The final category reveal in the CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Awards 2015 is the most prestigious of all: Restaurant of the Year. As selected by our panel of industry insiders, these are the seven establishments that are leading Houston's culinary movement.

What's striking is how new they are collectively. Four of them opened in 2014, which once against bolsters the argument that last year saw another leap forward for the city's dining scene. Even Kata Robata only opened in 2010, but it already feels like a staple that will be around for many more years to come.

Without further ado, here are the nominees. We'll be celebrating them at a party Wednesday night. Advance tickets are sold out, but 50 general admission tickets will be available at the door on a first-come, first-served basis.

BCN Taste & Tradition
Chef Luis Roger moved to Houston from Spain, along with his wife and three children, to bring Spanish fine dining to Houston at a converted house near the intersection of Richmond and Montrose. In an era when casual neighborhood restaurants seem to be the norm, BCN has emerged as a Montrose hotspot by being distinctly fine dining. Suit-wearing servers populate the understated dining room and the guests are similarly attired. Dining on BCN’s authentic Spanish fare feels very upscale, but the atmosphere isn't stuffy — just elegant.

Caracol
As the follow-up to Hugo's, diners had sky-high expectations for this coastal restaurant from four-time James Beard Award finalist Hugo Ortega, but, of course, Caracol's creative menu overcame any skepticism. The ceviches, seafood entrees and the instant classic roasted oysters with chipotle butter have blown diners away since day one. The restaurant is both popular — it's a bona fide hot spot that's routinely packed for lunch, brunch and dinner — and really good. A beverage program that features creative cocktails and a well-chosen wine list means that every dish has a perfect pairing. Hugo's and Backstreet Cafe are already local staples, and Caracol looks to be well on its way to achieving a similarly beloved status.

Coltivare
As promised in the article that profiled the Tastemaker Awards Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year nominees, Coltivare is back. This Italian-inspired spot from Revival Market principles Morgan Weber and chef Ryan Pera features an evolving menu, reasonable prices and a sophisticated selection of wine, beer and spirits. Coltivare charms diners by being casual and comfortable, especially when the weather is nice enough to sit on the patio adjacent to its 3,000 square-foot garden. The sourdough pizza crust may not be traditional Italian, but it serves as a flavorful, hearty platform for the flavors that Pera and his chefs place atop it. That's why Coltivare is the current holder of the unofficial title of "the restaurant Houston chefs are most likely to dine at on their own time." The only downside is famously long wait times that tag Coltivare as the victim of its own success. Go early (before 6 p.m.), late (after 9 p.m.) or during the week to mitigate them.

Kata Robata
Under the direction of chef Manabu Horiuchi, usually known as Hori-san to friends and diners, Kata Robata has become Houston's premier destination for sushi. Of course, the kitchen excels beyond raw fish; dishes like the lobster mac and cheese or uni chawanmushi make it appealing for just about anyone. No wonder Kata's dining room regularly hosts Houston chefs in search of Hori-san's clean flavors. While an omakase tasting allows the kitchen to show off, going in for a bowl of ramen at lunch shows that even the most humble dishes are well-prepared.

Oxheart
Outside of Underbelly, Oxheart continues to be the Houston restaurant that receives the most critical acclaim: chef Justin Yu earned his second James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Southwest; Oxheart appeared as one of only two Houston restaurants on Eater's list of the country's 38 most essential restaurants; and it's at the top of Chronicle critic Alison Cook's list of the city's top 100 restaurants. While all the acclaim could lead to complacency, Oxheart continues to evolve; last year, Yu slimmed down the menu, dropping the four-course option and focusing on two, six-course menus: one vegetarian, one omnivore. Experience has also allowed Yu to pickle and preserve ingredients and then reuse them in interesting ways a year or more later. Oxheart's subtle flavors aren't for everyone — radio and television personality Cleverley Stone was apparently so underwhelmed that she ate dessert at Del Frisco's steakhouse after her recent meal there — but enough Houstonians and visitors are intrigued by the restaurant to keep its 30-seat dining room full.

Pax Americana
This Montrose hotspot has been packed since day one thanks to Rising Star chef nominee Adam Dorris's creative cooking. Under the direction of owner Shepard Ross, the fast-moving service staff brings order to Pax's boisterous dining room while guiding diners through the menu. Newcomers are advised to go in a group of six and order, well, pretty much everything that sounds interesting — and the things that sound challenging. They'll be rewarded with balanced flavors, precise cooking and combinations that don't exist at other Houston restaurants. That doesn't mean Ross can't execute classic fare, too. The restaurant's massive, two-pound, 30-day dry aged ribeye that's cooked precisely medium rare and served sliced for the table might be the city's best steak. That's why Pax landed onGQ critic Alan Richman's list of 2015's 25 most exciting restaurants.

