Hidden Omakase, located at 5353 W Alabama St. in the Galleria area, is temporarily pausing operations to repair damage left from a vehicle that drove straight through its windows, its team announced Monday in a social media post.
Video of the aftermath shows a car smack in the middle of the Japanese restaurant that opened in 2021. It left shattered glass, downed walls and broken furniture after having smashed through the space.
“A car decided to skip the reservation list and come straight into Hidden Omakase. Everyone is safe, and we’re incredibly thankful for that. We’ll be temporarily closed while we clean up, repair the space, and make sure everything is back to the standard y’all know us for. All upcoming reservations will be rescheduled, and our team will be reaching out directly to guests,” the post read.
“Thank you for all the love and support already. Hidden Omakase will be back soon, preferably with guests entering through the front door only.”
The restaurant led by chef Marcos Juarez is closed on Mondays, so none of its team members were there. One chef told Chron the staff found out after getting an alert about the power being out.
“Centerpoint Energy texted us saying our power has been shut off, so they were looking at the cameras trying to see … and they saw a car,” Kaelyb Lim told Chron Monday evening while they were assessing the damage. “They thought someone broke in, but then it was actually a car that ran into our restaurant.”
Lim, who was close to the area, says he drove by about 20 minutes before the incident, so he was shocked to see the damage left behind. He said he thinks the car that struck the restaurant may have been in an accident with another car, sending it toward Hidden Omakase. The incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. Monday, and the car had been cleared from the scene by 6 p.m.
“Nobody was working, and thankfully they hit our restaurant and not the ones that are operating next door because they did have people at the salon [Lofts] and [at LT Tailors 2]. So I’m thankful that it hit us—although it sucks for us. But nobody was injured, nobody was harmed, nobody was working at the time.”
Lim told Chron special plates shipped from Japan, meats, kitchenware and more were destroyed, with damages estimated at a couple hundred thousand dollars, though that’s not a final number. He added it may take another six months to renovate Hidden Omakase, which Michelin designated for its Texas guide book in 2024 and ’25. Its sister restaurant, Sushi by Hidden in Rice Village, remains open.
“I’m just glad that everyone’s safe,” Lim said. You know, this stuff is replaceable, but our lives aren’t. So that’s the number one thing that we really care for.”
This article has been updated from its original version.