One of Houston’s foremost pizza experts is once again slinging pies. Lee’s, the companion cocktail bar to Rice Village restaurant Milton’s, is now serving pizzas created by chef Seth Siegel-Gardner.
The chef, who serves as creative and culinary director for Local Foods Group, earned acclaim for his precisely executed pies as chef and co-owner of The Pass & Provisions. After it closed in 2019, Siegel-Gardner launched Marfa Para Llevar, a to-go only pizza window that thrived during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Working with Milton’s executive chef Kent Domas, Siegel-Gardner created six pies for Lee’s. They are:
- Margherita ($13)
- Pepperoni ($16)
- Mushroom: Bechamel, maitake, toasted yeast, sage, parsley, chives, and pickled mushrooms ($18)
- Pesto Saltimbocca: Chicken and prosciutto, sage, pickled peppers ($17)
- Leeks Vinaigrette: Brown butter roasted hazelnuts, celeriac, aged balsamic, fontina, celery leaves ($24)
- Truffle: Black trumpet and king trumpet mushrooms, freshly shaved white and black truffles ($34)
In press materials, the chef describes the pizzas as a hybrid between New York and Neapolitan styles, due to a light crust that uses prosecco in its dough recipe. At 10 inches, they’re sized to be a light meal for one person or shared with other dishes by two or more people.
The rest of the Lee’s food menu follows the lead of the Italian-American fare served at Milton’s. It includes mozzarella sticks, fried calamari, steak tartare, fried ravioli, a chicken parm sandwich, and more. All of the dishes pair well with the bar’s cocktails such as a negroni, Garibaldi (campari and orange juice), Gibson (martini made with gin, vermouth, and pickle brine), a blood orange margarita, and more.
“We’re seeing couples come in and share snacks and a bottle of wine, groups of friends come and order across the list of cocktails and have a few rounds of food and ultimately, just a whole lot of good times being shared at Lee’s. Chef Kent and I thought it’d be fun to add pizza to the mix,” Siegel-Gardner said in a statement. “The vision is that pizza will add to the already playful atmosphere with food and friends.”
Local Foods Group opened Lee’s last year. Since then, it earned a nomination for Bar of the Year in the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards and landed a spot on Bon Appètit’s list of the 9 Best New Bars of 2025.
Photo by Carla Gomez
Lee's is now serving 10-inch pizzas.
