like a special occasion.

Rice Village has recently been invigorated with a few new dining options, including Clark Cooper Concept's luxurious seafood restaurant Gratify, Israeli-inspired bakery Badolina, and the expanded Local Foods Market. Next year will see the arrival of Badolina's sister concept Hamsa, a modern Israeli restaurant from the owners of popular steakhouse Doris Metropolitan.

“Rice Village is home to some of the most diverse dining offerings in Houston, and the addition of a Bludorn concept will further elevate our culinary culture,” said Morgan Lera, investment manager of Rice Management Company, which owns Rice Village. “This chef-driven concept will bring great energy to an incredible corner in the Village with its original menu offerings and expansive outdoor patio space.”

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

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Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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