RESTAURANT REVIEW: Belly Of The Beast
Folks, I'm not going to bury the lede... this restaurant is FANTASTIC. Don't worry, I'll get to my usual expository bullshit in a second, but just wanted to say up front that this is one of the best Houston-area places I've reviewed since starting this site. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it the last several days, other than during the 40-minute white-knuckle drive home through a torrential downpour.
The Houston area has only ever received nine James Beard Awards, three of which were the "America's Classic" semi-honorary awards from Irma's and Gaido's, and Alba Huerta winning Outstanding Bar for Julep in 2022 (not that this wasn't HIGHLY deserved, Julep rules). That leaves six true Best Chef wins: Robert del Grande for Cafe Annie in 1992, Chris Shepherd for Underbelly in 2014, Justin Yu for Oxheart in 2016, Hugo Ortega for Hugo's in 2017, Benchawan Painter for Street to Kitchen in 2023... and joining them in June of this year, Thomas Bille.
Belly of the Beast was on my radar before this, becoming a seemingly out-of-nowhere James Beard semifinalist in 2024. I of course added the restaurant to my long list of eateries to try, but given its rather inconvenient location, I wasn't in a hurry, even with a Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded later last year (not to mention a coveted spot on the Houston Chronicle Top 100 list). That changed a few months ago, when I was stunned to learn that Bille won Best Chef: Texas over Emmanuel Chavez of my beloved Tatemó. After a couple of rescheduled dates due to circumstances out of my control, I finally was able to make the drive and investigate for myself.
The restaurant is located in an unassuming strip mall off FM 2920 on dat noth, in the weird no-man's-land between Tomball and Spring proper (for what it's worth, the address is technically in the latter, though far from what I would generally consider to be its boundaries). I suppose it's a testament to Houston that such an unpretentious, easily overlooked space could house such a tremendous culinary achievement. This is truly the exurbs though: only open from 5-9 PM Wednesday through Saturday, we arrived on time for our 8:15 reservation and were literally the last diners to enter that night. The nearly square, fairly spartan dining room (actually very similar to Tatemó's interior, if only a bit larger) was quite full at that time, with all of the fourteen-ish tables occupied, plus a few more patrons seated at the small bar in the back.
That bar is beer and wine only, so unfortunately no cocktails, which was a slight disappointment... though perhaps less so when the bill came and it was surprisingly reasonable. They do have a full suite of Excalibur Brewing (located nearby in Old Town Spring) beers, and I enjoyed the Extoberfest märzen. It is October, after all.
The service here is spectacular, with our waiter and supporting staff boasting comprehensive knowledge of the menu and providing helpful suggestions when planning out our order, as well as impeccable descriptions of the dishes when they are brought to the table.
To start from the "raw bar" (a term I abhor, but I'll allow it here), Bluefin Tuna Tostadas. These Instagram-worthy masterpieces were the epitome of soigné, better even than the iconic ones at Contramar. Atop crispy fried tortillas sat nori-dusted avocado slices, a heavenly cabbage slaw with creamy uni emulsion (!!), plump pieces of fish, and an eye-opening peanut salsa macha (a Mexican chili oil with anchos/guajillos etc..). This dish had absolutely everything, fattiness, creaminess, heat, acidity, and gorgeous juicy tuna. One of the best things I've eaten in a while.
Continuing the seafood theme were Grilled Scallops on the Half Shell. These ample specimens were placed on a bivalve shell with a passionfruit sabayon (a sweet egg-yolk based sauce, also called zabaione/zabaglione if you're Italian), herb oil, and Kaluga caviar. This was quite a different scallop preparation than I'm used to, but the acidic sweetness from the maracuya and the briny saltiness of the roe were magnificent foils, not to mention the beautiful plating over a bed of corn kernels. I wasn't familiar with Kaluga, but per caviarlover.com (LOL), it is known as the River Beluga, a sustainable alternative to the endangered Huso huso (of which importation to the United States is banned), and which "for some, consumption may even exceed the exquisite culinary experience of the illegal Beluga Caviar". Rest assured, I will be exploring this hilariously pompous website further.
