11 Best Restaurants in Houston and Galveston, Texas

Come to this loud, silicone-and-Rolex-filled place with a big appetite and a taste for a great selection of Texas and world-wide wines. This local favorite packs in young movers and shakers every night with upscale comfort food, including Lobster Thermadelphia—a twist on a Philly cheesesteak, with lobster, tequila, lime, and jalapeño cheddar cheese on a baguette, and the Texas Haute Dog, an all-beef hot dog with pickled jalapeño, Texas venison chili, cotija cheese, and crispy fried onion rings. Pair them up with an awesome selection of wines, many available by the glass, but much better priced as bottles. It's open until 2 am Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

With executive chefs hailing from Sardinia, Italy, Arcodoro is the place to go for authentic Sardinian cuisine. The various pasta dishes, such as artichoke-filled ravioli and gnochetti (teardrop pasta) with wild-boar ragu (stew), are very popular, as are the chicken dishes and osso buco, and the rib-eye steak is succulent. Alfresco dining is available year-round, but only truly enjoyable in the cooler months and when you're sitting far enough away from the parking lot to be out of exhaust range. Check out the online store for authentic Sardinian products.

An excellent choice for vegetarian cuisine, this eclectic bungalow in the Montrose neighborhood serves an avocado-and-mushroom-topped veggie burger plate that has been popular since 1975. Named after a Slavic witch, Baba Yega offers an award-winning weekend brunch, and full bar as well. Enjoy people-watching out front under the shade of a century-old oak tree, or dine on the covered patio before a waterfall and herb garden.

The self-designated "modern American cuisine" continues to evolve, but the cool factor and the quality remain the same at this Rice Village mainstay. Owners Benjy and Erica Levit deliver satisfying lunch, brunch, and dinner offerings, including warm pistachio-crusted goat-cheese cakes, seared sashimi-tuna pizza, and a standout grilled beef fillet with roasted-garlic mashed potatoes. If you're in the mood to stay late or arrive early, you can head upstairs to the lounge for beautiful people, generous-sized cocktails, and mid-century glam.

Breakfast—make that power breakfast—and lunch are popular with the business set at this small, classy restaurant in the Lancaster Hotel downtown, but dinner is the ticket, especially for the pre-theater crowd. Chef Jamie Zelko offers a changing seasonal menu based on fresh local ingredients. Try the crab cakes and bread pudding. Brunch is available on weekends. The adjacent Bistro Bar has a terrific wine list and a cozy, intimate setting.

A cousin of New Orleans's Commander's Palace, Brennan's puts a Texas spin on Creole cuisine. This is one of the few restaurants in Houston where people still dress up. Not that it's in any way formal: the landmark building's interiors are as charming as the hospitality is Southern-gracious. Chef Randy Evans's specialties, like turtle soup with sherry and pecan-crusted fish, repeatedly impress. Brunch in the peaceful courtyard is a memorable experience. For an extra-special night, book the Kitchen Table, a private dining room that seats 10 and offers a ringside view of all the cooking action.

After all these years, the original location of Carrabba's remains the busy and quintessential Inner Loop destination for reliable, Americanized Italian cooking. This location is not part of the national chain: here the founding families retain control and you can tell the difference. From steaming vessels of robust pasta dishes (heavy on the garlic) to crusty pizzas and hefty grilled meats, the kitchen fires on all cylinders to keep the customers happy. Service is fast and ultra-chummy, and servers will even sing an Italian song for your birthday if you so desire.

You could forget you're in the city at the grand hacienda of Las Alamedas, which overlooks a peaceful wooded ravine in Memorial. The menu is upscale Mexican (not Tex-Mex!) cuisine, and the kitchen is sometimes uneven, but generally very good. Two splendid entrées are tacos de cochinita pibil (chunks of pork simmered in achiote sauce) and huachinango à la azteca (red snapper stuffed with corn mushrooms in poblano sauce). There's a kids' menu.

At Elouise "Ouisie" Adams Jones's casually elegant, ersatz preppy restaurant, American cuisine is prepared with eclectic, Southern accents. Dine in the main room, or request a table on adjoining Lucy's Porch for a view of the herb plantings snipped daily by the kitchen staff. Fine dinner choices include a brace of roasted quail with apple-smoked bacon, and a shrimp curry with lemon-ginger rice. There's a fabulous weekend brunch and an afternoon "little bites" menu.

Though the Four Seasons Hotel is sort of fussy and dated, its in-house restaurant is a sleek, lively set of smartly designed dining rooms with inspiring food. Quattro—its name representing the four "faces" of the restaurant—breakfast, lunch, dinner, and the antipasto bar—focuses on popular American-Italian dining that's fresh, simple and seasonal. The wine list includes 25 wines by the glass, 250 bottle selections, and a private cellar selection of reserve and boutique wines. It's frequented by lots of political types, pampered travelers, birthday boys and girls, and theater-goers. From maitre d' to server, attention to your enjoyment is given unobtrusively and plentifully.

In downtown Houston's thoughtfully designed city park, you'll find The Grove, an airy, modern eco-friendly restaurant from the people who gave the Bayou City the famed Cafe Annie. Though the space might look contemporary, the food is decidedly hearty and homespun, with locally-sourced organic ingredients and "why-didn't-I-think-of-that" combinations like a deviled egg appetizer made with Spanish chorizo and tapenade, or mesquite-smoked Texas quail with baby turnips and local peaches. For a more casual vibe, head upstairs to the Tree House indoor/outdoor lounge and patio (open Thursday through Saturday) for cocktails and appetizers with a great view of Houston's skyline.