Pitmaster Aaron Franklin and Chef Tyson Cole Bring Asian Smokehouse Loro to Houston This Month

Pitmaster Aaron Franklin and chef Tyson Cole are bringing the smoke to Houston this month. The James Beard Award-winning partners will open Loro Heights, the third and latest location of its Asian smokehouse, at the former 11th St. Church of God at 1001 W 11th St., according to a release.

The Hai Hospitality group’s anticipated restaurant, which has locations in Austin and Dallas, plans to keep up its reputation for fusing Southeast Asian flavors with that of traditional Texas barbecue, serving up cocktails, desserts, smoked meats, and a variety of dishes with Southeast Asian and Japanese-inspired sauces and sides.

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Loro, a part of Hai Hospitality restaurant group, also has locations in Austin and East Dallas, and more are expected in 2022, including the fourth location in Addison — around four hours south of Houston.

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While Franklin, Cole, Loro’s regional chef Mike Perez, and Hai Hospitality’s vice president of culinary Jack Yoss will have a hand in the menu, Marco Leal, a smoker enthusiast who previously worked at Hotel Galvez in Galveston and Jasper’s in the Woodlands, will oversee Loro Heights as chef de cuisine.

Menu highlights will include appetizers like candied kettle corn with burnt brisket ends as a topping; rice bowls; sandwiches; and dishes like fried cod made with curry, turmeric, and Pale Ale tempura batter served with a yuzu Thousand Island dressing.

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The meats menu will feature prime flank stank with shishito salsa verde, char siu pork belly, oak-smoked salmon, smoked turkey, and of course, beef brisket, which — complemented with chile gastrique and Thai herbs — will be available daily at 4 p.m. until it sells out. And for those with a sweet tooth, Loro will also serve up desserts like the yuzu peach cobbler with a five-spice mascarpone, and boozy drink options, including a ginger Old Fashioned, mandarin margaritas, Aki sours, and frozen-versions of mango sake, mojitos, and gin and tonics. Brisket tostadas and Thai sausage hand pie will be available on the happy hour menu from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays — with smoked baby back pork ribs starting at 4 p.m.

Starting on February 23, Loro will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Happy Hour is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

• Inside Loro, the Asian Smokehouse From Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole [EATX]
• Long-Awaited Asian Smokehouse Loro Opens Its Doors in Dallas Next Month [Eater Dallas]
• Austin culinary superpowers to open Loro, an Asian smokehouse concept in Houston in 2021 [Houston Chronicle]
• Asian barbecue concept from Aaron Franklin and Tyson Cole opens this month [Houston Chronicle]