Kasugodai, or young sea bream, at Soto, one of the restaurants participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks.
Annie Mulligan/Contributor
Houston Restaurant Weeks’ multi-course meal specials are back.
The annual event, which runs from Aug. 1 to Sept. 7 this year, raises funds for the Houston Food Bank. It also boosts business at restaurants during a traditionally slow month.
READ MORE: Houston Restaurant Weeks returns in August with 200+ restaurants. See the list.
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The 250-plus participating restaurants all offer discounted meals at set prices: $25 for a two-course lunch or brunch, and $39 or $55 for a three-course dinner. For each meal sold, depending on the price point, the restaurant gives $1, $3 or $5 to the Food Bank.
This year, diners can get deals at spots like Brennan’s of Houston, Hugo Ortega’s restaurant Urbe or the Michelin-starred BCN Taste & Tradition. And more restaurants are still signing up for Houston Restaurant Weeks (HRW).
The Houston Chronicle food team reviewed all available HRW menus. Here are our picks for the best deals.
Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse
Vic & Anthony’s maple glazed quail in 2015.
Nick de la Torre/Houston Chronicle
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The Astros are only halfway through the season, so I love the idea of a pre- or post-game dinner at this downtown steakhouse right across from the ballpark. The $55 HRW dinner menu looks just peachy. I’ll probably start with the classic wedge salad (or the lobster bisque if I’m feeling frisky), followed by flounder stuffed with crab and finished with pineapple upside-down cake. — Jody Schmal
A breakfast thali from Pondicheri.
Bao Ong / Staff
I’ve long thought this modern Indian restaurant in the River Oaks area offers terrific value, and HRW is a great excuse to revisit while supporting a good cause. The $39 dinner menu, created by chef-owner and Chronicle cooking columnist Anita Jaisinghani, involves dishes from different regions of India. Jaisinghani has a deft hand with layered flavors and calibrated heat, and somehow you always leave Pondicheri feeling invigorated rather than weighed down. Expect a potato-filled chaat that pays homage to a little shop in Delhi, Goan shrimp curry, Southern Indian coconut stew and a to-die-for saffron-pistachio kulfi, a creamy frozen dessert. — Jody Schmal
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Premium tuna at Soto
Annie Mulligan/Contributor
This Montrose sushi spot is one of those places you almost want to gatekeep. One of my favorite dining experiences in Houston is sitting at the bar for a lavish omakase, watching chef-owner Andy Chen work his magic. But I’m just as eager to try lunch here. The $25 HRW menu seems tailor-made for an easy in-and-out meal, starting with a cucumber, seaweed and sesame salad, then a bento featuring four pieces of sashimi, two pieces of nigiri, chili hamachi, rock shrimp tempura, a seafood dumpling, salmon with sweet potato and a maki roll. — Jody Schmal
Small plate with honeynut squash with heirloom polenta, local honey and pepitas at Coltivare.
Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer
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Wander around the garden patio at this rustic Italian restaurant, and you’ll spot eggplants ripening and bundles of herbs sprouting from the ground. That summer produce makes its way into many of the pizzas and pastas here — including some of the offerings on the $39 HRW dinner menu. I’m delighted to see chef Ryan Pera’s corn ribs available, generously sauced with pea-green basil aioli. Follow that with a squash pizza or pan-roasted trout, and you’ll have a lovely light dinner for a warm August night. — Aviva Bechky
Lobster dumplings are shown at Kitchen Rumors, a modern Indian restaurant.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
This globally-inspired Indian restaurant wants to play. At Kitchen Rumors, chef Jassi Bindra adds blue cheese to chicken kabobs and stews butter chicken in a thick tomato-based ramen broth. The restaurant has fun with the dish names, too: On the $55 HRW menu, you can order the “Eat Me like a Taco” thepla or a “Howdy Gulab Jamun” cookie bar. I’d be sure to get the lobster dumplings. Draped in mangosteen-infused sauce, they’ve got a chewy, pleated skin that helps the minced lobster meat stand tall and proud. You won’t find that dish anywhere else. — Aviva Bechky
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Mushroom bao from Silk Road, a dim sum restaurant inside a Courtyard Marriott hotel.
Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer
Area: Near West University Place
Silk Road serves some of Houston’s best dim sum, but it’s not the cheapest. HRW offers a chance to try it for less, with a $25 three-course lunch and a $39 four-course dinner. You have your pick of dumplings: xiao long bao, siu mai, crystal shrimp, veggie variants. Get barbecue pork buns, or for a deconstructed version, the char siu pork over rice. Crispy taro puffs are a favorite of mine at any dim sum place, with shells as flaky as spun sugar encasing meat inside. And if you order the lava bao, you get to leave with salty-sweet notes of oozing custard lingering in your mouth. — Aviva Bechky
Pescado Zarandeado served with cucumber salad, sobaquera and a salsa trio, at Zaranda in downtown Houston on Monday, April 13, 2026.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
Chef Hugo Ortega rarely misses. And after our critic’s glowing review, I’m eager to try Ortega’s newest. Zaranda intrigues me because it’s one of the few Mexican restaurants that dial in on the cuisine of Las Californias, the region from Northern California to the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The ensalada Caesar is a must-try for me, despite the $9 surcharge. There’s a reason I’d pay the surcharge: Caesar salad is widely believed to have been invented in Tijuana. I’m equally excited about the pescado zarandeado, a whole butterflied branzino cooked in a wire basket over coals. I’m sure the dessert to follow in the three-course dinner will be just as stunning, but it’s the Caesar salad and fish that have me making a reservation. — Sonia Garza
BCN Taste & Tradition
Fresh Pickled Anchovies at BCN Taste & Tradition in 2015.
James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle
Last year, I visited BCN’s sister restaurant, MAD, during HRW and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s time I experience the praised original restaurant, with the bonus of not having to spend a pretty penny. Having a three-course meal at a Michelin-star restaurant for just $55 is a steal. To start, the patatas bravas, Spanish octopus and Iberico ham draw me in. Then it’s the grilled lamb chops, grilled branzino or roasted fideo pasta with grilled lobster and clams. Lastly, I’d end with a sponge cake or crispy fillo dough dessert. Brunch is even more impressive at $25 for two items. In true Spanish form, I’m adding a gin and tonic to my order and soaking in the upscale atmosphere. — Sonia Garza
Pizzana
Pizzana’s Cacio e Pepe pizza.
Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer
Every takeout order from Pizzana has left me impressed by its tender Neapolitan pizzas and zesty salads. If takeout delivers this well, I’m convinced dining in is worth the trip. HRW feels like the perfect excuse to order dishes I’ve yet to try. For $39, I’d order the Cavoletto di Bruxelles, a salad made up of Brussels sprouts, apples and a caramelized shallot vinaigrette; the cacio e pepe pizza, a buzzy cracked-pepper-and-cheese pie based on the pasta; and the dark chocolate olive oil cake. Rest assured, the HRW menu, served all day at Pizzana, also includes the hits like Caesar salad, pepperoni pizza and tiramisu. — Sonia Garza
Winnie’s
A po-boy at Winnie’s, 3622 Main.
Emily Jaschke
As great as HRW deals may be, some customers want to skip the trappings of a formal sit-down restaurant with multiple courses. This Midtown bar, which is equal parts restaurant and sandwich shop, feels more like visiting a reliable neighborhood watering hole. Dinner ($39) can kick off with the popular catfish nuggets spiked with a house-made pepper jelly and move to more substantial mains like chicken fried chicken or beef stroganoff. Washing it all down with a strawberry daiquiri or glass of rosé is optional. At brunch ($25), peach cobbler French toast is a must-order. It’s impossible to leave without feeling full and happy. If there are plans to catch an Astros game or visit a museum, the MetroRail is just a few steps away. — Bao Ong
Bistro Mistral
Cassoulet de canard at Bistro Mistral in Memorial.
Bao Ong / Houston Chronicle
Area: Memorial and Bellaire
Both locations of this underrated restaurant highlight the exacting standards of classical French cooking. But that doesn’t mean the HRW lunch ($25) and dinner ($55) options are awash in butter and cream. Take away any of the stuffiness of white tablecloths and formal service, too. A dash of dill vinaigrette brightens up salmon gravlax with just enough herbaceousness. There’s a homey version of roasted chicken thighs dressed in a velvety rosemary lemon sauce, which also complements the buttery-crisp potatoes. For dessert, go traditional with a lip-puckering lemon meringue tart or the seasonal route with a refreshing watermelon salad. Both dishes make a case for more French restaurants in Houston. — Bao Ong
A tostada with scallops and chorizo foam at Bar Xolo.
Bao Ong / Houston Chronicle
An order of rosy pink wagyu on a white corn tortilla topped with patatins (think of them as the fancier, thinner cousin of the potato sticks you grew up eating) features prominently on chef Javier Becerra’s $25 and $39 HRW brunch and dinner menus. There’s also a silky flan with an eggnog-like aroma to end either meal. Just in case there’s any confusion, this Montrose spot is a bar. It’s not surprising in 2026, after all, to find restaurant-quality dishes next to a slate of creative cocktails. Chicken tendies and loaded nachos are fine happy-hour or late-night snacks. But Bar Xolo makes a case for triple-cooked octopus or an airy slice of brioche drenched in sweetened condensed milk — both HRW items — to pair with playful cocktails. A citrus-kissed gin and tonic or a nutty espresso martini are just a few examples of the whimsical drinks on the menu. Bar fries (with an optional caviar upgrade) are also available. — Bao Ong