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Chef Justin Yu is ready to debut his much-anticipated restaurant Theodore Rex, just a few weeks after Hurricane Harvey-related damage forced the eatery to delay its arrival.
The restaurant is currently taking reservations for Thursday, October 5 via online reservation platform Resy, and all tables for opening day are completely sold out. At the time of this writing, though, the rest of the month is pretty much open, but that will likely change very quickly.
At least a few lucky Houstonians were given a sneak peek of the restaurant during a hush-hush soft opening earlier this week, but fortunately Instagram is around to provide those who weren’t so fortunate with an inside glimpse of the restaurant. A few photos, including a shot of a Saijo persimmon served with calamansi (a type of citrus) that is likely part of the restaurant’s extensive fermentation and preservation program, show off what’s going on inside.
The restaurant takes over the space formerly known as Oxheart at 1302 Nance Street. Yu closed the much-lauded eatery earlier this year, and set to work on Theodore Rex, which will serve up a la carte dishes instead of the tasting menu format that was on offer at Oxheart. Chef de cuisine Jason White will lead the kitchen, and beverage director Justin Vann has curated a lengthy list of affordably-priced wines.
On Resy, Theodore Rex lists a few “menu highlights,” including a cut of Texas wagyu beef served with fermented radish and dandelion greens, potato pave (a sort of modernist scalloped potatoes made famous by Chef Thomas Keller) and tomatoes on sourbread.
Eater has reached out to Chef Justin Yu for more details on Theodore Rex’s arrival. In the meantime, get to Resy immediately to snag a table before they’re all snapped up. At present, it looks as if the restaurant will be closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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