steakhouse switcheroo
Luxurious Houston steakhouse reboots as 'relaxed' neighborhood eatery
Owner Michael Sambrooks and chef Michael O'Connor are making big changes at Andiron.
One of Houston best new restaurants of 2023 is switching things up. Montrose steakhouse Andiron is moving in a more “relaxed and approachable” direction that’s “more conducive to our neighborhood”, according to a statement from owner Michael Sambrooks.
“When opening Andiron in 2023, we dreamed of setting the standard in ultra fine dining experiences in the city. However, after listening closely to our customers and recognizing a noticeable shift away from fine dining across the restaurant industry, we realize this isn’t what best serves our neighborhood or the greater Houston dining community,” the statement continues. “We are deeply thankful for our Andiron patrons and look forward to embracing a new, more modest era of Andiron soon.”
Until it opens its new patio in mid-October, the restaurant will be closed Monday-Wednesday with regular dinner hours Thursday-Saturday. Andiron is part of Sambrooks management, the restaurant group behind Montrose Tex-Mex favorite Candente and The Pit Room, the Guy Fieri-approved barbecue joint with locations in Montrose and Memorial.
Although its been generally well received, Andiron has struggled to find an identity that connects with diners. When it opened last year, Sambrooks recruited chef Louis Maldonado to lead the kitchen. A Top Chef alum who earned a Michelin star at Cortez restaurant in San Francisco, Maldonado had a vision of Andiron as being a luxurious dining destination and loaded the menu with wagyu beef, caviar, and other pricey ingredients. But that era of the restaurant ended when Maldonado departed less than three months after opening.
In November 2023, Sambrooks hired Michael O’Connor as Maldonado’s replacement. Formerly the executive chef of Vic & Anthony’s, O’Connor put a focus on Texas ingredients.
During an appearance on CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast, Sambrooks offered a vision for a more casual, steakhouse-style restaurant that might provide some insight into Andiron’s new direction. He referenced C&H Steak Company, a casual concept that Pappas Restaurants operated in the late ‘90s and early aughts, as a source of inspiration.
“It was more burgers, cheaper steaks, sandwiches, fries. Nice environment. We talk about that quite a bit as a group,” Sambrooks said. “Trying to figure out a way to lower that price point in a steakhouse environment. We go back to, are we just Houston’s now, doing lunch and dinner? It’s probably a little bit different, but at the end of the day you want soups, sandwiches, burgers, a few Choice steaks grilled over wood. I think that would be a great concept for Houston.”
Houstonians will get to see the new Andiron in the weeks to come. Until then, diners have a few weeks to get one final wagyu flight or buckwheat souffle with caviar.
