Since 2015, State of Grace at 3258 Westheimer has been a River Oaks fixture, the kind of restaurant that has become part of the neighborhood’s dining vocabulary. Even so, owner Ford Fry and culinary director Bobby Matos have continued to evolve the concept, combining Gulf Coast sensibilities with a polished, lively dining room and a menu that retains old favorites while still introducing new dishes that pique diners’ interests.
In 2024, Fry and Matos shifted State of Grace’s concept to a not-strictly European brasserie reinforced by a major interior redesign, while retaining what makes it a Houston favorite. Seasonal additions keep the menu in motion, and include dishes such as heirloom tomato salad, tuna salad with local greens, grapefruit, avocado and serrano, a reimagined hamachi crudo and the lunchtime turkey club. The longstanding daily oyster happy hour teamed with a fresh cocktail menu offers even more reasons to make State of Grace an escape from the summer heat.
Executive chef Ryan Lachaine’s Butter Burgers taste even better than I remember them being at Riel. Just look at that line on those buns from the soaked butter! Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
That spirit of evolution has been particularly evident since Ryan Lachaine came aboard as executive chef last year after closing his Montrose restaurant, Riel. Lachaine brings the kind of culinary virtuosity that keeps a restaurant from resting too comfortably on its reputation. His approach fits naturally with State of Grace, where Gulf Coast traditions provide a foundation rather than a boundary.
In case you didn’t hear, Lachaine has brought his wildly popular Butter Burgers from Riel to the State of Grace lineup. The burgers are available during lunch or as an off-menu dinner special for $19 (as well as La Lucha’s The Pharmacy Burger), and they taste even better than I remember. A pair of these beauties arrive hot and glistening with perfectly crusted 3-ounce patties, melted, gooey cheese and caramelized onions on glistening, butter-drenched potato buns.
Each variety has its own personality, making an assortment of oysters a particularly good way to experience the breadth of what the raw bar has to offer. Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
To begin our dinner, we sampled a myriad of oysters, including Capo Hugo from Alabama, Conway Royal, a premium grade of wild oysters hand-tonged in Malpeque Bay, Prince Edward Island, and the aptly-named Sweet Jesus, farm-raised Chesapeake Bay oysters. Even better, State of Grace offers its oyster happy hour every day from opening until 6 p.m., with oysters for just $1.50 each. There may be no better companion to a platter of oysters than the Oyster Bar Martini, made with Ketel One and manzanilla olive brine, shaken and poured ice-cold tableside.
If raw oysters aren’t your thing, State of Grace also serves seasonal, wood-fired oysters as a warmer alternative. The current offerings are topped with green garlic herb butter that melts over the meaty oysters as they cook.
The seasonal heirloom tomato salad now available at State of Grace. Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
The seasonal appeal continues into the salad and hors d’oeuvres sections of the menu, with the kitchen making good use of summer produce in ways that feel particularly suited to Houston’s heat. The new heirloom tomato salad is a case in point, with slices of red and gold heirloom tomatoes mingling with cherry tomatoes, pickled ramps and cool, creamy burrata over a striking cane vinaigrette. The tomatoes are wonderful, but the vinaigrette is what had me hootin’ and hollerin’ over a daggum salad. Sweet and tangy in the manner of a Southern-style dressing, it balances sugarcane syrup and cane vinegar with oil, mustard and garlic, giving the salad a depth that turns what could be a familiar summer combination into the sleeper star of the evening.
The salad pairs especially well with the Aphrodite’s Garden, a not-too-sweet martini made with Empress gin, cucumber and elderflower that is at once herbal and floral, its cool freshness making it a natural companion to the umami and acid driven salad.
Caviar Tots at State of Grace. Eat your heart out, Napoleon Dynamite. Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
Then there are the Caviar Tots, another of Lachaine’s contributions, which consist of oversized, crisp “tots” crowned with Kaluga caviar and resting in a zippy crème fraîche. Calling them tots undersells what is happening beneath that beautifully browned exterior. Rather than the dense, grated-potato interior of a traditional tater tot, these have a creamy, almost cloudlike center more akin to pommes dauphine. At $37 they are a tiny exercise in excess, but the smile they put on your date’s face is well worth the cost.
The bread service is another recommendation, if only for the butter. A rich, decadent portion is topped with Maldon sea salt and asperged by extra-virgin olive oil, making it tempting to spoil your appetite before the rest of dinner arrives. The pain de campagne — rustic sourdough boule made with organic flour using traditional French techniques — comes from Magnol French Baking.
By this time, we had demurred at the thought of another slice of bread, though our resolve was easily broken by our server, Parwaan Sohi, who encouraged us to live a little. Sohi, the restaurant’s service captain, has a warm, quiet sense of humor and an excellent attention to detail, the kind of hospitality that makes spending a little more on a night out go down easier. What impressed me most, though, was how consistently she delivered that level of service. Even knowing who we were going into the evening’s hosted dinner, we watched her move through a room full of guests with the same unhurried attentiveness.
The petite filet mignon arrives on a plate, one of the restaurant’s many beautiful Homer Laughlin China pieces, with pan sauce, adding another savory layer without overwhelming the meat. Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
Following my dalliance with the tomato salad, we took Sohi’s recommendation and ordered the 8-ounce petite filet mignon, one of the restaurant’s most popular steaks and one of her personal favorites, along with a new accompaniment of jumbo scallops bathed in bubbling hotel butter, a classic French compound butter with finely minced parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. The steak was excellent, cooked precisely to medium-rare, and while we typically gravitate toward fattier, more deeply flavored cuts, the leaner filet won us over with its juiciness, proper crust and confident seasoning. It arrived on a plate with pan sauce, adding another savory layer without overwhelming the meat. The steaks are grilled over 100% Texas pecan wood, which imparts a gentle, sweet smokiness with nutty, toasty notes that are less assertive than mesquite but with enough character to lend the beef an unmistakable wood-fired depth.
We also shared the dry-aged burger, which comes with a thick slice of lightly cooked white onion, garlic aioli and a dreamy blanket of American cheese draped over a 9-ounce patty of brisket and chuck, blended in-house and grilled over live wood fire and served on a toasted bun with crispy, sturdy fries for $33.
The luxurious dry-aged burger is not for the faint of heart, nor parsimonious. The accompanying fries are a delight, lightly browned and crisp all over the exterior while remaining hot and fluffy inside. Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
By this point, we had no room left, but we persevered for the sake of our art and took on the crème brûlée. The generous portion easily serves three or four, with exceptionally light, airy custard beneath a perfectly caramelized sugar crust.
Behind the polished service is Matthew Crawford, State of Grace’s director of operations and an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. Crawford oversees the restaurant group’s wine program and has been with Fry’s company since 2013, eventually relocating to Houston as State of Grace’s general manager before becoming director of operations in 2022. People with his level of knowledge and hospitality are part of what makes a higher-end dining experience feel memorable and worth the price.
The crème brûlée at State of Grace is simple, classic and perfectly executed. Photo by Mario-Sebastian Berry.
State of Grace is open Monday and Tuesday from 5 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Complimentary valet is practically mandatory due to limited street parking options, and reservations are available through OpenTable.
Mario-Sebastian Berry is a wine and spirits vendor who has been in the hospitality industry since 2002. Currently, he represents Blanco, Texas-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. He holds numerous wine, beer and spirits certifications including Certified Sommelier. Somehow, he also finds time to be Houston Food Finder’s associate editor and social media manager.
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