Three Houston Restaurants Earn Wine Spectator’s Highest Honors — Pappas and Mastro’s Are Officially Grand

Only 97 Restaurants in All of America Make This Rarefied Air

By Shelby Hodge // Jul 1, 2022

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The wine room at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse on Westheimer where the 5,000 bottle collection has earned the restaurant top ranking in the Wine Spectator's awards. (Pappas Bros. Steakhouse photo)

Mastro's at the Post Oak Hotel earns Wine Spectator's top honor, one of only 93 restaurants in the nation.

March's extensive selections with breadth across multiple regions and significant vertical depth earned honors from The Wine Spectator. (Photo by Julie Soefer)

MARCH was named one of the the 10 Best New Restaurants in the country by the Robb Report.The private dining room features an original piece by Argentinian artist Alexandra Kehayoglou. (Photo by Julie Soefer)

Pappas Bros. Steakhouse on Westheimer has been earning Wine Spectator's top ranking since 2010.

Mastro's at the Post Oak Hotel earns Wine Spectator's top honor

Wine Spectator’s annual Restaurant Awards are showing the love to Pappas Bros. Steakhouse as both Houston restaurants and the Dallas Pappas have earned the coveted Grand Award. Mastro’s at the Post Oak Hotel was the only other Houston restaurant to receive top honors while 20 other Houston restaurants garnered special recognition.

With only 97 Grand Award recipients across the country, the Pappas family and Tilman Fertitta, whose Landry’s Inc. owns Mastro’s, are once again beaming at the honor.

Pappas’ Galleria area steakhouse has earned the top ranking since 2010 and the downtown location, which opened in 2015, joins the elite fraternity for the first time. The Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas has preened in the spotlight as the best of the best since 2011.

In praising the original Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Wine Spectator writes: “Opened in 1995, this is the original location of the family-run steakhouse brand and the first of the three to earn a Grand Award. It’s also home to the largest of the Pappas Bros.’ wine lists with 5,000 selections.”

Mastro’s at the Post Oak Hotel was noted for its 4,000 selections of wines (37,500 bottles) with strength in the regions of Burgundy, Bordeaux, California, Piedmont, Tuscany, Champagne, Loire and Madiera. It has earned the top ranking since 2019.

ELIZABETH ANTHONY

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In addition to the Grand Award, there are two other levels to Wine Spectator honors — the Award of Excellence and the Best Award of Excellence. The former recognizes restaurants whose wine lists feature a well-chosen assortment of quality producers along with a thematic match to the menu in both price and style. The latter recognizes those with extensive selections with excellent breadth across multiple regions and significant vertical depth.

2962_201203_Goodnight — March’s extensive selections with breadth across multiple regions and significant vertical depth earned honors from The Wine Spectator. (Photo by Julie Soefer)

Houston restaurants earning the Best Award of Excellence include March, Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse, Georgia James steakhouse, Kiran’s, El Meson, Rainbow Lodge and Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.

Receiving the Award of Excellence are Capital Grille, Truluck’s, Morton’s the Steakhouse, Bludorn, Rosie Cannonball, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grill on West Gray, Brenner’s Steakhouse on the Bayou, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood on Kirby, State of Grace, Seasons 52, Le Colonial and the Oceanaire Seafood Room.