Revealed: Houston's Top 100 Restaurants of 2016

The Chronicle’s sixth annual list of Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants represents the strongest field to date. There are 15 newcomers to the list this year, with one of them breaking into the top 10, and three more nosing into the top 25. Competition for a slot on the list was stiffer than ever, a tribute to the vigor of the city’s expanding restaurant scene.

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There’s a big difference in the format of the list this year. Only the top 25 restaurants are ranked; the rest are listed in alphabetical order. While it’s fun and challenging to rank the top tier as a snapshot of where the most consistent quality and ambition can be found, past a certain point the ranking exercise started to feel forced. So we’re trying something different by letting the rest of our honorees stand on their own wildly diverse individual merits.

We’ll see how that works out, and we’d value your input, whether you’re a reader or a member of the restaurant community.

SEE ALSO: 3 local eateries you won't be seeing on this year's Top 100 list



Your favorite restaurant’s not on the list? Some of this critic’s treasured spots didn’t make the cut, either. The ones that did sit firmly at the top of their varying classes, whether high-flying or humble, and they deliver their wares with a consistence that sets them apart.



As a group, they represent one of the great perks of living in this city. Check them out and see if you don't agree.