Our coverage of the nominees in the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards has reached the final two categories. First up are the 10 nominees for Restaurant of the Year.
They’re a diverse bunch, ranging from an intimate, 30-seat dining room to a prime location at one of Houston’s biggest tourist attractions. The nominees take inspiration from a range of culinary traditions, too, covering everything from Mexico to India to Japan to Spain and beyond.
Regardless of style of cuisine, their food is consistently well executed. Their service is polished. Their beverage offerings are thoughtful. They are places we celebrate special occasions. They’ve raised the bar for dining in Houston.
Which restaurant will win? Find out April 3 at the Tastemaker Awards party at Silver Street Studios. We’ll dine on bites from this year’s nominated restaurants and sip cocktails from our sponsors before revealing the winners in our short and sweet ceremony.
A very limited number of General Admission tickets remain. Buy yours before they sell out.
Here are the nominees for Restaurant of the Year:
Baso
Few restaurants have burst onto Houston’s dining scene with as much energy as this live fire restaurant in the Heights. Fueled by time spent working together at acclaimed Los Angeles seafood restaurant Angler (since closed), executive chefs Jacques Varon and Max Lappe applied the ethos of Basque cuisine — essentially, source the best local ingredients you find and add wood fire — with established New American principles of taking inspiration from various international cuisines. For diners, it’s been exciting to see the restaurant evolve as Lappe, a California native, learns more about Texas and the South. For example, the chef swapped out the manchego rolls from the restaurant’s early days with a more regionally-inspired cornbread with housemade jam. Some of the day one ideas live on, of course, including the essential roasted pork chop with pork jowl condiment.
Belly of the Beast
It took a couple of iterations for chef Thomas Bille to find his place in Houston’s dining scene, but Belly of the Beast has been flying high since it reopened in a Spring shopping center in late 2023. Sure, the birria tacos remain among the very best versions of that dish in greater Houston, but Belly of the Beast so deftly hops genres — offering spicy ceviches, delicate pastas, and compelling meat entrees — that those tacos are almost an afterthought when deciding on what to eat. Earning both a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide and another James Beard Award semifinalist nomination validates that Bille and his team are up to something special in Spring, which means that even the most dedicated inner loopers should be making the drive.
Katami
The Montrose-area restaurant takes a lot of what people love about its sister concept Kata Robata and enhances it in key ways to deliver a more luxurious experience. At Katami, chef Hori-san (Manabu Horiuchi) dives in even more deeply to Japanese traditions by sourcing a greater variety of Japanese fish for various sushi preparations, serving multiple preparations of wagyu beef, and offering an extensive sake selection at reasonable prices. The restaurant’s design also puts the spotlight on the chefs, with almost every table getting a view of the sushi counter. Perhaps watching the chefs work will make diners appreciate the kitchen’s signature creations such as toro tar tar, robata king crab, and Foie Gras PB&J Milk Bread even more than they already do when they take a bite.
Little's Oyster Bar
When it came time to develop a new concept for the iconic Little Pappas space, the Houston-based restaurant group leveraged all of its expertise and resources to enhance the room’s Art Deco look and install a top notch, seafood-friendly wine program. Then they recruited executive chef Jason Ryczek from California to create a menu built around staples such as the yellowfin tuna crudo, lobster gnocchi, and chicken fried red snapper. The chef also keeps things fresh with new additions like Gulf shrimp chowder and dry-aged King Salmon. Of course, Ryczek’s passion for caviar is reflected in the restaurant’s creative presentation that includes potato dumplings, hush puppies, and radish butter.
March
No restaurant in Houston delivers as comprehensive a dining experience as this Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant in Montrose. Beginning with snacks and a sip of vermouth in the dimly lit lounge that’s followed by a mulit-course meal in a dining room adorned with museum-quality art, March caters to its diners’ needs with effortless precision. The kitchen, lead by chef-partner Felipe Riccio and chef de cuisine Chris Davies, operates with an equal level of precision, translating careful research into each menu’s specific region of the Mediterranean into immaculately constructed plates that are as eye-catching as they are delicious. Admittedly, meals at March are a splurge, but, like baseball fans treating themselves to seats behind home plate at an Astros game, those who love restaurants will find it to be a worthy indulgence.
Musaafer
Inspired by a 100-day journey through India’s 29 states, this Michelin-starred restaurant in the Galleria offers a wide-ranging menu. Chef Mayank Istwal takes inspiration from that trip, as well as his childhood memories, to craft the restaurant’s seasonal tasting menus that range from delicate ceviches to deeply savory grilled lamb chops. The restaurant has always lavished as much attention on its drinks as its food, serving up one of the city’s most consistently creative cocktail offerings. Musaafer’s lavishly decorated dining rooms help transport diners to Delhi without the 18-hour flight.
Nancy's Hustle
Part of what has endeared this restaurant to Houstonians is its flexibility. Nancy’s serves every occasion from casual happy hour hangs and late night burger cravings to major celebrations with friends and family. Regardless of the reason for a person’s visit, count on the convivial staff to offer guidance on dishes and drinks, which is helpful when the menu and wine list both change regularly. After all, chef Jason Vaughan and his team aren’t afraid to kill their darlings by banishing popular menu items — except for the burger and the Nancy cakes, obviously — when a creative impulse strikes. More than seven years into its run, Nancy’s remains as popular and consistent as ever, which contributed to its earning a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide.
Nobie's
It’s fitting that this intimate Montrose restaurant is located in a house, because it always feels like a party. The music’s always a little too loud, and the tables are a little too close together. Also, like a good part, everyone’s having a great time, fueled by the potent drinks being mixed at the bar. Don’t let the menu’s silly names fool you. It takes a lot of careful technique to make a dish like “If you’re not wurst, you’re last” come together consistently enough to earn a Bib Gourmand designation.
Squable
Led by the dynamic duo of Mark Clayton, our 2023 Chef of the Year winner, and general manger Terry Williams, Squable remains as satisfying as ever. While customer favorites like the French cheeseburger and vegetable lasagna — seared to ensure a crispy edge in every bite — retain their pride of place on the menu, Clayton is always innovating with new dishes such as braised oxtails with cornbread and Carolina Gold rice. Like all of its siblings in Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu’s Thorough Fare hospitality group, it offers value to its neighborhood with a generous happy hour of half-off all alcohol on weekdays from 4-6 pm.
Theodore Rex
Fresh off the successful return of its signature Yuston’s pop-up menu — chef-owner Justin Yu’s homage to Houston’s (don’t call it Hillstone) — it’s fitting to acknowledge all the things that tiny restaurant in the Warehouse District does well. The intimate dining room and polished service add a sense of occasion to any meal. More than a decade into his time as one of Houston’s most prominent chefs, the same focus on Texas ingredients and precise techniques that earned Yu a James Beard Award is reflected in dishes such as the beef dumplings with parmesan and ricotta and the roasted chicken leg with mushroom tare. The chef has always had a sly sense of humor about his cooking — again, he hosts an annual pop-up inspired by Houston’s — that’s also reflected in can’t-miss items like the Sunday special chicken wings.
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The Tastemaker Awards ceremony is brought to you by Stella Artois, Chardon, Jim Beam Black, Ritual Zero Proof, Seedlip, Valencia's Tex-Mex Garage, Hornitos, Ghost Hill Organic Vodka, PicMe Events, and more to be announced. A portion of proceeds will benefit our nonprofit partner, the Southern Smoke Foundation.
