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Houston Restaurant Weeks (HRW), the city’s annual charitable fundraising dining event, is back in full effect for its 21st year with a host of special menus for brunch, lunch, and dinner at more than 400 restaurants around the city.
The experience, which runs from August 1 through September 2, is two-fold. Diners get to experience discounted multi-course, pre-fixe meals at some of the best restaurants in the city (brunch and lunch will run diners $25, while dinners are priced at $39 or $55). Restaurants get to draw in diners during the slower, dog days of summer, and saliently, a portion of the sales go to the Houston Food Bank, a local nonprofit that transforms every dollar into three meals for Houstonians experiencing food insecurity. To date, HRW has raised more than $21 million since its inception in 2003.
Of course, searching through hundreds of menus for some of the best deals can be exhausting. Fortunately, Eater Houston has done the work for you: Here’s a roundup of some of the most exciting new menus, most enticing brunches, and hard-to-miss deals at some of the hottest restaurants:
Five Newcomers to Try
Several restaurants make their HRW debut this year.
BCN Taste & Tradition
An homage to Barcelona, Spain, this Montrose restaurant is typically considered a special occasion dining experience, where Catalan flavors are spotlighted. But this HRW, BCN gives diners an affordable two-course brunch experience, with sunny-side-up eggs with potatoes, chistorra sausage, and cured Spanish Iberico ham, as well as a three-course dinner with dishes like grilled salmon with creamy bleu cheese wild rice, a beet-pistachio-raspberry salad with kefir cheese, and flan topped with toffee sauce and caramel whipped cream. Reservations are required.
Bludorn
Known for combining New American cuisine with French techniques and Gulf Coast ingredients, James Beard Award-nominated chef Aaron Bludorn offers a taste of his namesake restaurant with a three-course dinner. Start with chilled corn soup or duck terrine served with sourdough before moving on to Scottish salmon with eggplant puree or potato gnocchi with basil pesto. Dessert includes an assortment of ice creams and sorbets, a chocolate cake with salted caramel and bourbon-vanilla ice cream, or its pavlova with mixed berries.
Late August
Situated in Midtown’s The Ion Building, this new Afro-Mexican restaurant offers an array of dishes that showcase Black and Latine flavors. Opt for the two-course lunch and choose between a smash burger made with grilled panela, chile relleno, or crispy octopus with red pepper romesco. Or go for the three-course dinner, which features an A-1 strip loin with crispy yucca and mustard green chimichurri sauce, a half-rack of ribs with achiote barbecue sauce, and desserts like rice pudding brulee and chocolate mousse spiked with Grand Marnier and a tequila whip.
Norigami
This neon-lit intimate Japanese sushi and handroll restaurant dinner menu will offer some of its diner favorites, including its salmon crudo with agua chile and Asian pear, and spicy scallops with cucumber, chili garlic aioli, and tobiko.
Sophie Cocktail and Terrace Bar
Get an introduction to this buzzy Montrose newcomer. The two-story cocktail lounge, which typically offers a French-forward menu, will feature a two-course brunch, featuring an omelet with paddlefish caviar, and three-course dinner selections that include its caviar-topped fettuccine with lemon butter or the signature Sophie burger that’s topped with Gruyere cheese and caramelized onions on challah bread.
Five Brunch Menus You Shouldn’t Miss
Brunch means big business in Houston. Freshen up your routine with a deal at these spots, each offering either a two- or three-course HRW menu.
1891 American Eatery & Bar
Comforting dishes like jalapeno cheddar biscuits, smoked salmon eggs Benedict, and warm chocolate chip banana bread are part of the deal at 1891 American Eatery & Bar in the Heights. Plus, each diner who orders the HRW menu gets a free mimosa. Cheers.
Brennan’s
Midtown’s Texas Creole mainstay will give diners a true taste of all its menu has to offer, including its spectacular brunch, which features dishes like cochon de lait Benedict with pulled pork, cracklins and poached eggs on a cheddar jalapeno biscuit, beignets, and its iconic snapping turtle soup. Reservations are required.
Etoile
This storied, sophisticated French restaurant in Uptown Park will serve up brunch classics like escargots de bourgogne, coq au vin, poached eggs Benedict, and vanilla panna cotta with red berries and an almond crumble. Reservations are required.
Hamsa
Head to Rice Village for a spread of modern Israeli dishes, including shakshuka with spiced tomato and eggs, babka French toast with vanilla yogurt anglaise and raspberries, and your choice of two salatim dishes, including carrot harissa and squash tahini with fresh pita.
State Fare Kitchen
With locations in Memorial, Sugar Land, and The Woodlands, State Fare Kitchen will keep to its Texas and Gulf comfort food with an epic brunch featuring its deviled eggs topped with smoked bacon, chicharrones, and Tajun, and its Oreo French toast with buttercream and caramel sauce.
Five Menus With the Best Bargains
With set prices for prix fixe menus, here are five deals that offer an affordable way to try out some of Houston’s most expensive and elegant restaurants.
Artisans
Take advantage of discounted prices on high-end French cuisine at Artisan’s restaurant during lunch and dinner. The two-course lunch includes options such as lobster bisque and sundried tomato stuffed chicken breast, while the three-course dinner roster features a red wine braised lamb shank with creamy polenta and pistachio-crusted sea bass.
Le Jardinier
Located at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Houston outpost of this Michelin-recognized restaurant upholds its reputation of shining a light on seasonal produce in its brunch, lunch, and dinner menus. Start dinner with the citrus-cured Pacific sea bass or the whipped burrata served with marinated cherry tomatoes, stone fruit, and pine nuts, before moving on to the Heritage roasted chicken or the salmon The strawberry mousse, served with pineapple, lime compote, and coconut dacquoise is an amply happy ending.
Musaafer
Musaafer in the Galleria’s luxury wing offers both traditional and modern dishes and flavors from India’s 29 states in unique presentations. Go for the two-course lunch or three-course dinner, where highlights include a delightful lychee ceviche and the Malwani fish curry, an Atlantic cod cooked in a coconut sauce with kokum, Kashmiri chili, and coriander seeds.
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse - Downtown
This luxe Downtown steakhouse is a true Houston staple, serving flavorful dry-aged and prime beef steaks, which make an appearance on the three-course dinner menu. Slice into the 8-ounce filet mignon, a 10-ounce dry-aged New York strip, or the broiled salmon filet, served with mashed potatoes and haricot verts. Its New York-style Cheesecake is not to be missed. Reservations required.
Xalisko
This Woodlands gem offers one of the most exciting dinner menus, with chef Beatriz Martinez’s mini fresh corn tamales laced with corn cream and cojita cheese, as well as entrees like the colossal shrimp served with mole and shaved asparagus and enchiladas verdes. For $10 extra, spring for the birria tatemada, a slow-braised lamb shank that’s marinated in dried peppers and cooked in an agave leaf, and served with Mexican rice and beans. Finish the experience with chocolate tres leches, the vegan mazapan flan, made with Mexican peanut candy, or the jericalla, a Mexican custard made with passion fruit cream that hails from Guadalajara.