Houston chef with Michelin-starred resume plans ambitious new downtown restaurant

An ambitious new restaurant is coming to downtown this fall. It will be led by a chef that most Houstonians may not know much about, but they do know the prominent local restaurants where he’s worked.

Meet Barbacana. Located in the former Craft Beer Cellar space at downtown's Bayou Lofts building (907 Franklin), it will be a showcase for chef-owner Christian Hernandez. Before diving into what Barbacana will be, let’s briefly consider the man behind it.

Hernandez has a lengthy resume in Houston that includes notable restaurants such as Shade, BCN, and Pax Americana. Once a biomedical sciences major with plans to become a veterinarian, Hernandez decided to focus on culinary pursuits instead. He credits his time as a line cook at Oxheart, the groundbreaking tasting menu restaurant where Justin Yu won his James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2016, with putting him on the path that has led him to Barbacana.

“Oxheart really opened everything up and made me realize there was more to this than flipping eggs,” Hernandez tells CultureMap. “I was a two-sport athlete in college. I was drawn to the physicality of the kitchen. Going to Oxheart, it showed me more of the finesse behind it and tied in the food science. It really opened my mind to how much deeper it was.”

Realizing he needed to hone his skills beyond the Bayou City to become the best chef possible, Hernandez sold his car and moved to New York City. He began working at Contra, an ambitious, French-influenced tasting menu restaurant from chefs Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske that earned a Michelin star during Hernandez's time as a cook there.

“A crowning achievement of my career is getting a Michelin star with those guys,” Hernandez says. “Jeremiah and Fabian taught me a lot. They weren’t scared to change. The menu changed at least every other day. Being able to stay on your toes was very important.”

After a stint in Mexico City, the chef returned to Houston where he became chef de cuisine of March, the Mediterranean-inspired tasting menu restaurant in Montrose. Working alongside executive chef-partner Felipe Riccio, Hernandez helped conduct the research and develop dishes for March’s menus devoted to regions such as the Maghreb, Andalusia and Murcia, Occitania, and a group of islands. Last year, he helped open Albi, the short-lived Eastern Mediterranean restaurant that quietly closed last month.

He’ll bring all of those experiences to Barbacana. Hernandez named the restaurant after a Spanish word that means “barbican,” which is a defensive structure that’s part of a castle — similar to “barricade” or “bastion.”

“I always loved the name ‘bastion,’” Hernandez says, but he chose something a little more unusual. “I wanted a name that sounds good and has meaning behind it.”

The chef describes his restaurant as serving Houston-inspired cuisine. Essentially, it gives him the freedom to pay homage to his heritage as a German-born Mexican-American and his professional skills cooking just about every style of cuisine from European to Mexican to Asian at a high level. He’ll utilize as many high quality, locally-sourced proteins and produce as he can.

“I love Houston. My grandma has lived here since the '80s. Houston has always been home base for me,” he says. “When I think of Houston, I think of multicultural. I wanted to showcase everyone.”

Hernandez is giving diners their first taste of Barbacana this Monday, May 6 at a pop-up at Montrose restaurant 93’ Til (1601 W Main St.). Held from 5 pm until close (or sold out), the menu previews dishes that could be served at the restaurant, such as Pollo al Carbon with hibiscus salsa and mitad tortillas; mushroom donburi; and basturma carpaccio, which the chef explains is a predecessor to the dish that evolved into pastrami. More pop-ups and dinners will follow as the chef begins to introduce the restaurant to diners ahead of its debut this fall.

When Barbacana opens, Hernandez will offer diners a range of experiences. A tasting menu will be available at a 15-20-seat counter, while the main dining room will have its own a la carte options. While the majority of the chef’s career has been in fine dining restaurants, he recognizes that not everyone appreciates — or can afford — that experience. Barbacana will blend fine dining ambitions and techniques with an atmosphere that's open to as many people as possible.

“I want all kinds of people coming in,” Hernandez says. “For that reason, it’s important that we’re not just tasting menu or a la carte. We’re branching out.”

Given his professional pedigree, Hernandez hopes his work will be of interest to both the public, as well as the sort of people responsible for media recognition and accolades like the James Beard Awards and best new restaurant lists. Those persistent rumors that Michelin is coming to Texas mean the chef might get the opportunity to build on his track record by leading a kitchen that earns a coveted star. It's a challenge he welcomes.

“I want to do the best that I can do and I’m optimistic the rest will flow from that. If I’m doing the best I can, we will get Michelin eventually,” he says confidently.