Friday evening, the lucky guests who managed to secure a reservation will presumably get to see Houston’s famous spinning restaurant for the first time in six years. The Spindletop, atop the Hyatt Regency Tower in downtown, has finally reopened to the public.
In early April, the Hyatt officially announced plans to reopen Spindletop after a long absence since the COVID-19 Pandemic. The restaurant, which boasts revolving 360-degree views, is only open on Friday and Saturday evenings, and is reservation only. Executive Chef Hernan Melendez was tapped to develop a five-course prix fixe tasting menu.
Chron was given an exclusive opportunity to tour the Spindletop at 1200 Louisiana St. in mid-April, as well as try some of the items on their tasting menu.
The Spindeltop is accessible from an elevator towards the back of the main lobby (it has its own button). If you’ve never been, the restaurant is a continuous circle that is divided into two spaces. The central pillar houses a closed-door kitchen and cocktail station. The main dining room is divided into two tiers, an upper level closest to the pillar and a lower level closest to the windows. Short stairways connect the two.
There are, maybe, two ways to view Spindletop right now. It’s an old-school space that evokes the charms and aesthetics of Houston dining in the ’90s, or it needs some work. It’s clear the restaurant hasn’t seen much in the way of a modern update or refurbish, but I imagine any blemishes will be hard to spot when the Sun goes down.
And you can’t beat that view. The restaurant takes a full 45 minutes to rotate, but it can increase that speed to 40. The actual rotation is very subtle, and you’ll notice it immediately when looking at the floor where the dining room and central pillar meet. You’ll also see it looking out the window—which is a hell of a view, and likely even more so in the evening.
Onto the food. In April, Melendez had what I assumed to be a rough draft of the tasting on a wall in the downstairs kitchen. The menu hearkens back to what Spindletop was serving before it closed: Texas Gulf Coast fare with European embellishments (Though I feel a little California got in there, too). Kraftsman’s Bakery in Houston has been tapped to provide bread service.
During my tour, Melendez was busy preparing a spring rabbit in sugo, served with pappardelle pasta, shishito pepper and a ricotta salata. You don’t find rabbits on Houston menus. The last time I had it was at Hugo Ortega’s newest restaurant Zaranda, also in downtown. The meat was lean and the pasta was appropriately al dente. I also got to sample a spicy sauce they were thinking of using on the gulf prawns, another second course option, which was bold in its heat.
From what I was told during the tour, the restaurant quickly booked up after we published our initial story. Just mind your ears popping in the elevator. I’m not used to those kinds of heights.
