Triniti has been one of the most anticipated Houston restaurant openings of 2011, and now that it’s finally here, it does not disappoint.

If I hadn’t have known that Tuesday night was a family-and-friends practice night – the official opening for the public is Saturday, Christmas Eve – I would have assumed Triniti is just one of those rare places that runs like a well-maintained machine. From the quietly authoritative presence of chef Ryan Hildebrand in the kitchen to the outstanding service on the floor, almost everything appeared to come together smoothly.

Hildebrand, formerly of Bistro Provence, Textile and later Gravitas, has been waiting for months for his new restaurant to be open. In the interim, he’s appeared as a guest chef at Vic & Anthony’s (he used to work for V&A’s chef Carlos Rodriguez years ago), and hosted three Triniti preview dinners at Ralph Smith Photography studio. In the open concept kitchen at Triniti, he seems like a much more relaxed chef who has come into his own.

The Triniti space is vast, a large rectangular building that has housed a few prior businesses, including Fox Diner, Tonyo’s and later Club Pravada. You’d never know anything else had ever been there, though. The place has been completely remodeled, even down to pouring new concrete. Here’s hoping the makeover has eliminated any residual bad business karma.

An arty, glass bar with a deliberately unfinished concrete base holds promise for future happy hours, while a modern porch with gurgling water fountains outside will be great for small groups when the weather warms up again.

A wide-open space like Triniti has the potential to be impersonal, but well-planned lighting added elegance. Traditional low romantic lighting favored in so many “nice restaurants” has been eschewed in favor of modern-looking bulbs in glass jars, which actually allows diners to see their companions and their food.

Triniti has food you definitely want to be able to see. The platings, especially the desserts, are very attractive, and it’s fun to check out all the little elements that bring the dish together. The foie gras “breakfast” was a knockout, with brioche toast, bacon, quail egg and fig syrup. Beets and pears with lemony Pure Luck goat cheese, mint, oregano and yuzo was a delightful festival on a plate. A sirloin dish had interesting flavors and textures by including cauliflower three ways: pureed, dehydrated and roasted.

Service was very good, and there was plenty of staff. I could not get up from my chair without finding my napkin neatly folded and back in place.

On Tuesday night, as a training exercise, Triniti ran two different menus, which led to an amusing attempt to “collect ’em all” from the group I was sitting with. With five of us at our end of the table, some friends at the next table over and a willingness to share bites, we got to try all the desserts and probably at least half of the other items.

There were a few disappointments. “Too salty” was a regular complaint from the group I sat with. I love salt, but I had to agree. Ironically, very little salt was detected in the chocolate tart with brown butter ice cream and sea salt. Go figure.

A Brussels sprouts starter did not get much love due to too many competing flavors, and one of my tablemates described the diver scallops with chick peas, blood sausage, glazed root vegetables and confit onions as “fishy.” I’m not sure I’d describe the scallops as fishy, but they just weren’t very good.

With those few things aside, there is much to appreciate here. Most of the menu was very well received.

All of the desserts were good, but gianduja mousse with ricotta cream was the favorite. This is what Nutella wants to be when it grows up. Also a hit was the roasted pear with honeycomb ice cream and a vanilla biscuit.

Lovely wooden boxes were brought at the end of the meal and presented to each table. A drawer held truffles, housemade marshmallows and teeny macaroons, and on top were carefully balanced spoons holding what looked like perfect egg yolks. These were, in fact, spherized treats made of mango juice. I wasn’t expecting a liquid center and just about choked after the sphere burst in my mouth and shot liquid wrong way down my throat. Still, it was delicious and a great presentation. Now that I know what I’m in for, I’ll be happy to have that wonder of gastronomic science again. This dessert lagniappe is set to become a Triniti trademark.

At some point in the near future, Triniti will also offer a chef’s table. Per chef Hildebrand, only one group per night will be hosted so guests do not feel like they have to clear out for the next reservation.

TRINITI, 2815 S. Shepherd bet.Westheimer & W. Alabama, 832-582-5958.