Skinner’s Ishtia named Best New Restaurant in Houston

Choctaw tribal member David Skinner’s restaurant, Ishtia, was recently named Best New Restaurant in Houston by Eater.

Below is an excerpt from the Eater article:
“Widely considered a “Willy Wonka of food,” Choctaw chef David Skinner built a reputation on fantastical presentations of molecular gastronomy at his former restaurant, Eculent. At his new restaurant, Ishtia, whose name means “to begin,” dishes dig a little deeper. In 20 or more courses, the Indigenous tasting menu restaurant gifts diners with a rare look at Native cuisine in a way that hasn’t been done before. Skinner mindfully leads diners with a poetic reading about the Trail of Tears, and then into bowls of Tanchi Labona, a Choctaw soup made up of nixtamalized corn and pork, and tender rabbit assembled atop silky mole — a long-simmering combination of chiles, chocolates, and spices. He has in no way lost his magician-like touch, though: Staff members clear the air with a tableside burning of white sage paired with a smudge stick salad; an iconic rendition of Three Sisters — smoked scallop served on its shell with squash and rich corn butter — involves a dramatic burst of smoked seaweed steam. Corn cake tres leches soaked in corn milk is crowned with fluffy corn husk-infused meringue and served with a scoop of chicha morada sorbet, delivering the significant message that Indigenous foodways are interwoven with some of our favorite memories.”

Ishtia is located at 709 Harris Avenue, Kemah, Texas, 77565
Book reservations online