Here's a look at new Houston hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this fall. The new and renovated Houston venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
Chapman & Kirby, a steampunk-inspired restaurant, bar, and lounge, opened in East Downtown in June, and is slated to have a grand opening celebration in September. The restaurant features several on-theme touches, including antique mirrors, leather, brick, and gold chains. Food served includes charcuterie plates, pho, and flatbread pizzas. The restaurant has 6,500 square feet of accessible dining space, and holds private and semiprivate events with sectioned-off areas providing a variety of minimums. With its outdoor courtyard and upstairs private event space included, the venue accommodates events for as many as 800 reception-style.
Upscale dim sum restaurant and tea house Yauatcha opened at the Galleria shopping center in March. The venue, which is the first location in the United States of the Hakkasan Group’s Michelin-starred London-based restaurant, serves delicately prepared small plates and more than 40 different types of tea from a menu helmed by chef Ho Chee Boon and executive pastry chef Graham Hornigold. The eatery offers a combination of traditional and modern design, featuring steel and wood tables and green banquettes with embroidered cherry blossoms. The restaurant spans 10,200 square feet, and seats as many as 241 in the main dining room and an outdoor terrace. An elevated tea house-inspired dining room is available for semiprivate dining for as many as 100.
JNK Concepts restaurant group opened Roka Akor in River Oaks in June. The fifth domestic location of the sushi, steak, and seafood concept offers a seasonally changing menu, which includes a step program with three Japanese wagyu selections. Adventurous diners also can choose the option of Omakase—which translates to “to entrust the chef”—for a personalized tasting menu that has dishes not featured on the main menu. The 6,500-square-foot restaurant seats 210 inside and 100 on a patio. For private events, the venue offers two private dining rooms that seat 20 to 40 guests.
Helen in the Heights, a Greek restaurant from the owners of Helen Greek Food and Wine, opened in Studewood in March. The restaurant, which is helmed by chef William Wright and sommelier Evan Turner, offers classic Greek dishes including gyro and souvlaki, as well as a number of Greek wines. While the 3,500-square-foot restaurant seats 125, Helen’s catering division on the seventh floor of the same building also holds private events. The 3,000-square-foot event space has indoor/outdoor seating, and accommodates events for as many as 120 reception-style.
Poke bowl restaurant SeaSide Poke opened in East Village in June. The fast-casual concept specializes in the popular Hawaiian dish, offering eight signature bowls and the option to create one’s own. The restaurant also features a 15- by 60-foot poke art mural in the dining area. The 1,500-square-foot restaurant seats 60, with seating available inside and on patios in the front or rear of the venue. The restaurant is available to hold catering engagements of less than 100 guests.
The George, a boutique hotel developed by the Valencia Group and Midway, is opening at Century Square in College Station in August. Along with 162 rooms, the hotel will feature two dining and drinking destinations: Poppy, a Texas-inspired restaurant, and 1791, a whiskey bar that commemorates the year of the Whiskey rebellion. The hotel offers a 5,236-square-foot event space that holds 500 for receptions; a 2,959-square-foot event space that holds 300 theater- and reception-style; a 2,277-square-foot space that holds 225 for receptions and seats 200 theater-style; and a library that seats 18 conference-style.
The Houston Heights restaurant formerly known as Shade reopened as Mediterranean restaurant Alice Blue in June. Helmed by local restaurateur Claire Smith, the redesigned venue has a main dining area with tables and booths, and a lounge and bar area that offers banquettes, chairs, and couches. The restaurant, which serves modern Mediterranean cuisine from chef Kent Domas, features artwork from local artist Aaron Parazette and ceramics courtesy of Smith. The venue, which also has a patio, can seat as many as 180.
Courtyard Houston Intercontinental Airport is slated to open in September. The four-floor hotel will offer 124 rooms and three suites, and offer amenities including 24-hour shuttle to and from George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The hotel will have a 1,130-square-foot event space that holds as many as 162 reception-style and 144 theater-style.
El Gate Coffeehouse, the city’s first cat cafe, opened in May and is slated to have its grand opening with full hours of operation this fall. The new venue, which launched in partnership with the Houston Humane Society, has hopped on the trend of cat cafes, which invite guests to play with adoptable cats for a set amount of time. The 1,200-square-foot space limits its capacity to 18 guests to keep the cats comfortable and to maintain the ideal cat-to-guest ratio. The venue hosts private events outside of its regular hours. There’s an hourly cover charge to play with cats, and booking online in advance is recommended.
Casual burger joint Balls Out Burger opened in the Heights in June. The restaurant from Irish restaurateur Ian Tucker offers burgers from 44 Farms ranch and classic milkshakes made with Austin-based Amy’s Ice Cream. The venue has an indoor space that seats 40 and a 4,000-square-foot patio that seats 100. The dog-friendly patio offers games including giant Connect Four and corn-hole.
