Bari Ristorante and Bar Bludorn will open days apart on Waterway Avenue in The Woodlands, with Bari debuting Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Bar Bludorn following with its grand opening Friday, Oct. 2, according to Community Impact.
Bar Bludorn marks Bludorn Hospitality Group's first restaurant outside central Houston. Bari Ristorante is expanding from its River Oaks District location. Both are filling spaces left by previous tenants on the same block.
Bari Ristorante: 250 seats, two kitchens
The 9,000-square-foot Italian restaurant takes over the former TRIS space, which closed in early 2025, Community Impact reported. Italian Master Chef Renato de Pirro leads the opening, with Executive Chef Marcelo Mintz overseeing daily operations.
The layout includes 250 seats, two private dining rooms seating up to 40 each, a 30-seat bar lounge and two back-of-house kitchens. Interior details include lava-rock wall coverings, wallpapers sourced from Spain and Lladro chandeliers.
Bari will serve lunch and dinner daily, with weekend brunch starting Sunday, Oct. 4. The menu carries over favorites such as Pappardelle Bolognese and tableside Branzino alla Griglia, while adding Woodlands-exclusive dishes including Pollo Piccata with lemon-caper sauce and Scaloppine Sorrentina topped with cherry-tomato sauce and mozzarella di bufala.
Co-owner Pedro Teyuca said in a Sept. 23 announcement that guests from The Woodlands "have supported Bari from the beginning, often traveling to our River Oaks District location and asking us to bring the experience closer to home."
Bar Bludorn: American bistro meets Texas
Chef Aaron Bludorn's neighborhood tavern concept takes over the former Baker Street pub space, PaperCity reported. The restaurant, designed by architecture firm Gensler, features three distinct dining areas: a curved bar, a main dining room with an open kitchen and a private dining room seating up to 40 with full audiovisual capabilities.
The group, founded in 2020 by Bludorn alongside partners Cherif Mbodji and Victoria Pappas Bludorn, also operates Bludorn, Navy Blue and Perseid in Hotel Saint Augustine.
Bludorn told PaperCity he felt the group had done all it could in Houston for now. "We felt like The Woodlands was a great place to do that," he said.
Woodlands-specific menu items include a lobster salad beignet replacing the original location's country ham version, and roast chicken sourced from Greener Pastures, an organic farm in Elgin, Texas. Bar seating will be available without reservations. Table reservations open on OpenTable starting Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. The restaurant will be closed Sundays and Mondays.
More openings across The Woodlands
The two Waterway restaurants cap a busy September. Sprouts Farmers Market opened Sept. 10 at 4775 W. Panther Creek Drive. Williams-Sonoma opened Sept. 18 at Hughes Landing, returning the brand to The Woodlands after its mall location closed in 2017, Realty News Report noted. Yonutz Donuts and Ice Cream held its grand opening Sept. 14 in Grogan's Mill Village Center, and Golden Gray Boutique relocated within Market Street to a larger space Sept. 12.
Looking ahead, women's clothing brand Varley plans to open at Market Street, with construction expected to begin in November. Bludorn will host a cooking demonstration at Williams-Sonoma Hughes Landing on Friday, Oct. 9, at 6 p.m.
