Houston’s Hottest Restaurant Happenings — New Seaside Italian Spot Opens, Le Jardinier Makes Lunch Waves and More

Apparently, tis the season for restaurant openings of various degrees and there are three new notable Houston restaurant happenings to report with something for diners of every stripe.

This is the Houston restaurants news you need to know:

Concura Italian Bites

Concura Italian Bites, brainchild of Italian fashion and design consultant Jessica Biondi, opens it doors tomorrow, August 17, in the cozy shopping center at 4340 Westheimer. The same development that’s home to Tenenbaum Jewelers and Bosscat.

Both Biondi and executive chef Angelo Cuppone, most recently of Roma in Rice Village, are from the small seaside town of Fano, Italy. No surprise then that the menu features influences from their Adriatic Coast experience. Think pappa al pomodoro, vitello tonnato and carbonara di pesce. Not sticking to the old school playbook, there are numerous contemporary dishes including varieties of tartares and charcuterie.

Like a modern neighborhood restaurant in Italy, the open kitchen plan and intimate scale of Concura speak to the owner’s decades-long dream. Biondi designed the space with a curated collection of furniture with attention to every detail from dark, lime-washed walls to iconic Italian designer pieces like the Sesann sofa by Tacchini.

“Think of Concura as a place you come to gather with friends. The inviting atmosphere will make you feel comfortable and right at home,” Biondi says in a statement. “Eat, drink, and feel Italiano – that’s our motto.”

Le Jardinier Embraces Lunch

Maybe, just maybe, we can say goodbye to that six-week wait for a reservation at Le Jardinier as the highly touted fine dining restaurant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has revealed that it will finally open for lunch starting on Friday, September 3. The bar will open at 11 am and lunch will be served from 11:30 to 2 pm.

The lunch menu will feature additions such as Carolina gold rice risotto with roasted squash, mimolette and crispy kale and the avocado tartine with purple hull peas, cherry tomatoes and feta. Likewise, there will be a few refreshing spins on dinner menu favorites including the burrata salad, now with pomegranate seeds, arugula pistou and persimmon, and the Texas gulf shrimp with homestead gristmill grits, savoy cabbage and bisque.

Midday diners will have the illusion of an al fresco meal as the floor-to-ceiling windows provide a visual pathway to the tree-shaded Cullen Sculpture Garden, the moss green furnishings and carpeting of the restaurant creating a pleasing segue from the indoors out.

La Table Heats Up

Following La Table closing in March 2020 due to COVID, the Houston restaurant reopened in November with only patio and ground floor service. The second floor of La Table, which has been refurbished, has now reopened, offering the same menu and service as the street level spaces.

In addition, the swank, private salon known as the Paris Room is now available for booking. Adding a light note to the reopenings, La Table has created a number of new cocktails aimed at keeping the summer “spirits” alive.