Underbelly
Chris Shepherd's restaurant that tells "the story of Houston food" has emerged as the symbol of Houston's rise as a nationally prominent food destination; after all, Shepherd ended the city's 22-year-long James Beard Award drought. For food-obsessed visitors, a meal at Underbelly may be more important than shopping at the Galleria or visiting the Menil. Shepherd has reloaded with new talent in the kitchen; he calls pastry chef Victoria Dearmond "my 23-year old grandmother" for the way she organizes the rest of the kitchen. The menu continues to offer lots of interesting flavors that are inspired by restaurants on Bellaire, Hillcroft and Long Point and executed using the best locally-sourced vegetables, meat and fish. Even the bar menu has received some tweaks thanks to new offerings that are "covers" of famous dishes from other Southern restaurants. Now diners can wait with fevered anticipation for the inevitable collaborations that will occur once Mala Sichuan opens across the street.

BCN Taste & Tradition.

BCN Taste & Tradition/Facebook

BCN Taste & Tradition.

Time now to consider the CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Awards Chef of the Year nominees. These are the men and women who lead some of the city's most dynamic kitchens. Collectively, they've earned national press and possess Michelin-starred resumes, which is why our group of restaurant industry insiders has nominated them for the award.

Of course, in a city bursting with so much culinary talent, choices have to be made. These seven nominees are all outstanding, but, realistically, we could swap them out and have an almost equally accomplished group.

Come celebrate all of our nominees at the Tastemaker Awards party Wednesday May 13. Advance tickets have sold out, but 50 general admission tickets will be available at the door.

Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan, The Pass & Provisions
Known affectionately around town as the Tweezer Twins for their attention to detail, Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan have already earned recognition from their Tastemakers panel when The Pass & Provisions won Restaurant of the Year in 2014. Now they're up in the chef category, where the committee recognizes the difficulty of keeping both concepts operating at a high level. The Pass features both a vegetarian and an omnivore menu that changes about four times per year, while Provisions makes some seasonal adjustments of its own.

On any given night, diners will find both chefs in the kitchen working with their cooks to turn out each plate of food. It's sort of refreshing to see Gallivan tending the oven and making each pizza or order of shisito peppers. No wonder they picked up their first James Beard semifinalist nomination this year.

Jose Hernandez, Radio Milano
Diners familiar with Jose Hernandez's work at Philippe, La Balance and Etoile know the man is fluent in French cuisine, but, at Radio Milano, he shows he's equally adept at Italian cooking and taking on the challenge of proving that an independent restaurant can thrive at chain-loving CityCentre. The chef seems to have found a permanent home, and his handmade pastas have won raves from diners and critics alike.

Sample the full range of his skills with a multi-course tasting menu that features items that aren't on the regular menu; he's even dabbled in reviving aspic. Look for it to evolve as Hernandez builds a rapport with his new customers.

Manabu Horiuchi, Kata Robata
If a chef's chef is the person who prepares the food other chefs most like to eat, then Manabu Horiuchi is Houston's cheffiest chef. From his post at the sushi counter at Kata Robata, Hori-san (as he's universally known) serves a who's who of Houston's top culinary talent screamingly fresh seafood in simple ways that subtly enhance each fish's natural flavor.

Next month, we'll get to see the non-sushi side of Hori-san's skillset when he and chef Philippe Gaston launch Izakaya in Midtown. Expect raw items, small plates and innovative cocktails. And, of course, a lot of chefs in the dining room.

Bobby Matos, Ciao Bello
As the executive chef of Tony Vallone's casual, neighborhood restaurant, Bobby Matos is responsible for upholding the same standards as at fine dining restaurant Tony's and west Houston steakhouse Vallone's. Even though Ciao Bello is more affordable than those restaurants, Matos consistently delivers well-executed cuisine that respects Italian traditions while appealing to local diners. The butternut squash pansoti is one of the city's best pasta dishes, and the thin, Roman-style pizzas are a legitimate deal on Sunday evenings when they only cost $10.

Matos collaborates directly with Vallone on special wine dinners that highlight the cuisine of one region of Italy. Diners also got to see another side of the chef's skills at a Kipper Club dinner in November where he united with Rising Star chef nominee Patrick Feges and fellow Chef of the Year nominee Erin Smith for a smoke-filled, sold out extravaganza.

Ryan Pera, Coltivare
At Coltivare, Ryan Pera has brought the same respect for ingredients that he established at Revival Market to an Italian-inspired menu of wood fired pizzas, wood roasted meats and produce sourced from the restaurant's 3,000 square-foot garden. In the year since it opened, Coltivare has become a legitimate destination for the Heights and beyond.

This week Pera will oversee Revival's transition to a full-service restaurant with the launch of dinner service that trades on strengths in charcuterie, seasonal salads and high-quality proteins. Soon, he and partner Morgan Weber will offer some ideas about a modern ice house at 8-Row Flint.

