I forget what 8 was for

Houston's sophisticated new Mediterranean restaurant surfaces this week

This week is a busy one for new Montrose restaurants. Fresh off the news that Drake’s Hollywood is opening on Thursday, August 29 comes word that Sof Hospitality will unveil Októ, its new Mediterranean concept, beginning Saturday, August 31.

Announced in May, Októ occupies the former The Chelsea space at the Montrose Collective, the mixed-use development that’s also home to Marmo, Uchi, and recently opened cocktail bar The Sophie. Its the fourth concept from Sof Hospitality, joining luxurious steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, Israeli-inspired restaurant Hamsa, and Badolina Bakery.

Named for the Greek word for “eight” — a nod to the building’s address at 888 Westheimer Road — Októ takes inspiration from Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy, and Spain. Created by chefs Yotam Dolev (Hamsa) and Hai Avnaim (Doris Metropolitan), the restaurant serves a tidy menu of fewer than 20 starters, entrees, and sides that’s designed to be shared.

Meals at Októ could begin with a Greek salad, eggplant carpaccio, or a green salad with crispy buckwheat and pickled peppers and onions. From there, diners may opt for a raw seafood dish such as tuna crudo or sea bass carpaccio.

Entrees include squid ink linguini with crab and and sambal butter sauce, branzino en papillote, or lamb chops with cauliflower and sunchoke skordalia (a Greek garlic dip). The restaurant is put its spin on the French classic filet Rossini, which is steak topped with foie gras, mushrooms, and a peppercorn sauce.

Okto restuarant steak Steak Rossini is topped with foie gras and peppercorn sauce.Photo by Becca Wright

Co-owner Itai Ben Eli and chef Dolev spoke about the restaurant on a recent episode of CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast. They explained the ways in which Októ’s food is intended to be more elevated than what they serve at Hamsa.

“The dishes at Októ are going to be more detailed and more layered than the ones we have at Hamsa, which is based more on traditional cooking. Októ is going to be a little more modern with layers and elevations that we’ll do daily,” Ben Eli said.

“We’re really trying to change the rules when it comes to the culinary scene and Okto,” Dolev added. “I just came back from Israel a couple of weeks ago. The scene there is amazing. I thought, I need to bring a touch of this, a touch of Italy, a touch of Greece.”

Okto restaurant frena bread Frena is a Moroccan bread with a crispy exterior and a fluffy interior.Photo by Becca Wright

Of course, just as Doris Metropolitan is widely celebrated for its bread and Hamsa has become known for its pita, no meal at Októ will be complete without its frena bread. Served with a housemade pistachio butter, the traditional Moroccan bread is baked upside down on rocks.

“The rocks give it a nice shape. They crisp up the edges and give you a fluffy inside,” Dolev explained.

Currently, Októ will be open until 10 pm during the week and 11 pm on the weekends, but it could stay open later in the future. A DJ booth in the dining room hints at the kind of lively late night atmosphere that Ben Eli and business partner Itamar Levy intend to offer. Other design details include windows that offer a view into the kitchen and a plant-filled patio.

“All of our concepts have evolved from one another, influenced by our deep cultural roots, and come to life by our talented players,” Ben Eli added in a statement. “Októ really emphasizes the boutique nature of our brand and the intimate feel of the Mediterranean dining scene. It is the product of the dream team we have at Sof Hospitality - with extensive collaboration on everything from the design of the space to the finishes on our cocktails."

Photo by Becca Wright

Meals at Októ could start with dishes such as eggplant carpaccio or Greek salad.

news-you-can-eat openings okto chefs montrose

welcome to paradise

Veteran Houston bartender shakes up the Heights with new tropical bar

Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar exterior

Photo by Eric Sandler

Berwick's Birds of Paradise opened on July 4.

The woman behind your favorite bartender’s favorite bar has quietly opened a new cocktail spot in the Heights. Called Berwick’s Birds of Paradise, it’s the latest project from Double Trouble owner Robin Berwick.

