Photo by Duc Hoang
“Pastore has been a long time in the making, and chefs Jeff and Scott have done a tremendous job curating an incredible coastal Italian dining experience for our guests,” said Nina Quincy, Director of Operations for Underbelly Hospitality, in a statement. “From the design to the menu, Pastore is far different from our existing concepts. We are incredibly proud of our opening team and are excited to finally open our doors and welcome Houston and beyond."
Photo by Alex Montoya
Olive oil cake (photo by Duc Hoang)
Pompelo e Tonico (photo by Duc Hoang)
Pastore’s seafood-forward menu will spotlight the flavors of the ocean — the kind you might find in seaside Portofino or Sicily. A rotating seafood tower, scallop crudo, and oysters with prosecco granita are just a few cooling starters on the opening menu. Bread service will include freshly baked focaccia, made from general manager Peter Pearce’s five-year-old sourdough starter.
"Having worked with seafood for the bulk of my career, I’m eager to open Pastore and to see Houstonians enjoy the menu that our team has worked so hard to create,” said chef Jeff Potts. “Houston has great Italian restaurants, but we’re filling a void for seafood-forward, coastal cuisine. In keeping with the ethos of Underbelly Hospitality and Italian gardens, the flavors sown through the menu will be light and fresh, rooted in seasonality.”
Expect handmade pasta dishes — kale cavatelli, squid ink linguine, chicken sausage ravioli and swordfish amatriciana — along with flatbreads baked in the kitchen’s hearth. Gluten-free options are available as well. Larger offerings include branzino puttanesca and porchetta with gigante bean ragout. The restaurant’s Italian-kissed desserts include apple fritters, olive oil cake and celery root panna cotta with glazed figs and limoncello sabayon.
Houston-based architecture and design firm Montgomery Roth used Italian gardens for inspiration when designing the interior, which boasts an open floor plan with various seating vignettes. Cast-iron tables are draped in white linens, and feature a combination of blue velvet banquettes and handwoven and plush-upholstered dining chairs. A rounded open kitchen window accentuated by a gold butterfly chandelier offers guests a glimpse into the galley, where Potts and his team work. Rattan canes wrap around the hostess stand, service station and columns, an homage of garden furniture.
A decorative wooden canopy with dangling lights serves as a captivating focal point for the bar, where diners will enjoy a selection of light and bright cocktails crafted by award-winning mixologist Sarah Troxell. With a focus on Italian spirits and ingredients, the cocktail program will showcase spritzes, aperitifs, martinis and a frozen limoncello. Refreshing!
Along the staircase, a combination of hand painted floral tiles, stained wood treads and custom iron railing captures the essence of Italian craftsmanship. Tucked underneath the stairs is a wine display, showcasing Pastore’s extensive wine collection. Rooted in Italian wines, much of Pastore’s wine list will lean into lesser-known varietals, producers and regions. The staircase leads to Pastore’s 3,748-square-foot rooftop terrace, which will open in the future. Hopefully, by fall!
Pastore will be open for dinner Thursday through Sunday, beginning at 5pm. Eventually, the restaurant will introduce lunch service. Complementary parking is available in the Regent Square parking garage with the option to valet.
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The Vibe
The name, Little’s Oyster Bar, conjures up a tiny, casual oyster bar, right? So when you walk in the door of this newcomer from the Pappas Restaurant Group, you’ll be delightfully surprised by the retro Hollywood vibe: There’s a grand marble-topped bar, several dining areas including a temperature-modulated patio, and a luxe aesthetic. Then you’ll realize the name isn’t literal. It was chosen to evoke “fun,” and that’s exactly what it is.
Design director Evy Pappas has created a cool setting with crisp shades of white and navy blue inside and out, and gleaming brass lighting. There’s a charming galley-style side room wrapped in windows with banquette and table seating. The glassed-in retractable roof patio tucked in the back has more spacious seating, and provides reprieve from the upbeat music and bustling bar area.
Golden martini at the bar
Oyster and raw bar
Chef Jason Ryczek
The Food
Crab Croquettes
The cuisine, artfully created by chef Jason Ryczek, a California native and caviar expert, wows as well. Ryczek cut his chops in restaurants from San Diego to San Francisco. He cooked at the lauded sustainable seafood house Waterbar, and was the executive chef at award-winning Farallon. The chef also worked with the California Caviar Company for years.
So when it’s time to indulge in caviar, this is the place. Little’s signature caviar is hand-selected sturgeon, which Ryczek personally harvested, and its accoutrements are downright addicting. A striking presentation is delivered to your table with puffed potato dumplings, radish butter, crème fraiche with onion jam and chives. All caviar can be paired with a cocktail, Champagne or vodka from a handy pairing guide. A dollop of everything — including perfectly clean-tasting sturgeon fresh from the sea — ends up on the potato dumplings (think elevated tater tots). So amazing, you could stop at that one dish. But don’t.
Crab croquettes are another hit. Sounds simple enough, but this brilliant dish stars three cakes — dense with jumbo lump crab, scallop and shrimp — that are lightly fried and served with bright green coconut sauce, pickled mushrooms and tender asparagus. If you prefer a cold app, jumbo lump blue crab arrives with Louie dressing and sea-salt crackers. The Atlantic yellowfin tuna crudo is also a refreshing dish Houstonians could eat all summer long. Served in a chilled broth made with pickled watermelon rind and peppers, the diced fresh crudo is crowned with chopped peanuts.
Expect oysters on the half shell, of course, with fresh grated horseradish, citrus, mignonette and house made Fresno chile hot sauce. Pulling out all the stops? Consider the lobster on ice for dipping in black pepper crème fraiche, or the fruit de mer platter with oysters, shrimp, crab, lobster and tuna. Gulf grouper and snapper are sourced using Pappas’ own boats. Yellow-edged grouper is gently cooked and moist, finished with a caper radish brown butter. Expect King salmon, swordfish, Texas redfish, Maine lobster, jumbo lump blue crab, and a filet mignon for main plates.
Baked Gulf oysters
Asparagus and morels
The Parking & Details
Glassed-in patio with retractable roof
Little’s glassed-in patio, which seats 50, will soon have roll-up garage doors for opening during cool weather. Indoor dining can accommodate 80 guests. Always ahead of their game, the team has several new adjacent parking lots in the works for guest parking. The expansive Houston-based hospitality group now owns nine restaurant brands, with 90 locations in eight states. Pappas Bros. Steakhouse on Westheimer was the first fine dining restaurant for the group, which opened more than 25 years ago. Little’s Oyster Bar serves dinner Wednesday through Sunday.
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