ready to debut

Innovative tapas restaurant Mi Luna ready for grand debut in Montrose

Mi Luna Tapas Restaurant and Bar, Branzino Asado

The Branzino Asado is a new menu item making its debut on October 7.

Photo by Dylan McEwan

Houston has been patiently waiting for the return of beloved Mi Luna Tapas Restaurant and Bar, and it won't be long now. The restaurant has set its opening date for Monday, October 7 in its new space at Montrose Collective.

As previously reported by CultureMap, Mi Luna was established by chef Youssef Nafaa in 1998, occupying its original Rice Village location until it closed in 2018. The new 3,805-square-foot restaurant is located at 888 Westheimer Rd., Suite 126, in the former Picnik space.

In a press release, Nafaa says one of his main priorities in resurrecting the Spanish tapas concept was to keep it as close to the original as possible, while still offering an authentic culinary experience and atmosphere.

"The idea is to be able to experience different dishes that create great conversations, that create a social atmosphere that people are losing these days," Nafaa says in the release. "Everybody is stuck on their phones. Eating is a lot more than just eating. Eating out needs to be an experience – meeting people and trying things that you cannot make at home."

Fan-favorite dishes returning on the menu include the Paella Valenciana (fresh seafood, rabbit, and chicken over saffron rice), B'Stilla (a Moroccan-inspired chicken dish with cinnamon almonds wrapped in phyllo), Gambas Al Ajillo (shrimp sautéed in lemon garlic olive oil with red chili peppers), and more.

Mi Luna's Paella Valenciana is one of the most popular dishes on the menu. The Paella Valenciana is one of the most popular dishes at Mi Luna.Photo by Dylan McEwan

Nafaa also is introducing several new dishes to suit contemporary tastes, such as Branzino Asado (whole roasted branzino, cherry tomato and olive tapenade); Jarrete de Credo Estodao (braised pork shank, white bean and chorizo ragu); Rape con Miel (monkfish, toasted almonds, honey saffron cream sauce); and Rabo de Toro a la Sevillana (braised oxtail, chickpeas).

The beverage menu will feature more than 100 Spanish wines, housemade Sangria, and specialty cocktails and mocktails, including Meet Me at Mi Luna, (gin, Campari, egg white, lemon juice, and agave) andMango Ahumado, (mezcal, mango, lime juice, and agave).

Indoors, the restaurant seats 110 guests indoors, with room for an additional 75 to 80 on a 1,216-square-foot patio. "The family-owned restaurant's design blends authentic Spanish decor with modern touches, including a raised platform stage for live entertainment," the release adds.

Mi Luna will regularly host live acts, such as Houston-based national touring company Solero Flamenco, on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 pm-midnight. According to the release, the first Flamenco night will take place on October 11. The restaurant will also showcase local acoustic guitar performances during weekend brunch from 10 am-3 pm.

In a unique endeavor to encourage diners to connect with each other, the only "entertainment" guests won't be able to find at Mi Luna are distracting sports games or shows on television screens.

Mi Luna Montrose interior No TVs to distract diners at Mi Luna.Photo by Dylan McEwan

"The mantra of Mi Luna is a place where we turn strangers into friends,” Adam Nafaa says. "That’s the goal. We don’t have TVs, and we designed the restaurant so that you can see everywhere from anywhere. We want to bring Houstonians together over shared plates, creating a communal energy where everyone enjoys the atmosphere and experience together."

After the grand opening on October 7, Mi Luna will be open Monday through Wednesday from 3-11 pm, Thursday from 3 pm- midnight, Friday from 3 pm-2 am, Saturday from 10 am-2 am, and Sunday from 10 am-10 pm. Reservations can be made online via milunatapasbar.com.

Eric Sandler contributed to this story.

houston openings restaurants food-drink

Esquire's Best New Restaurants

Esqiure names Houston's Afro-Mexican eatery to best new restaurants list

Photo by Leonid Furmansky

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Houston chef and restaurateur Chris Williams is basking in the national spotlight. Esquire has named Late August, his Midtown restaurant that explores the intersection of African American and Mexican culinary traditions, to its list of The Best New Restaurants in America, 2024.

Published Tuesday, December 3, 35 restaurants make the cut. As is typical for endeavors like these, the five boroughs of New York City lead the way with eight restaurants, followed by Los Angeles with five. Four Kings, a Cantonese restaurant in San Francisco, earns Restaurant of the Year. The diversity of the included restaurants has puts Esquire food and drinks editor Jeff Gordinier in a contemplative mood.

“There never really has been any fixed, singular definition of American food, because the country and its cuisines — influenced by wave after wave of new arrivals — have remained in a state of perpetual transformation,” Gordinier writes in his introduction. “The ultimate answer to Jasper’s question is that American food, like American music, is something that’s always in motion.”

Despite the list's coastal focus, Texas isn’t completely ignored. In addition to Late August, Mābo, a Japanese restaurant in Dallas, earns a spot on the list. The magazine also awards Pastry Chefs of the Year to Texans Tavel Bristol-Joseph and Karla Espinosa for Nicosi, a 20-seat restaurant in San Antonio that serves a dessert-focused, eight-course tasting menu.

At Late August, which opened in March in Midtown’s the Ion mixed-use development, contributor Joshua David Stein praises Williams and executive chef Sergio Hidalgo for “bravura acts of culinary invention” such as citrus pork confit with mustard-and-collard-greens masa and field pea hummus topped with fried grasshoppers.

Late August has already received some national attention. It is Houston’s only Black-owned restaurant to earn a spot in the Michelin Guide, where it received a Recommended designation.

Omar Mamoon hails Mābo as the best place in America to eat chicken yakitori, a Japanese grilling technique. “At Mābo, his eight-seat counter, chef Masayuki Otaka prepares a two-hour meal in which poultry is the star. He sources free-ranging heritage breeds from Pennsylvania, and he lets you order additional skewers — maybe you’re in the mood for more tail, or for the fatty triangular nub known as the pope’s nose — when the planned courses have reached their completion,” he writes.

Bristol-Joseph and Espinoza bring pastry chefs’ perspective to tasting menus at Nicosi, which also earned a Recommended designation from Michelin. The restaurant famously doesn’t allow photos and doesn’t give diners a menu, allowing them to experience the dishes without any preconceived notions.

“We live in a society where people take photos, and they totally miss what the chef is describing,” Bristol-Joseph said on a recent episode of CultureMap’s What’s Eric Eating podcast. “I was looking at that trend and saying, ‘how do I create a space that forces everyone to be present?’ We’re not going to have a menu in front of you. I’m going to speak, and you’re going to listen or else you’re not going to know what you’re having.”

In 2023, Esquire named Houston’s Nonno’s Family Pizza Tavern as its Pizza Joint of the Year. Este, a Mexican seafood restaurant in Austin, was Texas’ only representative on the Best New Restaurants list.

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