Erin Smith, Main Kitchen
During stints at both Plonk! Bistro and as a culinary director the Clumsy Butcher group, Erin Smith established her reputation for carefully prepared cuisine that respected both local and seasonal concerns. As chef for the restaurant within the high profile JW Marriott hotel downtown, Smith brings those same values, along with her resume as a veteran of Thomas Keller's New York restaurant Per Se, to an effort to create a hotel restaurant that attracts local diners as well as guests. It's a colossal undertaking, but one Smith has risen to meet. The result is a modern, steakhouse-style menu with pizzas, hearty vegetable dishes and enough red meat to keep business travelers happy.

Justin Yu, Oxheart
​Houston may having the reputation of being a meat-and-potatoes kind of place, but Justin Yu has spent three years teaching us to eat our vegetables — and the results have been delicious. Perhaps no chef in Houston is more obsessed with sourcing the best possible ingredients than Yu, which is why he's been named a Food & Wine best new chef, earned two finalists nominations for the James Beard Award: Best Chef Southwest and landed a coveted slot as one of two Houston representatives on the Eater National list of the country's 38 most essential restaurants. Yu even got to grow a little bit this year by introducing Oxheart-style bar snacks at Public Services Wine & Whisky, the downtown concept he co-owns with sommelier Justin Vann. If only he'd resurrect the Moneycat brunch.

Erin Smith, Main Kitchen.

Photo by Morris Malakoff

Erin Smith, Main Kitchen.

Bars are special places. They're the places people go to celebrate a special occasion or ruminate after a bad day. Clumsy Butcher head Bobby Heugel offered an almost philosophical perspective on bars and bartending when The Pastry War opened in 2013.

"Bars aren't important. It's not noble work," Heugel said at the time. "But really great things happen in bars. Whenever we open a new place, I like to think of all the people that will meet one another and then go on to start families. Or all the birthdays, first dates, all these different things that will happen in bar spaces. It’s just cool."

As selected by our panel of restaurant industry insiders, the seven CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Bar of the Year nominees stand out for the way they provide just the right setting for just the right moment. It's fun to think about all the occasions they have played host to and will host in the future.

Tickets for the Tastemaker Awards party on May 13 at Silver Street Studios are sold out, but there will be 50 General Admission tickets available at the door on a first come, first served basis for $50 each.

Camerata
​One of only two holdovers from last year's nominees, this Montrose wine bar makes service its calling card. Led by advanced sommelier David Keck, the staff can recite details about every selection's varietal, style and flavor profile. Whether a patron is in the mood for a fruit forward red or a crisp, acidic white, count on Camerata's bartenders to suggest just the right bottle. They've even started to share that knowledge with their customers by holding wine classes on a variety of topics. As for the selection, it's sufficiently diverse that wine professionals from across the city frequently drop in to taste the new arrivals.

El Big Bad
This nomination probably reflects the essential truth about El Big Bad. Although it was originally intended to be a more food-focused version of El Gran Malo, people, or at least our panelists, seek it out for its lengthy selection of infused tequilas and agave cocktails first and foremost. Now under the direction of well-traveled Houston chef Jonathan Jones, the food is good, if not quite destination-worthy in the same way the cocktails are. For those who've never been, El Big Bad is at its absolute best enjoyed on nice days when patrons fill the third-story patio that looks out over Market Square; have a blueberry-jalapeno margarita, pair it with a couple of tacos and enjoy the sunshine.

Julep
At Julep, Alba Huerta's passion for Southern culture comes through in the elegant design that gives the room a romantic, genteel atmosphere. The bar's bourbon selection alone makes it a destination, but the decadent seafood tower is a can't-miss splurge. No wonder its become a standard-bearer for Washington Ave's new, more grown up direction. Thankfully, as Julep's oyster-shucking contest demonstrated, it doesn't take itself so seriously that it can't host a silly good time.

Lei Low
This tiki bar in a North Main street strip center blends owners Russell and Elizabeth Thoede's passion for tiki culture with a space that transports patrons to a tropical island — or, at least, a tropical island with a healthy dose of post-World War II kitsch. The drinks mix fresh fruit juices (the bar goes through a staggering amount of pineapple every day), with house-infused rums and complimentary spirits to create cocktails that deliver layers of flavor while being extremely strong. Two is an absolute limit for all but the most experienced drinkers.

Mongoose vs Cobra
Potent drinks, a great craft beer selection and a tidy food menu of tempting snacks all contribute to Mongoose versus Cobra's status as one of Midtown's best bar. Part of the Midtown mini-empire developed by 13 Celsius/Weights + Measures co-owners Ian Rosenberg and Mike Sammons, this place provides a respite from the nearby party scene while still providing an atmosphere that feels both upscale and welcoming. Credit the bar's staff for maintaining that tricky balancing act. No wonder it's our other two-time Tastemakers nominee.

