Mack Allen’s is the newest upscale steak-and-sushi restaurant in town.
Steak and sushi, anyone? Houston’s hottest openings this month include a 16,000-square-foot New American showcase in Uptown built around prime cuts, sushi, and caviar, plus the freshly overhauled, Michelin-inspired Killen’s Steakhouse in Pearland—proof that the city’s appetite for a well-aged rib eye hasn’t slowed down.
The trend of great Houston area restaurants landing in the suburbs is also still alive and well. Alongside the usual Inner Loop debuts, plenty of this round’s openings are staking claims in the suburbs, including Friendswood, Missouri City, Katy, and Clear Lake. A couple of restaurants are also returning to the scene, including Picos and Killen’s, along with Comfort Foodies’s new location, showing that a closure isn’t always the end of the story. Here’s what’s new to eat this month.
Mack Allen’s
Uptown Area
Those familiar with the Baybrook location of the indulgent Cajun restaurant Rouxpour are in for a treat. Located on the first floor of the 5POP office tower, Mack Allen’s now occupies over 16,000 square feet, offering an upscale menu of New American cuisine: prime cuts of beef, American wagyu, escargot with bone marrow and garlic scampi, rack of lamb with foie gras fondue, sushi, caviar, and a wine collection that boasts around 1,000 bottles. Diners can choose from the massive dining room, the private dining rooms, bar, or an outdoor, lush garden patio that is nearly a quarter-acre alone.
Picos
River Oaks
After a year-long, back-and-forth foray to stay open, this 42-year-old Mexican restaurant closed in August, only to reopen weeks later in a new location. Chef Arnaldo Richards reopened Picos on Saturday, September 12, in a former location of Cyclone Anaya’s Tex-Mex Kitchen off Westheimer Road. The menu remains the same and just as classic, with its shaker margaritas, ceviche, mole, and cochinita pibil.
Fans of Pier 6 should head to Parkwood in Friendswood.
Parkwood American Grille
friendswood
The owner and chef behind Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House are branching out beyond the sea with a New American-style grill. Parkwood, which opened earlier this month, offers a well-rounded menu, featuring a raw bar and sushi,, starters like beef carpaccio and chicken nuggets with caviar, and lobster rolls. Entrees offer something for everyone, including chicken Parmesan, a house burger, redfish, colossal fried shrimp, and various cuts of steak. The drinks menu is especially enticing, with a thorough list of martinis and spritzes, and fun cocktails like Cherry Coke made with Jack Daniel’s and a Chai New Fashioned.
Killen’s Steakhouse is still serving the classic but in a more refined setting.
Killen’s Steakhouse
Pearland
Ronnie Killen’s Pearland steakhouse reopened on Thursday, September 10, after being closed for renovations since June. Killen’s reportedly underwent a $1 million, Michelin-worthy revamp after Ronnie spent the summer traveling to survey best practices at Michelin-starred restaurants across the country. The upgrade includes new stemware and decanters, plateware, and even a hand-crafted live-fire hearth imported from Spain and a 1,800-degree infrared broiler. The refined menu features various aged cuts from Washington’s Double R Ranch, Idaho’s Snake River Farms, and R-C Ranch in Texas, including a 200-day dry-aged bone-in short loin, plus perfect accompaniments like Cointreau soufflés, jumbo lump crab cakes, and Ronnie’s Cream Corn. And there’s more to come: Killen’s will debut a fine-dining tasting menu this fall.
The Bixby
Spring Branch
Care for a side of cocktails? The Kirby Group, owners of Long Point Social Club, debuted this TV-less neighborhood bar, focusing on cocktails and atmosphere. Featuring its separate entrance, the California-forward bar offers beer, wine, mocktails, and 14 signature cocktails, including the Bixby Cup (gin, strawberry, kombu, lime, and togarashi) and the Sama Diver (shochu, rum, coconut milk, pandan, lime leaf, nutmeg, and egg). More than 90 cocktails are available off-menu. Grab a bite while you’re there—the Bixby’s menu features burgers, tacos, wings, and charcuterie boards.
Comfort Foodies
Missouri City
Elsa and Jeff Matthews relocated their Latin-Caribbean and soul food spot relocated to Missouri City. The couple fuses Elsa’s Dominican heritage with Jeff’s Houston upbringing and soul-food expertise, resulting in hearty dishes like oxtail plates with rice, beans, and yams; blackened catfish; smothered pork chops; and empanadas, which are also available frozen for take-home.
Tapestry
Montrose
The Ismaili Center recently opened its own all-day cafe, serving breakfast (tacos, breakfast plates, and acai bowls), lunch (flatbreads, chicken koobideh, biryani), and dinner served on Friday and Saturdays. Refreshments include coffee, teas, lemonades, and mango lassi.
NEW LOCATIONS
- Burger Bodega, Houston’s bodega-themed smashburger restaurant, opened its second outpost in Katy. This larger location seats over 100 guests, and includes a dedicated pickup and curbside window for to-go orders. The menu serves all of BB’s classics: smashburgers, chopped cheese sandwiches, and milkshakes, plus its own lineup of specials.
- Kirby Ice House, the chain of popular patio bars that boasts the longest bar in Texas, opened a new location in Clear Lake.
OPENING SOON
Little Bird
Heights
Winnie’s co-partner Graham Laborde is opening this seafood-focused restaurant, which is slated to offer a range of coastal fare in its 149-seat space. Diners can expect dinner daily, brunch on weekends, and lunch Friday through Sunday, curated by familiar talent: Justine Ware, operations director of Johnny’s Gold Brick, Winnie’s, and Starduster Lounge, who will oversee beverages, and Tiny Champions chef Julian Doran, who will consult on the pastry menu.
Fans of Duckstage Hospitality will get two new Houston-area locations of its hand roll restaurant. Handies Douzo, which recently opened its newest location in Central Park Post Oak, will add two more—in West University off of Bellaire Boulevard and in EaDo—sometime later this year or early 2027. The hospitality group, which also operates Kokoro, Doko, Bar Doko, and Aiko, is also slated to open another location of Himari.
