Two-Story Steakhouse Opening This Week

• Houston, TX - November 16,2019
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Guard and Grace is almost ready to open.

The long-awaited Houston outpost of Troy Guard’s popular Denver steakhouse will open Nov. 19. It’s the first venture outside of Denver for Guard’s Tag Restaurant Group.

The restaurant is located in a 15,000-square-foot “glass box” portion of Brookfield Properties’ recently transformed One Allen Center tower at 500 Dallas St. downtown.

The Houston Guard and Grace is nearly twice the size of the Denver location and spans two floors as well as a patio. Inside, the restaurant seats 236, with 188 in the main dining room, 36 at the full-service bars and 12 in the private “Board Room.” Upstairs, another private dining room seats 88 or can hold 120 for a cocktail reception. It can be divided up into three rooms, each with a television. The 4,000-square-foot patio won’t open until 2020.

Three kitchens, two for the main dining area and one for the private area, service the restaurant, and there are four bars, including one for the patio.

A temperature-controlled wine cellar will have wine lockers where guests can store their own bottles. The cellar will have capacity for 6,858 bottles.

The menu is set to include items like a filet mignon flight — with four ounces each of wagyu, prime and angus steak — a seafood tower and an extravagant fajita-style dish with wagyu, caviar and gold-speckled tortillas that costs $400, alongside more down-to-earth items like a prosciutto flight, fried quail and Alaskan black cod.

“The road to Guard and Grace has been a journey,” Guard said in previous press release. “This is such a special city not just for excellent dining, but for great chefs who have become friends and welcomed us so graciously. We feel so lucky to be this close to unveiling the project, and I can’t wait to introduce Houston to Guard and Grace.”

Nikki Guard serves as the co-owner and beverage director for Guard and Grace. Daniel Virola is the executive chef, and Andrew Ojeda is the general manager. The sommelier on staff is Lexey Davis Johnson.

Nick Hernandez and Crystal Allen of Transwestern’s Houston Retail Services Group represented Brookfield in the lease. Guard represented Tag Restaurant Group. Houston-based construction firm O’Donnell/Snider Construction built out the restaurant space, while Denver-based BOSS.architecture served as the architect and interior designer.

Initially, Guard and Grace’s hours will be Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. A lunch menu and social hour will debut Dec. 2. That lunch period will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday with the social hour from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.