The Capitol at St. Germain is new Downtown Houston hot spot - Houston, TX - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

The handsome two-level space on the ground floor of the St. Germain Lofts at Main and Capitol is an adaptive re-use project conceived by commercial real estate brokers Randy Fertitta and John Nguyen. The operating partners brought on chef Kevin Bryant (who has worked for Tony's, Oceanaire and Landry's restaurants) to devise a menu heavy on the shared plates so that friends and lovers can enjoy light bites while listening to live music performed on a stage framed by heavy scarlet velvet curtains.

The Capitol's long dining room fronted by a raised stage looks something like a posh cabaret or moneyed supper club. A sophisticated venue for music is precisely what Fertitta had in mind when he first saw the space, the former home of the shuttered Zula restaurant.

That menu features more than a dozen plates meant to share: a duo of tuna; pork tacos; curried clams in coconut broth; foie gras three ways; diver scallops and pork belly; Gulf crab bombs; and a mini muffuletta sandwich. Entrée-size meals include filet mignon with potato gratin; chicken with cippolini onions and red Himalayan rice; braised short rib with bone marrow whipped potatoes; a bone-in ribeye with twice-baked potato; spicy shrimp and angel hair pasta; and a double-fisted pork chop with cheddar polenta.