A New French Restaurant Is Opening In One of Houston’s Most Iconic High-Rises

Step Right Up to the Crêpe Window

By Jailyn Marcel // May 27, 2016

Etoile's Philippe Verpiand will open his second restaurant, Brasserie du Parc, this fall inside downtown high-rise One Park Place.

In-house restaurants are emerging as the newest amenity on Houston’s burgeoning high-rise scene. Luxury residential tower 2929 Weslayan announced last year that upscale Japanese steak, seafood and sushi concept Roka Akor would open on the high-rise’s ground floor, and newly opened downtown mid-rise 500 Crawford plans to offer two in-residence restaurant options — Brocca, a fine-dining Italian restaurant helmed by chef Bryan Caswell, and Panchina, a casual upscale diner.

Now the team behind Uptown Park French eatery Etoile Cuisine et Bar —Chef Philippe Verpiand and his wife, Monica Bui — is getting in on the action by opening a restaurant in the pioneering downtown high-rise One Park Place, which overlooks urban park Discovery Green.

Brasserie du Parc will occupy 3,000 square feet in the building, which counts as neighbors the Four Seasons Hotel, specialty grocery store Phoenicia Market and MKT Bar.

“The response to Étoile has been overwhelming in Uptown Park,” said Verpiand. “We are thrilled about the idea of doing a real French brasserie that I hope will strike the same chord in such a prestigious building in downtown Houston. This is a dream come true for my family and me.”

Divided into three distinct spaces — a bar, a lounge, and a formal dining room designed by Bui and partner Kathy Heard Design — Brasserie du Parc will serve a number of traditional brasserie menu items, including charcuterie, steak frites and mussels. A 360-degree square-shaped bar will serve a bevy of cocktails, beer and bar bites.

While Brasserie du Parc and Etoile have French fare in common, Verpiand’s new venture boasts an in-house crêperie with a walk-up window — a feature that’s sure to come in handy for park patrons.