El Tiempo at POST Houston, 401 Franklin, opened January 20. Adjacent to the 713 Music Hall, it’s the 18th location of the legacy restaurant from the Laurenzo family. The Tex-Mex concept was founded in 1998, by Roland Laurenzo, a son of Ninfa ” Mama” Laurenzo, and grandson Domenic Laurenzo. After Ninfa’s restaurant business was sold off as part of a bankruptcy filing, the family wanted to carry on her legacy by creating a new concept centered around quality fajitas and hand-crafted margaritas.
The new location seats 230 guests in its 7,500 square-foot space, including several private dining areas and a full bar. It’s done in El Tiempo’s signature style, with a few rustic elements and family portraits, plus neon lighting in the bar that echoes the colorful lights at the POST next door.
The POST opened in 2021 as a globally-inspired food hall, operated by Lovett Commercial. The Houston-based real estate development company purchased the former Barbara Jordan Post Office building in 2015 from the U.S. government, turning it into a stunning venue for dining, collaborative office spaces, and a lush rooftop park with up-close views of the Houston skyline.
Domenic Laurenzo, executive chef at El Tiempo, says the brand is thrilled to join the POST community. “ Our family has always believed that great Tex-Mex is about more than just the food. It’s the experience, energy, and feeling of being welcomed like family. We can’t wait to share that with our guests here.”
Still, food and drink is what draws in guests looking for a destination dinner or a pre-show bite. For now the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner hours, but may extend hours, depending on shows at 713 Music Hall or events downtown.
The menu will feature all the same Tex-Mex favorites of its other locations, including its mesquite-grilled fajitas and Texas quail. The menu runs the gamut from brisket queso and seafood ceviche to a wide selection of quesadillas and enchiladas. There are also Ninfa’s faves like spicy pork tamales and carne guisada.
With its prime spot at the POST, its bar scene should be hopping as well.
iWok, 2328 W. Holcombe Boulevard, will open January 30 in the Texas Medical Center. And it seems like the robot invasion has just begun, as the brand expects to open three more locations across Houston in 2026.
The Asian restaurant is based on a robot chef system that cooks entrees and rice dishes to order. The robotic woks are programmed to deliver individual wok-seared bowls in minutes, compared to the batch cooking and steam tables that some fast-casual Asian concepts rely on.
The menu is chef-curated with recipes developed by culinary director J.D. Yang. Formerly a private chef, Yang’s menu items are cooked in pre-heated woks to his programmed sequences. Dishes include Mongolian beef, General Tso’s chicken, kung pao chicken, mapo tofu and umami wok shrimp.
However, human labor is still required for the prepping of fresh ingredients, including chopping, washing and sauce preparations. Team members portion the ingredients into individual containers and refrigerate them, ready to be retrieved by the automated system, according to the customer’s order. The robot wok cooks the dish to precision and then a staff member plates the finished dish to serve to the diner.
There will also be a robot boba tea machine that will deliver customized milk teas in less than three minutes.
The space itself is somewhat futuristic with noodle-shaped neon lights overhead and vibrant colors, plus guests can watch the iWoks in action through the open kitchen. Digital ordering systems allow for customization and the average order is completed in three and a half minutes. The quick turnover allows the programmed system to operate consistently even during peak hours and the technology also helps to extend operating hours.
The brand is launching in Houston because of its diverse population and embrace of Asian cuisine, not to mention its Space City designation. There are already plans to open in Asiatown at 9715 Bellaire Boulevard, plus two more spots in Katy and, fittingly, NASA Parkway. Using the Houston market as a proof of concept for its operating model, the company is looking to expand with possible franchise locations.
Kazzan Ramen & Bar, 191 Heights Boulevard will close January 24. Originally founded in Osaka, Japan, the volcano ramen concept made its U.S. debut in Los Angeles a month before the Houston location opened in the Heights area in July 2024. It was introduced to the city by Lianne Chang, a local entrepreneur who also operates multiple locations of Shipley Do-Nuts and Charleys Cheesesteaks.
Guests are encouraged to come in for a last bowl of the volcano ramen, in which noodles and vegetables are poured into a hell-hot stone bowl, followed by steaming broth, poured through a cylindrical top. It creates an eruption that is quite showstopping. Better yet, Kazzan is offering all of its cocktails, spirits, wine, beer and sake for 50 percent off.
Fielding’s River Oaks, 3750 Westheimer, will rebrand as Fielding’s STEAK January 27. The chef-driven menu (whatever that means), will be revamped, with a focus on premium prime steaks and globally-inspired flavors. Part of the Fielding’s Culinary Group, which began in The Woodlands, Fielding’s River Oaks was the group’s first foray into the inner loop of Houston. Its European-style menu and upscale ambiance seemed a perfect fit for the exclusive enclave, but apparently the residents are clamoring for more luxury beef. Maybe it’s the new U.S. food pyramid.
Whatever the case, it seems some Houstonians cannot get enough of luxe wagyu beef and dry-aged prime cuts. The new menu also features seafood like miso-baked Chilean sea bass and king crab legs with ponzu dashi and miso aioli. The Japanese influence seems to be in keeping with the new focus on wagyu beef. There’s even a miso Caesar salad.
Gone are the butter chicken and vegetable coconut masala, as well as a few of the Italian standards like veal piccata and dry aged Bolognese, replaced by lobster risotto and osso bucco ragu. And Southern inspiration shows up in dishes like Tennessee hot quail and fried okra with Tabasco aioli.
The steak offerings still include prime cuts of filet, ribeye and New York strip, but have expanded with a wagyu program that offers Japanese A5, American and Australian wagyu striploin. For a true splurge, there’s the wagyu omakase which offers 4 ounces of each.
Hypsi at Hotel Daphne, 347 W. 20th, launched its lunch service January 20. The restaurant is located in the boutique hotel, which opened in early December. As part of its community oriented focus, meant to bring in locals as well as hotel guests, the lunch menu and new daily happy hour are inspired by classic Italian wine bars and sandwich counters, for a more casual approach.
At the helm of the kitchen is Terrence Gallivan, whose impressive resume also includes co-founding the much-missed The Pass & Provisions. While the dinner menu is upscale Italian with dishes like squid ink radiatori, beef short rib brasato and crispy squash blossoms, the daytime offerings center around Florentine-inspired (and Houston-themed) sandwiches made with high-quality Italian meats and cheeses, served on focaccia. Cold versions include the Airline, with mortadella, soppressata, provolone, olives and giardiniera and the Yale Street, with marjoram pesto and mozzarella.
On the hot sandwich list is the North Main porchetta and the Cavalcade, with grilled portobello mushrooms and red onion jam. There are also lunch salads with the option to add chicken.
The lunch runs Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The daily happy hour, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., features bites like cornmeal fried calamari and a chicken parm slider, along with $10 select glasses of wine, cocktails and spirits. Draft beer is $5 during happy hour.
La Madeleine has brought back its complimentary bread and jam as part of its new chapter of welcoming guests with thoughtful, bakery-driven options. With each entree order, guests will receive a curated selection of three complimentary freshly-baked bread slices including its signature sourdough, 7-grain and apple raisin. The bread slices are accompanied by house-made strawberry and blackberry jam.
Loaves of the bread and jars of jam are also available for purchase.
This article appears in Private: Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2026.