Fall restaurant preview

20 new restaurants and bars opening in Houston this fall and beyond

Hope springs eternal, especially in the world of Houston restaurants. Despite a recent string of high-profile closures, entrepreneurs continue to see opportunities to open a diner’s new favorite restaurant.

And why not? The year has welcomed a number of exciting new arrivals, from Bryan Caswell’s comeback Latuli, to new Heights eateries Camaraderie and Agnes & Sherman, to the Texas-influenced French fare at Chardon or the eclectic Indian-fusion of Kitchen Rumors.

Since this fall doesn’t offer the usual crush of new openings, we’re expanding the list to include both establishments that will open by the end of the year as well as some that should arrive in the first quarter (or two) of 2026. As always, opening projections are a moving target. Any of these estimates could be off by a few months due to construction delays, permitting hassles, etc. Similarly, this list is not intended to be comprehensive, but it should give restaurant enthusiasts a few things to look forward to.

Without further ado, here are the 20 new restaurants and bars we’re most excited about.

Fall 2025 openings

Hypsi
Chef Terrence Gallivan (The Pass & Provisions, ElRo Pizza & Crudo) will make his triumphant return to the Houston dining scene with this Italian restaurant that will be located inside the Hotel Daphne, Bunkhouse Hotel’s new boutique property in the Heights. Plans call for an extensive pasta program alongside freshly-baked breads and main entrees such as steak and whole-roasted fish. A mozzarella cart will roam the dining room with various cheeses and add-ons such as pickled vegetables, aged vinegars, and cold pressed olive oil. Hypsi will initially open for dinner with lunch service to follow.

1111
Melrose owners Army Sadeghi and Brandon Duliakas are once again teaming up with Tatemó chef Emmanuel Chavez on a new bar that will be located next to the historic Tower Theater on Westheimer. It will feature an interior design inspired by Mexico City, alongside a tapas-style menu that will include wagyu empanadas and a Contramar-style grilled whole fish. A specially-designed bar will allow patrons to watch bartenders make their drinks.

Oru
From Comma Hospitality — the team behind omakase concept Neo and hand roll restaurant Kira — comes this 24-seat, Japanese-inspired restaurant that will serve an a la carte menu of sushi, crudo, and seasonal dishes. While final dishes are still under development, potential options include madai nigiri with recado negro, masu nigiri topped with freeze-dried crème fraîche and chives, chutoro with Osetra caviar, and Alaskan black cod cooked over charcoal with seaweed butter. The beverage offerings will include Japanese-inspired cocktails, sake, and wine.

Murray’s Pizza & Wine
This new project from the team behind salad concept Leaf & Grain will open in the former Texadelphia space near Memorial City Mall. As its name implies, the new restaurant will serve pizzas and small plates along with wine and cocktails. For now, the team is being tight-lipped about the exact style of pizza they’re planning to serve, so we’ll all be surprised when it opens in October or November.

Donna’s
Coming to the former Ready Room space on White Oak, the new bar from Anvil owner Bobby Heugel and veteran bartender Jacki Schromm has a name, but other details are still pending. Schromm dropped a few hints on Instagram, writing that it will honor her grandmother, the bar’s namesake.

“At Donna’s, guests will find a welcoming space that celebrates inclusivity to everyone who walks through the door for a cocktail, and a team dedicated to creating experiences that feel personal and lasting. Just as my grandmother opened her door to all with warmth and grace, our bar will be a place where neighbors and newcomers alike are invited to sit, sip, and feel at home.”

Eastwood Station
Chris Zettlemoyer and Amanda Mendez will build on the success they had at Figo Sugo in Bravery Chef Hall with this new concept in the East End. For Eastwood Station, they’re turning a former train caboose at 4109 McKinney into a modern Italian restaurant that will serve freshly made pastas, Roman-style pizza al taglio, and sandwiches built on bread that’s made from pizza dough alongside a full coffee program. When it opens this fall, expect creative specials such as braised short ribs, Detroit-style pizza, and collaborations with its neighbor, Willow’s Smokehouse and Tavern.

Pinkerton’s Barbecue
A staple of Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints, pitmaster Grant Pinkerton will bring his classic beef brisket, candy paint ribs, and smoked duck and sausage jambalaya to the former 59 Diner space (3801 Farnham) this fall. Like both the original location in the Heights and its San Antonio outpost, the new Pinkerton’s will pair its barbecue with cocktails, beer, and a well-chosen wine list.

