Houston’s Most Anticipated Restaurant and Bar Openings, Spring 2022

Spring is right around the corner, and in this new season, Houston is appropriately experiencing a revival of sorts. In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the local food and hospitality industry hard, resulting in a flurry of restaurant and bar closings — both permanent and temporary — as many owners, chefs, and staff adjusted to restrictions, social distancing, and the overall new normal.

Now, as COVID-19 restrictions loosen, rates of infection remain low, and those within the industry get their bearings, more and more exciting restaurants and bars are popping up all over the city.

Since the beginning of the year, the Heights got its first steakhouse, James Beard Award-winners Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole brought an Asian-infused Texas smokehouse Loro to Houston, Common Bond opened an on-the-go location in The Ion, and despite a recent partnership split, restauranteur Grant Cooper opened Mexican restaurant Flora in the Dunlavy’s former space. Underbelly Hospitality’s Chris Shepherd also opened Texas-themed restaurant Wild Oats and burger joint Underbelly Burger in the Farmers Market and has plans to open two additional restaurants, one of which is relocated from a different address.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. More restaurants are on their way, and here’s a rundown of what to expect:

Rare

Location: Washington Avenue, along the Washington Corridor

Key Players: Chef Don Bowie

Projected Opening: March 2022

Chef Don Bowie will launch his second restaurant — a soulful steakhouse, Rare — along the Washington Corridor. The menu will emphasize the finest cuts of meat, along with fresh seafood, seasonal dishes, and salads and sides.

Public Content

Patterson Park

Location: 2205 Patterson Street

Key players: Lonnie and Candice Schiller, co-founders of Cafe Annie, Cafe Express, and the Grove; partners Caroline and Brendan Murphy

Projected Opening: April 2022

From the creators of Cafe Annie, the Grove, and Cafe Express comes this “adult treehouse” on the trail. Surrounded by green trees and picturesque views, this 4,000 square-foot, multi-level building is inspired by Houston’s bayou and natural elements, and features 5,000 square feet of patio-deck space, 40 TVs, and ample space for yard games and socializing over cocktails. At night, string lights will illuminate the space, and a rotation of food trucks will ensure guests never go hungry. Plus, there are arcade and board games to keep you busy.

The Warwick

Location: 5888 Westheimer Road

Key Players: Chef consultant Antoine Ware

Projected Opening: April 1, 2022

Named after one of Houston’s first luxury hotels, the Warwick will serve up in-season raw and chargrilled oysters, fontina fondue, butter-poached lobster tails, vegan pasta, and lamb chops with a Mediterranean twist. It’ll also pay homage to Houston’s, the beloved chain restaurant’s location that was formerly in its place, with dishes like ”The Dip,” a riff off the now-closed restaurant’s beloved artichoke spread.

State Fair Kitchen + Bar

Location: the Woodlands

Projected Opening: April 2022

With locations in Memorial City and Sugar Land, State Fare Kitchen + Bar will expand its offerings with a third location in the Woodlands this spring. The restaurant uses its home state as inspiration for the menu, which features Southern favorites, like gumbo and double smoked-pork chops. With an expansive weekend brunch menu, the restaurant will also welcome customers to its patio and outdoor fire pits, where they might be able to hear live music from the nearby Hughes Landing.

State Fare Kitchen + Bar

Marmo

Location: 888 Westheimer Road, Suite 109

Key Players: Atlas Restaurant Group

Projected Opening: April 2022

Housed in Montrose Collective’s retail and restaurant hub, this Italian chophouse will offer an assortment of salads, hand-rolled pasta dishes, charcuterie, and prime steaks. Its lounge, which features a baby grand piano and a horseshoe-shaped cocktail bar, is bound to be a top attraction, featuring live music by a rotation of Houston’s best singers each night.

Gabriela’s Midtown

Location: 1910 Bagby Street

Key Players: Gabriela’s Group

Projected Opening: Spring 2022

Austin siblings and restaurateurs Gabriela and Arturo Bucio will open the third outpost of their modern Mexican restaurant and cantina Gabriela’s in Midtown this spring. Just like its Austin predecessor, the Midtown location promises an array of flavorful tamarind margaritas, fire-red micheladas, mole enchiladas, choriqueso, and other Instagram-worthy eats.

Gabriela’s Group

STUFF’d Wings

Location: 401 Richmond Avenue, adjacent of the Ion

Key Players: Owners Jarrod and Prisoria Rector

Projected Opening: Spring 2022

Known for its crispy bone-in chicken wings, an assortment of boudin and gooey mac and cheese, Third Ward-area food truck STUFF’d Wings will get its first brick-and-mortar this spring adjacent to The Ion. The 2,400-square-foot space will debut new eats, like smoked stuffed chicken wings, milkshakes, and loaded fries, and will boast an outdoor patio on which to indulge.

