ready. set. throw.

Lavish London gaming club darts into Houston with games, cocktails, and choice eats, and open date

"Getting better at darts" seems like an improbable new year's resolution, but, just in case, a new-to-Houston entertainment venue will be able to help fulfill that goal. Flight Club will open its first Houston location on January 14, 2022.

Founded in London in 2015, Flight Club offers a dart-based version of the social gaming concepts that are opening across the city. Dubbed "Social Darts," Flight Club upgrades the classic darts experience with technology, a posh interior, and a focus on serving higher quality food and cocktails.

Different game styles facilitate group play. The company touts that more than 160 million darts have been thrown by more than 2 million people since 2015.

Details of the retro-inspired design include plush booths, semi-private game areas, and the ability to host groups from six to 400 people. Executive chef Sean Brown's menu will feature shareable items such as ahi tuna tacos and al pastor skewers.

Joining outposts in Chicago and Boston, Houston's location will occupy 8,500 square feet at Regent Square, the mixed-use development currently under construction near Montrose at the corner of Dunlavy and West Dallas. It will join two restaurants from chef Chris Shepherd: a reimagined version of his Georgia James steakhouse and a second concept that has yet to be announced.

To prepare for its Houston opening, the company invited influencers such as Samantha Huang, Julia Wang, and Houston Hot Spots' bloggers Matt Fiala and Marissa Ha to the Chicago location.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Julia Wang (@juliawang_htx)

“We’ve built our concept on creating a one-of-a-kind experience that brings people together over laughs, delicious food, refreshing cocktails and yes, a bit of friendly competition,” says Alan Cichon, U.S. president of Flight Club owner State of Play. “We recognize Houston as one of the country’s greatest and most diverse culinary cities, and we’re excited to settle ourselves within its vibrant food and drink landscape.”

Flight Club opens in January.

Courtesy of Flight Club

Flight Club opens in January.

openings cocktails

fit to print

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

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

undefined

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.

news-you-can-eat media