On to the mains now, where I couldn't not order the Texas Wagyu Carne Asada. This 6 ounce bavette steak was gloriously seasoned and grilled, topped with caramelized onions and served alongside frijoles aligot (a sumptuous bean/cheese mixture), a spicy green salsa, and otherworldly 50/50 tortillas – half corn, half flour. I'm not exaggerating when I say these were the best tortillas I've ever had, and you can bet that I've tried A LOT of them. Perhaps a bit less creative than some of the other options on the menu, but the execution was perfect. A well-constructed taco with all of the various components was beyond delicious... I will absolutely order this again next time.
I was also fortunate to sample the Grilled Texas Redfish, a glistening filet simply plated with a habanero crema, xnipec (a Yucatan habanero salsa), radish, cilantro, lime, and corn tortillas. This is an extremely gringo opinion, but flour tortillas are generally far superior... however, the masa guy here clearly knows what he or she is doing, as these were nearly as good as the aforementioned 50/50 variety. Both condiments had a lovely heat, and the fish was nicely cooked as well.
A lovely seasonal side was the cheekily-named That's My Yam, a roasted sweet potato puree topped with all kinds of textural bombs including more of that wonderful salsa macha (this time with almonds), chicken cracklings, and some queso fresco. This was autumn on a plate, and more of the excellent corn tortillas were provided if DIY taco-making was desired. The dish leaned sweet, but was balanced out nicely by the chili oil and salty cheese. Stuff like this makes me want to come back again and again, to see what other limited-time creations are on offer in any given month. Per our waiter, there are at least one or two new dishes every few weeks, and a more comprehensive menu overhaul quarterly, though with some standout stalwarts remaining year-round.
Lastly, for dessert was Tres Leches, a decadent sponge with three milks (as one might expect) and a passionfruit meringue, bringing the meal full circle. Airy but rich and moist, the cake itself rivaled the Houston standard at Churrascos, but the maracuya (I reversed it this time, you see) brought it to a new level with a citrusy tropical zhuzh.
While I was a tad skeptical going in, as a child of the suburbs I should have known to respect even outlying locales, because this was a phenomenal dinner, and 100% worthy of all its accolades. Speaking of which...
RANKING UPDATE: Immediately earns a spot on my Essential 33 Houston Restaurants, knocking Xochi down to honorable mention. Additionally, I decided to actually do what I teased a few weeks ago, splitting Best Mexican and Best Tex-Mex into two different categories. Belly Of The Beast falls just a hair behind Tatemó for #2 in the former (see the linked page above for the latter)...
Best Mexican Restaurants:
- Tatemó
- Belly Of The Beast
- Xochi
- Hugo's
- Tacos Doña Lena
POSTSCRIPT: A few thoughts on this week's Texas Michelin Guide ceremony. Pretty underwhelming overall... seems like they wanted to try to even out the number of stars after Houston/Austin dominating last year, with only San Antonio earning two news ones and Dallas getting one. Mamani, the Dallas recipient, had only been open for 7 weeks, which screams arbitrary at best, or suspicious/pay-to-play at worst. March not getting upgraded to 2 stars was the biggest miss of all in my opinion, but hopefully that's rectified next year.
Fortunately H-Town did clean up in the other, lesser categories, with five new Bibs Gourmand out of eight total for the entire state, and nine new Recommended restaurants. Of the BG's, Annam is an absolute joke, but Da Gama and ChòpnBlọk are highly deserving, and I'm excited to try Maximo and Papolo Taqueria. I don't have much beef with the Recommended section either: Bar Bludorn and Neo are among my favorite spots in the city, and Agnes and Sherman, Credence, and Perseid all slap as well.
NEXT UP: Following up at one of the best bars in Montrose (and anywhere in Houston)