The ten best restaurants in the Galleria Area
Post Oak Boulevard was once home of the city’s two most acclaimed and probably best restaurants for years, Tony’s and Café Annie, along with dramatically décor-ed Americas that received a considerable amount local, regional and national attention; the Galleria area was long the city’s premier fine dining destination. Tony’s and Americas both moved years ago and the current successors to Café Annie, The Annie and Turner’s, without the full-time involvement of Chef Robert Del Grande, don’t elicit nearly as much interest from dedicated diners. The glitzy Galleria neighborhood still hosts a number of enjoyable places to dine, though. Below are the ten best.
Posted on February 22, 2023.
The Best
Alba – Italian – The latest concept at the Hotel Granduca in Uptown Park features an updated rich, plush, green-hued setting, but thankfully has the old chef, Maurizio Ferrarese, who might be the top Italian toque in Texas and some ways beyond. At the new Alba, the “dishes are a balance between innovation and Italian traditions,” and with a very experienced hand and a big fan of the famed Michelin three-starred Piazza Duomo in Alba in Ferrarese, it offers a very enjoyable insight into the contemporary, refined and often indulgent cuisine of the region of the Langhe that surrounds that small city, which is highlighted by Barolo, Barbaresco, and white truffles. Even the region’s signature pasta dish, on Alba’s menu, ravioli del plin, is sometimes advertised in that area with being made with forty yolks of egg, for example. Terrific with fresh pasta like this and gnocchi, there is certainly no chef that does a better job with risotto that’s on the menu a couple of times, befitting one from Vercelli not terribly far from Alba, the European capital of rice production. You are in excellent hands here. The freshly made pastas and gnocchi are at least as good or better than I’ve had nearly all of the top trattorias and Michelin-starred restaurants I’ve dined in Italy on several trips in recent years. The setting is comfortable, attractive and usually quiet.
Amalfi – Italian – A short drive west from the Galleria, this bright spot focuses on the cuisine of his home region in southern Italy, Salerno native Chef Giancarlo Ferrara, a veteran of top kitchens, produces dishes that are generally familiar but brighter, lighter and more vibrant that what you will typically find. Terrific pasta dishes and pizzas are just part of the enticing menu. Having cooked in northeastern Italy and in a French restaurant bearing two Michelin stars, dishes bearing those influences like risotto and a fish filleted tableside can also be terrific. The wine list offers an excellent selection of food-friendly, mostly from Italy, including a number of acidic and mineral-driven whites from Friuli, which can be perfect with one of the kitchen’s seafood preparations.
Caracol – Mexican – More lively, attractive and atmospheric than Hugo Ortega’s other local Mexican spots, this specializes in seafood preparations inspired from the cooking along much of Mexico’s long coastlines. Crispy calamari with serrano peppers, mussels with distinctly Mexican flavors, wood-fire-grilled butterflied fish, wonderful oysters roasted in a wood-burning oven, and any one of several creatively turned ceviches are a few of the highlights from an expectedly enticing menu.
Étoile – French – For over a decade now, set amidst the faux little village of upscale Uptown Park, this pleasing spot has done a stellar job serving mostly the traditional type of fare that you might expect in a nice French restaurant in much of this country – Moules Marinière, Tartare De Boeuf, Escargot de Bourgogne, Coq au Vin, and Magret De Canard Rôti, roasted duck breast – even drawing a local French clientele. The menu also reaches to Italy for risotto and pasta dishes as many French places do these days. Though the offerings might be described as refined cuisine bourgeoise, you can go Rossini with any entrée, adding a slab of seared foie gras for $15. No truffles with that, though. To note, lunch can be a fine value with smaller and less pricey portions along with sandwiches and salads.
Hidden Omakase – Sushi – Led by an alumna of Uchi who’s cooked in Spain and Thailand, this offers only set courses with two seatings of no more than eighteen folks nightly from Thursday through Sunday, which are $175 a head, for just the food. You need to bring your own wine or sake, BYOB is $20 per bottle. It will be fifteen courses of sushi with flavors that can go well beyond Japan. The terrific Burger Chan located nearly adjacent won’t be open when you depart, unfortunately; though delicious, you might need a burger after dinner here.
