Zaranda

Absolutely loved experiencing the soft opening of this stunning new downtown gem! The space is gorgeous—inviting patios with plenty of shade, a stylish interior, and a lively bar that was perfect for catching up with friends (and have you seen these beautiful drinks?!). But the real star here is the food. Chef Hugo has created a menu that brilliantly blends the bold, vibrant flavors of fresh Alta California fare with a Baja CA coastal flare. Every dish bursts with flavor—beautifully presented, perfectly balanced, and impossible to stop eating (especially the Empanadas and Picanha sliced steak). This spot is destined to be my new go-to for happy hour and dinner downtown. I can’t wait to come back once they are open daily.

Absolutely Fantastic Experience at Zaranda! 5/5 Stars I had the pleasure of dining at Zaranda for the first time tonight, and it was one of the best restaurant experiences I've had in a long time! The meal itself was superb. I ordered the Borrego Tatemado (the braised lamb shank), and it was truly cooked and seasoned to perfection—tender and full of flavor. I also tried the Eden Martini, and I can honestly say it was the best apple martini I've ever had! Beyond the incredible food and drinks, the service was truly fantastic! The entire staff showed awesome customer service, making the whole evening a pleasure. I especially appreciated having a great conversation with the Director of Operations, Carlos Neri. Overall, Zaranda delivers a world-class dining experience. I will definitely be back again soon! Highly recommended!

My husband and I came here to celebrate, and we had such a great experience! We sat at the bar he doesn’t usually drink much, but he tried four different cocktails and loved every one of them. The bartender’s recommendations were spot on! We ordered a variety of appetizers, and the lobster quesadillas were our favorite, absolutely delicious. The oyster alternative was also really unique and surprisingly realistic. For our entrées, we had the ribeye and the lamb, and both were cooked perfectly and full of flavor. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming, which made the evening even better. Great food, great atmosphere, we’ll definitely be back!

We had the pleasure of attending Zaranda’s grand opening last night and it did not disappoint. The usual hiccups that come with an opening night? Not at Zaranda. It is evident that the Htown Restaurant Group Crew knows what they are doing and have executed this concept marvelously. Aesthetic/atmosphere/location The build out is gorgeous. Spacious and airy with beautiful organic lines evocative of the coastal landscapes of Baja and Alta California. The Ballena Bar is in an inviting u-shape and is sure to draw happy hour crowds. Location is great. We went at night but the floor to ceiling windows facing Discovery Green have ever changing scenery that will create visual interest looking in and out at all times of the day. Service The excellent service you’ve come to expect from this group. Friendly and attentive wait staff who are knowledgeable about the food, ingredients, concept and history behind the dishes. Well paced meal and fresh plates/silverware after each “course” - my favorite!! 😍 Cocktails Our table tried quite a few of the drinks, all were excellent but the winner was Coco Rosado. Honorable mention to the Isla de Luz. We had: Zarandarita, Conejo Malo, The Best Margarita Ever Made, School of Fish (super refreshing and SO Visually interesting) and the Guayaba Azul. Food We ordered family style to maximize the dishes we tried. DO NOT MISS: Ostiones Asados - idk what cheesy goodness the put on these but they are addicting. Aguachile Negro - perfect, fresh appetizer for any ceviche lover. Served with little blue corn chips for the perfect bite every time. Ensalada Ceasar - made table side. If you think you’ve had Cesar salad, you have not had Zaranda’s ode to the original Cesar salad (created in Tijuana, perfected at Zaranda). Pescado Zarandeado - order this, please. Catch of the day was a branzino, grilled. Tear your sobaquera, spread the aioli first, then either the red or green sauce then spoon the flaky fish on top. Fold and enjoy the perfect little baby fish taco bite. Taco De Pato - Zaranda’s take on Peking Duck, in taco form. Date mole, duck skin chicharron. A masterpiece and homage to the Chinese immigrant influence of Las Californias. If you’re not a duck person, this will convert you. Rib Eye - 3 words: bone marrow butter. Order medium rare. Dessert It was so hard to pick one…so we got 3! All winners. The sand dollar, the chocolate sea urchin and the miloja. Miloja was my personal favorite. All 3 were beautiful AND delicious. So excited to come back to Zaranda and looking forward to another excellent Houston staple by the Htown Restaurant Group. The intentionality, passion and creativity shines through at Zaranda. What a pleasure to eat at a restaurant where they obviously love food, value excellent ingredients and put the customer experience first. These folks continue to knock it out of the park. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If it was possible to give a 20 out of 10 I would! I highly recommend Zaranda. My family still cannot stop talking about it! The space is also stunning. The atmosphere made me want to visit Baja California. The food was unbelievable and so fresh. Everything was delicious, but I want to highlight the lamb empanadas, the catch of the day, almeja bruja, aguachile negro, mariscos, and all of the desserts. I wish I could recreate the branzino. That was the best fish I’ve ever had! The cocktails and wine were also delicious and so fresh. The service was wonderful. The staff was so kind and great at explaining some of the foods. They provided great recommendations as well. Overall I HIGHLY recommend, and my family will definitely be back soon! H Town Restaurant Group is crushing it with Zaranda!!!

