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Family-friendly Houston restaurant picks Missouri City for 6th location

A family-friendly Houston restaurant will soon open its sixth location. Local Table is expected to open in Missouri City in January.

Located at 3434 FM 1092 Road, the new Local Table will occupy approximately 6,700 square feet. It will feature a semi-private dining room, an outdoor patio, and a mural by Houston artist Shelbi Nicole

First opened in 2016, the restaurant builds on the legacy of Hungry's, the popular Mediterranean cafe that has two Houston-area locations (with a third on the way this spring). Shervin Sharifi and Neima Sharifi, who are nephews of Hungry's founder Fred Sharifi, partnered with Hungry's co-owner Ashkan Nowamooz and his brothers Arash and Alex. Additionally, Sue Nowamooz, Ashkan's wife, serves as executive chef for both Hungry's and Local Table.

“Every Local Table location is born from the community around it — our guests shape who we are. We’re honored to create spaces where neighbors can gather, share meals, and feel at home,” Shervin Sharifi said in a statement. “Missouri City has already shown us so much warmth, and we can’t wait to become part of the fabric of this community.”

Similar to Hungry’s, many dishes include Mediterranean-inspired elements such as a gyro pita, a kebab plate, and hummus. Other selections — including chicken fried chicken, a bacon cheeseburger, and a Philly cheesesteak — take their inspiration from traditional Southern or classic American fare. Gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan items appear throughout the menu. Weekend brunch features three-egg omelets, chicken and waffles, croissant French toast, and more.

Weekly specials includes kids eats free on Monday, $5 margaritas on Tuesday, half-off bottles of wine on Wednesday, and “Board and Bottle Thursday,” that offers a pizza and bottle of wine for $40. Meals are available for both dine-in and Local Table’s in-house delivery service.

“Local Table is dedicated to providing families in the Greater Houston area with access to quality dining in a welcoming, family-friendly setting,” Sharifi added. “Expanding our footprint to Missouri City is a perfect next step for us, and we’re thrilled to become part of this community.”

Photo by Jenn Duncan

Local Table serves a mix of Mediterranean and classic American fare.

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

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Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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