Kenny & Ziggy’s – Jewish Deli – Run by the star of the 2015 “Deli Man” documentary and a favorite of Guy Fieri, the gregarious Ziggy Gruber, this expansive, slick restaurant produces comically caloric and crowd-pleasing creations that you would expect in a quality traditional Jewish deli with roots in New York. There’s a reason it’s been featured multiple times on Guy Fieri’s show, so be prepared to wait for a table. Their open-faced pastrami Reuben is glorious, absolutely delicious, ungainly monstrosity, possibly the best in an array of tempting, heart-stopping sandwich choices. And there’s a lot more on the lengthy menu, seemingly all nearly as artery-clogging.
MAD – Spanish – Sibling to BCN in Montrose, its name is also an airport designation, this one for Madrid. And the menu here provides dishes from the tapas scene of Spain’s capital plus a lot more in a distractingly dramatic, dynamic and upscale setting that’s the most intriguing – or wondrously odd, especially the trippy bathroom area – since the original location of Americas in the 1990s. The best restaurant in the pricey River Oaks District upon opening, the food is the real draw here with excellent chef-tuned takes on traditional Madrileño small plates along with some cool molecular gastronomy tricks that actually taste great, plus paella, and fire-roasted proteins from an easy-to-espy hearth.
Musafeer – Indian – The most recent local example of fine-dining Indian fare; this is the most impressive and the priciest. With the capacity of well over 500 diners in a series of ornately decorated rooms featuring artwork shipped from India, this upscale restaurant inside the Galleria mall offers preparations inspired by many traditions across India, sometimes creative and even featuring modernist or playful touches and always plated very attractively. The wide-ranging a la carte menu, unusually, also includes several beef dishes – a node to regions like Kerala with millenniums-old Christian populations. For an indulgent and fuller experience, choose a tasting menu. To complement the visit, there’s a smart list of wine and an array of creative cocktails including a slew of serious gin-and-tonics for $20.
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse – Steak – Boisterous, always loud and often delightfully indulgent and even excessive – these and Georgia James are clearly the best two steakhouse concepts in the city. Not only is the food excellent, especially the nearly unparalleled wet- or dry-aged steaks, most importantly, but the compendious wine list is the most impressive in the city. The Westheimer original has around 5,000 labels and 28,000 bottles, so there is seemingly everything you might want at a fine dining restaurant with depth in Champagne, Burgundy – both colors, with pages of Grand Cru and Premier Cru – Bordeaux, Napa, Super Tuscans, Barolo, Rhone, and much, much more. You can spend a small fortune on just drink here. Along with the kitchen and cellar, the wait staff here, is also a cut above among the local steakhouses. The attentive, friendly and proficient service stands in stark contrast to the casual, not-so-professional or informed service you might find at Mastro’s, another expense account steakhouse in the neighborhood, for example.
Uchiko – Japanese – “Uchiko, child of Uchi,” is likewise a transplant from Austin, if not quite a replication of its namesake there, with its full bar and grander setting. Located along a glittery stretch of Post Oak Boulevard, it is like its parent, a “non‑traditional Japanese concept,” and has an emphasis on sushi, while also “bringing smoke and char” to some of the creations. That sushi is Uchi-level, superb, in a variety of forms. The Toyosu section showcases the ten to twenty items recently flown in from that market in Tokyo, the successor to Tskuiji, and the home of the most prized pieces at sushi counters worldwide. Regardless of the provenance, the preparations here are deeply flavorful, and often creative and fun. Boquerones, rolls with soft shell crab and nuon mam, and post oak-grilled pork belly were just a few of the temptations on a recent visit. The menu is updated daily and posted on its site, highlighting the attention paid to the ingredients here, and taken with the restaurant, overall. To note, you can certainly spend some money for a meal, even without considering the bluefin tuna and caviar selections. The décor is in line with the high bar of the kitchen. It’s clean-lined and beautifully brown that’s accentuated with abstract works from local artists. With the notably adept service, too, it’s an equal to Uchi.
