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Canadian comfort food restaurant puts down roots in prime Houston spot

One of Canada’s most popular restaurants is coming to Houston. Cactus Club Cafe will open its third U.S. location in the BLVD Place development.

Located next to North Italia in a former Verizon store, Cactus Club Cafe will occupy a two-level space with more than 12,000 square feet. Founded in Vancouver in 1988, the restaurant, which describes itself in press materials as "Canada’s leader in elevated casual dining" is known for its wide range of comfort food, lively environment, and excellent service.

Christine Mastandrea, president and COO for real estate development firm Whitestone REIT, tells CultureMap that the company wanted to add a restaurant to increase traffic at the Whole Foods-anchored development.

While many of the restaurants on Post Oak Blvd. are fine dining — a list that includes The Annie Cafe, Uchiko, and Caracol (among many others) — Whitestone decided a more casual restaurant would serve the neighborhood well.

“You have to mix in locations people can go back to, because it has a broad range of offerings. You have a place where people connect,” Mastandrea says. “It’s a price point where you can come often. You can meet up with your neighborhood friends there or go after work, because it doesn’t break the bank.”

Whitestone had a lot of interest from operators who wanted to join North Italia, True Foods Kitchen, and The Original Ninfa’s in the development, Mastandrea adds. When she traveled to Toronto to visit Cactus Club, she liked what she found.

“What I saw is, number one, they’re comfortable in two stories. They’re also aware of how to operate in a multi-level building. They design to be a good neighbor,” Mastandrea says. “The consistency across locations was the same. The quality of food, the flow of people coming in and out. The other thing is, people are looking for healthier options. They have choices.”

For its part, Cactus Club saw an opportunity to add Houston to its growing list of American locations that, for now, only includes Miami and Boston.

“Our dedicated team is working hard to bring Cactus Club Cafe’s elevated everyday dining to Houston,” president Andrew Latchford said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing our upbeat and stylish vibe — fueled by energetic music, magnetic people, and spaces that feel as good as they look. On the culinary side of things, our future Houston guests can look forward to our chef-driven menu to deliver bold, refined dishes with something for every craving.”

That menu, created by executive chef of culinary development Gregory McCallum, offers a crowd-pleasing array of dishes that includes sushi, shareables such as chicken wings and lettuce wraps, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pastas, steaks, and seafood. In particular, Mastandrea says the signature Truffle Parmesan Chicken and Blackened Creole Chicken shows off the restaurant’s ability to serve flavorful versions of familiar fare.

“They walked me through this whole process of how they brined it and treated it prior to cooking,” she says about the chicken dishes she tried. “For a meat that can be bland tasting, I thought it was really good.”

Mastandrea also praised the restaurant’s interior. Cactus Club gives each location a unique look by purchasing original art to enhance the restaurant’s ambiance.

“They pay special attention to bringing the outdoors into the space,” she adds. “I think they’ll surprise us with some things that are unique to the area that people will appreciate.”

Courtesy of Cactus Club Cafe

Creole chicken.

where to drink now

Celebrate Margarita Day 2026 at these 19 Houston restaurants and bars

Photo by Becca Wright

The Original Ninfa's is offering happy hour prices all day.

At the risk of being self-refential, we all know that articles about food holidays are pretty silly. However, we always make an exception for National Margarita Day.

After all, the cocktail is Houston’s unofficial favorite drink, and everyone likes a good deal on a tasty sip. So, here’s a rundown of places where you can celebrate these sweet-and-tart beverages this Sunday, February 22:

Axelrad is keeping it simple with house margaritas (tequila, triple sec, lime, simple) for $5. That’s also when the beer garden will have its monthly record swap, BTW.

Best Regards will offer four of its house margaritas for $10 (usually $17) all day on Sunday. They include two skinny margaritas (regular and spicy) that are made with Socorro tequila, as well as the Rita from Accounting and the Luxe Blue Chip Margarita.

Betelgeuse Betelgeuse is offering some delicious sips at both locations. Specials include buy one, get one Hornitos Blanco margarita, buy one, get one Amaras Verde Mezcal margarita, and the special National Margarita Day cocktail, the clarified and carbonated peach margarita for $14

Caracol, Hugo’s, URBE, Xochi, and Zaranda will have all-weekend house margaritas for $10. On National Margarita Day, they will also serve The Greatest Margarita Ever Sold, which is usually $29, for just $18.

All three Liberty Kitchen locations will be serving up handcrafted margaritas all day long. They include $10 Spicy Secret Ritas and $5 pomegranate margaritas — designed to be balanced and refreshing.

Across its 13 Greater Houston locations, Mambo Seafood is celebrating National Margarita Day with frozen house ritas for $3. They’re available in lime, strawberry, chamoy, mango, and Tamarindo.

Mexican Sugar will have The Tejas Flight, a limited-time margarita trio created in partnership with Henry’s Ice Cream. The flight features a custom sorbet margarita alongside two house favorites, offering a playful twist on classic margaritas with Lone Star spirit.

Over at Molina’s Cantina, enjoy Molina’s blackberry margarita for $8 all day (normally $12), available dine-in or to-go. More margarita options include Molina’s Margarita, the Top Shelf Margarita, and the Mangonada Margarita.

Both locations of The Original Ninfa’s will serve the Original Ninfarita at $7 happy hour price all day, the Uptown Margarita for $10, the Navigation Margarita for $10, and margarita flights — frozen or on the rocks — for $15.

Reset Lounge keeps it simple and classic with a $6 Margarita made with Espolon Tequila, triple sec, and fresh lime. The lounge offers happy hour all day on Sundays as well.

You can raise a glass to National Margarita Day at State Fare Kitchen & Bar’s two locations. They’ll have $5 house margaritas all day, available frozen or on the rocks.

Twin Peaks recently introduced the Cuervo Tradicional Margarita, crafted with Jose Cuervo Tradicional Blanco, triple sec, agave, and lime juice. You can also partake in their updated bar menu, which features a variety of creative and fun margaritas.

Velvet Taco will celebrate National Margarita Day all weekend long. Their Kick Ass Margarita is the fan favorite boozy libation, and at $5, it's a good deal, too.

Over at Via 313’s two locations, they’ll have $3.13 Margaritas, as well as the Frita-Rita, Via 313’s secret frozen margarita, for only $5 for to-go orders.

Wille’s Grill & Icehouse is offering specials including $3 small house ritas (regular, strawberry, swirled), $3 Shiner vodka boozy cherry limeade, and $3 prickly pear ritas (where applicable).

Photo by Becca Wright

The Original Ninfa's is offering happy hour prices all day.

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