The Room
Xin Chao opened in 2021 — the Nguyen family (with Christine Ha, the MasterChef Season 3 winner, as a partner) building a modern-Vietnamese dining room that runs the pho-and-banh-mi tradition through fine-dining technique. The dining room is intentionally polished — exposed brick, a long bar along the western wall, banquettes along the eastern wall, an open kitchen at the back.
Eater Houston has held Xin Chao on its best-restaurant list since opening. The Texas Monthly review held the kitchen among the most-disciplined modern-Vietnamese kitchens in the state. The booking window is one week for weekend two-tops.
The Food
The pho programme runs a fourteen-hour beef-bone broth with hand-pulled noodles. The banh mi is the secondary signature. The seasonal vegetable plates, the wood-grilled lemongrass beef, and the clay-pot fish handle the menu's wider draws. The brunch service is one of central Houston's most-considered weekend offerings.
Cocktail programme runs Vietnamese-spice-led: a working pandan Negroni, a lemongrass Margarita, a Vietnamese-coffee old-fashioned. Wine programme is short, weighted toward Riesling. Beer programme runs Vietnamese-import.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: The bar at Xin Chao is one of Upper Kirby's most-reliable first-date seats. The pho shares well, the cocktail programme is the conversation, and the room's modern-Vietnamese register reads as warm without being theatrical.
Birthday: Birthdays at Xin Chao are warm, pho-led, Vietnamese-cocktail-friendly affairs the room handles with the practiced ease of a four-year-old operation.
Solo Dining: The bar at Xin Chao is one of the better Houston solo-dining seats. The pho fills the meal, the cocktail programme is the conversation, the staff treat the diner of one with the same care as a four-top.