Many have said that 2013 was a disappointing year for restaurant openings in Houston. Writers and eaters alike lamented the fact that there was no Uchi this year, no Underbelly, no Oxheart. Plenty of great restaurants opened to be sure, but nothing with the immediate star power of some of 2012's best new restaurants.

Fret not, though, for there are exciting things on the horizon for Houston. There's already buzz surrounding a number of high-profile openings, and we're sure as the year goes on eateries will pop up that we didn't even see coming.

Based on promises from chefs and restaurateurs, we've compiled a list of the most anticipated restaurants that should be opening in 2014. As is the case with all restaurant openings, there can be setbacks and shuffles that delay the eventual debut. Most of these are looking good for 2014 though, and we're pretty excited to see what the year has in store.

Here are our top picks in alphabetical order.

1. Bradley's Fine Diner/Ogden Pour Society Two-time James Beard Award-winner Bradley Ogden recently opened Funky Chicken, an American comfort food restaurant, but he's not stopping there. The recent transplant to Houston is planning to open Bradley's Fine Diner (BFD) in March and Ogden Pour Society in April. Both will be slightly more upscale than Funky Chicken, with BFD featuring a Midwest-meets-California menu and Ogden Pour Society offering craft beer in a pub environment. All the food at both restaurants will be made from scratch in-house featuring as many organic products as possible. BFD will be located in the Heights and Ogden Pour Society will be in Memorial City.

2. Christine Ha's Restaurant OK, yes, it seems pretty presumptuous to put a restaurant that doesn't even have a name on our list of the most anticipated openings, but we've got faith that Ha will create something awesome in the new year. Ha, a MasterChef champion, has said she does plan to open a restaurant in her hometown of Houston with help from MasterChef judge Joe Bastianich, but there are no further details regarding where and when. We were able to get a possible preview of the type of food that will be served when Ha held a pop-up featuring dishes from her cookbook, Recipes from My Home Kitchen, back in September.

3. Coltivare Pizza & Garden The owners of Revival Market, Ryan Pera and Morgan Weber, are planning to open a new restaurant on White Oak called Coltivare, which means cultivate in Italian. And by planning, we mean they announced it in September 2012 and said it would probably be open by Spring 2013. Obviously that didn't happen, but we have a good feeling 2014 is the year! The menu will be authentic, casual Italian with a focus on small plates and dishes to share, most of which will be $15 or less. It will also have a pizza oven and a 3,000-square-foot garden, which will supply produce to both Coltivare and Revival.