Catalan Food & Wine Bar - Houston, TX | Houston

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CLOSED - Antonio Gianolo is a fantastic sommelier. And Chris Shepherd is one of the most inventive chefs in Texas and one of the best craftsmen. The menu includes Southern, Mexican, Vietnamese and Mediterranean influences. And if you want to sample all of Shepherd?s latest favorites in a single sitting, try the ?sandbox tasting? on the Chef?s Playground section of the menu. It?s nearly $100 per person and the whole table has to order it. Expect wild, inspired dishes -- and come hungry.

Cuisine(s): Spanish

Hours: Sun 11am-3pm, Tue-Thu 11am-11pm, Fri 11am-12am, Sat 5pm-12am

Price: $$, $$$

Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards, Discover
Attire: Casual to dressy

Features: Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout, Private Party

Serving: Dinner, Lunch

Alcohol: Full bar
Reservations: Accepted, Not Accepted

Parking: Lot Available, Valet

2010 | Best Restaurant

Catalan is the restaurant that's setting the bar for every other dining establishment in Houston; there's a reason executive chef Chris Shepherd is referred to as "The Godfather" by his peers, after all. Just-off-the-truck fresh meat and produce... More >
2010 | Catalan and the Bayou City

by Nishta J. Mehra When Chris Shepherd first took the helm at Washington Avenue's Catalan, he kept his menu closely aligned with the region for which the restaurant was named, Spain's Catalonia. "I felt I needed to focus on doing... More >
2009 | Best Wine List

In Houston, a great wine list used to mean pages and pages of old French wines that started at a hundred dollars a bottle and went up to the stratosphere. Today, thanks to the popularity of wine bars, overpriced and overrated labels are out and... More >
2008 | Best Wine List

Antonio Gianola is the sommelier at Catalan, and his passion for wine is scary. Gianola demonstrated his encyclopedic knowledge of Italian wines while he served as the wine steward at Da Marco. While composing the wine list at Catalan, he began... More >
2007 | Best Wine List

The best thing about Catalan's wine list is the prices. They aren't much higher than what you pay at a retail store. But good luck finding most of these rare, highly allocated wines at the local bottle shop. Charles Clark and Grant Cooper from... More >

Houston Press Reviews and News

Catalan's New Happy Hour

By Ruthie Johnson | Thu, July 15, 2010

Great news, food fans: Catalan has recently started an outrageously awesome happy hour. Whether you know and love the place, or have had it on your must-try list for years, the new deal provide More >
Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #11 Crispy Pork Belly with Steen's Cane Syrup at Catalan

By Robb Walsh | Fri, July 2, 2010

Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or hi More >
Washington Ave. Revisited

By Robb Walsh | Thu, July 30, 2009

The cold cured salmon at Catalan came with a duck egg on top. The fish was cured with Tabasco mash, the fermented pepper residue left over after Tabasco sauce is bottled. The cure gave the salmon a sharp tang and a hint of heat. I visited Catalan... More >
Better Than Candy at Catalan Food and Wine

By Paul Galvani | Thu, January 22, 2009

Better than candy: Insiders know that there are two schools of thought when it comes to eating the foie gras bonbons ($11) at Catalan Food and Wine (5555 Washington, 713-426-4260). One says you should pop them in your mouth whole, so that when yo... More >
Five Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

By Robb Walsh | Thu, May 03, 2007

The 1992 vintage and the 1993 vintage of the same wine from the same winery can taste dramatically different. It's all about the sun and the rain and the fog and the frost. Some wine lovers memorize the vintage charts. Others say that if you buy w... More >

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User Reviews

3 User reviews

Write a Review

Allisen Picos

| Thu, May 27, 2010

Large wine selection and really amazing food. Great place to go for dinner.

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chefjohnsheely

| Thu, August 06, 2009

Way cool wine list and prices to boot...the wine guys Antonio and Matthew are the best and don't forget the friend of the farmer and outstanding chef Chris Shepherd.

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houstonpressbestof

| Wed, May 06, 2009

Antonio Gianola is the sommelier at Catalan, and his passion for wine is scary. Gianola demonstrated his encyclopedic knowledge of Italian wines while he served as the wine steward at Da Marco. While composing the wine list at Catalan, he began reaching out to the world's most forward-thinking winemakers. When Gianola starts talking about these folks � eco-sensitive French winemakers who baby every organic grape into the bottle and eccentric Italian producers who are burying their wines in amphoras to re-create the flavors of ancient Rome � you start to wonder if the sommelier has gone off the deep end. But the proof is in the drinking. It's easy to put together a bunch of ridiculously priced Bordeaux and Burgundies and call it a great wine list. But Gianola has assembled a list of stunning, innovative wines in the $30-to-$60 range that puts most of the wine lists in Houston to shame.

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Looking for another city?

Catalan Food & Wine Bar - CLOSED

5555 Washington St.
Houston, TX 77007

713-426-4260 | Website

More Heights Spanish Restaurants >

2010 | Best Restaurant

2010 | Catalan and the Bayou City

2009 | Best Wine List

2008 | Best Wine List