Thy and Matthew Mitchell, the owners behind Traveler’s Table, return with another ode to their favorite cuisines, but this time, with a more casual spin focusing on street food. Diners can skip across the globe enjoying Tiger shrimp pad Thai, beef rendang, carne frita and tostones, Jerk pork ribs, and a solid American roadside smash burger. Cocktails are also an essential experience with fresh ingredients and spices, including its Bangkok 8, a Tom Yum Mule made with vodka, lemongrass syrup, ginger beer, lime juice, bird’s eye chiles, Thai spice bitters, and mint. The chocolate sticky toffee pudding, served with Madagascar vanilla soft-serve ice cream, is a must.

Located next door to the newly opened and revamped River Oaks Theatre, this new restaurant attempts to harness the extravagance and fierceness of the Leo zodiac sign. With a supper club, Leo’s promises an upscale dining experience with luxurious seafood towers, crudo, premium caviar service, prime steaks, roasted whole fish, and lobster thermidor. The drinks menu doesn’t disappoint, with four varieties of Old Fashioneds, spiced pear mocktails, classic espresso martinis, and more.

Astros pitcher Lance Cullers Jr. and the team at Rex Hospitality have branched out beyond local stadiums and its Thompson Hotel digs with their first standalone coffee shop, cocktail lounge, and full-service restaurant in Sawyer Yards. Diners can start the day with delightful pastries, breakfast tacos, sandwiches, and coffee drinks before introducing nighttime cocktails, like an epic carajillo or a cold shakerato, available with or without alcohol, or a pick from the curated wine list. The food menu also captivates with family-style dishes like tender octopus with roasted fingerling potatoes, a stellar steak au poivre, Caesar salad cups that can be eaten with your hands, and produce like maitake mushrooms and artichoke that are cooked with the most delicate care. Dessert is essential. Chocolate lovers will delight in its s’mores cup and the gooey chocolate lava cake.

Once located in Rice Village, this Spanish tapas restaurant gets a second life in Houston’s Montrose. Though many dishes have returned, including classics like the paella Valenciana, pulpo con patatas, potato croquettes, and the signature sangria, diners should take special note of the dishes that reflect the Moorish and Moroccan heritage of owner Youseff Nafaa. Diners can enjoy bastilla, tender shredded chicken, cooked egg, and cinnamon-roasted almonds wrapped in filo dough and dusted with powdered sugar for a sweet and savory flavor bomb, or the tender lamb shank that is slow-cooked with spices, quince, and honey. Weekends are especially lively. Catch flamenco performances from 10 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, and find yourself serenaded by the acoustic guitar on Saturdays and Sundays.

Expanded from a food stall in Downtown’s Post Houston, this new standalone Montrose restaurant is a vibrant celebration of the African diaspora that you can see, feel, and taste. While taking in the intricate decor, diners can indulge in robust combinations of West African staples like Nigerian beef red stew served with rice, beans, and plantains, and perfectly charred suya, tender skewered beef served with a yaji peanut pepper spice. The cocktails, many of which are made with African spirits, are also something to behold. Try the Dodo Old Fashioned, a mix of spiced plantain blended with bourbon, palm sugar, and bitters that’s garnished with bruleed plantain, or the Chopman, a refreshing combination of gin, citrus, hibiscus grenadine, cucumber, mint, orange soda, and bitters.

This all-day breakfast cafe opened its third, largest, and most central Houston location in the Heights Clock Tower building, meaning there’s another location for diners to score its signature plate-sized pancakes, blueberry lemon curd French toast sticks, and its award-winning fried chicken and waffles. Along with its noticeably larger digs, which include a spacious outdoor patio that’s perfect for enjoying one of its coffees, Dandelion Cafe will also expand its menu to feature lunch items like paninis.

From the team behind restaurants Doris Metropolitan and Hamsa, this Montrose Collective newcomer combines culinary traditions from across the Mediterranean for a riveting dining experience that lasts well into the night. The warm Moroccan flatbread, or Frena — served with homemade butter and olives, is an essential start before exploring worthy companions like its tuna crudo that’s topped with feta and a fresh parsley gremolata, or its sea bass carpaccio, which is brightened by slivers of red onion, red pepper, and pistachio. Main events include the restaurant’s foie-gras-topped steak Rossini, its Tiger shrimp bathed in a herbaceous arak beurre blanc, and the creamy crab squid ink pasta that’s given a spicy kick thanks to fermented peppers. Beyond dinner, Okto is a prime spot for happy hour or a nightcap, with olive oil martinis and shishito-infused gin and tonics served at its moody, illuminated, horseshoe-shaped bar.

This lively Dallas restaurant sashayed its way into Houston’s Montrose in August, offering the glitz and glam of Old Hollywood with an approachable dining menu of American fusion. Diners can enjoy cracker-crust pizza alongside dry-aged steaks, spicy salmon crispy rice, and Hollywood-themed sushi rolls while downing signature cold martinis. End with bites of its cult-favorite 24-layer strawberry cake.

Goode Company owner Levi Goode has branched out beyond his family brand, opening a new upscale live-fire restaurant in Memorial that celebrates his Texas roots. With an open kitchen with a custom-made hearth, diners can watch the action as cooks sear steaks, and slow-roasts half-chickens and whole Sweetwater ducks made for two, and enjoy sweet and savory takes of pan de campo, the official state bread. In other cases, the theatrics come directly to the table, with tableside service for salads and desserts. End the night with a drink, live music, and bites at the adjacent speakeasy Sidebar.

The lines are just settling down at this new Katy Asian Town restaurant. Revived after a four-year hiatus from its Bellaire location, Hong Kong Food Street serves Cantonese classics like comforting congee, Beijing duck, freshly made wontons, and roasted pork belly. Newer additions include the black pepper tomahawk. Plated with the bone, this diced steak is stir-fried in a black pepper sauce and served with fried potato wedges and onion.

The newest and fanciest of Ben Berg’s three steakhouses, Turner’s Cut, spoils diners with rare cuts of beef, but the experience goes far beyond steak with raw carts brimming with seafood and martini carts that allow the diner to customize their drink. Choose the six- or nine-course tasting menu for a well-rounded exploration of the menu, which features dishes like its American wagyu, the flower-shaped Ora King salmon tart served with delicate goat cheese, and its Broken Arrow Ranch quail. The bar experience is also a treat, with signature cocktails like its Toki Japanese Apricot Smash, made with Toki Suntory whiskey, mint, fresh lemon, and a spritz of apricot liqueur, and bites like its fancy buttermilk chicken nuggets that come covered in beurre blanc and shaved truffle.

Tucked away in a beautiful wooded area, Katy’s beloved Malaysian restaurant branches off with its second and largest outpost in The Woodlands. Diners will find much of the same favorites from its Katy flagship, including its roti canai, beef rendang, satay skewers, and tender Hainanese chicken, plus flirty drinks like lychee margaritas, coconut espresso martinis, and a pandan colada mocktail made with coconut syrup.

What might be Montrose’s most stunning restaurant brings an air of London with a Houston vibe. Sister to Goodnight Hospitality’s March and Rosie Cannonball, the Marigold Club promises a “fancy, not formal” dining experience with dishes like tender duck Wellington made with sauce au poivre vert and roasted maitake mushrooms, extravagant seafood towers, Kaluga caviar sandwiches, and a sundae cart that lets you customize your dessert. If searching for a more laid-back or casual affair, head to the bar, where oysters and martinis are an instant pick-me-up.