Celebrating culinary all-stars

Toast Houston's top restaurant and bar stars at 2025 Tastemaker Awards

Join us for the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards on April 3.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Save the date for the tastiest food and drink event of the season: The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards return this spring to celebrate Houston's top restaurant and bar talent — and discounted tickets are on sale now.

Join us April 3 at Silver Street Studios for our signature tasting event and annual awards ceremony. You'll enjoy a full evening of chef-driven bites, perfectly paired sips, and the big reveal of the Houston Tastemaker Award winners for 2025.

The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards program shines a spotlight on the people and places that make Texas' top cities world-class culinary destinations.

Houston is just the beginning. Mark your calendars for our other 2025 events:

San Antonio: April 10 at The Briscoe Western Art Museum
Fort Worth: April 23 at The 4 Eleven
Dallas: May 1 at Astoria Event Venue
Austin: May 8 at Fair Market

This year in Houston, we'll present awards for Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Bar of the Year, Bartender of the Year, Rising Star Chef of the Year, Pastry Chef of the Year, Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year, Best New Restaurant, Best Pop-up/Startup, and Best Coffee Shop.

Our panel of industry experts — including past Tastemaker winners — selects all nominees and winners, except for the Best New Restaurant winner, which will be determined by you, our readers, in a heated online tournament.

The 2025 Houston Tastemaker Awards nominees will be unveiled soon, and readers will get to know all of our nominees in a special editorial series leading up to the big event on April 3.

A limited number of pre-sale tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $60 for general admission and $99 for VIP (includes early access to the event, valet, and a dedicated bar). Prices will go up soon.

More delicious details about each event are coming soon. But don't delay: Nab tickets for Houston — and all of our 2025 events — now.

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Houston by Stella Artois, PicMe Events, and more to be announced. A portion of Houston proceeds will benefit our nonprofit partner, the Southern Smoke Foundation.

awards ceremony best bar best restaurant culinary event silver street studios southern smoke foundation tastemaker tastemaker awards tastemakers

Matcha News

TikTok star Keith Lee crafts matcha latte for Hill Country flood relief

Instagram

Keith Lee hoists his special matcha drink.

The devastating floods that swept across Central Texas on July 4 are bringing out all kinds of charitable endeavors — and that includes a limited-edition beverage from Texas-based TikTok food influencer Keith Lee.

Lee, a social media sensation whose online food reviews have benefited hundreds of small restaurants, is partnering with La La Land Kind Cafe on a special drink: Called the La La Land X Keith Lee Latte, it's a matcha drink in which 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards Kerr County flood relief.

La La Land is the coffee chain founded in Dallas in 2019 with a mission to provide opportunities for fostering youth and individuals in need. It has three locations in Houston, along with 10 across Dallas-Fort Worth and six in Southern California.

The new Keith Lee Latte will consist of double ceremonial matcha, with secret syrup, matcha cloud, a whole fresh strawberry, flaky salt, and matcha powder. (See Lee enjoy the latte in the video below.)

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A post shared by Keith Lee (@keith_lee125)

Matcha is the Japanese green tea powder that has experienced a surge in popularity, appearing in everything from drinks like the matcha latte to desserts like matcha mousse.

Keith Lee Latte is a matcha drink.Instagram

Lee, who relocated to Dallas in 2024, has been on a matcha kick ever since he tried it in Chicago, which he says "led me down a rabbit hole," and it has become his trademark drink. In May, he visited seven cafes across DFW in search of the perfect matcha in town, and that included La La Land, where he ordered a matcha with almond milk.

He also has a charitable history, including a special visit he made to Taste Project in Fort Worth to donate $4,000 to support the nonprofit's mission to fight food insecurity.

The Keith Lee Latte will be available at all La La Land cafes beginning Friday July 11, for a limited time only. From July 11-27, 100 percent of all proceeds will support flood relief efforts in Kerr County — "a community in our home state that’s hurting," La La Land Cafe says.

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