Willow’s Smokehouse & Tavern
Pitmaster Willow Vilarreal and his partner Jasmine Barela will turn their pop-up into a brick-and-mortar restaurant at this new concept in the historic L.M. Greco building (4109 Mckinney). Expect all the Central Texas-style barbecue and sides the duo is known for, alongside burgers, wings, sandwiches, and bar bites. Pair them with cocktails, craft beer, micheladas, and a range of spirits.

“Ultimately we want this to be an environment where our neighbors will look forward to winding down their day, time and time again. Like Cheers but with Lone Stars and brisket sandwiches,” Villarreal explains.

Eastbound Barbecue
This project in the former East End Backyard space (1105 Sampson St.) unites Killen’s Restaurants alumni Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville. Already drawing crowds to pop-ups, the quartet is serving dishes such as rosemary salt-spiced brisket, Tex-Italian sausage, Cuban-style mojo pork, and soon-to-be-famous hatch chili mac & cheese lasagna.

Doc’s Jazz Club
Slated to open in November in historic Tower Theater space (El Real/Acme Oyster), this restaurant comes to Houston from Doc Watkins, the bandleader and owner of San Antonio’s Jazz, TX. The concept aims to offer a classic jazz supper club experience, complete with live music, an expansive menu of classic American fare, and plenty of cocktails.

Moon and Soleil
The Bastion Collection, the hospitality group behind Michelin-starred French restaurant Le Jardinier, has revealed its plans for the former La Table space above its Galleria-area Italian restaurant Tavola. Moon will be an intimate cocktail bar, while Soleil will be a private events venue. Café Natalie, an independent catering company, has partnered with The Bastion Collection to operate both spaces.

Candente - Bellaire
Houston’s only Tex-Mex restaurant in the Michelin Guide has claimed the former Mandito’s space in Bellaire for its second location. Slated to open before the end of the year, diners can expect the same menu as the Montrose original, including wood-grilled meats, classic Tex-Mex enchiladas, and the signature birria tacos.

Tacos A Go Go - Heights and Briargrove
The popular taco restaurant has claimed the former Lola Neighborhood Diner and Killen’s STQ for two new locations that will open by the end of the year. Both locations will feature Tacos A Go Go’s familiar menu of street-style tacos, breakfast tacos, and family packs from sister concept Fajitas A Go Go. New to these locations will be bars, both of which will serve a cocktail menu created by Anvil owner Bobby Heugel.

D’Alba Craft Kitchen & Cocktails - Magnolia/The Woodlands
The Garden Oaks restaurants known for its family-friendly atmosphere and scratch-made food is coming to the former Philipose’s space (32823 FM 2978 Rd). Expect the restaurant’s successful happy hour and lively brunch to be big draws, as will the pizzas, pastas, and steaks.

The Burger Joint/The Taco Stand/The Pizza Place
Chef Matthew Pak and his business partner Shawn Bermudez have a lot on their plate for the next six months. First up, the Montrose location of The Taco Stand, the duo’s fast casual taqueria, is on track for an October opening. The Burger Joint will open its Kirby location in January, with the Gessner locations of both TBJ and TTS to follow in the spring. All of which means that the Pizza Place, the duo’s pizzeria that will be located next to the Heights locations of TBJ and TTS, won’t open until after everything else, which could be summer 2026.

January and beyond

Angie’s Pizza
Known for the critically-acclaimed but short-lived restaurants Cafe Louie and Louie’s Italian American, chef Angelo Emiliani — a protege of legendary pizzaiolo Chris Bianco — will return to the Houston dining scene with a pizzeria in the Heights. Located at 1002 W 11th., the restaurant will serve pizza, pasta, and small plates alongside a top-notch bar program. Sadly, we’ll have to wait until next spring or summer to taste what Emiliani is planning.

Charolais by Chef Austin Simmons
For his first restaurant since resigning as the executive chef of Tris, Austin Simmons is going all in on beef. When it opens in Hughes Landing in January, this new restaurant will serve beef from Chef & Rancher, the wagyu-hybrid that Simmons developed with rancher Larry Ludeke. Diners will have a say in how Simmons cooks their steaks — choosing, for example, cast iron or live fire. They’ll also be able to take meat home via the restaurant’s adjacent butcher shop.

Kirkwood
Mac Haik Restaurant Group will honor its founder’s legacy as a Houston sports legend and successful real estate investor with this modern supper club that’s slated to open in early 2026. Located in the Energy Tower II at 11720 Katy Freeway, the restaurant, led by executive chef Stephen Chiang (Relish Restaurant and Bar, the Petroleum Club), will serve classic American fare such as steak frites and seafood platters, while a cocktail program will center on Old Fashioneds. The design by Houston’s Gin Design Group will feature a wraparound bar with automotive-inspired details (a nod to Haik’s car dealership roots), leather and dark wood accents, and an Astrodome-inspired art installation.

