Chris Shepherd’s Newest Houston Restaurant is Bringing Live-Fire Tables to an Ambitious Mixed-Use Center

Neighbors of Chris Shepherd and his bride, Lindsey Brown, might have been wondering what was with the endless grilling taking place in the couple’s backyard in recent months. With fragrant billows of post oak smoke wafting through the neighborhood on one day, hickory on another, then pecan and mesquite on another, along with mixtures therein, interest was piqued.

Shepherd, it was revealed on Monday, was experimenting with live-fire cooking for his latest restaurant, which is scheduled to open late this year in a burgeoning new development.

The chef’s Underbelly Hospitality group has signed on for a free-standing 5,000 square foot space at Regent Square, the GID Development Group‘s 24-acre mixed-use development project on West Dallas along the Allen Parkway corridor. Underbelly’s is the first of three freestanding restaurants, each with open-air rooftop dining, that will be part of the 8-acre Phase 2 portion of the masterplan project that will ultimately extend to Waugh Drive.

PaperCity checked in with Brown on Shepherd’s at-home experimentation.

“In the backyard, he’s done everything from hanging chickens over the fire to duck to all kinds of beef and even turkey for Thanksgiving,” Brown notes in an email. “Chris is still figuring out his plan for the menu, but he wants the live-fire tables to be the focal point of the restaurant (inside!)”

In 2015, Bon Appétite declared live-fire cooking THE technique of the year. Yet, renowned chefs including Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters and Francis Mallman have had wood-fueled flames in their restaurants for decades. Likewise, Hugo Ortego, Ronnie Killen, Ryan Perra and other Houston chefs have forgone gas cooking to master the tricky live-fire cooking that feeds enormous smokey flavor into various meats.

“The idea of live-fire cooking using multiple types of wood really excites me,” Shepherd says in a statement. “Regent Square is an ideal location for this restaurant and for Underbelly Hospitality — convenient to Montrose, downtown, River Oaks — and it’s great to be a part of a project with so many like-minded people.”

Regent Square Phase 2 is scheduled to debut in late 2021 showcasing 50,000 square feet of prime, pedestrian-oriented retail plus a premier 600-unit multi-family building. The three restaurants will overlook two activated green areas, a signature water feature and a pedestrian promenade.

“While we have more surprises in store, we couldn’t help lead the beginnings of our tenant lineup with Chris Shepherd, a chef who has helped to define the dynamic, culinary landscape of Houston and whose passion for food, the restaurant industry, and his city is unparalleled,” James Linsley, GID Development Group president, says in a statement.

GID is a privately held, fully integrated real estate company, which was founded in 1960 and has properties valued at $19 billion. Phase 2 is designed by Boston-based architectural place-making firm CBT in conjunction with Houston’s OJB Landscape Architecture.