There are also banquettes along the walls and more emphasis on bar seating. Design-wise, the Second Ward iteration focuses on communal seating. While the old Street to Kitchen accommodated only 36 guests, its new space has room for 100. Fortunately, the restaurant, previously housed in a tiny space adjacent to a gas station, has moved to bigger digs in the former home of Cafe Louie at the Plant in Second Ward. Street to Kitchen 2.0Īfter her big win at the James Beard Awards in 2023, chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter’s East End Thai staple Street to Kitchen had barely been able to keep up with the demand. The restaurant, which has four other outposts in Atlanta and Washington, DC, is known for its Middle Eastern–influenced cuisine and Persian-themed cocktail menu. The restaurant is housed in a light, airy space with lots of windows and pays homage to Persian culture through its design, with paintings of whirling dervishes and pendant lighting meant to imitate the swirling of dervishes’ clothing. This fall, the first Houston location of acclaimed Persian restaurant Rumi’s Kitchen debuted in the Galleria area in the same mixed-use development that also houses Uchiko and Zadok Jewelers. Image: Alex Montoya/Courtesy Rumi's Kitchen Rumi’s Kitchen
