$5,000,000 Later, The Palm Reopens Today

Grid View

After an almost six-month long, $5,000,000, ground-up renovation, Houston's location of the Palm steakhouse chain reopens today for lunch service at 11:00 a.m. When it does, diners will find that the location has grown to almost 9,000 sq ft; the biggest changes are a dramatically expanded bar and cocktail lounge and a new private dining room. Fans need not worry; the clubby steakhouse vibe remains, and the menu still includes all the steak and lobster one could want (in updated presentations). While the signature caricatures did not survive, new ones have been commissioned; there's about 50 on the walls so far that mix favored customers, local celebrities and Beetle Bailey comic strips.

When this location opened in 1978, it had the steakhouse market almost entirely to itself. Now the Palm is just one of many in an unofficial steakhouse row that runs all the way to Wesleyan and includes such heavy hitters as Del Frisco's and Pappas Bros. Is $5,000,000 enough to attract a new generation of diners? Only time will tell.

Palm Houston [Official Site]