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    3 openings to know

    3 big Houston restaurant openings serious diners need to know right now

    Eric Sandler
    Dec 13, 2022 | 3:29 pm
    Bungalow downtown dining interior

    Bunglow features a luxurious interior

    Courtesy of Bungalow

    The last couple of months have been a busy time for restaurant openings (and reopenings). Here’s a quick look at three establishments that have recently begun (or resumed) service.

    Fung’s Kitchen

    Houston Chinese dining institution Fung’s Kitchen has reopened in Southwest Houston. Known for its lively dim sum service and extensive seafood menu, the Cantonese restaurant closed in January 2021 after being damaged by a fire.

    The new dining room has a number of new details, the Houston Chronicle reports. They include: a glass-enclosed wine wall, a large Buddha statue, and the addition of six private dining rooms.

    Not only will diners will find all of chef Hoi Fung’s menu available at the new restaurant, but it’s also been listed online via the Toast platform for easier to-go ordering. Customers can choose everything from dumplings to lobster to Peking duck.

    Those who choose to dine-in should plan to arrive early. Pictures on social media show long lines to enter the restaurant, particularly for dim sum on the weekends.

    Spanish Flowers

    Tex-Mex staple Spanish Flowers has opened its third Houston-area location near Washington Avenue. The restaurant has claimed the short-lived Rosland's Grill & Bar space at 903 Durham Dr.

    Best known for its original location on North Main St., Spanish Flowers serves Tex-Mex staples like enchiladas, tamales, and nachos. Its all-day breakfast menu is particularly popular. Prior to the pandemic, its 24-7 operating hours meant that everyone from late revelers to Lady Gaga might stop by for a meal. Currently, it's only 24 hours Friday-Sunday, but that still offers plenty of opportunities to satisfy late night fajitas cravings.

    Changes to the Durham location are mostly cosmetic. Of course, the bar is fully stocked with an extensive selection of tequila. Get a sneak peek of the space via this video:



    Bungalow Downtown Dining

    The booming vibe dining movement has arrived in downtown. Bungalow Downtown Dining opened earlier this fall at at 407 Main St.

    Created by Created by ALife Hospitality Group co-founders Mojeed Martins and Jonathan Reitzell, the entrepreneurs behind concepts such as Prospect Park, Lost & Found, and Kamp, the menu focuses on upscale steak and seafood. Dishes include: red fish with crab-bacon butter, wagyu meatball pasta, and apricot chicken. Other signature items consist of truffle fries with crabmeat, blackberry lamb ribs, and creamed corn brulée.

    The environment includes luxurious details such as a marble-tiled lobby and velvet booths. Private dining rooms include the 30-seat Prive Room that comes with a dedicated entrance and private bar and the Low Lounge, a 20-seat space hidden behind a bookshelf on the restaurant’s second floor.

    “We really wanted to bring a luxury concept to Houston’s vibrant dining scene that offers guests a host of more personalized options to enhance their experience,“ Martins said in a statement. “We’ve worked really hard to create spaces within the restaurant that celebrate the elevated experience of premium food and beverages in stunning fashion and are very excited to share the first-class service, culinary experience, and ambiance of Bungalow with guests in downtown Houston.”

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    in like the rose

    Mimo duo open tiny Italian sandwich and gelato shop in Houston's East End

    Eric Sandler
    Apr 29, 2026 | 5:52 pm
    La Rosa Fernando Rios Mike Sammons
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Chef Fernando Rios and Mike Sammons recently opened La Rosa.

    When sommelier Mike Sammons and chef Fernando Rios teamed up to open their East End Italian restaurant Mimo in 2023, they did so by serving sandwiches that eventually went away once the restaurant moved to only being open for dinner with full service.

    Thankfully, the sandwiches are back at La Rosa, the duo’s new sandwich restaurant that, like Mimo, is located in the East End’s Tlaquepaque Market shopping center. Currently, it’s open Tuesday-Sunday with sandwiches for lunch (12-3 pm) and gelato until the early evening.

    “I have always wanted to do a sandwich shop. That’s always been a weird dream since an experience I had in Italy when I was younger,” Sammons tells CultureMap. “Even back in the days at 13 Celsius, that was a big driver for the mortadella sandwich we still do there.”

    La Rosa’s menu is as compact as its space, which has four indoor tables, a little dining counter, and a couple of outdoor tables. It consists of three sandwiches:

    • Mortadella, with fior di latte, arugula, pesto di pistachio, mostarda, and garlic aioli
    • Formaggio, a vegetarian sandwich with corn and zucchini fritters, arugula, pesto di pistachio, mostarda, and garlic aioli
    • A daily special that, on April 29, was made with bresaola, pecorino, horseradish crema, capers, arugula, and lemon.

    La Rosa Fernando Rios Mike Sammons

    Photo by Eric Sandler

    Chef Fernando Rios and Mike Sammons recently opened La Rosa.

    “We R&D’ed the hell out of them,” Sammons says about the sandwiches. “I can’t tell you how many mortadellas we’ve tasted and how many different kinds of fior di latte. Even the way we do the pesto di pistachio — dry as a bone or super wet with lots of olive oil.”

    Alright, Mike, explain how nerdy you and chef got with the ingredients in the mortadella sandwich.

    “First of all, when it comes to the mortadella, you have to be able to cut it so thinly you can look through it. It has to have a certain integrity and still have bite to it,” he explains. “The fior di latte has to be creamy and snappy. You have to be able to crush it flat so it oozes all over the sandwich. The pesto di pistachio has to have a real presence of raw pistachio.”

    The duo applied a similar discipline to finding the right platform for La Rosa’s sandwiches. Sammons says he and Rios tried all kinds of bread, eventually settling on a telera roll from Houston favorite El Bolillo.

    “It’s more of a vessel. Bread is always the star of a sandwich, but we want the star of the show to be almost a little hidden, like an uncelebrated special guest,” he says. “It’s crisp and crunchy with a toothsome bite that’s light and airy in the middle. It holds everything together but doesn’t dominate.”

    Similarly, they’re sourcing gelato from Houston’s SweetCup Gelato. Sammons says he tried multiple vendors, but Sweet Cup’s lemon sorbet is the one flavor that most reminded him of Italy. In addition to classics like pistachio, chocolate, and strawberry, chef Rios can work with Sweet Cup on flavors that will be exclusive to La Rosa.

    Rios is already rotating the specials. The opening weekend’s meatball sandwich quickly gave way to this week’s bresaola. Diners have plenty to look forward to, including favorites from the old days like Italian beef and chicken parm.

    Sammons has some aspirations, too. He plans to add beer and wine to the current non-alcoholic offerings of soda and sparkling water.

    The little shop has been surprisingly busy, he adds.

    “We sold out Sunday, which was unexpected,” Sammons says. “If we keep doing that, we’ll make more. So far, everyone has been supportive. I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be great.”

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