A beautifully rendered pasta ripiene at Amalfi
Posted on February 22, 2023.
The Best
Alba – Italian – The latest concept at the Hotel Granduca in Uptown Park features an updated rich, plush, green-hued setting, but thankfully has the old chef, Maurizio Ferrarese, who might be the top Italian toque in Texas and some ways beyond. At the new Alba, the “dishes are a balance between innovation and Italian traditions,” and with a very experienced hand and a big fan of the famed Michelin three-starred Piazza Duomo in Alba in Ferrarese, it offers a very enjoyable insight into the contemporary, refined and often indulgent cuisine of the region of the Langhe that surrounds that small city, which is highlighted by Barolo, Barbaresco, and white truffles. Even the region’s signature pasta dish, on Alba’s menu, ravioli del plin, is sometimes advertised in that area with being made with forty yolks of egg, for example. Terrific with fresh pasta like this and gnocchi, there is certainly no chef that does a better job with risotto that’s on the menu a couple of times, befitting one from Vercelli not terribly far from Alba, the European capital of rice production. You are in excellent hands here. The freshly made pastas and gnocchi are at least as good or better than I’ve had nearly all of the top trattorias and Michelin-starred restaurants I’ve dined in Italy on several trips in recent years. The setting is comfortable, attractive and usually quiet.
Amalfi – Italian – A short drive west from the Galleria, this bright spot focuses on the cuisine of his home region in southern Italy, Salerno native Chef Giancarlo Ferrara, a veteran of top kitchens, produces dishes that are generally familiar but brighter, lighter and more vibrant that what you will typically find. Terrific pasta dishes and pizzas are just part of the enticing menu. Having cooked in northeastern Italy and in a French restaurant bearing two Michelin stars, dishes bearing those influences like risotto and a fish filleted tableside can also be terrific. The wine list offers an excellent selection of food-friendly, mostly from Italy, including a number of acidic and mineral-driven whites from Friuli, which can be perfect with one of the kitchen’s seafood preparations.
Caracol – Mexican – More lively, attractive and atmospheric than Hugo Ortega’s other local Mexican spots, this specializes in seafood preparations inspired from the cooking along much of Mexico’s long coastlines. Crispy calamari with serrano peppers, mussels with distinctly Mexican flavors, wood-fire-grilled butterflied fish, wonderful oysters roasted in a wood-burning oven, and any one of several creatively turned ceviches are a few of the highlights from an expectedly enticing menu.
Étoile – French – For over a decade now, set amidst the faux little village of upscale Uptown Park, this pleasing spot has done a stellar job serving mostly the traditional type of fare that you might expect in a nice French restaurant in much of this country – Moules Marinière, Tartare De Boeuf, Escargot de Bourgogne, Coq au Vin, and Magret De Canard Rôti, roasted duck breast – even drawing a local French clientele. The menu also reaches to Italy for risotto and pasta dishes as many French places do these days. Though the offerings might be described as refined cuisine bourgeoise, you can go Rossini with any entrée, adding a slab of seared foie gras for $15. No truffles with that, though. To note, lunch can be a fine value with smaller and less pricey portions along with sandwiches and salads.
Hidden Omakase – Sushi – Led by an alumna of Uchi who’s cooked in Spain and Thailand, this offers only set courses with two seatings of no more than eighteen folks nightly from Thursday through Sunday, which are $175 a head, for just the food. You need to bring your own wine or sake, BYOB is $20 per bottle. It will be fifteen courses of sushi with flavors that can go well beyond Japan. The terrific Burger Chan located nearly adjacent won’t be open when you depart, unfortunately; though delicious, you might need a burger after dinner here.
