Justin Yu to close Oxheart in March Will reopen as new, a la carte restaurant in May



>>Keep clicking for a look at some of the restaurant's most inventive dishes. Justin Yu stands in front of his Oxheart restaurant

>>Keep clicking for a look at some of the restaurant's most inventive dishes. Justin Yu stands in front of his Oxheart restaurant Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle Photo: Nick De La Torre, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 165 Caption Close Justin Yu to close Oxheart in March 1 / 165 Back to Gallery

As Houston restaurant bombshells go, this is a pretty big one: James Beard Best Chef Southwest winner Justin Yu will close his top-ranked Oxheart tasting menu restaurant on its fifth anniversary in March, and reopen it in the same space two months later with an a la carte menu.

He's not ready to announce the name yet, but it is both amusing and decidedly different in tone than Oxheart. His chef de cuisine at the newly imagined spot will be Jason White, an Oxheart veteran who took over at the late Museum Park Cafe when Justin Basye left, before returning to Oxheart.

BEST OF THE BEST: Oxheart leads list of Houston's best restaurants

Yu is also working to open a project with drinks guru Bobby Heugel on Yale Street in The Heights, with plans to open by the end of the first quarter of 2017, so many changes are in the air.

When the dust settles, Yu hopes to spend his mornings on Yale and his evenings on Nance Street, in Oxheart's reincarnated space.

Seating will be about the same, but there will be walk-in availabilities, a much larger wine program, and a redesign aimed at creating a more beautiful and efficient space.

Yu shares more details -- including why he decided to close the celebrated restaurant and how his exacting approach at Oxheart caused "an air of being uppity" -- in an exclusive interview on houstonchronicle.com.