Long Weekend
Located in the former King’s Bierhaus space in Lazybrook/Timbergrove, this cowboy-inspired restaurant will serve a wood-fired menu built around steaks, seafood, and wild game such as quail and elk. A 20,000-square-foot outdoor patio will include a kids’ play area, TVs for watching sports, and a stage for live music. It is currently on track for a February opening.

Recess
Located in a former bank building at Waugh Dr. and West Gray, this 13,000-square-foot, family-friendly restaurant and children’s entertainment complex will feature “curated activities, diverse amusements, and fully supervised playscapes,” according to a release. Expect more details once its early 2026 opening approaches.

Zaranda
Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught are being typically tight-lipped about their new restaurant that’s coming soon-ish to the Norton Rose Fullbright Tower at 1550 Lamar St. in downtown. We’ll note that it’s the couple’s first opening since Urbe debuted in 2021 and the first where their daughter Sophia is a partner. As for how the website’s tagline of “Las Californias Cuisine” translates into dishes, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Courtesy of Comma Hospitality

Oru will serve dishes such as chutoro and caviar nigiri.

news-you-can-eat openings lists

Notes from a chef

Globe-trotting Houston chef reviews Noma's $1,500 Los Angeles pop-up

Courtesy of David Skinner

Pink pepper Dungeness crab.

[Editor’s note: When David Skinner, chef and owner of Kemah’s celebrated eculent and Ishtia restaurants, offered to share his experience eating at one of the world’s best restaurants, we said, of course. Read on for his experience at Copenhagen restaurant Noma’s pop-up in Los Angeles that took place this summer. Take it away, David.]

The crab was alive a few minutes before I ate it.

Just before service, the kitchen broke down a Dungeness crab and set it over open charcoal, the downtown Los Angeles skyline behind the smoke. It came to the table wreathed in dried pink pepper branches, with a butter sauce built on the same pepper. I've eaten crab all over the world — this was maybe the best crab ever.

That was the first of 17 courses at Noma LA, and the best bite of the afternoon. Leading with your best shot is either confidence or a statement. By the end of lunch, I'd decided it was both.

The residency had begun in turmoil. Founder René Redzepi stepped away from the residency the day it opened, following a news investigation into allegations of demeaning treatment of staff — conduct that had been discussed in industry circles for years. Protesters gathered at the gate that day. The kitchen, led by Pablo Soto, carried on through the residency's close on June 26.

I went for lunch at the Paramour Estate, the 1920s Mediterranean mansion in Silver Lake that Noma called home for 16 weeks. For more than 30 years, I've traveled the world in search of culture, a little mystery, and always food, eating everywhere from strangers' kitchen tables to three-Michelin-star dining rooms.

As the chef behind eculent and Ishtia in Kemah, I also eat with a cook's eye — which means I'll tell you what was brilliant and what was oversalted. Noma LA had a little of both, but after a half dozen meals at Noma over the past 10 years, I can say this one was a standout.

The setup

The logistics alone are remarkable. Noma relocated roughly 130 staff members and their families to Los Angeles and built a pantry sourced within 300 miles of the mansion. Lunch ran 17 courses over about four hours at $1,500 per person, including beverages and gratuity.

Chef Soto greeted us at the entrance with the full kitchen staff, a Noma tradition. By the time I arrived, the protesters were long gone, and the brigade seemed to be cooking with a sense of relief.

Rather than choose between the wine pairing and the nonalcoholic program, we asked our server, Mara, to mix the two course by course. She nailed it, moving from a sparkling rose-and-pink-pepper drink to a bright cherimoya lemonade to a 25-year-old Tony Coturri zinfandel from Glen Ellen that became the table's favorite pour.

The standouts

The crab. It opened the meal, and nothing that followed topped it. The pink pepper did double duty with the dried branches perfuming the shell, the butter sauce carrying a gentle heat — the sweet, smoky meat needed nothing else. Alongside came a 2022 Phelan Farm chardonnay from Rajat Parr's Cambria operation: white Burgundy in spirit, California in its bones.

The cactus. Pickled tacinga cactus, marinated in Oaxacan mezcal and citrus and crowned with honeypot ants, arrived beneath a live cactus paddle with a eucalyptus handle.

The acorn. A single braised acorn, glazed with black pepper, sat atop an uni custard made with Santa Barbara sea urchin and caviar in hoja santa oil. The server described it as a nod to California's Indigenous peoples. As a Choctaw, whose ancestors relied on acorns for thousands of years, I felt that one. It was also the most technically accomplished savory course of the meal.