Kenny & Ziggy’s – Jewish Deli – Run by the star of the 2015 “Deli Man” documentary and a favorite of Guy Fieri, the gregarious Ziggy Gruber, this expansive, slick restaurant produces comically caloric and crowd-pleasing creations that you would expect in a quality traditional Jewish deli with roots in New York. There’s a reason it’s been featured multiple times on Guy Fieri’s show, so be prepared to wait for a table. Their open-faced pastrami Reuben is glorious, absolutely delicious, ungainly monstrosity, possibly the best in an array of tempting, heart-stopping sandwich choices. And there’s a lot more on the lengthy menu, seemingly all nearly as artery-clogging.
MAD – Spanish – Sibling to BCN in Montrose, its name is also an airport designation, this one for Madrid. And the menu here provides dishes from the tapas scene of Spain’s capital plus a lot more in a distractingly dramatic, dynamic and upscale setting that’s the most intriguing – or wondrously odd, especially the trippy bathroom area – since the original location of Americas in the 1990s. The best restaurant in the pricey River Oaks District upon opening, the food is the real draw here with excellent chef-tuned takes on traditional Madrileño small plates along with some cool molecular gastronomy tricks that actually taste great, plus paella, and fire-roasted proteins from an easy-to-espy hearth.
Musafeer – Indian – The most recent local example of fine-dining Indian fare; this is the most impressive and the priciest. With the capacity of well over 500 diners in a series of ornately decorated rooms featuring artwork shipped from India, this upscale restaurant inside the Galleria mall offers preparations inspired by many traditions across India, sometimes creative and even featuring modernist or playful touches and always plated very attractively. The wide-ranging a la carte menu, unusually, also includes several beef dishes – a node to regions like Kerala with millenniums-old Christian populations. For an indulgent and fuller experience, choose a tasting menu. To complement the visit, there’s a smart list of wine and an array of creative cocktails including a slew of serious gin-and-tonics for $20.
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse – Steak – Boisterous, always loud and often delightfully indulgent and even excessive – these and Georgia James are clearly the best two steakhouse concepts in the city. Not only is the food excellent, especially the nearly unparalleled wet- or dry-aged steaks, most importantly, but the compendious wine list is the most impressive in the city. The Westheimer original has around 5,000 labels and 28,000 bottles, so there is seemingly everything you might want at a fine dining restaurant with depth in Champagne, Burgundy – both colors, with pages of Grand Cru and Premier Cru – Bordeaux, Napa, Super Tuscans, Barolo, Rhone, and much, much more. You can spend a small fortune on just drink here. Along with the kitchen and cellar, the wait staff here, is also a cut above among the local steakhouses. The attentive, friendly and proficient service stands in stark contrast to the casual, not-so-professional or informed service you might find at Mastro’s, another expense account steakhouse in the neighborhood, for example.
Uchiko – Japanese – “Uchiko, child of Uchi,” is likewise a transplant from Austin, if not quite a replication of its namesake there, with its full bar and grander setting. Located along a glittery stretch of Post Oak Boulevard, it is like its parent, a “non‑traditional Japanese concept,” and has an emphasis on sushi, while also “bringing smoke and char” to some of the creations. That sushi is Uchi-level, superb, in a variety of forms. The Toyosu section showcases the ten to twenty items recently flown in from that market in Tokyo, the successor to Tskuiji, and the home of the most prized pieces at sushi counters worldwide. Regardless of the provenance, the preparations here are deeply flavorful, and often creative and fun. Boquerones, rolls with soft shell crab and nuon mam, and post oak-grilled pork belly were just a few of the temptations on a recent visit. The menu is updated daily and posted on its site, highlighting the attention paid to the ingredients here, and taken with the restaurant, overall. To note, you can certainly spend some money for a meal, even without considering the bluefin tuna and caviar selections. The décor is in line with the high bar of the kitchen. It’s clean-lined and beautifully brown that’s accentuated with abstract works from local artists. With the notably adept service, too, it’s an equal to Uchi.
A beautifully rendered pasta ripiene at Amalfi
