The Room
Xochi opened at the Marriott Marquis Houston in 2017 — Hugo Ortega's third major Mexican concept, dedicated to the cooking of Oaxaca. The dining room is the most-disciplined regional-Mexican fine-dining room in Texas: white walls, warm wood, hand-glazed black-and-gold tile, and an open kitchen at the back where the masa-and-mole programme is visible from most tables.
The James Beard Foundation shortlisted Xochi for Best New Restaurant in America in 2018. The Texas Monthly named it the year's best new restaurant. The Houston Press has held Xochi on its top-ten list every year since opening. The downtown address makes it the de-facto convention-week deal-dinner room.
The Food
The seven-mole programme — coloradito, negro, almendrado, manchamanteles, amarillo, verde, and a chichilo or daily-rotating mole — runs as