<\/p>\n
Kasugodai, or young sea bream, at Soto, one of the restaurants participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks.<\/p>\n
Annie Mulligan\/Contributor<\/p>\n
Houston Restaurant Weeks\u2019<\/a> multi-course meal specials are back.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Houston Restaurant Weeks returns in August with 200+ restaurants. See the list.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n This year, diners can get deals at spots like\u00a0Brennan\u2019s of Houston, Hugo Ortega\u2019s restaurant Urbe<\/a> or the Michelin-starred BCN Taste & Tradition. And more restaurants are still signing up for Houston Restaurant Weeks (HRW).<\/p>\n The Houston Chronicle food team reviewed all available HRW menus. Here are our picks for the best deals.<\/p>\n Vic & Anthony\u2019s Steakhouse<\/p>\n Vic & Anthony’s maple glazed quail in 2015.<\/p>\n Nick de la Torre\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 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\u00a0HRW dinner menu looks just peachy. I\u2019ll probably start with the classic wedge salad (or the lobster bisque if I\u2019m feeling frisky), followed by flounder stuffed with crab and finished with pineapple upside-down cake. \u2014 Jody Schmal<\/p>\n A breakfast thali from Pondicheri.<\/p>\n Bao Ong \/ Staff<\/p>\n I\u2019ve 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. \u2014 Jody Schmal<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Premium tuna at Soto<\/p>\n Annie Mulligan\/Contributor<\/p>\n 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\u2019m 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.\u00a0\u2014 Jody Schmal<\/p>\n Small plate with honeynut squash with heirloom polenta, local honey and pepitas at Coltivare.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Conley\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wander around the garden patio at this rustic Italian restaurant, and you\u2019ll 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 \u2014 including some of the offerings on the $39 HRW dinner menu. I\u2019m delighted to see chef Ryan Pera\u2019s corn ribs available, generously sauced with pea-green basil aioli. Follow that with a squash pizza or pan-roasted trout, and you\u2019ll have a lovely light dinner for a warm August night. \u2014 Aviva Bechky<\/p>\n Lobster dumplings are shown at Kitchen Rumors, a modern Indian restaurant.<\/p>\n Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n 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 \u201cEat Me like a Taco\u201d thepla or a \u201cHowdy Gulab Jamun\u201d cookie bar. I\u2019d be sure to get the lobster dumplings. Draped in\u00a0mangosteen-infused sauce, they\u2019ve got a chewy, pleated skin that helps the minced lobster meat stand tall and proud. You won\u2019t find that dish anywhere else. \u2014\u00a0Aviva Bechky<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Mushroom bao from Silk Road, a dim sum restaurant inside a Courtyard Marriott hotel.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n Area: Near West University Place<\/p>\n Silk Road serves some of Houston\u2019s best dim sum, but it\u2019s 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. \u2014 Aviva Bechky<\/p>\n Pescado Zarandeado served with cucumber salad, sobaquera and a salsa trio, at Zaranda in downtown Houston on Monday, April 13, 2026.<\/p>\n Elizabeth Conley\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Chef Hugo\u00a0Ortega rarely misses. And after our critic’s glowing review<\/a>, I’m eager to try Ortega\u2019s newest. Zaranda intrigues me because it’s one of the few Mexican restaurants that dial in on the\u00a0cuisine of Las Californias<\/a>, the region from Northern California to the southern tip of Mexico\u2019s Baja California peninsula. The\u00a0ensalada 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\u2019m equally excited about the pescado zarandeado, a whole butterflied branzino cooked in a wire basket over coals. I\u2019m 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. \u2014 Sonia Garza<\/p>\n BCN Taste & Tradition<\/p>\n Fresh Pickled Anchovies at BCN Taste & Tradition in 2015.<\/p>\n James Nielsen\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Last year, I visited\u00a0BCN’s sister restaurant,\u00a0MAD,<\/a>\u00a0during HRW<\/a> and thoroughly enjoyed it. It\u2019s time I experience the praised original restaurant, with the bonus of not having to spend\u00a0a pretty penny. Having a three-course meal at a Michelin-star restaurant<\/a> for just $55 is a steal. To start, the patatas bravas, Spanish octopus and Iberico ham draw me in. Then it\u2019s the grilled lamb chops, grilled branzino or roasted fideo pasta with grilled lobster and clams. Lastly, I\u2019d end with a sponge cake or crispy fillo dough dessert.\u00a0Brunch 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. \u2014 Sonia Garza<\/p>\n Pizzana<\/p>\n Pizzana\u2019s Cacio e Pepe pizza.<\/p>\n Yi-Chin Lee\/Staff photographer<\/p>\n Every takeout order from Pizzana<\/a> 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\u2019ve yet to try. For $39, I\u2019d 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.\u00a0\u2014 Sonia Garza<\/p>\n Winnie\u2019s<\/p>\n A po-boy at Winnie’s,\u00a03622 Main.<\/p>\n Emily Jaschke<\/p>\n 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 ros\u00e9 is optional. At brunch ($25), peach cobbler French toast is a must-order. It\u2019s impossible to leave without feeling full and happy. If there are plans to catch an\u00a0Astros game or visit a museum, the MetroRail is just a few steps away.\u00a0 \u2014 Bao Ong<\/p>\n Bistro Mistral<\/p>\n Cassoulet de canard at Bistro Mistral in Memorial.<\/p>\n Bao Ong \/ Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Area: Memorial and Bellaire<\/p>\n Both locations of this underrated restaurant highlight the exacting standards of classical French cooking. But that doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s a homey version of roasted chicken thighs dressed\u00a0in 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.\u00a0\u2014 Bao Ong<\/p>\n A tostada with scallops and chorizo foam at Bar Xolo.<\/p>\n Bao Ong \/ Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n 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\u2019s $25 and $39 HRW brunch and dinner menus. There\u2019s also a silky flan with an eggnog-like aroma to\u00a0end either meal. Just in case there\u2019s any confusion, this Montrose spot is a bar. It\u2019s not surprising in 2026, after all, to find restaurant-quality dishes<\/a> 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 \u2014 both HRW items \u2014 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. \u2014 Bao Ong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kasugodai, or young sea bream, at Soto, one of the restaurants participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks. 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