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It must have taken a lot of brio to sweep clean the ghosts of Pesce. The popular restaurant helmed by chef Mark Holley was for years a fixture at the West Alabama/Kirby nexus until the Landry’s group sold the space in April.
But tomorrow, a shiny new restaurant arrives at that location with great fanfare. Brio Tuscan Grille, 3029 Kirby, is filling out Pesce’s grand space in grand style. The oyster bar plopped in the center of Pesce is gone, providing Brio with a long, dramatic length of restaurant with a new bar area facing Kirby. The décor tilts toward casino chic with Italianate flair, but it’s a welcome setting with generous booths and comfortable chairs. And the bend-over-backward service is almost alarmingly deferential with cheery hellos and fond good-byes (and every type of salutation in between).
Beef carpaccio with field greens, mustard aioli and Parmigiano-Reggiano.: Jack Thompson photo
The arrival of the River Oaks Brio brings to three the number of Brios in the Houston area (the others are Woodlands and CityCentre). The northern Italian menu is divided among appetizers and flatbreads; starter and main salads; a large offering of pastas; grilled and specialty items.
Starters include Tuscan stuffed pepper, beef carpaccio, fried calamari, tomato Caprese bruschetta and sausage and pepperoni flatbread. Pasta offerings: baked lasagna; rigatoni with grilled chicken, mushrooms and a roasted red pepper sauce; pasta alla vodka; lobster and shrimp ravioli; shrimp or chicken pasta fra diavolo. Grills and specialty items include brick chicken with mashed potatoes; grilled salmon with citrus pesto; grilled shrimp with orzo and asparagus; crab and shrimp cakes with crispy potatoes; grilled swordfish skewers with fresh egg fettuccine; veal marsala and lobster and shrimp fettuccine.
Bruschetta sampler at Brio.: Jack Thompson photo
Brio will be open seven days with an extensive lunch and dinner menu as well as Saturday and Sunday brunch. Monday through Friday there’s a $3.95 Tuscan Tasters bar menu from 3 to 7 p.m. And look for $5 Martini Wednesdays with more than a dozen martini specials in both the bar and dining room. For more information, see brioitalian.com or call 713-528-8200.
Can't wait to try the new restaurant! WE love BRIO's--great addition to the Upper Kirby neighborhood as I prefer casual restaurants with no valet and pretention as in the other offerings in the west ave area. Their menu at happy hour is really goood and well priced. I've gone to the location in the city centre location for years and the service is top notch--hope kirby will be the same.
I love the happy hour at the Town & Country Brio. Elegant yet comfortable surroundings with great drink specials and amazing happy hour bar plates for ridiculously cheap prices. Great date place too. Excellent service.
Looks appetizing, but when will this glut of "Tuscan everything" run its course?
Brio is bottom feeder food folks, yes BOTTOM FEEDER FOOD...comparable to Olive Garden type or Cheesecake like but much worse...don't kid yourself this is not a good addition to the hood by any serious loving food people....I never got the full story but did Tillman get out of his lease, not renew or was Pesce just only doing average so he bailed? My guess is the rent rate here is high high high so hey will put out crap food to bring in the young hipsters who have no concept of what real food is...If I'm Carabbas a few doors down I'm laughing my ass off and this is no threat to any good Italian food in the city....
I totally agree. The CEO of Brio must have a HUGE ego to think that Brio can compete with Carrabba's. Fertitta subleased the space to Brio when the long term Pesce chef left to open his own restaurant.
I love Carraba's and hate Olive Garden. Brio is no Olive Garden. Not even close. Such a comparison is disingenuous and misleading.
I've never been disappointed in a meal at any of the three ;-)
I'm still waiting to see where Chef Mark Holley lands - anyone know?
He's still looking for a location.
BRIO is so bad! I'd definitely rather sit at Olive Garden's having the never ending pasta bowl rather than this bland bad food.
funny how the paper does not put tillmans face next to closed peche article.any landrys rest is loushy, its needs carnival rides next to it to make $
It's amusing that everyone is getting so excited about another chain restaurant opening up, especially when it replaces a place that was a good and upscale spot.
Brio is no different from other chains like O.Garden, Carrabbas, Johnny Carino's and others, just a bit more upscale. There menu is set by a corporate office in Columbus Ohio and the majority of the ingredients they will use in a meal come from Sisco like every other chain. Their wine list will have all of the regular ones and some highly overpriced Super Tuscans which are hardly super or Tuscan in many ways.
I'd rather eat at any number of smaller and often family run Italian spots around Houston for a real taste of Italy.
Had dinner at Brios in the Woodlands yesterday. The food and service were excelent and we will go back again and again.
...eating at a national chain inside the loop is a criminal thing to do...'nough said....