Complex Mexican, Salvadoran, and Southeast Asian flavors intermingle in harmony at Jūn, one of the most exciting restaurants to hit the Houston scene in recent years. Founded by Top Chef: Houston finalist Evelyn Garcia (who was raised in Houston) and chef Henry Lu (raised in the Bronx), Jūn features a menu that celebrates their diverse upbringings through dishes like the beef tartare—served with egg yolk, toasted rice, citronette, and a crispy sesame buñuelo—and creative desserts, such as the goat cheesecake, which is flavored with black peppercorn and berries, topped with honeycomb candy, and served with lychee ginger sorbet. Diners would also be remiss if they didn’t look at Jūn’s cocktail selection, which offers sips like a gussied-up Michelada, which features the classic (and obligatory) Modelo beer but is also spiced with fish sauce, hoisin sauce, chili, and lime.

The Heights restaurant does the whole small plates thing better than the rest. Flavors and textures so blissfully fade one into the next—carrots with salsa macha and Salvadoran cheese leading into a bowl of savory grits with crawfish gravy and tomato—that once dessert hits the table, the meal becomes personal, as though Jūn reached into your soul and created food meant solely for you. No matter how many times we eat at Jūn, or what evolves on the menu, the experience remains unchanged.

One of the places that initiated this change is Jūn, pronounced like the month, where Top Chef alum Evelyn Garcia, who is from Houston, and chef Henry Lu, who grew up in the Bronx, have crafted a distinctive menu that blends Asian and Latin American influences. “All our food at Jūn has the flavors and combinations that we grew up eating, but it might be presented differently,” Garcia told me.

New World meets Old at this lively young Heights restaurant, where the city’s contemporary foodways rock and roll. Co-chefs Henry Lu and Evelyn Garcia, finalist and star of “Top Chef” Houston, call their food “New Asian American.” Their tidy, shareable-plate menu really does taste like something new under the sun: popping with the bold flavors Houston craves, weaving together the chefs’ Chinese, Mexican and Salvadoran roots, and borrowing gleefully from the Southeast Asian cuisines in which Garcia has long specialized. So feathery-crusted fried chicken gets a briny tang from fermented shrimp paste; and silky beef tartare laced with Thai basil arrives with a crunchy starburst of buñuelo on top.

A joint venture between Top Chef alum Evelyn Garcia and chef Henry Lu, Jūn takes its name from the month of June, paying tribute to the duo’s families and loved ones born during that month. Reflecting the chefs’ diverse upbringings—Garcia in Houston and Lu in the Bronx—Jūn defines itself as a New American restaurant with eclectic Southeast Asian, Mexican, and Salvadoran influences. In a homey space fitted with handmade Oaxacan ceramics and tropical flourishes, the pair turn out dishes like morcilla sausage with Thai chile salsa criolla, whole fish in a yogurt marinade, and hearty peanut curry with brisket and mustard greens.

Jūn offers a distinctive “ New Asian American” dining experience, artfully blending Southeast Asian, Latin, and Southern influences. Led by acclaimed chefs Evelyn Garcia, Top Chef finalist, and Henry Lu, this award-winning spot has quickly become one of Houston’s most talked-about culinary destinations, earning a James Beard Award semifinalist nod. From the Beef Tartare served on a savoury black sesame buñuelo to the bright Gulf Shrimp aguachile and the daring Fried Chicken with fermented shrimp paste, every dish is an imaginative fusion of cultures and bold flavours.

From revered chefs, Top Chef star, Chef Evelyn Garcia and Chef Henry Lu, JŪN by Kin features an artistically-crafted a fusion of modern and traditional Asian American cuisine. Its sophisticated, yet inviting Heights restaurant provides a warm atmosphere in which to enjoy an array of inventive dishes crafted with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. The Chef’s Tasting Menu is our recommendation, as is one or more of its delicious curated cocktails.

The lamb curry at Jūn by Kin, Evelyn Garcia's new Heights restaurant. Top Chef finalist Evelyn Garcia and fellow chef Henry Lu opened this contemporary Asian-New American restaurant in February; by March, you’d be lucky to find an available table. The buzzy restaurant’s celebrity owner may have piqued local diners’ interest, but the menu is earning rave reviews.

It’s back to H-Town for dinner at the city’s most celebrated new restaurant, Jūn – pronounced June – a new concept by chefs Henry Lu and Evelyn Garcia, a finalist of Bravo’s Top Chef. Their ‘New Asian American’ cuisine combines flavours both chefs grew up with forming a funky Texas-meets-the Bronx fusion.

Similarly, Jūn’s wine list has gotten larger and covers a broader range of price points. All these elements come together to create a restaurant that’s educational without being didactic and legitimately exciting to dine at. That’s this year’s best new restaurant.

Chef Evelyn Garcia and Chef Henry Lu encourage you to think of JUN as your home away from home, where the fusion of two different upbringings is represented expertly through this restaurant in Houston’s new Asian-American food.

On the fusion front, there’s Jūn, the gorgeous Mexico-meets-Southeast Asia restaurant in the Heights, overseen by Top Chef: Houston finalist Evelyn Garcia.