This past weekend, Houston added a new must-try Italian restaurant to its culinary landscape: Milton’s American Trattoria. The newcomer from local restaurateur Benjy Levit and Local Foods Group offers familiar Italian dishes and drinks with a few Texas-style twists.
The second-floor restaurant is located above the group’s flagship Local Foods location in Rice Village, one of Houston’s best-known shopping and dining districts. Culinary director Seth Siegel-Gardner, a longtime local chef and restaurateur, and Milton’s chef Kent Domas, have assembled an opening menu with great promise.
Appetizers include a tigelle platter, featuring the stamped flatbreads from Emilia Romagna; here, they’re served with salumi, house-made pickles, and spreadables such as chicken liver mousse and whipped ricotta. Other starters include 3-day fermented sourdough garlic knots with burrata and fresh truffles, and an arugula salad with parmesan and guanciale.
Pastas are made in-house, with highlights including ricotta gnocchi, rigatoni Bolognese, and a “100-layer lasagna” that will be available in limited quantities, with a rotation of ingredients. There are classics like veal, eggplant, or chicken parm, and tiramisu for dessert.
Beverage Director Máté Hartai has created a clever bar program with plays on famed Italian cocktails, such as a Milton’s Martini that combines Barolo Chinato, dry vermouths, and London dry gin, and a Caffe Incoretto, which flips the coffee liqueur drink with housemade amaro and frothy pistachio milk.
One of the Texas touches at Milton’s is a riff on limoncello, where Hartai subs in Southern Texas ruby red grapefruits to create a refreshing digestif. It’s also available in a highball with Cocchi Rosso and sparkling rosé.
According to a release, the wine program skews Old World, but has “fun and funky bottle and by-the-glass options.”
The American trattoria interiors from Brittany Vaughan of Garnish Design include “a preppy color palette of Irish green contrasted by a rich golden yellow,” with other elements including an open kitchen, an 11-seat bar, and mid-century brass lighting fixtures.
Milton’s is open Wednesdays-Saturdays from 5pm.
5117 Kelvin Dr. Suite 200, Houston, TX 77005, 713-492-2490, @miltonshtx, miltonandlees.com
