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Gin martini at Bandista, billed as a “cocktail laboratory,” a new, 20-seat hidden bar within Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
Bandista, billed as a “cocktail laboratory,” is a 20-seat hidden bar within Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
Bandista, billed as a “cocktail laboratory,” is a 20-seat hidden bar within Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
Assorted dishes at Hidden Omakase, a multi-course dining experience from chef Niki Vongthong.
Nigiri is part of the multi-course dining experience at Hidden Omakase.
The dining room at Hidden Omakase is accessed from an unmarked entrance designed as a storefront lined with comic books.
The unmarked entrance to Hidden Omakase is a storefront lined with comic books.
Gin martini at Patton's a new speakeasy-style steakhouse located within Savoir restaurant in the Heights.
Bone-in ribeye at Patton's a new speakeasy-style steakhouse located within Savoir restaurant in the Heights.
Lees Den is an intimate new wine bar set on the second level of Local Foods Market in the space that was a lounge above the former Benjy’s restaurant in Rice Village.
Lees Den is an intimate new wine bar set on the second level of Local Foods Market in the space that was a lounge above the former Benjy’s restaurant in Rice Village.
The entrance to Juliet restaurant, 5857 Westheimer, is a movie theater marquee.
Beyond the theater marquee entrance to Juliet restaurant, 5857 Westheimer, is a movie lobby with candy and popcorn counter.
USDA Prime gold tomahawk ribeye wrapped in 24 karat gold at Juliet, 5857 Westheimer, a new restaurant set behind a movie theater marquee.
Parlour Hideaway is a new event space for private functions set behind a hidden door near the Lobby Bar at downtown’s C. Baldwin hotel.
To get into Houston’s newest exclusive cocktail bar, you must make a reservation, limit your drinking to 90 minutes and plan to sip the city’s priciest drinks Thursday through Saturday only. The 20-seat Bandista, tucked away in an enclave within Four Seasons Hotel Houston, represents a posh, ultra-refined example of Houston’s growing appetite for hidden speakeasy-style restaurants and cocktail lairs.
Getting inside Bandista is part of the “hidden” process. Snagging a reservation is tricky and may take several shots, given the precious few spots available. Once passage is secured, guests meet a staff member in the hotel lobby and are directed to a special elevator up to the third floor and through Toro Toro restaurant to an anteroom outfitted with a special bookcase. That bookshelf is actually the door to Bandista. Push it and you’re inside the low-lit space where chummy bartenders working with top-shelf liquor concoct specialty cocktails, with razzle-dazzle garnishes, served in antique stemware.
It’s a unique and expensive experience. A gin/vodka Vesper cocktail is priced at $32, although it does come with side dish on which rests a wee spoonful of caviar and a frozen shower of liquid nitrogen truffle cream. The house French 75 will set you back $35, and the Manhattan is an eyebrow-raising $45. Those are examples of 1920s cocktails. The 2020s side of the list includes modern elixirs such as Fig Daisy (rum, tea, fig jam, lime and bitters), Viking Funeral (single-malt scotch, sherry, amaro, honey, vermouth and cherry bark vanilla bitters) and Sparkling Courage (gin, raspberry, Aperol, lemon and champagne).
Here are some of Houston’s other “hidden” spots.
There are only two seatings per night (Thursday through Saturday) at this 18-seat sushi bar chef counter presided over by chef Niki Vongthong, working with ingredients sourced from Japan. The multicourse dinners, including impeccable nigiri, have sent Houston foodies aflutter. But first you have to find the restaurant. There’s no sign, so look for the storefront lined with old comic books in the Galleria-area shopping mall. 5353 W. Alabama; hiddenomakase.com
The owners of Savoir in the Heights had some fun creating their new steakhouse. They hid the 38-seat venue behind the bar, with a wine-cellar entrance. Step through and you’re in a moody, leather banquette-lined chamber brightened by the soft glow of chandeliers and table lamps. Tuck into beef carpaccio, Waldorf salad, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, and rib-eye and New York strip cuts washed down with big martinis and bold wines. 1344 Yale; pattonsheights.com
Atop Local Foods Market in Rice Village, this intimate wine lounge has a food menu that includes dishes such as pistachio-whipped goat cheese with date jam and flat bread; spinach dip with hearts of palm; sesame ginger meatballs; and buttered bread with smoked trout roe. Access is from Local Foods or through an entrance on the east side of the building. 2424 Dunstan; leesdenhtx.com
Theatrical flair accompanied the premier of Juliet, a new cinema-inspired restaurant in the Galleria area, when it debuted in February. Its entrance is a movie theater marquee, beyond which is a mock movie lobby decorated with a candy counter and popcorn machine. Behind the curtain is the dining room, decorated with black-and-white movie stills. The menu is upscale steakhouse stuff, including an Oscar-worthy tomahawk rib-eye wrapped in 24-karat gold leaf. 5857 Westheimer; juliethtx.com
Parlour Hideaway isn’t open to the public, but if you’re planning a special party for up to 65 guests, this chic new space, designed by Kate Rohrer of Philadelphia’s ROHE Creative, might fit the bill. The boîte behind a hidden door near the Lobby Bar of downtown’s C. Baldwin hotel features leather settees and velvet slipper chairs set against botanical wallpaper-clad walls. A marble fireplace, a pink bar and 8-foot crystal chandelier fill the space. There’s also a menu from chef Chris Cosentino of Rosalie Italian that includes nibbles such as Texas wagyu tartare, Parmesan gougères, and bacalao fritters. 400 Dallas; cbaldwinhotel.com
Greg Morago was a features editor and reporter for The Hartford Courant for 25 years before joining the Houston Chronicle as food editor in 2009. He writes about food, restaurants, spirits, travel, fashion and beauty. He is a native Arizonan and member of the Pima tribe of the Gila River Indian Community.
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