Hunky Dory

Houston diners have waited for three years for chef Richard Knight’s new restaurant, Hunky Dory — and it’s totally worth it. His first Houston restaurant, Feast, closed way back in 2013. It’s now a friendly ghost that stops by and says “Hello!” in the form of the greatly missed warm sticky toffee pudding and “nose to tail” dishes like the whole hog pasta, which incorporates pig’s head, pork sausage trotter and house-made . Hunky Dory is in a modern, new space, but there’s a gentle wisdom about it. It serves sustainable fare, like bycatch, in ways that are fun and approachable. The fish and chips, which enrobes the bycatch fish of the day in a perfect, crunchy batter coating, is probably the best rendition of the dish in Houston. A wood-burning grill that’s as much a work of art as it is functional cranks out steaks and chops. A group of three or more diners should most definitely indulge in the $30 Silver Salver to start, a gleaming platter laden with about a dozen kinds of charcuterie, cheeses, relishes and bread.