Izakaya

Houston

Japanese Restaurant

$$$$

This Midtown gastropub serves up Japanese small plates from culinary jedis Manabu Horiuchi (of Kata Robata) and Jean-Philippe Gaston (of the late and great Cove). The drinks are as important as the food, and you’ll have just as much fun partaking in flights of Japanese whisky as you will making your way through the not-so-traditional izakaya menu. Heavy wood tones and painted concrete floors add a luxe industrial element to the space, as do the prismatic murals done by a local tattoo artist. Snag a spot on the patio in warmer months.