A new restaurant offering a refreshing take on Mediterranean cuisine opened in buzzy Montrose Collective this weekend, adding to the development’s diverse restaurant portfolio.
From Sof Hospitality, the group behind Mediterranean restaurants Hamsa and Doris Metropolitan, Októ opened to the public on Saturday, August 31, bringing an amalgamation of culinary traditions and recipes from France, Greece, Italy, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, and beyond.
Chef Yotam Dolev, who formerly worked at Hamsa before transitioning over to Októ to create its menu, says the new restaurant, named after the Greek word for eight (a play on the restaurant’s location on 888 Westheimer Road), offers “full-on Mediterranean cuisine from every direction.”
Októ keeps to the Sof Hospitality tradition with eclectic Mediterranean cuisine and stellar bread service.
Becca Wright
Dolev says he and Doris Metropolitan’s head chef, Hai Avnaim, spent months researching, playing with new flavors and recipes from the Mediterranean region, and incorporating new trends from Tel Aviv. “We’re just being really playful,” he says. “I don’t want to say it and scare people away, but it’s a lot of new flavors and new combinations that people are going to try.” For instance, Dolev says tuna crudo is given a Mediterranean spin with a topping of fresh parsley gremolata, olive oil, and feta cheese for a velvety texture and salty flavor.
Diners can start with the Frena bread service, served with homemade butter, olives, pickled onions, and a menu of salads, halloumi, and refreshing crudo dishes. A recent dinner on Friday, August 30, revealed standouts like the bright and refreshing sea bass carpaccio; the Tiger shrimp served in a silky sauce made of arak beurre blanc, garlic, tarragon, and thyme with a side of sourdough for dunking, and the steak Rossini, a tenderloin topped with a tender chunk of foie gras and plated with a peppercorn sauce with morel mushrooms.
Dolev also predicts that the spicy crema-topped squid ink linguine, slathered in a buttery wine and cream sauce with a kick of fermented peppers and blue crab, will be a crowd favorite. “It’s so refreshing and so creamy and rich in the same bite,” Dolev says. Sides include snow peas, lemon zest fries, and butternut squash with a yogurt sauce.
Októ’s dimly-lit dining room and bar area make for a great adults-only evening out.
The 4,200-square-foot restaurant offers a small, dimly lit dining area, which features a moody, dark green color scheme punctuated by hints of gold and velvet banquettes, plus large glass windows that peek into the busy kitchen and a spacious outdoor patio for diners to unwind. Most prominent, though, is the restaurant’s bar. Sof’s interior designer, Lindsay Madrigal, emphasized the scenic, illuminated horseshoe-shaped bar, which is lined with liquor bottles of all types and a nearby small DJ booth. Diners will find a menu featuring a combination of new and classic cocktails that complement the food, including Októ’s G&T, made with a gin infused with shishito, Italicus, and Fever Tree Indian Tonic, homemade sangria, and an olive oil martini. “We really wanted a nice bar scene, and I think it’s very inviting for people in the early hours for happy hour and during late night,” Dolev says,
Despite the restaurant listing its close time at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. depending on the night, Dolev says that’s actually when Októ hosts its last seating. “If you come in at 10:59 p.m., you can still join us to have a full meal or a drink at the bar,” he adds.
Like its sister restaurant Doris Metropolitan, Októ has some red meat offerings, like its steak Rossini topped with foie gras and a peppercorn sauce.
Becca Wright
The Mediterranean restaurant is Sof Hospitality’s fourth establishment in the Houston area. The group also owns Israeli steakhouse Doris Metropolitan in Montrose, Mediterranean restaurant Hamsa, and its next-door bakery Badolina Bakery in Rice Village. The restaurant owners, Itai Ben Eli and Itamar Levy, were named semi-finalists earlier this year for a James Beard Foundation Award for the Outstanding Restaurateur category.
Októ is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Happy hour is hosted from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Valet is complimentary during business hours. 888 Westheimer Road, Montrose, 77006.
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