Montrose Italian Restaurant Favorite Makes Major Changes — Chef Travis McShane Gives Ostia a Menu and Space Refresh

Chef Travis McShane, a Houston native and University of Texas  graduate, is celebrating the five-year anniversary of his Italian-inspired boite Ostia in Montrose. But he’s not sitting on his laurels.

McShane’s decided to refresh his Houston restaurant once again with a fresh coat of light sage-colored paint and some warm woods framing the open kitchen in lieu of the trendy industrial metal accents California designer Jon de la Cruz first installed. We adore the greenhouse-like room lit with copper gas lights that, like a French Orangerie, invite the outdoors in, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that are open to allow dining undercover.

Reserve a table (or take your chances and drop in on a whim), and you’ll be greeted with a gift from the chef: a gratis pour of sparkling rosé and a plate of house-made potato crisps, olives and corn nuts. Although initially, McShane shied away from offering pizza at every meal service at Ostia, fearing diners might overlook his tempting starters, handmade pastas and mains, he’s now acquiesced.

Now you’ll find four varieties at both lunch and dinner that include new additions like spicy pepperoni pizza care of Calabrian chilis ($21), a funghi pizza topped with an array of seasonal mushrooms, shavings of black truffles and four cheeses ($26), as well as the Bianca pizza dotted with ‘nduja (a spicy pork sausage), thinly sliced potato and imported Italian cheeses: Silano caciocavallo and scamorza. To accommodate the increased demand for his pizza offerings, McShane is patiently waiting for his new grill imported from London to arrive (taking the place of the kitchen’s existing flattop grill), where he’ll now cook his signature half-chicken rubbed with lemon and served with salsa verde ($32) freeing up the pizza hearth.

Fans of Ostia’s potato gnocchi will find it still graces the menu with an updated addition of braised leeks, hazelnuts and Fiore Sardo, the hard-grated cheese. McShane reveals that the secret to the pillow-soft texture inside and crisp exterior is to pan fry the gnocchi frozen. Who knew?!

The other six pasta options available throughout the day also include a new fettuccine dish ($28) in a butter and Parmigiano Reggiano adorned with caviar. You can expect the average per person check at lunch to ring in at around $30, while at dinner, it’s $65, excluding alcohol.

In the coming months, look for McShane’s mentor, chef Jonathan Waxman, to make an appearance. McShane and Waxman will co-host a special dinner together. Ostia is also adding Pappas Steakhouse downtown’s former director of wine Bill Elsey to join the team in the front of the house as its new sommelier

Ostia means host in Italian and McShane is all in on doing just that well. Ostia is McShane’s first foray into the role of both chef and restaurant owner after years spent climbing the culinary ladder. He rose to the position of corporate chef for celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman’s expansive restaurant empire. Trained at the Culinary Institute of America, McShane made his way Westward from Manhattan only to arrive back in Texas in the midst of the pandemic, but despite the challenging circumstances, he quickly got to work rehabbing the open, airy space at the corner of Dunlavy and Indiana that houses Ostia. Now he’s doing it again.

Ostia is located at 2032 Dunlavy. The restaurant is open 11:30 am to 3 pm and 5 pm to 9 pm Tuesdays through Thursdays, 1:30 am to 3 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 11:30 am to 3 pm and 5 pm to 9pm on Sundays. Closed Mondays.