What’s old is new again. Downtown’s Sam Houston Hotel’s restaurant has recently enjoyed a makeover complete with a new name, which is actually its original name of years long ago, The Pearl.

The freshly renovated restaurant and hotel lobby include design work by architect Craig Schuster of Shuster, Inc., and Candace Schiller, of H3D Hospitality Design. Chef Chris Loftis will give you yet one more reason to head downtown for dinner. His menu focuses on Gulf seafood and also branches into classic regional dishes, but with an upscale twist. 

Loftis, who graduated from the Art Institute’s culinary program in 2007, began cooking as a teenager after being inspired by his grandmother. At a young age, he began messing around in the backyard with barbecue and making marinades.

“I was always interested in cooking, so by the time I was in high school and trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life, it just made sense,” says Loftis, who worked his way through culinary school at a catering company and at Skyline Bar & Grill in the Hilton Americas. “Culinary school is great, but they don’t teach you everything. A lot of it is about being on the line, getting yelled at and learning. I got the upper hand by doing both at the same time.”

Loftis ultimately landed at Killen’s Steakhouse, where he says chef/owner Ronnie Killen had a huge impact on his culinary point of view and his hotshot, fresh-out-of-culinary-school attitude. “He gave me a shot and humbled me quickly,” says Loftis, who worked for nearly four years in various roles with Killen, ultimately as chef de cuisine. “I learned a lot from Ronnie.” 

Crab salad at The Pearl. Courtesy photo

The result of time spent working under the tough-love environment of some of Houston’s busiest kitchens is an ambitious chef who is excited about finally developing his own menu, and I recently stopped in to sample a few dishes as a guest of the restaurant. The tasting began with the starter of crab salad ($16, photo above) with plenty of jumbo lump crab, grapefruit and slivers of almond on avocado puree and the crispy Gulf fried oysters with chunks of house-cured bacon and pickled jalapeños ($14). Spice and acidic notes give loads of personality to Loftis’ versions of these dishes.

Of course, The Pearl’s raw bar showcases a variety of oyster offerings for the consumer who loves to find themselves between shells.

If you’re more of a turf diner, instead of surf, the dinner menu offers a roasted Springer Mountain Farms half chicken plate ($22), served with collard greens and seared mushrooms, and Dr Pepper braised-short ribs ($24), which come with spätzle and Brussels sprouts. An heirloom tomato salad with soft, creamy burrata is presented with “charred avocado, cucumber and preserved lemon” ($11). 

Jodie’s Steak Tartare at The Pear. Courtesy photo

There is also a steak tartare appetizer ($16, photo above) called Jodie’s Steak Tartare, named after yours truly. Loftis prepared the dish for a “chefs for dogs” fundraiser that I hosted last year, and I told him it was the best tartare I’d ever had. I’m proud to see it on the menu.

It’s such a treat to enjoy this dining room and historic hotel once again, and I predict this will be the role that makes Chris Loftis a star on the Houston culinary scene.

The Pearl at The Sam Houston Hotel, 1117 Prairie St. at San Jacinto, 832-200-8817,  pearlrestauranthouston.com
Hours: Breakfast 6:30 am-11 am, weekends 7 am-11 am; Lunch Daily 11 am-2:30 pm; Dinner Daily 5 pm-10pm; Bar daily 2-11pm