Dallas-founded restaurant Drake’s Hollywood will officially open its third and largest restaurant in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood on Thursday, August 29th – and in typical Dallas fashion, it’s bringing a dose of glamour with it.

The restaurant, which has locations in Los Angeles and Dallas’ Highland Park neighborhood, aims to bring a touch of Hollywood’s “Golden Era” to Houston with timeless, luxurious decor. The Vandelay Hospitality Group restaurant is located at 1100 Westheimer Road, where the now-closed Hay Merchant once operated. It’s wrapped in sultry red leather, the bar is surrounded by golden amber onyx, and the black-and-white TVs make guests feel like they’re stepping back in time, says owner Hunter Pond. The restaurant will expand its offerings even further, opening a private dining room and piano lounge later this year. Live entertainment is also planned, including DJs traveling between the three restaurant locations to perform, Pond says.

Vandelay Hospitality Group

Vandelay Hospitality Group

The menu focuses on popular American fare like cracker-crust pizza and dry-aged steaks, as well as cult favorites like Drake’s spicy crispy salmon rice with gochujang and serrano pepper, the spicy Rigatoni Pasta ZaZa, Hollywood-style sushi rolls and the 24-layer strawberry cake. The bar also strives for elegance in the cocktails, with Vandelay’s signature “World’s Coldest Martini.”

Pond, owner and CEO of Drake’s Vandelay restaurant group, says the restaurant’s opening feels “surreal considering how long it’s been.” The owner decided to buy the property about two years ago, after Drake’s “explosive” opening in Dallas, where many Houston friends said the restaurant would do well in the Bayou City. Pond says he jumped at the chance. Although many suggest a rivalry between Dallas and Houston, Pond says he hasn’t felt the tension. “I feel the love,” Pond says, noting that the Houston community has been warmly welcoming. “I know how I want to feel about Dallas and accept it when concepts from Houston come to my hometown, so it’s been really heartwarming.”

Drake’s opened its doors to VIPs and members of the food press early last week for at least two preview parties ahead of the opening. Guests reported a mostly bustling atmosphere with plenty of alcohol and select snacks.

Vandelay originally opened his first Houston restaurant, East Hampton Sandwich Company, in 2017, but it closed soon after in 2019. Pond has since opened Hudson House in October 2023. The restaurant features American fare, including a highly acclaimed cheeseburger, ice-cold martinis, and East Coast-inspired coastal fare.

Vandelay Hospitality Group

Vandelay Hospitality Group

Vandelay Hospitality has faced some controversy in recent years. In November, diners familiar with New York’s Lure FishBar noticed that Vandelay had taken creative liberties and copied the restaurant’s design and some of its dishes without prior communication at his Dallas restaurant Anchor Sushi Bar. Weeks earlier, a group of investors quickly withdrew a $2 million lawsuit after initially claiming it had lost $1.8 million and encountered communication problems while working with the restaurant group to expand Lucky’s Hot Chicken in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Both the investors and defendants, which included Vandelay Hospitality and Pond, reportedly came to an amicable settlement. As of 2021, the restaurant group began receiving lawsuits from former employees alleging discrimination, including a former general manager at Drake’s Hollywood in Dallas who claimed the restaurant was rife with “racism, sexism, homophobia and downright contempt for its employees.”