‘Houston’s living room’
Four Seasons unveils new look with renovated lobby, bar and restaurant
The greeting du jour at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston is simple and direct: “Welcome to Houston’s living room.”
And the public can get cozy with that living room’s new look now that the hotel has officially unveiled the results of its nine-month renovation.
The plush new lobby reaches for the sky: A vertical open space was cut out to anchor a dramatic grand central staircase capped by a glass sun roof that bathes the entrance with natural light. Designed by Meyer Davis, a New York-based boutique firm specializing in hospitality, this living room is a luxurious and sophisticated environment awash with a palace’s worth of Italian marble and panels of ribbed glass.
Warm woods — walnut and grey oak, whiskeycolored tufted couches, brass lighting fixtures, antique glass and gray rugs fill the space that is dotted with smart, decorative objects and an abundance of art and coffee-table books. The interior manages to feel both intimate — a variety of seating areas equipped with different styles of chairs, tables, couches and coffee tables — and opened up — thanks to new ceiling heights and a new dining patio separated by a wall of glass, which also lets in daylight and a glimpse of cityscape.
The reception area of the hotel seamlessly transitions to the lobby’s biggest public draw — a grand restaurant and bar called Bayou & Bottle. Conceptualized by international restaurateur Richard Sandoval, the extension of the lobby is a dining and drinking space that features what the hotel is calling the longest bar in Houston — a 30-seat stunner topped with marble and flanked by supple, welcoming bar chairs.
Working with the Four Seasons, Sandoval has created a menu that reflects Houston’s international cultural melting pot. Smallplate options include Gulf red snapper crudo with charred scallion, plum and radish; roasted squash and burrata salad with smoked sherry vinaigrette; roasted oysters topped with charred green tomato and garlic butter; chicken wings glazed with XO sauce, Old Grand-Dad whiskey and sorghum; bone marrow with oxtail and toast; and beef-fat fries with a borscht aioli dipping sauce.
Larger-plate offerings include a 45-day-aged Prime rib-eye with potato purée and heirloom carrots; roasted chicken with cilantro rice; a burger with bread and butter pickles and house remoulade; and sea scallops with brown butter, artichoke and pear.
Bayou & Bottle spent a lot of time into developing its menu and put just as much effort in its beverage program.
Recognizing that Houston likes its brown spirits, the bar is stocked with 125 brands of international bourbon and whiskey (it also has secured all marques of the hard-tofind bourbon Pappy Van Winkle). Local breweries are represented on tap as well as a variety of Texas-based spirits.
Robert Day, beverage manager for Richard Sandoval restaurants, worked with the hotel to create an environment that celebrates and elevates the art of drinking.
In one corner of the restaurant is an alcove of bourbon lockers that can be rented by hotel residents or local enthusiasts. A handsome bar cart, stocked with antique glassware and crystal decanters, can be rolled tableside to dispense top-shelf pours as well as theatrically create smoked cocktails.
The restaurant was serious enough about its brown spirits that it even created a sommelierlike position of “bourbon steward.”
As if all this Bayou & Bottle goodness weren’t enough, there’s a major attraction tucked behind the restaurant: a Topgolf-branded simulator that is the first of its kind.
Two side-by-side Topgolf suites, which can be rented individually or as one, are available for guests to play simulated golf on courses throughout the world. Perfect for parties, the suites will be serviced by Bayou & Bottle menus.