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    Where to eat on Christmas

    11 best Houston restaurants open and serving on Christmas Day

    Eric Sandler
    Dec 19, 2019 | 2:24 pm

    For most people, Christmas Day means staying home, spending time with the family, and enjoying a home-cooked meal.

     

    However, not everybody wants to cook on Christmas. For those people, we offer this list of restaurants (and one bar) that will be open on the holiday. Since these hardworking Houstonians are taking time away from their families to feed strangers, we recommend tipping generously. After all, it’s Christmas!

     

    Our annual suggestions of Chinese restaurants for those celebrating “Jewish Christmas” will appear next week.

     

     The Annie Cafe & Bar 
    Ben Berg’s refreshed take on Cafe Annie will be open for lunch and dinner from 10 am to 7 pm. Expect its regular menu (try the lumache pasta and Gulf crab meat tostadas) plus a few specials created by executive chef Robert Del Grande. 1800 Post Oak Blvd.; 713-804-1800

     

     Bori 
    Located in Spring Branch, this restaurant elevates the typical Korean barbecue experience in a couple of ways. First, the well-trained staff oversees the traditional tabletop cooking. Second, they offer a number of high quality meats, including dry-aged ribeye and Japanese wagyu. On Christmas, the restaurant will be open from 5pm to 11 pm. 1453 Witte Rd.; 832-740-4350

     

     The Burger Joint 
    If late-night hunger strikes, this Montrose restaurant can help. The Burger Joint will be serving its full menu from 11 am to 12 am on Christmas Day. Try this month’s special Jalapeño Ranch Bacon Burger (befe patty, bacon, Muenster, red onion, garlic pickles, and homemade jalapeño ranch). 2703 Montrose Blvd.; 281-974-2889

     

     Cleburne Cafeteria 
    Recently named the best cafeteria in America, this Houston institution will be open from 11 am to 8 pm on Christmas Day. Choose from the restaurant's full range of offerings, which always include turkey and dressing, as well as fried chicken, fish, and more. Take-out will also be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. 3606 Bissonnet St.; 713-667-2386

     

     Himalaya 
    Skip the usual ham or turkey and let chef Kaiser Lashkari feed the family masala-spiced fried chicken, Hunter’s Beef, and garlic naan. Recently named to GQ’s list of 22 new classic restaurants, Himalaya will be open from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm. 6652 Southwest Fwy; 713-532-2837

     

     Kiran's
    The Upper Kirby favorite serves a decadent buffet on Christmas Day. Priced at $75 for adults and $35 for children 4-10, the offerings include rosemary and garlic roasted leg of lamb, tandoor-roasted turkey with apricot and cranberry stuffing, chicken korma, mixed breads, and plenty of desserts. Choose from one of three seatings: 10:30 am, 1 pm, and 3:30 pm. 2925 Richmond Ave.; 713-960-8472

     

     Peli Peli 
    All four locations of the South African restaurant will be open on Christmas from 2pm to 8 pm. In addition to its regular menu, chef Ryan Stewart is offering two specials: a 14-ounce double bone-in pork chop with carrot bredie and an 8-ounce beef Wellington served with Drakensburg legumes. See website for address and phone numbers.

     

     Phat Eatery 
    Check out the Malaysian restaurant’s newly expanded dining room from 11:30 am to 8 pm on Christmas Day. Not only is chef-owner Alex Au-Yeung serving some of the finest Roti Canai and Curry Laksa in town, but the lack of traffic on the holiday means the drive to Katy will never be easier. 23119 Colonial Pkwy (Katy); 832-913-6382

     

     Present Company 
    Houston’s most-Instagrammable bar will be open from 7 pm to 2 am. If hunger strikes, the kitchen will be serving a limited menu until midnight. 1318 Westheimer; 281-974-4752

     

     Shun Japanese Kitchen 
    The innovation Japanese restaurant will be open for normal dinner hours on Christmas (5-10 pm). In addition to its regular menu of nigiri, hand rolls, and shareable plates, the restaurant will offer a four-piece fried chicken special with mashed potatoes, truffle mac and cheese, biscuits, and two glasses of champagne for $25. 2802 S Shepherd Dr.; 832-409-5888

     

     Verandah Progressive Indian Restaurant 
    Chef Sunil Srivastava will serve a three-course, $65 prix-fixe menu at his stylish Upper Kirby establishment. The restaurant promises lots of tempting choices for appetizers, entrees, and desserts. Open 6-9 pm (last seating 8:30). 3300 Kirby Dr.; 281-501-0258

    The Annie Cafe is decorated for the holidays.

