A San Antonio restaurant is in the spotlight on Texas Monthly’s list of the 10 best new restaurants for 2026. Published Monday, March 2, the annual roll call is open to restaurants that opened between December 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025.
Notably, it’s the first edition of the list written by Paula Forbes, who succeeded veteran writer Pat Sharpe last year. She writes that 2025 was “a lackluster one for Texas restaurants. . . Restaurant experiences that feel truly worth it, that have the power to wow, are hard to come by. But they’re out there,” she continues.Forbes found those “worth it” experiences at restaurants in San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Paris, a small town in far northeast Texas near the Oklahoma border.
San Antonio’s Petit Coquin is Forbes’ “favorite” of the three French restaurants on the list, thanks to its “streamlined prix fixe menu and laissez-faire atmosphere,” she writes. Diners are encouraged to try dishes such as country pâté, steak au poivre, and rice pudding, even if they appear “simple on the surface."
“[O]ne bite will tell you that chef Max Mackinnon, whose impeccable résumé includes New York City restaurants Roberta’s and Libertine, has put a degree of thought into his techniques that belies their straightforwardness, Forbes writes. “San Antonians have noticed and regularly turn the small dining room into a party.”
Houston has the most spots on the list. They are:
- Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner in the Heights
- Zaranda, a California-inspired Mexican restaurant in downtown
- Di An Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown
- Latuli, chef Bryan Caswell’s eclectic neighborhood restaurant in Memorial
Forbes hails Agnes and Sherman as her Restaurant of the Year, writing that it deserves a promotion to four-star status after the three-star review she wrote in October. She praises a number of chef Nick Wong’s dishes, including a French dip sandwich, shrimp cocktail, and crab rangoon. “Wong respects the cuisines he riffs on but is not afraid to contort them. The combinations are irresistible,” she writes.
Zaranda, James Beard Award winner Hugo Ortega’s ode to both the state of California and Baja California, earned its spot for its eponymous dish of seafood cooked in a wire basket, among other items. Forbes hails Di An Pho’s 70-year old chef Hung Van Tran for opening a restaurant that only serves his definitive versions of both beef and chicken pho.
Dallas restaurants take three spots on the list. At Rainbowcat, James Beard finalist Misti Norris is riffing on comfort fare such as chicken tenders, a McMuffin made with porchetta and braised greens, and a dessert inspired by Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Michelin-starred Mamani earns its spot for expertly crafted French and Italian fare and a lengthy wine list. Sushi Kozy, led by Uchi Dallas alum Paul Ko, restored Forbes’ faith in omakase dining.
Austin’s sole representative is Fish Shop, which serves West Coast-inspired seafood such as a Dungeness crab cocktail and halibut crudo alongside Gulf Coast-style fare such as well-sourced oysters.
BonFire, a French restaurant in Paris, Texas, has Houston ties. Chef Patten Sommers spent the early part of his career in the Bayou City, working at acclaimed Houston restaurants such as Triniti, Ciao Bello, and Brenner’s on the Bayou.The full list is as follows:
- Agnes and Sherman, an Asian American diner in Houston
- BonFire, a French restaurant in Paris
- Zaranda, a Mexican restaurant in Houston
- Fish Shop, a seafood restaurant in Austin
- Rainbowcat, a comfort food restaurant in Dallas
- Mamani, a French and Italian fine dining restaurant in Dallas
- Di An Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant in Houston
- Petit Coquin, a French restaurant in San Antonio
- Latuli, a modern American restaurant in Houston
- Sushi Kozy, a Japanese restaurant in Dallas
Green Vegetarian Cuisine packs in flavor sans meat.Green Vegetarian Cuisine/ Facebook