Comma Hospitality, the team behind Neo and Kira, has expanded its Houston footprint with Oru, a new modern Japanese restaurant that opened Wednesday, December 17 at 746 W. 24th Street in the Heights. Unlike its sister concept Neo, which offers an exclusive chef’s tasting menu, Oru offers a nuanced alternative to the city’s omakase-heavy dining scene.
Led by chefs and Comma co-founders Luis Mercado and Paolo Justo, Oru centers on a 24-seat hinoki counter that invites guests into an à la carte experience, reimagining Japanese cuisine through the duo’s wide-ranging culinary backgrounds and perspective.
In true Houston fashion, Oru’s menu is a diverse showcase that draws inspiration from Texas barbecue, fermentation techniques, and a staunch commitment to sustainability. Oru welcomes guests to choose their own adventure in a setting that mimics the precision of its culinary philosophy.
With a selection of high-quality sushi and makimono, the menu honors the artistry of Japanese cuisine, while other dishes play at the intersection of tradition and whimsy. A “reverse beef Wellington” turns expectations on their head, pairing a delicate sheet of Wagyu with a crisp egg roll filled with mushroom duxelles; and the Okoge, crispy rice prepared from the bottom of a traditional hagama pot, emulsified with uni butter, which will vary in its ingredients with the seasons.
Barbecue trout is dry-aged and grilled over charcoal with a smoky spice rub and presented with Korean spinach and freeze-dried tomatoes. Alaskan Black Cod is slow-cooked with seaweed butter and glazed with gamtae. Mercado’s expertise shines in Madai with Recado Negro and Purslane, a dish that seamlessly blends Mexican flavors with Japanese technique, revealing an umami-rich standout.
Desserts are just as indulgent and boundary-pushing, as in the banana and caviar ice cream, which pairs roasted banana with Thai wild banana purée and Osetra caviar for a sweet and savory finish to a meal.
Grounded in a zero-waste philosophy, the chefs at Oru approach sustainability through deliberate, resourceful cooking. The kitchen repurposes vegetable trimmings and seafood offcuts into broths, pickling brines, and fermented condiments, ensuring ingredients are used with intention. That commitment extends to in-house fermentation, which adds unexpected depth to familiar dishes, as in the miso soup, enriched with unconventional elements like strawberries or fruit-forward habanada peppers.
Comma Hospitality is highly regarded for its thoughtful approach to the integration of food, fashion, and space, and Oru delivers the same combination of style and substance. The gable-roofed building boasts a simple, yet refined interior design in which the hinoki counter draws all focus from beneath a vaulted ceiling. Tunneled lighting illuminates each seat, giving dishes their deserved moment in the spotlight.
Oru is now open Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m.
Oru, 746 W. 24th St., Houston, commahospitality.com/oru/
