christmas day dining guide

Houston's best restaurants open for Christmas Day — dine-in or to-go

Bloom & Bee makes an appropriately festive location for Christmas Day dining.

Courtesy of Landry's

Even in a year as strange as this one has been, not everyone wants to stay home on Christmas. Some people don’t celebrate the holiday; others are bad cooks.

Regardless of the reason, Houston restaurants are ready to serve with options that range from prime rib to goat chops. The list below also includes a couple of our favorite Chinese-American spots for those people looking to celebrate what we typically describe as Jewish Christmas — even if the traditional trip to a movie theater is swapped out with watching Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max.

Many of the Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, and other East Asian restaurants located along Bellaire Boulevard will also be open. We recommend calling your favorites to verify exact hours.

Aga’s Restaurant and Catering
Feast on goat chops, biryani, and other Indo-Pak fare at this Southwest Houston institution, 11 am-close.

Black Bear Diner
The family-friendly restaurant with seven Houston-area locations will be open for both dine-in and to-go with special three-course menus featuring turkey, ham, or prime rib.

Blacksmith
The popular coffee shop will be serving its finest lattes, scratch-made biscuits, and other fare from 8 am-2 pm.

Bloom & Bee
The restaurant located inside The Post Oak Hotel will feature a three-course, $85 menu that includes choices such as celeriac bisque, crab salad, pan-seared duck breast with foie gras, and prime rib with vegetables.

Bowl & Barrel
CityCentre’s fancy bowling alley will offer a limited menu of sliders and pretzels plus cold beer from 3 - 9 pm.

China Garden
The downtown institution opens at 11 am on Christmas to serve dumplings, egg rolls, and other Chinese-American favorites.

Chow Wok
General Tso’s chicken is the west Houston restaurant’s most-popular dish, but real fans know the shrimp egg rolls are also can’t-miss, 11 am - 9:30 pm.

Cleburne Cafeteria
The Houston institution will be open for dine-in and to-go from 11 am-8 pm with its familiar menu of classic comfort food and scratch- made desserts.

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
All of the Landry’s upscale steakhouses — including The Palm, Morton’s, Mastro’s, and Vic & Anthony’s — are open on Christmas. Rather than list them all as individual entries, we’ll highlight this option in the Galleria that’s feature prime rib in 16 and 20-ounce portions ($48 or $58) along with the rest of its classic steakhouse fare.

Doris Metropolitan
The Israeli-inspired steakhouse will be open for dinner on December 25, because nothing says Christmas quite like dry-aged beef, grilled octopus, and the best bread service in Houston.

Fielding’s Local Kitchen & Bar
This globally inspired restaurant in The Woodlands will serve brunch (until 3 pm) and dinner on Christmas. Featured specials include lobster bisque, garlic chili crab claws, and prime rib.

Grupo Herrera Restaurants
All of the company’s Houston-area restaurants — including five locations of Alicia’s Mexican Grille, Galiana’s Tex Mex & Agave Bar, Dario’s Steakhouse & Seafood, and Marvino’s Italian Steakhouse in Cypress — will be open from 11am to 9pm for both dine-in and to-go.

Himalaya
The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Restaurant of the Year will open with its menu of acclaimed Indo-Pak fare as well as specials like smoked brisket tikka masala mac and cheese.

Le Colonial
The elegant Vietnamese restaurant in River Oaks District will be open on Christmas from 11 am-10 pm with a three-course prix fixe menu ($65, lunch; $85, dinner). Choices include over a dozen different starters and entrees, including lobster bisque, spicy beef carpaccio salad, bo luc lac, lamb chops, and five spice duck cassoulet. Wine pairings are available for an additional $65.

Mala Sichuan Bistro
All four locations — including the newly opened Sugar Land outpost — will be open for dine-in and to-go on Christmas.

Phat Eatery
Spice up Christmas with roti canai, beef rendang, and other Malaysian fare at this Katy restaurant. Open on Christmas from 11 am - 8:30 pm.

The Rustic
The Uptown Park location of the combination bar, restaurant, and live music venue will be serving tamales and beer from 4 - 9 pm.

Safina and The Naturalist Café and Lounge Bar
Located inside the InterContinental Houston in the Medical Center, the two restaurants will serve a limited menu that includes dishes such as braised short ribs and cioppino, 11 am - 10 pm.

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What's Eric Eating Episodes 518 and 519

Meet the men behind River Oaks' new destination for bowls and broth

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Honest Mary’s founder Nelson Monteith and COO Andrew Wiseman joined CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the Austin-based restaurant that just opened its first Houston location in the River Oaks Shopping Center (2047-A West Gray St).

Monteith shares that he started the restaurant in 2017 in order to fulfill his vision of a restaurant which could serve food that’s fast, fresh, and affordable. A trained chef who operated pioneering Austin restaurant Contigo, Wiseman joined the group to bring both culinary expertise and operational acumen to the grouping company.

Part of what sets Honest Mary’s apart is that diners can add cooked vegetables to the rice and proteins at the heart of every bowl. The “Market Sides” section includes an array of roasted vegetables — including sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and Brussels sprouts — as well as black beans, maple-glazed carrots, and green lentils. Bowls can be further enhanced with toppings such as Texas pecans, crispy chickpeas, goat cheese, avocado, and apples as well as sauces such as creamy poblano, cashew lime crema, sesame vinaigrette, spicy peanut, chimichurri and apple cider vinaigrette

Monteith explains that looking at the ingredients on display usually inspires him when he’s deciding what to eat at Honest Mary’s.

“I will almost always look at the line and see what looks fresh and good,” Monteith says. “Today, I got the salted kale with white rice. Then, I got garlic-pepper steak. I added on lentils — they’re my go-to in the winter. They blend everything together, and I love it Then Brussels sprouts looked green. I got some jalapenos. Avocados, cause that’s healthy. Then I got the chimichurri sauce.”

Honest Mary’s is also known for its hearty brothers, a classic chicken and a seaweed and mushroom. Sandler raves about the chicken broth to Wiseheart, who shares how it’s made.

“We spent six or seven months testing recipes and drinking it ourselves to see if it’s a good idea,” Wiseman says. “I talk about it as a great complement to the menu. It’s healthy. It’s really simple. Most of the kitchens I came up with were rooted in French cuisine. This is just chicken stock with salt in it.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Honest Mary’s plans for additional locations in Houston and Dallas. Then Monteith asks a Sandler a few questions about the Houston dining scene.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Home Slice Pizza opening a new location in the Heights; the closures of Brett’s BBQ Shop in Katy and Killen’s Barbecue in The Woodlands; and Esquire including ChòpnBlok on its list of America’s best new restaurants.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two friends discuss their recent meal at Hypsi, the Italian restaurant in the newly-opened Hotel Daphne. Listen to the episode to hear their favorite dishes and other thoughts on the meal.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

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