Moving Sidewalk
Moving Sidewalk swapped out its former life as Goro & Gun for a second act as a cocktail bar with a subdued look that puts the focus squarely on co-owner (and Tastemakers Bartender of the Year nominee) Alexander Gregg's talented staff. While it might seem that the block already has enough places to get a drink, Moving Sidewalk takes advantage of its full kitchen to create syrups, infusions and a custom ice program that separate its drinks from neighboring establishments. The bar's service-oriented attitude means that drinks come out quickly, even when patrons are three deep on a rollicking Saturday night.

Neil's Bahr
No establishment in Houston caters to geek culture as well as this EaDo spot that opened in 2014. Dressed up like a superhero? Come on in and read about your character's adventures from one of the comic books on a shelf. Need a GoldenEye or Mario Kart fix? Neil's Bahr offers retro video games and even hosts occasional tournaments. Yes, the weekly trivia nights are very competitive.

Moving Sidewalk.

Courtesy photo

Moving Sidewalk.

After three rounds of voting in the CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant bracket, it's time for the matchup everyone predicted from the start to determine a winner: Pax Americana versus Common Bond.

Wait. What do you mean they both lost in the first round? How is that possible?

Turning to the actual final matchup, it would have been almost impossible to predict that Prohibition Supperclub & Bar, the downtown restaurant that features "nostalgic and decadent fare" and burlesque shows on the weekends, would square off against Tout Suite, the all-day cafe and bakery that's been a boon to EaDo and the Second Ward.

Yet, here we are.

Credit Prohibition for emerging as one of downtown's most exciting dining destinations. Under the direction of chefs Ben McPherson and Matt Wommack, Prohibition has evolved into an establishment that serves ingredient-driven, seasonal, modern Southern cuisine like smoked fried chicken, a variety of roasted oysters and innovative vegetable dishes (try the kobacha squash with a fermented, kombucha-style sauce).

Bar director (and Tastemakers Bartender of the Year nominee) Lainey Collum has brought her experiences from places like The Pass & Provisions and Hay Merchant to Prohibition's beverage program, which features both innovative cocktails and a well-chosen wine list.

As one of the few independent establishments to thrive in chain-heavy CityCentre, Sweet has been a good success story for owners Annie Le and Sandy Tran. But nothing about the small bakery's success with cupcakes and macarons could have prepared diners to expect their success with Tout Suite.

Open from morning until midnight every day of the week, Tout Suite serves a variety of needs: Grab-and-go coffee shop, sit-down destination for lunch and brunch, flexible space with lots of outlets for students who are studying and more. With plans to add beer and wine, Le and Tran are on their way to making the cafe a local institution.

Both are exciting new establishments that have raised the standards for dining in Houston. Polls are open until Monday at midnight. Vote now.

Tickets for the Tastemaker Awards party on May 13 at Silver Street Studios are sold out, but there will be 50 General Admission tickets available at the door on a first come, first served basis for $50 each.

Prohibition features a romantic interior.

Courtesy photo

Prohibition features a romantic interior.

Just as it did in the process of winnowing 16 to eight, the second round of the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant bracket produced some surprising results.

Mark Holley may be a local legend, but his Midtown seafood restaurant lost a close matchup with downtown hotspot Prohibition. Korean fried chicken restaurant Dak & Bop prevailed over Bernie's Burger Bus even though Bernie's promised free burgers if it won the whole tournament.

In the battle of flexible spaces with bakeries and savory food, Tout Suite edged out Weights + Measures by fewer than 100 votes in a battle that came down to the final hours. Meanwhile, BCN Taste & Tradition has proven to be the bracket's most surprising contender, as it crushed Table 57.

The final two matchups have been underway since Tuesday, and they're both going to come down to the end. Time may be running out, but fans still have a chance to vote for their favorites and swing the outcome as voting end tonight (Thursday, May 7) just before midnight.

Dak & Bop vs Prohibition Supperclub & Bar

We're past the point where the bracket pits restaurants that have something in common against each other. Dak & Bop is casual, inexpensive and focused on serving really great Korean fried chicken. Prohibition is a little more formal, but not stuffy, with a menu that elevates classic Southern comfort food. Diners are getting a good meal and solid cocktails either way.

BCN Taste & Tradition vs Tout Suite

Once again, BCN has jumped out to a lead over its opponent, but don't count Tout Suite out. The cafe that's become a destination in the rapidly growing intersection of EaDo and the Second Ward has proven surprisingly resilient in this competition. Maybe Tout Suite should offer $1 macaroons to anyone who votes for them. Then BCN could respond with $5 gin & tonics, and we'd really have a party.

BCN has been one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.

BCN Taste & Tradition/Facebook

BCN has been one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.