Houston Restaurant Institution Reopens After an Extensive Redesign That Brings Trees Indoors — Inside the New Truluck’s

Truluck’s, the often overlooked 33-year-old fresh stone crab restaurant located in the Galleria area, has reopened with spiffy new look. The Houston-born and bred seafood institution with 12 restaurant locations in Texas, Florida and beyond put its Houston original through a multi-million-dollar facelift of sorts late this summer (closing for several months) with interior stylings care of Dallas-based designer Bruce Russo Designs.

Russo’s design directive: create a glamorous interior that evokes the relaxed elegance of dining al fresco in the Mediterranean. In Houston’s newly reopened Truluck’s, olive trees “grow” from floor to ceiling, their limbs forming a canopy over seats poised beneath the treee in the main dining room. New black and white tile flooring underfoot plays up the 88 keys on a baby grand piano.

Gone are the white tablecloths of yesteryear. Instead, a more casual vibe invites diners to relax into curved leather banquettes. The expansive Truluck’s dining room now features a semi-private dining space which can accommodate an impressive 56 dinners. Dubbed the TRU Dining Room, it is partitioned off from the rest of the restaurant by moveable screens.

“As part of our mission, we’re never satisfied with simply maintaining the status quo,” Truluck’s partner and beverage director Dave Mattern says. “This renovation is more than a facelift. It’s a rebirth. We wanted to preserve the soul of Truluck’s while creating an experience that resonates with longtime guests and appeals to a new generation, and our upscale Uptown neighborhood that draws residents and visitors from around the world.

“Every detail, from the trees overhead to the wine in your glass, has been designed to elevate your evening.”

Seafood and More Seafood

Continuously owned and operated by Truluck’s original founders Stuart Sargent and Patty Turner — who notably have never accepted outside investment since the beginning – the duo was the first to bring fresh (never frozen) Florida stone crabs to Texas.

Moreover, before sustainably harvested ingredients were an essential part of responsible sourcing, Truluck’s served sustainably harvested stone crab in season (which runs October 15 through May 1) from its own fishery in humanely designed wooden traps found throughout the Florida Keys. And still does. Their crabbers delicately remove just a single claw and return the crab to its ocean habitat so it can regenerate its missing claw within months, ensuring the sustainability of the species.

Best yet, Truluck’s delivers those same fully cooked, chilled and cracked claws from trap to table in 24 hours.

Other seafood options on the menu, executed with longtime executive chef, Misael Ramirez, include South African cold-water lobster (considered the best among lobster varieties and also managed sustainably by the South African Fishing Ethically group), Norwegian salmon, Chilean sea bass and Texas redfish.

For the carnivores, there are hand-cut prime steaks and on Sundays only prime rib is offered as part of a three-course all-day menu ($59). A new first for Houston’s Truluck’s brings sushi options alongside petite-sized entrées. Beverage go-withs include a value-minded wine list with more than 40 varieties by the glass, playful cocktails such as Tiny Tinis and zero-proof options. Signature happy hour pairings include The Oilman (a prime burger and an old-fashioned cocktail for $25) and The Uptown Girl (a voila! vodka cocktail made with framboise and pineapple, and blue crab guacamole for $25).

Yes, Truluck’s is back.

Houston’s reimagined Truluck’s is located at 5350 Westheimer Road. It is open Mondays through Thursdays from 11 am to 10 pm, Fridays from 11 am to 10:30 pm, Saturdays from noon till 10:30 pm and Sundays from 2 pm to 9 pm.