What’s in store at Conservatory, Houston’s first food hall.
Conservatory, Houston’s first food hall, features bar and food vendors in a dramatic lair setting
DOWNTOWN is aiming for the sky with all the hotel, apartment and commercial construction going on. But what’s happening beneath the busy streets in the epicenter of the building frenzy is garnering foodie buzz: the subterranean dining complex and beer garden — Houston’s first such food hall — called Conservatory.
The chic rathskeller at Prairie and Main is a 7,500-square-foot basement space (where the Mercury Room once thrived), fashioned from the former Isis Theatre. Fitting: Conservatory, with its dramatic staircase leading down to a teeming bar and four unique food stalls set within an industrial design augmented with walls of live plants, is quite theatrical.
It’s the work of owners Anh Mai and Lian Pham of the upstairs Prohibition Supperclub & Bar, itself a grand stage for food, drink and entertainment. The partners had envisioned Conservatory when they opened Prohibition in 2014. And now it has finally come to life, drawing office workers, downtown residents, hungry tourists and beer lovers to a surprising lair.
“I feel like there’s been a lot of excitement about it because it’s Houston’s first food hall,” Mai said. “I like to see people’s eyes when they first walk in. You can tell they’re excited. They didn’t expect it to be so cool.”
The four food vendors — Melange Creperie working with Southside Espresso, El Burro & the Bull, Myth Kafe and Samurai Noodle — are anchored by the Conservatory bar. Overseen by manager Ian Arocha, the bar has 60 beers and four wines on tap. The beer lineup is broken down in styles: light, wheat, medium nitro taps (which preserves beer in a natural carbonated state), hoppy, Belgian, dark and sour and cider. From 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, the bar holds “Not Another Pint Night” featuring the work of local and interesting breweries; four beers are offered for $1 for a half pour and $2 for a full pour. The beers are selected to pair with the foods at each vendor that offers discounts on special food items for the weekly beer-a-palooza.
Conservatory also offers late-night food service. It’s open 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Here’s a look at the Conservatory culinary offerings.
MELANGE CREPERIE
Food: Crepes, both savory (ham, egg and cheese; chicken; seasonal vegetables) and sweet (banana and Nutella, seasonal fruit); coffee; cake; and agua fresca
Backstory: Melange Creperie began as a food cart making what have become Houston’s favorite classic French crepes. The crepe man is Sean Carroll, who operates the business with his wife, Tish Ochoa. For years, the cart operated outdoors but now can be found at H-E-B in Montrose on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays as well as at the City Hall Farmers Market on Wednesdays. The creperie is so well regarded, it
has found a loyal following and earned its way high on Chronicle critic Alison Cook’s annual list of Top 100 restaurants in Houston.
Best-seller: Sweet crepes. Carroll offers new flavors every week. A recent example: blueberry, vanilla yogurt, Biscoff cookies and dark chocolate. Next week, he plans to offer lemon cream cheese with Texas peaches and graham cracker.
Other: Carroll is still working on his own brick-and-mortar restaurant, which he hopes to have open by the end of this year. In the five years he’s been in business, Carroll has created about 500 different crepe combinations, all inspired by the multicultural flavors of Houston. SAMURAI NOODLE Food: Authentic Japanese ramen. Pork or chicken broth ramen bowls are offered as well as appetizers such as gyoza (panfried pork dumplings), takoyaki (deep-fried pork dumplings), geso (fried squid legs), korreke (fried potato cakes), kaki (deepfried oysters) and edamame.
Backstory: Samurai Noodle is based in Seattle. It opened its first Houston restaurant, at 1801 Durham, a year ago. That restaurant has a more extensive menu than the Conservatory outpost, which functions more like a ramen food truck. The noodles are made at the Durham original, but the broths are made at Conservatory, said Nelson Lee, general manager.
Best-seller: Spicy Garlic Shoyu ramen — chicken broth flavored with soy sauce, spicy hot garlic paste and topped with nori, green onions, been sprouts and a slice of pork belly.
Other: “It boggles the mind how many people come down here and never heard of Samurai Noodle,” Lee said. But that’s precisely why Samurai’s owner welcomed the chance to be part of Conservatory: The food stall is a perfect advertisement for the Houston restaurant on Durham. Though a steaming bowl of ramen might not sound enticing to some in the summer, Lee said there’s still a good reason to check out the shop. They plan to augment the menu with a cold ramen dish glossed with chicken broth and Japanese rice vinegar. MYTH KAFE
Food: Authentic Greek. Appetizers and small plates include tzatziki or hummus served with toasted pita; potatoes cooked in lemon, mustard and rosemary; feta cheese drizzled with olive oil and served with toasted pita; saganaki (pan-fried Kefalotiri cheese) served after 5 p.m. There are pita sandwiches, chicken and lamb entrees, Greek desserts, and Greek sparkling waters and sodas.
Backstory: Myth debuted in 2014 on Jefferson, but co-owners George Petrou and John Virden decided to close that restaurant recently (it is now the company’s commissary and special events space) in favor of opening in Conservatory.
Best-seller: The Arnaki (marinated lamb, onion, tomato and tzatziki in a pita), and a classic gyro (seasoned beef, onion, tomato and tzatziki in a pita).
Other: Petrou said his food is “what we call ‘house’ food in Greece.” He’s a stickler for using the best imported Greek products such as feta and olive oil. The menu also features an entrée of 24-hour-marinated roasted lamb served with Greek rice. EL BURRO & THE BULL
Food: Barbecue (one-, two- and three-meat plates); chopped brisket and pulled pork sandwiches; brisket and smoked pork tacos; and side dishes including potato salad, coleslaw, ranchero beans, macaroni and cheese, and Sonoran-style creamed corn.
Backstory: John Avila is a Houston native who knows barbecue, having worked alongside Aaron Franklin in the early days of Franklin Barbecue in Austin. He runs his operation with his wife, Veronica, and brother Jesse Gallegos. Fans of his smoked meats were disappointed in January when Avila parted ways with the Pit Room project in Montrose. But he has several projects in the smoker, including a restaurant called Hot Bird on Navigation, and he’s also looking to open another restaurant in the Spring Branch area. No details about those places are available yet.
Best-seller: Chopped brisket sandwich served with Avila’s special tamarind barbecue sauce. Next week, he plans to add a spicy barbecue sauce to his menu.
Other: Macaroni and cheese (largeshell pasta with a smoked cheddar and gouda béchamel) has proved to be a big hit with customers. Avila said on Meaty Mac Mondays, he adds smoked meat to the mac. And in a nod to Conservatory’s vast beer offerings, he also is creating a pilsner-flavored mac topped with a beer brat and served with a small pretzel. greg.morago@chron.com