Black Friday Dining Deals

14 best Houston restaurant deals to wine and dine on Black Friday

Montrose Cheese & Wine bottles on a shelf

Get 20-percent off wine this weekend at Montrose Cheese & Wine.

Photo by Julie Soefer

Black Friday offers a wealth of deals; Houston's restaurants and food-related retailers are eager to get in on the action. Shoppers will find gift card bonuses, discounts on wine, and food specials at establishments across the city.

Best of all, dining out means not eating leftovers.

Bowl & Barrel/The General Public/The Rustic
All three of FreeRange Concepts’ Houston establishments are offering a gift card special that starts on Black Friday and lasts until December 31. For every $50 gift card purchased, the buyer will receive a bonus, $15 gift card.

Houston Wine Merchant
To celebrate Small Business Saturday, the ultra-popular wine and spirits purveyor offers big discounts on wine. Get 10-percent off when purchasing between one and 11 bottles, 15 percent off when purchasing 12 or more bottles, and 20-percent off when purchasing 48 or more bottles. Spirits are not included. See store for details.

Ike’s Love and Sandwiches
Recently opened in The Heights, this California-based restaurant is running a BOGO sandwich deal from November 29 through December 1. Simply show the staff this graphic to redeem the offer.

Montrose Cheese & Wine
Goodnight Hospitality’s retail shop and wine bar is running a special from November 29 - December 2. Get 20-percent off all retail items from open until 2 pm (excludes cheese) and get 20 percent off all 12-pack wine cases all day — even the fancy bottles. In addition, those who purchase a $100 gift card will receive a bonus $20 card (offer valid until Christmas Eve).

The Palm
Receive a $25 bonus gift card with the purchase of a $250 gift card at the venerable steakhouse and Italian restaurant.

Pappas Restaurants
All of the restaurants in the family-owned business (Pappasito's, Pappadeaux, Pappas Bros. Steak House, etc) are offering a gift card promotion through December 31. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a $10 bonus gift card.

Peli Peli
The South African restaurant with four Houston-area locations has an appealing gift card offer. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a bonus $10 gift card that’s activated on Christmas Day; those who step up to a $100 gift card will get a bonus $20 gift card.

Perry’s Steakhouse
In addition to its regular Friday lunch special — get a smaller cut of the restaurant’s signature pork chop for just $16 from 10:30 am to 4 pm — the restaurant will give a bonus $25 gift card to anyone who purchases a gift card worth $125.

Pluckers Wing Bar
The Austin-based restaurant and sports bar with four (soon to be five) Houston area locations is taking half-off the cost of joining the Pluckers Club. For only $10 (on Black Friday), members receives discounts on food and perks like a free meal on their birthdays.

Postino Wine Cafe
The wine bar with locations in The Heights and Montrose offers a $30 bonus gift card to anyone who purchases a $100 gift card. Offer valid in-store on online on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Saint Arnold
Houston’s oldest craft brewery will celebrate Black Friday with a Big Beer Blowout. Get bottles of various brews from the Divine Reserve and Bishop’s Barrel series to complete a flight. For the first time, changes to Texas law means customers may take their purchases to-go. In addition, the beer garden and restaurant will have a number of special beers available on draft.

Shake Shack
The global burger juggernaut will be running a Black FryDay promotion from November 27- December 1. Diners receive a scratch off ticket good for prizes such as:

Free burger with any $20 order or free fries with any $15 order via the Shack App
Free Delivery with any $15 order through Grubhub
Free Shack for a year (a $2,500 gift card)

news-you-can-eat

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.

pizza openings news-you-can-eat pie tap

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what's on tap

Dough-obsessed pizzeria picks River Oaks for first Houston location