Houston’s restaurant scene is about to get a little hotter, courtesy of one of the world’s most prolific chefs.
Richard Sandoval, the Mexico City-born chef and restaurateur whose culinary empire spans more than 60 restaurants across the globe, is bringing his modern Mexican concept, dLeña, to The Greenleigh in Houston’s River Oaks area in spring 2027. Located near the northeast corner of Westheimer Road and West Loop South, the restaurant will mark the first Texas location of dLeña and Sandoval’s third Houston venture, joining Bayou & Bottle and Toro Toro at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
The announcement adds another high-profile name to Houston’s growing collection of restaurants from internationally recognized chefs. But for Sandoval, who has spent more than three decades introducing contemporary Latin cuisine to diners from New York to Dubai, the new restaurant is also a family affair.
Developed alongside his children, Giancarlo and Isabella, dLeña takes its inspiration from cocina de leña, the traditional Mexican practice of cooking over wood. The concept began taking shape in 2020, when the three experimented with different woods and cooking techniques outside Cabo San Lucas, studying how smoke, heat, and flame could transform everything from vegetables to seafood and premium cuts of beef.
That experimentation will take center stage at the Houston restaurant, where an open kitchen and wood-burning grill will put the cooking process on full display. Diners can expect dishes finished over live flames, meats flambéed with tequila tableside, and selections presented on heated lava stones.
“My hope is for our Houston guests to experience Mexico through fire and smoke,” Sandoval said in a statement. “Cooking over wood fire, charring ingredients and roasting over an open flame are techniques deeply rooted in Mexican culinary tradition.”
For a chef who has built his career around bringing Mexican culinary traditions to an international audience, the restaurant represents a return to some of the cuisine’s oldest techniques. Sandoval’s rise began nearly 30 years ago with Maya, his Mexican restaurant on New York City’s Upper East Side, which earned two stars from The New York Times.
A former professional tennis player who trained at the Culinary Institute of America, Sandoval went on to establish restaurants throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. His career has brought numerous accolades, including Bon Appétit‘s Restaurateur of the Year recognition and a James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Outstanding Restaurateur.
Today, his Richard Sandoval Hospitality group operates more than 60 restaurants worldwide. Houston has been part of that portfolio since 2017, when Bayou & Bottle opened on the lobby level of the Four Seasons Houston, followed by Toro Toro in 2021.
While fire will be the common thread throughout the menu, dLeña won’t be exclusively about grilled meats. The restaurant will offer a mix of seafood, tacos, and substantial entrées, beginning with dishes like Hamachi Ceviche, featuring achiote leche de tigre, grilled pineapple, xni-pec salsa, and cilantro criollo. Camarón Tacos will pair breaded shrimp with jicama tortillas, chile powder, pickled onions, and chipotle aioli.
Adventurous diners can look forward to Bone Marrow & Tuna Chicharrón, served with guacamole, xni-pec salsa, pickled vegetables, charred serrano, and blue corn tortillas.
Beef will have a prominent place on the menu, including Hot Stone A5 Wagyu accompanied by sliced beef tenderloin, citrus chile toreado, truffle soy, shishito peppers, and smoked grape chimichurri. Another option, a 14-ounce, 30-day dry-aged ribeye, will arrive with herb Wagyu butter, chimichurri, and charred lemon.
The bar promises to be just as ambitious. More than 300 tequila and mezcal selections will anchor the beverage program, with tasting flights designed to introduce guests to different expressions of the agave spirits. Cocktails will incorporate smoky flavors that complement the food.
The Bay Area design firm Wilson/Ishihara, which has collaborated with Sandoval on previous projects, is overseeing the interiors. The design will draw from the natural materials and colors associated with both Mexico’s traditional cooking hearths and the Texas landscape. Pecan and mesquite wood, both familiar to Texas barbecue enthusiasts, will feature prominently throughout the restaurant. The space will incorporate textured granite, concrete, leather, pottery, and woven fabrics in shades of cream, charcoal, tan, and deep red.
A central bar, exhibition kitchen, and Chef’s Table will anchor the restaurant, while oversized banquettes, dramatic chandeliers, and vaulted ceilings will lend a more polished feel. In addition to the main dining room, plans call for a fireside lounge, private and semiprivate dining areas, and an outdoor patio. The restaurant will accommodate 123 guests indoors and another 15 outside.
Chef Richard Sandoval shares a meal with his daughter Isabella and son Giancarlo, who join him in bringing wood-fired Mexican restaurant dLeña to Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood in spring 2027. | Photo by dLeña
For those interested in exploring the bar’s extensive agave collection beyond dinner, an on-site boutique will offer bottles to take home.
Sandoval is no stranger to Houston’s culinary community. He recently joined chefs Hugo Ortega, Rick Bayless, and Troy Guard for a Mexican Chef Summit dinner at Guard and Grace benefiting IMPACT Culinary Training. He has also participated in the city’s Chefs Fighting Cancer events, and his hospitality group plans to expand its local charitable involvement following dLeña’s opening.
The restaurant will also participate in Viva Abejas, Sandoval’s international initiative focused on the importance of bees and other pollinators to agriculture and the food supply.
In a city known for its exceptional Mexican cuisine and enthusiasm for live-fire cooking, the internationally celebrated chef will have a discerning audience waiting to see what he brings to the table.
dlenahouston.com