Berwick tells CultureMap that she began looking for a new project about a year ago. Double Trouble, a coffee and cocktail bar that opened in late 2011, no longer required her full attention. She found an ideal space with the former La Coqueta at 2020 Studewood Street, a standalone building in a prime area of the Heights. Similar to Double Trouble, Berwick took inspiration from tropical destinations for BBOP's (pronounced “be bop”) drinks and design — with some additional flair from the only kind of bar she’s never worked at.

“I might be embarrassed if you print this, but it’s the truth. I have bartended in just about every category of bar: restaurant bar, nightclub, dance club, strip club, dive bar, and Anvil and Poison Girl, the cocktail bars that people knew me from before Double Trouble,” she says.

“The only place I didn’t work that I wanted to was a resort hotel bar. I never want to be responsible for running a hotel, but I wanted to open a bar that felt like it was once attached to a hotel.”

Patrons will notice a screen printed portrait of a woman hanging on one of the bar’s walls. Berwick has decided that it depicts the mythical owner of the non-existent hotel that BBOP is attached to.

“I don’t know her name, but she’s a little spooky and she’s blue. I just look at her and ask her what would she do,” Berwick says.

Berwick worked with Jarred Pruitt and Eli Ashby at Houston builder Pruitt Structures to renovate the space with everything from new plumbing and HVAC systems to a vintage-inspired tile floor and an all-new ceiling treatment. The costs ran a little higher than expected, but Berwick cites her “fantastic investors” who raised the money required to build the bar she envisioned.

Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar interior The building received a comprehensive renovation to become Berwick's Birds of Paraidse.Photo by Eric Sandler

The cocktail menu takes a similarly tropical (not to be confused with tiki) theme. For example, the bar’s frozen cocktail is called La Bruha, after a nickname Berwick received from the tradesmen who helped renovate the bar. “It’s a riff on an El Diablo,” she explains, “Tequila, fresh lime juice, spicy ginger beer, habanero tincture, topped with a layer of elderberry liqueur. The ginger surprises people. It’s got a little punch to it.”

Similarly, the Crocodile Tears Martini gets a little island flavor courtesy of Strange Water, a coconut water created by former Houstonian Yael Vengroff, and Grey Goose Citra vodka. “Everybody’s been saying it’s ‘dangerously drinkable,’” Berwick adds.

BBOP’s tidy food menu is overseen by veteran Houston chef Jacob Pate, whose resume includes Coltivare, Good Dog Houston, and the recently-closed Savoir. Current offerings include chicken wings, a smash burger, and a Bikini Sandwich — similar to a Cubano, Pate gives the traditional Catalan-inspired pressed ham and cheese sandwich a Houston twist courtesy of muffaletta compound butter and tomato condiment.

“On the horizon is a house made sausage dog that I’m excited about,” Pate writes in an email. “At Savoir, we had some fun butchery projects that I would like to build upon where it makes sense. Beyond that, the first priority is figuring out how it all fits in our small kitchen and having fun.”

In addition to food and drinks, Berwick is working with Heights cigar bar Nice Ash to stock a humidor for BBOP. Patrons will be able to smoke a cigar on the bar’s patio. Because people will be smoking (among other reasons), BBOP is strictly 21-plus.

The bar opened quietly on July 4. So far, its customers has been a mix of curious neighbors, Double Trouble regulars, and Berwick’s friends in the service industry. After spending so much time on renovations, she says she’s happy to focus on operating her bar.

“I had been used to this high stress level, waiting for the bottom to drop out [during the renovations],” she says. “When the first guests came in, I relaxed. We know how to make drinks.”

Currently, the bar is open Wednesday-Sunday from 4pm - midnight. Days of service and hours of operation will expand once additional employees have been hired.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Berwick's Birds of Paradise opened on July 4.