Texas Monthly has published its list of the state’s best new restaurants for 2025. Numbered one to 10, the 24th edition of the magazine's list is open to establishments that opened between December 1, 2023, and November 30, 2024, and it must be a restaurant's first Texas location.
Two San Antonio restaurants made the list, and both are part of the impressive new Pullman Market: Isidore (No. 8) and Mezquite (No. 10). Some cities received honorable mentions, but San Antonio's only representation was on the numbered list.
Recently retired food critic Pat Sharpe and senior editor Courtney Bond share a byline for the article. They note the familial tie between the restaurants, while heavily contrasting them in their respective write-ups.
For Isidore, the paragraph is almost just a dizzying list of ingredients and menu items, such as "whey foam that graces yuba 'ravioli' filled with house-made cheese." Still, the authors assure readers that "[t]he ambitious menu takes familiar ingredients in brave new directions, but diners need not fear being subjected to half-baked culinary experimentation..."
When it comes to Mezquite, the writing is about as relaxed as the "open and airy" restaurant with its "concise" menu. The authors praise the "beautiful" aguachiles, sharing that "the Amarillo—shrimp, fresh orange, habanero, and carrot juice—is sunset in a bowl."
Both restaurants also secured nominations this February in CultureMap San Antonio's Tastemaker Awards. Mezquite will go head-to-head in a fan-voted competition with other new restaurants, and Isidore immediately graduated to the lofty level of Restaurant of the Year contenders, chosen by a panel of judges.
Outside of San Antonio, Houston once again leads the way with more spots on the list than any other Texas city, although the city failed to take the top spot for the third year in a row. Three restaurants earned a place in the top 10: They are:
- Kira, a sushi hand roll restaurant in Upper Kirby (No. 4)
- Ishtia, a Native American tasting menu restaurant in Kemah (No. 5)
- Ema, a Mexico City-inspired breakfast and lunch restaurant in the Heights (No. 6)
Three more Houston restaurants earned honorable mentions:
- Auden, a globally-inspired restaurant in Montrose
- Credence, Levi Goode’s Texas-inspired live fire restaurant in Memorial
- Milton’s, the Italian American restaurant in Rice Village from the team behind Local Foods
Austin did claim the No. 1 spot with Craft Omakase (No. 1), which was one of two sushi restaurants in Texas to earn a Michelin star, and Mexican restaurant Mexta (No. 7). Recently-closed Italian restaurant Poeta earned a honorable mention.
Dallas follows with Radici Wood Fired Grill (No. 2), an Italian restaurant in Farmers Branch from Top Chef alum Tiffany Derry, and Japanese restaurant Mābo (No. 3). American restaurant Goodwins and French restaurant Le PasSage make the honorable mentions list, as does South Indian vegetarian restaurant in nearby Irving.
The Chumley House, an England-inspired restaurant in Fort Worth comes in at No. 9.
“What does all this say about dining in Texas as we approach the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century? Maybe just this: We need to make room for more fun,” the duo write in the article’s introduction. “The hospitality industry knows hard times all too well, with the ever-rising costs of raw ingredients and labor and the hollowing out of once vibrant restaurant-centric neighborhoods. Given all that, who wouldn’t opt for a break from the real world?”
The full list is as follows:
1. Craft Omakase, a sushi restaurant in Austin
2. Radici Wood Fired Grill, an Italian restaurant in Dallas
3. Mābo, a Japanese restaurant in Dallas
4. Kira, a Japanese restaurant in Houston
5. Ishtia, a tasting menu restaurant in Kemah
6. Ema, a Mexican restaurant in Houston
7. Mexta, a Mexican restaurant in Austin
8. Isidore, a Texas-inspired restaurant in San Antonio
9. The Chumley House, an English restaurant in Fort Worth
10. Mezquite, a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio
