Beloved Spanish Tapas Restaurant Comes Back to Life In Houston 20 Years After Shuttering — Your First Taste of Mi Luna, Take Two
This Time, Montrose Collective Seems Like the Perfect Home
BY Laurann Claridge // 10.25.24While trying lots of small plates is encouraged at Mi Luna, don’t miss the six paella options (like Paella Valenciana, shown) , which can be scaled up or down depending on the number diners. (Photo by Dylan McEwan)
Twenty-six years ago, Moroccan-born chef Youssef Nafaa, schooled at the Cordon Bleu, made his way to Houston and in short order opened Mi Luna in Rice Village, the first of several restaurants he would create in his new adopted hometown. Shuttered in 2004, the Spanish tapas restaurant has now come back to life in the Montrose Collective, the swanky development on Westheimer Road.
“I had no idea what kind of impact the original Mi Luna had on our customers,” Nafaa tells PaperCity. “Since we’ve reopened, I’ve met three couples who met at Mi Luna and later married, returning here to celebrate.”
In the intervening years since Nafaa opened his first full-service restaurant, he’s created several more, including the Italian joint Mia Bella Trattoria and fast-casual restaurants Coco Crepes & Coffee and ZOA Moroccan Kitchen. Today, the proud papa has brought two of his three sons into the fold, including Adam Nafaa, an attorney, and Zack Nafaa, a member of the operations team who helped open Mi Luna once again.
For those with a good memory, you’ll be comforted that many things remain as you fondly remember from the first incarnation of Mi Luna. For instance, much of the expansive tapas selections, from small cold plates (tapas frias) to hot dishes (tapas calientes) are throwbacks to originals. These include mejillones a la vinaigrette (mussels in a sherry wine and caper vinaigrette, $14), lombarda al la parilla (chorizo with caramelized onions and spicy potatoes, $12) and gambas al ajillo (shrimp in lemon and garlic olive oil with red chili peppers, $15).
New additions with a bit of Moorish influence grace the menu too. For example, ensaladillas marounas (Moroccan eggplant with carrot, beets and roasted corn salad, $14), tender fried croquetas de patatas (fried potato croquettes with aioli, $8), and chuletas de Cordero la parrilla (grilled lamb chop with wild mushrooms in a wine reduction, $16).
While trying lots of small plates is encouraged, don’t miss the six paella options, which can be scaled up or down depending on the number of people you’re dining with. Nafaa reveals he’s recently discovered a new short-grain rice, the base of all his paellas, like the new paella Mi Luna studded with lobster, leeks, cherry tomatoes, sweet peas and saffron seasoned rice.
“Previously, we’d been using Italian arborio rice for our paellas,” he says. “But this new short grain rice is a little smaller, not as starchy, and I’ve found a lot more flavorful.”
Open for happy hour through dinner and serving brunch on weekends, Mi Luna boasts a signature sangria and a host of craft cocktails and mocktails. Spain varietals dominate the wine list (there are more than 100), although you’ll find several interesting French and Italian wines as well. Did we mention that the list features 50 wines priced under $50?
Mi Luna is not just serving food and drinks though. It hosts live entertainment on its raised stage, from Latin night on Thursdays to flamenco dancing by Solero Flamenco on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 pm to midnight to acoustic guitar performances at weekend brunch.
Located at 888 Westheimer Road, Mi Luna is open Mondays through Thursdays from 3 pm to midnight, Fridays from 3 pm to 2 am, Saturdays from 11 am to 2 am and Sundays from 11 am to midnight.