Following the 2025 selection of the Michelin Guide-honored restaurants in Texas, the two-time distinguished Candente Tex-Mex restaurant in Montrose has opened up a second location in Bellaire.
Candente is a Sambrook Hospitality concept (of The Pit Room, a Michelin Bib Gourmand winner) that originally opened in 2019 in the Yoakum Boulevard space formerly occupied by Cane Rosso. The restaurant specializes in live-fire/wood-grill-focused Tex Mex cuisine, serving lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch.
Its name, Candente, translates to “sizzling” in Spanish. The restaurant quickly became a neighborhood favorite, offering elevated Tex-Mex staples ranging from enchiladas, fajitas, and tacos alongside birria, brisket queso, and smoked-driven meats.
The restaurant, owned by Michael Sambrooks, opened its second location at 5101 Bellaire Blvd. on Monday, December 22. Its new 3,800-square-foot space, features indoor and outdoor seating, including a 10-seat bar and 24-seat patio where patrons can enjoy Candente’s award-winning menu of Tex-Mex classics and cocktails.
“It’s a privilege to open in Bellaire and get to know and serve a new clientele,” Sambrooks said in a press release. “We’re excited to introduce our style of authentic, handcrafted Tex-Mex that has made us a Houston dining staple.”
In its first installment of the Texas Michelin Guide, the authoritative culinary institution awarded Candente with a distinction, one of four Houston Tex-Mex restaurants to do so. The guide highlighted the restaurant’s tortilla soup, enchiladas, and fajitas. Here’s what Michelin had to say about Candente:
“You could make a whole meal out of the tortilla soup, and there’s a lot to like about the enchiladas, stuffed with cheese or, notably, brisket. But we’re really here for the fajitas featuring excellent prime beef sourced from Niman Ranch. Tender cuts arrive on a sizzling-cast-iron with charred onions and come with fantastic tortillas made with brisket trimmings”.
Candente’s flagship location is located at 4306 Yoakum Blvd. in Montrose and is open every day of the week. The restaurant’s Bellaire location is now open at 5101 Bellaire Blvd.