Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk, a Houston-based restaurant, has made it to Esquire’s list of The Best New Restaurants in America, 2025, as the only Texas representative. This achievement is a significant milestone for the restaurant, which has been gaining national recognition for its unique West African cuisine.<\/p>\n
The list, published on December 1, features 33 restaurants from across the country, with New York City leading the list with seven representatives, followed by greater Los Angeles with six spots. The magazine is celebrating the discovery of these new restaurants, which offer spectacular food and a damn good time. According to Joshua David Stein, "These are the places you hate to leave, but when you do, you leave full. Full of some of the most deeply personal food you can remember eating, full of joy and ideas and hope."<\/p>\n
Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk’s founder, Ope Amosu, has already partnered with Houston hip-hop legend Bun B and the Rockets, and hints that more locations may be on the way. However, it’s the restaurant’s creative fare that sets it apart. The menu features seven tremendous rice bowls, including the Ghanaian fried rice known as waakye, and diaspora-bridging jollof jambalaya. The dishes are finished with yassa curry or red stew and plantains, and come with ikoyi shrimp or yaji vegetables.<\/p>\n
Amosu expressed his gratitude and excitement about the recognition, stating, "When we say ‘Africa to the world,’ these are amongst the reflections we envision. Being named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants is bigger than us. It’s a win for our community, our culture, the diaspora." He also mentioned that the restaurant is "reppin’ ‘the H’" and that it’s an honor to be recognized.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk first opened as a stand at the Post Market food hall downtown and later opened its first standalone location in Montrose on October 1, 2024, which is Nigerian Independence Day. The restaurant features a West African-inspired design by Zainob Amao of AMAO Creative in collaboration with Gin Braverman of Gin Design Group.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk’s inclusion in Esquire’s list is not its only national recognition. In September, the New York Times named it one of America’s 50 best restaurants, and last month, the Michelin Guide named it one of five new Houston restaurants to receive a Bib Gourmand designation.<\/p>\n
Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk’s recognition as one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America is a testament to the restaurant’s unique and creative West African cuisine. With its national recognition and partnerships with notable figures, Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk is destined for success and is putting Houston on the map as a culinary destination. As Amosu said, "We move with the flavors, stories, and traditions that shaped us. It’s what we know and how we will continue to show up."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk Ch\u00f2pnBl\u1ecdk, a Houston-based restaurant, has made it to Esquire’s list of The Best New Restaurants in America, 2025, as the only Texas representative. This achievement is a significant milestone for the restaurant, which has been gaining national recognition for its unique West African cuisine. Esquire’s List of Best New Restaurants The list, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11277","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/houston.culturemap.com\/media-library\/killen-s-barbecue-meat-platter-with-sides.jpg?id=62260766&width=1200&height=600&coordinates=0%2C19%2C0%2C19","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11277"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11280,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11277\/revisions\/11280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/houston\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}