    Annie Cafe Christmas decor
      
    Photo by Jacob Power
    The Annie Cafe is decorated for the holidays.
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    roll out

    Self-taught chef slices into Houston with high-quality sushi to go

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 17, 2025 | 5:57 pm
    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston
    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

    The ghost kitchen phenomenon may have diminished somewhat since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the idea of a delivery and to-go-only restaurant still draws talented chefs who want to focus on food at a lower overhead than a traditional brick-and-mortar. One of those chefs is Sunny Bertsch, whose restaurant Kaisen Sushi Houston is already drawing buzz from inner loopers looking for a more affordable, at-home sushi experience.

    Located at the Blodgett Food Hall in Third Ward, Kaisen Sushi serves typical nigiri, maki, and temaki (hand rolls), along with a steak bowl. Prices are a little lower than what someone would find at a typical sushi restaurant, with an eight-piece nigiri set priced at $18.99 when ordered through the Blodgett Food Hall website (expect to pay more if ordering via a third-party delivery service such as Uber Eats or DoorDash).

    While Bertsch’s food may be familiar, his story is not. The diners who’ve rated Kaisen with 4.9 stars on Google may be surprised to learn that he’s only been cooking professionally for two years. As Bertsch tells CultureMap, prior to becoming a professional chef, he worked in fields as varied as aerospace and dog walking.

    “I’d always been interested in cooking,” he says. “I was blessed to be born into a great Korean American family. My dad and my grandparents always cooked great food. I learned by osmosis.”

    Bertsch began his career as a private chef by working for friends. He built his business by catering lunches to powerhouse law firm Vinson & Elkins. Eventually, his clients asked for private sushi dinners, and he had to figure things out.

    “I got an opportunity to do a sushi omakase. It was brutal. It was messy. But I knew once I did that, I wanted to dedicate my life to sushi,” he says. “Since then, I have studied and practiced. I threw a lot of money and time and fish at it.”

    Bertsch improved his speed and knife skills by taking a $13-per-hour job at Japanese grocery store Seiwa Market. While there, he says he made thousands of pieces of nigiri, rolls, and sushi bowls. That experience, along with meals from similar to-go-only concepts in New York and San Francisco, convinced him to open Kaisen as a ghost kitchen.

    “So far, I’ve spent $90,000. That’s more than the average investment for a food hall kitchen,” Bertsch explains. “I’m a clean freak. I’m a technology freak. I’m an authenticity freak. I outfitted my kitchen in the way I thought was necessary for long-term success.”

    Just as he spared no expense in specing out his kitchen, Bertsch puts thoughtful touches into his food, too. For example, every order of nigiri comes with a dipping sauce Bertsch makes himself from low sodium soy sauce, kombu, vinegar, and sake.

    “It’s a complex sauce that’s less salty and tastes good,” he says. “You know when you don’t have it and you’re given cheap soy sauce.”

    Similarly, his California rolls use imitation crab (as do most restaurants), but it’s seasoned with a housemade, Japanese-style kewpie mayo, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sesame oil for more umami and less sweetness. Since the chef uses more crab mix than other restaurants do in their rolls, Kaisen’s California roll not only tastes better — at $11.99, it’s a better value, too.

    The chef showcases Japanese techniques and Korean influences with his $25 steak bowl. A USDA Choice ribeye or strip is cooked sous vide with a marinade made from garlic, tamari, and seasoning salt. Once a diner orders the entree, the steak is seared in a pan, basted with Kerrygold butter, seasoned with furikake and sesame oil, and served with short-grain sushi rice and microgreens from local farm Zero Point Organics.

    Word of mouth has been building. Even though it’s only been open for a month, Kaisen already has over 2,000 followers on Instagram. Once he’s able to hire a full roster of cooks, Bertsch plans to expand the menu and offer lunch service. Despite some challenges, he’s pleased with the restaurant’s progress.

    “The support I've gotten on social media has blown me away,” he says. “It’s been amazing. I could not have done it without Instagram. It blows my mind.”

    Kaisen Sushi Houston nigiri
      

    Courtesy of Kaisen Sushi Houston

    Each order of nigiri comes with a house made sushi sauce.

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