Georgia James

Location: Dunlavy and West Dallas Street

Key Players: Underbelly Hospitality’s owner and chef Chris Shepherd, business partner Todd Mason, executive chef Greg Peters, wine director Matthew Pridgen

Projected Opening: May 2022

Chris Shepherd’s award-winning steakhouse Georgia James will relocate to Regent Square. Priding itself on boutique producers, the restaurant will continue to source its cast-iron seared steaks from local ranchers, and will boast a wine list with around 500 selections and around 200 more cellared bottles — all with an emphasis on local or family-owned wineries. On the second floor, Georgia’s Parlor, named after Shepherd’s mother, will feature an indoor-outdoor space with fire pits, cozy couches, cocktails, and smaller bites.

Andiron

Location: 3201 Allen Parkway, Suite E110

Key Players: Sambrooks Management Company, owner of the Pit Room, 1751 Sea and Bar, and Candente

Projected Opening: June 2022

This 4,500-square foot modern “wood-burning” steakhouse will welcome diners in for an experience within its main dining room, its spacious bar and lounge, or private dining room, with 75 more seats on its covered patio, which also features an outdoor bar and lounge. As Eater Houston previously reported, details on the menu are scarce beyond the general concept of cooking meats over live fire, but owner Michael Sambrooks said in a statement that the restaurant would combine “our skills in smoking and wood-fire grilling from the Pit Room and Candente with the chef-driven experience from 1751 Sea and Bar.”

Meghan Bailey

Toasted Yolk Cafe

Location: 6726 Reading Road, Ste. 160, Rosenberg, in April, 8408 Katy Freeway, Ste. 100, Spring Valley, in May

Houston’s popular brunch spot Toasted Yolk Cafe will open two new locations in Roseberg and Spring Valley, promising its typical array of breakfast bites, boozy drinks, sandwiches, and salads.

Champion Management

Elro Pizza // Crudo

Location: 2405 Genesse Street

Key Players: Chef and owner Terrance Gallivan

Projected Opening: June 2022

Chef and owner Terrance Gallivan, formerly of the Pass and Provisions, will open a neighborhood pizzeria and Crudo bar at 2405 Genesse Street this Spring. The restaurant, which is named after Gallivan’s children, will serve our specialty pizzas, seasonal crudos, salads, snacks, and sandwiches in a vintage homey bungalow. Gallivan, who also served as a wine buyer, will also curate the wine list to compliment the food and tap beer located at its full bar.

Also Tracking…

• Hamsa, a modern Israeli restaurant, is headed for Rice Village sometime this spring.
• James Beard Award-nominated chef Chris Williams and Top Chef finalist Dawn Burrell’s restaurant Late August, which will serve up Afro-Asian cuisine, is expected to open in The Ion sometime this summer, as is The Lymbar, a cocktail bar with Latin and Mediterranean flavors by Chef David Cordua; and Second Draught, a 2,000-square-foot brewpub with beers from more than 70 area breweries.
• Gr8 Plate Hospitality — the team behind the Houston area’s Union Kitchen and Jax Grill locations — will open a new Italian restaurant, Passerella, in Cypress this spring.
• Still no word on when Rocambolesc, an ice cream shop by Spain’s lauded Roca brothers, will officially open in Houston. Just know, it’s coming.
• Underbelly Hospitality will open yet another restaurant this July. Award-winning chef Chris Davies will take the helm at Pastore, an Italian restaurant that will focus on pasta dishes, like chicken parmesan, semolina pasta, and wood-fired pizzas.
• Partners at Bludorn expect to open a second restaurant in Rice Village in the former Politan Row space at 2445 Times Boulevard later this year. Though still an unnamed seafood concept, a recent filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows the name “Navy Blue” and notes that the owners will begin construction on the space this May with hopes to conclude by October 2022. A spokesman for the company said no name has been confirmed yet.
• Berg Hospitality Group’s former Memorial-area Italian restaurant BB Italia Bistro & Bar will open its new home in Sugar Land Town Square at 16250 City Walk Drive later this summer. The 6,770-square-foot restaurant will feature a patio and will serve comforting classics like whipped ricotta, New York-style pizza, chicken parmigiana, and pasta, including a 20-layer lasagna.
• Montrose Collective’s other major restaurants are still in the works, but Grant Cooper’s Graffiti Raw, which is expected to have the ambiance of Venice Beach, should open closer to the fall.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include the correct location of The Ion’s anticipated new restaurant Late August. Eater Houston regrets the error. This article has also been updated to add other anticipated establishments like Second Draught, The Lymbar, and STUFF’d Wings.