Restaurants in Tomball

Chef and owner Paul Friedman channels his international roots into the fusion fare at Peli Peli, named for the South African spice that flavors its signature flame-pepper chicken dish. His menu mingles European-style focaccia and Chilean sea bass with South African classics such as homemade boerewors sausage, washing it all down with rivers of South African wine. Chef Paul also mixes the selection of dipping sauces—such as mint mojito, roasted garlic, and spicy ginger—that tag along with each entree, enabling a different burst of flavor or color of cocktail-napkin art with each bite. The food's not the only thing that expresses Peli Peli's South African influences. The dining room's glowing, 30-foot-tall central pillar recalls the nation's towering acacia trees, anchoring an avant-garde architectural scheme that the Houston Chronicle calls "eye-popping." Voted Houston’s Best Live Music Venue as well as Best Romantic Bar by Citysearch users in 2009, the moodily lit space also hosts live music Monday–Saturday evenings and live jazz during Sunday brunch.

No one can say this coffee bar and deli is lacking in confidence. In fact, no one can say they’re lacking in much of anything. The soups, sandwiches, and salads live up to the café’s self-assured name, with chefs preparing their made-from-scratch fare from fresh ingredients, such as ciabatta bread, sliced avocado, and signature chicken salad. Fresh cookies and homemade soups make suitable companions for made-to-order sandwiches, and slices of house-made pecan pie tame unruly sweet teeth faster than a retainer lined with cake batter.

At Red Dot Cuisine, crabmeat cocktails garnished with mango caviar arrive at tables with an unexpected twist: the cocktail glass serves as the top of a mini fish bowl, with an actual goldfish inside doing laps. It's just one of the creative touches that make Red Dot's upscale bistro into a dining experience. The bar, lunch, and dinner menus combine Indian and American cuisine elements, yielding dishes such as the tandoori turkey panini with cranberry-flavored mayo. Specialty cocktails such as lychee martinis and tamarind mojitos complement meals, and an eclectic roster of desserts includes raspberry chocolate cake and fried Oreos with Shiner Bock ice cream.

It started with a single sound—the sizzle of eggs as they hit the bacon-greased iron skillet. And with that, an 8-year-old Chef Ambrose stepped into the culinary arts, going from a kid helping his dad with barbecue to a chef with two gold medals from Culinary Institute LeNôtre. At Just Burgers, Chef Ambrose lends his culinary expertise to hamburgers he sculpts fresh daily, grilling and sandwiching each Black Angus-beauty on a choice of a ciabatta, wheat, or the popular pretzel bun, which often sells out nightly. He also dresses each one in fresh toppings, along with occasional organic goodies gleaned from visits to the farmers' market. Running a BYOB establishment, Just Burgers' team members charge no fees for uncorking wine bottles or prying off beer caps with their teeth.

At Kabab Kahani, grill masters skewer sustainably sourced, certified halal morsels of Indian- and Mediterranean-style meats, creating lamb kebabs, tandoori chicken, and gyros. The eatery also adheres to eco-friendly business practices such as recycling dinnerware and transforming leftovers into chicken feed. Guests can settle into the dining area’s vibrant red booths to gobble down falafel and lamb chops, or hop across the black-and-white-checkered floor in a game of human chess.