7 Houston Restaurants Doing Takeout Right — Curbside Pickup Reigns Supreme Even as Some Dining Rooms Reopen
This Restaurant Transformation Started Before Coronavirus, But Not All Curbside Pickup and Delivery are Created Equal
BY Chris Baldwin // 05.01.20Roost treats takeout with reverence, offering all its hits to-go, including the famous fried cauliflower.
Restaurant dining rooms can reopen (if they wish), but takeout and delivery options at even the best restaurants are not going away anytime soon. Texas Governor Greg Abbott may be reopening the state, but many are still going to be extremely hesitant to eat out in a dining room right away.
Abbott admits that even alcohol-to-go from restaurants could become a permanent change with the world having shifted.
In some ways, the coronavirus pandemic forced many Houston restaurants to accelerate a transformation that was already happening. Takeout and delivery being the driving factor in the future of restaurants was being discussed long before anyone heard of COVID-19.
No less an authority than David Chang declared that restaurant delivery “is going to be the story of the next 10 years” before the country ever shutdown. But just because more high-end restaurants and true foodie finds alike are offering full takeout and delivery programs does not mean that they’re all doing it right. Some spots have proven to be much more adept at pivoting to a takeout and delivery model than others.
Through six-plus weeks of ordering takeout during this new dining world, these are 7 Houston Restaurants Doing Takeout Right:
Theodore Rex
You might expect that the best restaurant in Houston would do great takeout. But top restaurants often struggle to offer anything close to their same quality in takeout.
Not Justin Yu. I ordered from Theodore Rex in the first few days of the takeout and delivery-only mandate when the restaurant was still serving its full regular menu — and it remains the best meal I’ve had during the entire social distancing period. The sauce with the fish was every bit as good as it is dining in for the full Theodore Rex experience.
While that full menu is no longer available, Yu’s Money Cat Pop-Up Menu is no slouch. This is essentially Cantonese Chinese comfort food — with everything from crushed cucumbers to charred cauliflower and strawberry buttercake. It also offers a look back at Yu’s roots. The James Beard Award winning chef held Money Cat Pop-Ups when he was building his restaurant future.
Something else that makes Theodore Rex’s takeout standout? Justin Yu was in the restaurant cooking both times I ordered from Theodore Rex, which is hardly always the case for elite chefs running takeout operations these days. This is a chef who cares immensely.
Theodore Rex is also not rushing to reopen its dining room, which mean the Money Cat goodness is still the only way to experience Yu’s cooking for now.
Roka Akor
I never went to Roka Akor before the restaurant dining room shutdown — and maybe never would have tried it without the pandemic happening. After all, there are so many homegrown good places to get sushi in Houston — Kata Robata, the new Kokoro in Bravery Chef Hall, MF Sushi — that going to a chain (even a high-end, food centric one) that started in Scottsdale never seemed worth it.
The pandemic shutdowns changed that. With Kata Robata not offering miso black cod on its takeout menu (at least not yet), Roka Akor is the only place in town I could find the dish. Roka’s miso black cod nearly matched Kata’s and its sashimi also more than satisfied. This also turned out to my picky eater 12 and 14-year-old sons’ favorite takeout spot as well.
The number of options make Roka Akor’s takeout menu stand apart. And everything we tried was excellent.
The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation
While The Original Ninfa’s is reopening its dining room for limited capacity dining, the Tex-Mex institution’s curbside pickup and delivery program will continue. There may be not food better suited for takeout than Tex-Mex — and Ninfa’s slightly parred down takeout menu highlights items that travel well.
Putting Ninja’s famous fajitas together in your kitchen works just as well as it does at your table in the restaurant. You might not get the full effect of the table side sizzle, but all the accoutrements come in separate containers and you can even ask for extra tortillas. Ninfa’s queso also holds up to a trip to your house.
Of course, the ultimate take-and-go from this Houston staple is a batch of Ninfaritas. Ninfa’s takeout lives up to everything you expect — and that’s more than half the battle for any curbside pickup.
B.B. Italia
Getting pizza for the kids shouldn’t have to mean having to live with Domino’s or Papa Johns. Ben Berg’s B.B. Italia’s Pizza Happy Hour deal makes a better option affordable. From 4 to 6 pm daily, you can order one large pizza and get a second large pizza at B.B. Italia for free for curbside pickup or delivery.
With uncooked meal kits, which can make whipping up dinner at home a fun family activity, and family feasts (four pastas, one large salad and cannolis for $45) also in play, B.B. Italia proves that adjusting to a new takeout world sometimes just takes a little creativity.
Bravery Chef Hall
The number of standout choices and the ease of ordering sets Bravery Chef Hall apart. Food halls often overpromise and under deliver on how good the food actually is, but with two of the best restaurants in Houston under its roof (Christine Ha’s Blind Goat and Kokoro), this foodie haven in Aris Market Square is the exception.
One of the best parts of the Bravery takeout experience is the ability to order from all the food hall’s restaurants in one online form. You can get sashimi from Kokoro, a goat curry bowl from The Blind Goat and a grilled chicken sandwich from Cherry Block in one order, one seamless checkout transaction.
An added bonus? You can also order from Andes Cafe and Naaco Bread Co. from the highly-anticipated, yet-to-open Railway Heights food hall during these takeout times. Consider it a very early preview of the new restaurants coming to the Heights game changer. (Don’t sleep on the Andes Cafe’s ceviches.)
Need more? Bravery Chef Hall even has a “ghost” grocery, allowing you to buy meat, cheeses, dry goods and more.
Superica
While no Houston restaurant may match the near military precision displayed by Franklin Barbecue’s no-contact takeout operation in Austin, Ford Fry’s Superica comes relatively close. Order and you’ll get the exact time your food will be ready, allowing you to pull through the parking lot and have your Tex-Mex placed in your car with little person-to-person interaction.
Just as importantly, the Tex-Mex stands up. My family was split about 50-50 on whether Ninfa’s or Superica’s takeout tasted better, which is a huge win for the newcomer in the battle. Superica also lets you substitute corn tortillas for the traditional flour right in its online ordering system, an important touch for allergy sufferers.
Superica boasts more taco options than many Tex-Mex spots offering curbside pickup and its margarita kits with El Jimador tequila are beyond easy to mix together.
Roost
Roost is one of the rare spots that significantly discounted its entire pricing for takeout (all menu items are 15 percent less than usual and to-go wine is 30 percent off). That gives you more buying power for one of the more inventive (and complete) curbside pickup menus in the city.
Roost is not reopening its dining room yet, but its takeout menu (4 to 9 pm daily) has everything from its famous fried cauliflower to grilled Spanish octopus, pan seared fish and Slow Dough fresh bread service. There are even daily specials.
Now, that’s treating takeout food with respect.