$33 all-you-can-eat meat

Sizzling new all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant heats up Chinatown with cool Seoul nightlife vibe

A new, all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant has opened in Chinatown. Hongdae 33 is now open for lunch, dinner, and late night service.

Located in the former Napa space in the bustling Dun Huang Plaza (9889 Bellaire Blvd, Ste. D-229), Hongdae 33 aims to bring the energy of Seoul’s lively nightlife district to the Bayou City. Grace and Leo Xia, who also own popular Chinese restaurant Duck N Bao, decided to open a Korean barbecue restaurant after a trip to Las Vegas.

“To Koreans, barbecue is not just grilling meat,” Grace Xia said in a statement. “It is part of the culture. It’s gathering and making memories while cooking at the table and enjoying a meal with your date, family, friends or co-workers. Barbecuing together is a great way to relax and have fun. We hope to create that special experience at Hongdae 33.”

Once they enter the 80-seat restaurant, diners will find tables with gas-powered grills and copper-colored exhaust pipes. Neon lights and traditional Korean design elements help create a vibrant atmosphere.

“Our goal is to modernize the Korean barbecue cuisine and experience, which included collaborating with our designer to translate and share our vision with the neighborhood,” Xia added. “It’s hard to find a place in the area that’s open after 10 pm, so we’ll accommodate later crowds, including late-night workers.”

The $33 per person, all-you-can-eat menu includes everything someone might want during a Korean barbecue meal. Starters include seafood pancake, corn cheese, kimchi stew, and japchae. The eight banchan options include cabbage kimchi, marinated bean sprouts, spicy pickled cucumbers, and marinated fish cakes.

Hongdae 33 offers an extensive selection of meat and seafood for diners to grill at their tables. Beef selections include Black Angus brisket, Black Angus galbi, ribeye steak bulgogi, garlic flat iron steak, Texas wagyu beef tongue, and Texas wagyu beef belly. Diners will also find pork options such as spicy pork bulgogi, pork jowl, and marinated pork belly, as well as chicken and seafood options that include garlic butter chicken, Cajun jumbo shrimp, and spicy squid.

The restaurants offers an extensive selection of drinks to pair with its meats, including soju, Korean rice wine, cocktails, beers, and shots. To encourage people to explore its beverage program, Hongdae 33 offers two specials — a bottle of soju and three beers for $25 or four shots for $24.

Its hours are similarly welcoming, as the restaurant is open from 11:30 am until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 am on Friday and Saturday. The only catch is that diners are limited to 90 minutes to complete their meals.

Photo by Jenn Duncan

Sample all of this food for $33 per person.

where there's smoke

Houston's only Michelin-recognized Tex-Mex restaurant now open in Bellaire

Photo by Duc Hoang

Don't miss the brisket nachos at Candente.

It didn’t take Sambrook Hospitality Group long to turn Mandito’s into Candente. First announced in September, the restaurant’s second location officially opens today, Monday, December 22, at 5101 Bellaire Blvd.

Speaking on a November episode of CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast, Sambrooks Hospitality founder Michael Sambrooks explained that, as a Bellaire resident, he saw an opportunity to open a restaurant close to home.

“It was a combination of, this location became available, and we liked the market. I think Bellaire is underserved. As far as Tex-Mex options, I think it’s limited,” he says. “We always struggle with where’s somewhere we can grab a bite that’s five minutes away as opposed to driving to another part of town. I think Candente is that solution. I think it’s going to be pretty well received.”

In terms of design, the restaurant replicates many of the same elements as the original Montrose location that opened in 2019, such as its copper-topped tables and yellow, orange, and maroon accents. Diners will note a mural by local artist Franky Cardona along one wall. Overall, the restaurant seats 125 in its dining room, 10 at its bar, and 24 on an outdoor patio.

While the location is new, the menu is the same. That means the same wood-fired fajitas, brisket enchiladas, nachos, birria tacos, and other fare that helped it achieve a “Recommended” designation in the Michelin Guide for Texas — the only Tex-Mex restaurant in Houston to make the prestigious guide. Pair them with margaritas (both shaken and frozen), as well as agave-based cocktails such as the paloma and ranch water, beers, and non-alcoholic options.

Sambrooks Hospitality also operates The Pit Room, the barbecue joint with locations in Montrose and Memorial City that earned a Bib Gourmand designation.

“It’s a privilege to open in Bellaire and get to know and serve a new clientele,” Sambrooks said in a statement. “We’re excited to introduce our style of authentic, handcrafted Tex-Mex that has made us a Houston dining staple.”

Candente will be open for lunch and dinner during the week beginning at 11 am. Brunch is served Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 am.

Don't miss the brisket nachos at Candente.

Photo by Duc Hoang

Don't miss the brisket nachos at Candente.

openings news-you-can-eat tex-mex