11 Best Restaurants in Houston and Galveston, Texas

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.

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.

Gutsy, sometimes playful cuisine prepared by Chef Charles Clark is served in a bustling Midtown dining room as seductive as its namesake island off the coast of Spain. Generous portions of seasonal dishes intermingle with delectable Spanish tapas and hearty entrées such as braised lamb shank with mint oil. Oenophiles appreciate Ibiza's ever-changing wine list of rare tastes at fair prices. Don't miss the outdoor patio on pretty days or the homemade sangria chock-full of fresh fruit. Insider tip: cotton candy is available as a lunch dessert; just ask! An adjacent lounge, Ibiza Lounge Next Door, packs in a young, good-looking, and chic crowd in a cozy dark room with lots of low seating.

This granddaddy of Houston restaurants was one of the first to bring fine, reasonably priced Italian cooking to the city. Nino's appetizers and entrées can go head to head with those at trendier and tonier places in town. Owner Vincent Mandola continually updates the menu but retains the classics that put him on the map. Start with antipasto misto (mixed) of marinated and roasted vegetables, then enjoy wood-fired rotisserie lemon-garlic chicken with mashed potatoes for inspired comfort food.

The operative word at this popular steakhouse is "prime": prime beef, a prime setting, and a clientele primed for coddling, conversation, and cholesterol. The Steakhouse, poshest of the Pappas restaurant dynasty, gains a clubby look from dark wood, cushy booths, and phones at the tables. Thumbs-up to a beefsteak-tomato-and-Roquefort salad (big enough to share) and to the fork-tender New York strip steak with peppercorn sauce. Creamy mashed potatoes and giant fried onion rings provide delicious accompaniments to fillets. Expect a wait, even with reservations.

Since 1989 this Houston standby has dished up reliable meals of salads, pastas, seafood, and chops for smartly dressed businesspeople and the monied Tanglewood and Memorial crowds. The patrons come in for escargots Bourguignonnes with Provençal herb sauce, as well as barbecue chicken quesadillas with roasted-corn-and-black-bean salsa. The handily adjacent Oak Club serves up live music Tuesday through Saturday nights.

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.

If you're looking for modern cuisine from the French Riviera with a Texas twist, Restaurant CINQ is the place. Dripping with luxe touches, this restaurant occupies the first floor of a turn-of-the-20th-century mansion whose upper floors have been converted into a small luxury hotel by longtime owner Steve Zimmerman. Forget about budgets and calories, and succumb to classic preparations of lobster, lamb, prime cuts of beef, and vegetables. Expect the elaborate desserts to be—what else?—rich.

With Texana to the max, this expansive place is as much about pride as prime beef. The entry looks like a sprawling ranch house and the lobby invites long evenings spent on the front porch. So relax, as you and your fellow carnivores will likely wait a while for your table. Famous for its steaks, the kitchen also whips up chicken, lobster, and grilled shrimp. Taste of Texas also has an online store selling steaks, gourmet gift boxes with steaks and grilling supplies, and restaurant-themed merchandise.

Sure it's trendy, and maybe more stylish than substantive, but if you're looking for the decadent sushi experience, it's hard to beat the pricey and delicious Uptown Sushi. With its ethereal, white-on-white and Lucite-and-low-light decor, this Galleria-area hot spot offers fresh, interesting takes on sushi and sashimi. The Seven-and-a-Half Roll (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, masago, and avocado, all tempura fried) is not to be missed, nor is the Ribeye Roll (slices of beef wrapped around avocados and sweet Japanese yams). Try to snag a mezzanine-level table so you can see all the glamour go down. While waiting for said table, cool your designer heels at the raucous, pick-up-line-laden bar, with great, expensive wines and strong mixed drinks.