The seaweed and clams. Six varieties of Southern California seaweed with butter-kissed clams tasted like the coast itself. This is Noma at its best: not interpreting California so much as listening to it.

The tuna eye. I've eaten cod eye at Noma in Copenhagen, but this version was way better. The kitchen removed the tough cornea, replaced it with a thin disk of kumquat, and served the eye chilled inside a ruby-red banana flower bract. Rich and gelatinous, it's eaten in one bite. When our table wondered aloud where the rest of all that tuna goes, Mara had the answer: family meal for the staff.

The kelp mole. Grilled greens, a squash blossom stuffed with huitlacoche, and an artichoke on its stalk arrived with tortillas from Komal, one of Los Angeles's top heirloom molinos, paired with a mole built on kelp.

Between the acorn, the cactus, and the mole, a question kept surfacing: what does it mean for a Danish kitchen to arrive in someone else's pantry and cook as though it has always been there? Some of these ingredients have fed Indigenous and Mexican cooks for centuries. Noma handled them with obvious respect and real curiosity. Sometimes, though, the line between homage and borrowing comes down to whether you're willing to say the name out loud.

Dessert kept the surprises coming, including a macadamia custard served in a sunflower whose base turned out to be beeswax. The finale arrived as a bundle of ferns tied with string. Diners snip it open with tiny scissors to find a chocolate cookie and a fortune inside. Mine quoted Nietzsche: You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.

Nietzsche, at $1,500 a head, in a Silver Lake mansion, from a kitchen whose founder walked away on opening day while protesters stood at the gate. The kitchen knew exactly what it was doing.

The full menu, course by course

For those keeping score, here's the complete lineup.

Pink pepper Dungeness crab
Daylily crab dumpling — The rest of the crab, tucked inside a trumpet-shaped daylily with buds plumped in crustacean liquor. The flower dominated; the crab was the reason to eat it.
Chilled lobster broth — Spiny lobster stock, dashi, and elderflower oil served chilled in the lobster's own coral-colored shell. A palate reset dressed as a course.
Spot prawn with matcha — Served in real seaweed, the head filled with smoked pumpkin paste for sucking, the tail painted with matcha. Paired with the 2024 Verso from Caleb Leisure in Sebastopol.
Sea urchin custard and braised acorn
Cactus with mezcal
Ragout of California botanicals — Seasonal greens, peas, and herbs in a warm, quiet preparation, tied together by a hint of horseradish.
SoCal seaweed and clam
Tuna neck — Minced tuna neck in a koji-inoculated steamed bun with the texture of suede, topped with translucent shards of dried chicken-stock skin. Paired with the 2000 Estate Zinfandel from Tony Coturri.
Tuna eye
Black pearl rice steamed in avocado leaf — Ringed with pistachio oil and scattered with dime-sized macadamia slices. Humble ingredients in the spirit of California great Jeremiah Tower.
Morels with habanero and yuzu — Sierra Nevada morels on turkey-tail mushrooms over hot stones. Bright and spicy, but heavy on the salt.
Greens and grilled artichoke in spiced kelp mole
Cherimoya and lemongrass — A green cocoa butter shell shaped like a cactus, hiding a smooth cherimoya ice cream. A California fruit most California menus ignore.
Macadamia milk custard and pistachio — Topped with heirloom Hong Kong kumquats from a handful of research trees that fruit four weeks a year, served in a beeswax-lined sunflower.
Silver Lake fortune cookie — A Chiapas chocolate mousse cookie garnished with insects, hidden in a bundle of ferns you cut open with tiny scissors. Fortune included.

The misses

Not every course landed. Morels with habanero and yuzu were oversalted, and some presentations were delivered too quietly to catch the full story. At $1,500 a seat, the storytelling should be as confident as the cooking.

The verdict

Having now eaten Noma's traveling editions in Tulum and Los Angeles, I'll offer an opinion that may be unpopular in certain circles: the pop-ups are better than Copenhagen. Maybe it's the hunt for new ingredients, or the urgency of a 16-week run in a borrowed house. Whatever the reason, the results are hard to argue with. I put that theory to the test in August, when I returned to Noma on my birthday, three days after it reopened with Soto at the helm. More on that meal soon.

Noma LA wasn't really a restaurant. It was an argument about a place, made in food, by people who flew 6,000 miles to make it. The argument was frequently brilliant, occasionally presumptuous, and closed with Nietzsche in a fortune cookie. On balance, it won.

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David Skinner is a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas and the owner of eculent and Ishtia in Kemah. He also writes the culinary travel journal Destination Eater on Substack.

Courtesy of David Skinner

Pink pepper Dungeness crab.

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