Four Houston Chefs, Restaurants Named James Beard Awards Finalists

Three first-time finalists and one return nominee will represent Houston at the awards ceremony in May

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Published on April 2, 2025 • 7:45 PM MDT

With the 2025 James Beard Awards fast approaching, anticipation of which chefs and restaurants will take home a win has been mounting. Today, the James Beard Foundation announced this year’s finalists, whittling down the list of semi-finalists announced back in January.

The James Beard Foundation recognizes leaders in the culinary and food media industries from around the country across 25 categories, and is commonly referred to as the “Oscars of the food world”. This year, in honor of the Awards’ milestone 35th anniversary, three new categories, including Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service, were incorporated. Houston is well represented with a total of four nominations, including two in national categories.

These are the 2025 nominees for Houston:

Best New Restaurant

Ema

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

March

Best Chef: Texas

Thomas Bille, Belly of the Beast

Emmanuel Chavez, Tatemo

Venetian spritz at March. | Photo by Zachary Horst — *Venetian spritz at March | Photo by Zachary Horst*

Ema, March, and Billie are all first-time finalists, whereas the third time might just be the charm for Chavez, who was previously nominated as a finalist for Best New Restaurant in 2023 and Best Chef: Texas in 2024. All four Houston nominees were recognized by the inaugural Michelin Guide for Texas, announced in November, with March and Tatemo earning stars, and Ema and Belly of the Beast each awarded a Bib Gourmand.

Here is the complete list of Texas nominees in national categories:

Emerging Chef

RJ Yoakum, Georgie (Dallas)

Best New Restaurant

Ema (Houston)

Mabo (Dallas)

Best New Bar

Bar Colette (Dallas)

Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service

Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s (Austin)

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

March (Houston)

Outstanding Bakery

Starship Bagel (Dallas)

Outstanding Hospitality

Mixtli (San Antonio)

The full list of finalists can be found at jamesbeard.org. The official restaurant and chef awards ceremony will be held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, with separate awards for media categories announced on Wednesday, May 7.

Megha McSwain Texas Managing Editor

Megha McSwain is the Texas Editor for DiningOut Magazine, managing editorial content for Houston and Dallas. Megha was born in Mumbai, India, and currently resides in Houston. She has a passion for reporting on food, restaurants, chefs, and travel, and has contributed to outlets like Food Network, Eater, InsideHook, Resy, Texas Monthly, and Texas Highways throughout her career. As a trusted member of the local media, Megha also appears as a regular guest on local lifestyle television shows, Great Day Houston on KHOU11, and Texas Today on NBC5.

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