New restaurant alert! Beautiful aesthetically pleasing Hugo’s restaurant in the heart of downtown Houston. Service was impeccable and the ambiance is promising. I stopped just to grab a drink and an appetizer and they didn’t disappoint. Would def head back there to explore the menu

I got to visit Zaranda during the soft opening with friends and family, and it was the best dining experience I’ve had in years! The room is elegant without feeling stuffy, and the service is dialed in. Everyone greets you with a smile, and you can tell the bartenders and servers are genuinely happy to be there and share their knowledge of the culture and story behind the food. The menu is unlike anything else in Houston. Chef Hugo, his family, and the team have built something truly their own and distinct from their other concepts. From the Pescado Zarandeado and the Aguachile Negro, to the prime porterhouse and their fantastic duck taco, everything tastes fresh and cared for. I’m not even a salad person, but the tableside Caesar won me over. I’ve never been the first to reach for seconds of a salad, until now. Their cocktails are balanced and bright, and you can taste the fresh juices without losing the fun! As to their desserts, the Erizo del Mar (resembling a chocolate sea urchin) and the Dólar de Arena were both my favorite. Chef Ruben and Pastry Chef Roxanne have really let their creativity and love for pastries shine! All in all, Zaranda feels special. It’s easy to forget it’s a family-owned and operated location. Put it on your list for lunch, happy hour, dinner, or your next family or work event.

Wiliiam took care of us. Great food by Hugo’s amazing chef Retauranteur in the city. Congrats. All is great; perhaps a bit more volume to the music and less light at the end of the day …

Wow, this is a fantastic addition to the group that brought us Hugo's, Urbe, Xochi, and Caracol. We made reservations for a Friday night, but the restaurant was honestly pretty empty when we got there. Might just be because it is so new. It's located in the heart of downtown, so parking is not easy - they have a $11 valet, which is probably the easiest. Watch out if you come here when there are events going on at the Toyota Center (just a block or two away) - we left as a Rockets game ended, and it was pretty hectic leaving the area. The space itself is huge - lots of tables on the first floor, and it looked like it had a whole separate space on the second floor. They also have a decent number of tables on the patio. Service was friendly and quick. We got several plates to share and they were all fantastic! Tuna crudo taquitos - 5/5 so delicious! Asian style, ginger forward, good amount of spice to it as well. So yummy! Lamb empanadas - 5/5 - very yummy! They were soft and cheesy. Lamb was tasty. Pro-tip - if you're a fan of spice, ask for their habanero salsa - it was perfect with it! Lobster tostada - 4/5 - lobster was cooked really well, lots of interesting ingredients are combined and they all work pretty well together. Octopus - 5/5 - this is a huge portion of octopus! It's cooked so perfectly - cooked over fire, so it's nice and crispy. It's seasoned well, and comes with different types of salsa, tortilla, and a salad. "Sea urchin" chocolate dessert - 3/5 - this is the dessert they recommend, and it's gorgeous to look at! The chocolate shell is filled with so many different ingredients - maybe too many. Most prominent flavor is probably passion fruit. It was okay, but didn't all seem to work together. Overall, we're a huge fan of the restaurant! We definitely want to come back again for brunch, and try some of the other dinner items. Great addition to the downtown food scene!

Zaranda was good, though not my favorite Hugo Ortega restaurant--I'd prefer to go to Xochi. They just opened about a month ago, so they are still working out the service kinks. The food is seafood-focused, with a Mexican-Baja California vibe. As an appetizer, our group split a couple of octopus tacos--while they were yummy, I frankly couldn't taste the octopus with all of the other flavors in the taco. But we did try the octopus itself as an entree (plenty big enough for 2-3 people to split), and it was very good and well cooked. The duck taco we split as an appetizer was my favorite item we tried--so good! One suggestion I'd make is to simplify the menu, particularly the dessert menu--there were lots of very detailed descriptions, particularly on the dessert menu, that were a little overwhelming.

Zaranda is such a beautiful new spot near Discovery Green! I parked at work and walked over, but noticed they even have valet which is super convenient since downtown parking typically can be difficult. The decor inside is absolutely stunning, modern yet warm, and you can tell a lot of thought went into the design. They're currently only open for dinner, but happy hour and lunch are coming soon so can't wait for that! There's a gorgeous upstairs area perfect for hosting big parties, plus a smaller private room that fits around 30 people for events. We sat at the bar and started with the Infamous and a G&T, both excellent. The staff were so welcoming and even brought us complimentary drinks for the second round, we tried the Coco Rosado and Holy Water (not even on the menu yet!) and both were fantastic. They also surprised us with a sample of their tuna crudo, and it was absolutely delicious. Everything about Zaranda, from the vibe to the drinks to the service, was top-notch. Can't wait to come back and explore the full dinner menu!

Zaranda exceeded my expectations. The staff and food were exceptional. Located right across the street from discovery green with easy access, but also limited parking options. The restaurant is decorated beautifully. We started with cocktails and appetizers all 10/10. For our main we opted for the fish of the day and the seafood rice, which were both flavorful but could have used a bit more salt. All in all I enjoyed my dinner and will return!

What an amazing new restaurant. Was here with several of my work colleagues and everyone ordered something different. The flavors, the presentation, the atmosphere and the service were superb! Huge portions for all the dishes. I tried 2 different paellas and they were so savory. Fantastic variety on the menu and the dishes were so colorful and unique! Definitely stop by, especially if staying around the area for a conference!

Anniversary dinner here with the work wives. Go ahead and valet, the lot across the street was 30$. Hell nah. Zaranda is gorgeous, no surprise coming from this group. Had my first chef Hugo sighting while being escorted to our table. Service was nice- she was very knowledgeable, honest and more importantly: correct with her recs. The price point is up there. The food is better than ok but not astounding. Yet? Maybe? I have more to try for sure. For now, I'd def say go ahead and pop in. Two word review: happy hour. I was late but the hh menu was extensive! Always nice, right?

Cute and cozy atmosphere. The service was really good. The waitress Kelly was really helpful with narrowing down our selections. They ran out of duck tacos so that made me sad. The shrimp tacos, octopus tostaditas and tuna crude were all really good. The shrimp aguachile needed a bit of salt. The acid overpowered any other flavor in the dish. The lobster tostada was mostly potato and only 2 pieces of lobster. The roasted oysters were not hot, but flavor was good. Drinks were tasty and they have a good happy hour menu. It's in a busy area downtown so valet parking is helpful. (Not complimentary).

I already can't wait to go again! Located right by Discovery Green, Zaranda is the perfect spot for a seafood-lover like me, although the menu has plenty of options for all preferences. My favorite dishes were the Taco de Pato, Tostada de Tiradito, and Arroz de Mariscos. They also have an extensive wine and cocktail list - I loved the Zaranda Rita, which is made with hibiscus. On top of that, the interior is gorgeous and our server, Manuel, made sure we were well taken care of.   Overall, the food, drinks, ambiance, and service were all 10/10. I would highly recommend visiting Zaranda, both for groups or for a date night downtown.

My wife and I visited for opening day. The food, service, ambiance was superb. Very happy to have Zaranda, just a block away from my second home. My wi

Tried the Happy Hour last night and the food was amazing. We were to lucky to meet Chef Hugo as well!

Food was excellent and priced accordingly. We sat on patio and enjoyed the night. Great for a special night out. Service was good to above average.

Hands down five star! The food, Service, everything was spot on! The place has a really cool vibe. Be patient with them on the Service, they are truly trying their best. They were a hair disorganized, but they've only been opened a month. This will be a regular place for us!! Cell Or incredible and the carrots were the best I've ever had in my life.

This is a Hugo platform restaurant and thus we expected excellence. The drinks were nice, the service was very good, the decor is casual. The wood fired oysters were not well cooked and lacked flavor. We had to send them back. Overall, the banana pepper stuffed with shrimp taco lacked heat and the lobster tostada was the same. The mussels were tasty although the clams were gummy, in the cazuela we shared. It seemed that the spice point on all of the dishes was off and flavors were too similar, which was not what we are used to at a Mexican restaurant. Houston has hundreds if not thousands Mexican restaurants to choose from. Add a trio of salsa, for God sake! Send out some blue corn chips while waiting for the drinks and appetizers to arrive or something that emphasizes Hugo's creativity. If this one is to survive, it's going to have to kick it up a notch.