Take A Peek Inside Tris, the Woodlands’ Chic New Dining Destination

As of last week, the restaurant known as Hubbell & Hudson Bistro is no more. It’s been replaced by Tris, a brand new restaurant named for executive chef Austin Simmons’s daughter.

Technically, Tris is home to two restaurants. The first, Cureight, is a tasting menu restaurant that offers an intimate, chef’s-table style setting for up to 30 guests. The second, Tris, is a traditional 60-seat bistro serving an a la carte menu. Both eateries are deeply personal expressions of Simmons’ culinary creativity.

Along with its new name, the interiors have gotten a significant update. Designed by The Woodlands-based design firm Portfolio Hospitality, the new dining room showcases an open floor plan with seating for two, four, and six, replacing the old built-in booths. A brushed gold lattice partition wall in the posterior area of the main dining room adds an element of contemporary flair without closing off the space. Hanging straight down the center of the room, a dramatic design chandelier in white and gold provides visual focus.

Perhaps most interesting is the triptych of wall art that hang in the individual booths on the west wall, which depicts a custom-made knife engraved with “Tris” that Simmons commissioned from Houston-based craftsman knife maker Stephen Pustilnik. The grey and blue tones prominent in the artwork are complemented by deep swirls of color in the new custom carpeting. Blue dining chairs are on order for the space, but had not yet arrived in time for photography.

The contemporary design provides a chic backdrop for Simmons’ exciting new menu, which incorporates global flavors which he picked up during his extensive travels through Asia and Europe over the last two years. More casual by day and more elevated by night, highlights include a Thai hamachi tostada, a 48-hour tonkotsu ramen, and Korean butter-poached crab over kimchi pancake. For dinner, a butcher’s block steak tray awaits, featuring five different steaks and cooking preparations.

Mai Pham/Eater

Mai Pham

Tris, located at 24 Waterway Avenue in The Woodlands, is now open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday.