Tony Mandola's Press
Keys to the Door: Owners Phyllis and Tony Mandola.
What’s on the Menu: For the legions of fans who flocked to Tony Mandola’s former River Oaks Shopping Center space for years, then passed the time this spring at the temporary Westheimer locale while this built-from-the-ground-up space was being readied, the wait is finally over. It seems like all of the 225 seats inside this 6,700-square-foot New Orleans–themed space (patio dining will be unveiled when the temperature drops) are jammed by the oil, finance and legal set at lunch and by their
well-heeled R.O. neighbors at dinner. The namesake/owner and his wife, Phyllis, hail from two of Houston’s restaurant dynasties — the Mandolas (of downtown Mandola grocery-store and beer-parlor fame) and the Laurenzos (as in Ninfa Laurenzo, the Tex-Mex matriarch who was Phyllis’ mom) — and much respect is paid to the “mamas” who inspired this pair. You’ll find your favorite on- and off-the-menu dishes, from chilly oysters on the half shell —perfect with blue-cheese-stuffed olives bobbing in a Cloudy Martini — to fried calamari à la mama dosed with oregano-butter sauce and peperoncini or a shrimp cocktail. New offerings include coal-fired pizzas of the thin, crisp-crust variety where toppings come right up to the edge, such as the gumbo pizza ($14). The menu is crowded with seafood; we love the seasonal blackened soft-shell crabs ($35). Don’t miss such Little Italy staples as the spaghetti and meatballs ($12): This is the gravy-laced (read: tomato sauce) macaroni and meatball combo that every Sicilian immigrant grandmother makes for her brood on Sundays. Straightforward without a trace of pretense, the service here is as polished and sincere as the well-honed menu.
RESERVATIONS
Click on the OpenTable logo below to make a Reservation Online.
PRIVATE DINING
SUNDAY BRUNCH
We are now open for Sunday Brunch from 11am - 2pm. Our full menu is available in addition to our new Sunday Brunch Menu.CATERING
GIFT CERTIFICATES
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday - Thursday
11am - 10pm
Friday & Saturday
11am - 11pm
Sunday
Brunch: 11am - 2pm
Dinner: 5pm - 9pm