A 40-foot-long Earth Harp spans the space above the central bar at chef Hisae Stuck’s shabu-shabu restaurant. Whereas Maison Kasai saves its showmanship for the flambéing on the grill, Lucky Mizu supplements its hot pot setups with some literally off-the-wall entertainment. Photograph: Courtesy Michael KleinbergMaison Kasai Photograph: Courtesy Michael KleinbergLucky Mizu “You’re not going to get a shrimp thrown in your mouth-even though we all love that.” Instead, chef Josh Gil is firing up a playful but elevated take on the cuisine (like Wagyu dumplings and lobster) across the 10 flat metal grills that fill the Japanese Art Deco dining room. “It’s not like Benihana or Mori,” Jonnie says of Maison Kasai, Level 8’s French-Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. It’s also the most hidden entrance-packed space in Level 8, with camouflaged doors that are themed to and lead to its adjoining pair of fire-and-water restaurants, Maison Kasai and Lucky Mizu. Like some sort of Victorian explorer’s study, the plush, dark lounge’s global grab bag of curios feels unmistakably Houston, but taken up a few notches: Peekaboo windows with dancers’ silhouettes flank a wide column behind the bar that rotates to reveal a piano behind it. ![]() There’s a good chance you’ll start your evening greeted by an aerialist dangling from a sparkly chandelier in the library-like entryway of Mr. Wanderlust Photograph: Courtesy Michael KleinbergMr. Photograph: Courtesy Michael KleinbergMr. Wanderlust while you wait for your table at Lucky Mizu or Maison Kasai, then venture to the club at Sinners y Santos and have a late-night taco at Brown Sheep if you’re still hungry afterwards. ![]() If you really want to maximize your time, we’ll defer to Jonnie’s ideal itinerary: Start at sunset at Mother of Pearl, have a cocktail at Mr. But it’s pretty likely you’ll see at least two or three venues given the way they’re bunched together in groups. Each restaurant takes its own separate reservations, and we could easily see the bars filling up on a busy weekend night or when there’s something going on across the street at the L.A. It’s unlikely you’ll visit every venue at Level 8 in a single night. “We put ourselves in people’s shoes: What’s the experience? How do we want to transport you? I think that’s where a lot of our design direction goes towards.” ![]() “Mark and I are very method in creating an atmosphere and vibe,” Jonnie explains. ![]() The duo has spent five years on the project and found inspiration and pieces of furniture from their travels around the world. Photograph: Courtesy Michael KleinbergLucky MizuĪnd boy are there details to behold across the 30,000 square feet of nightlife spaces, from the textured, hand-painted wallpapers to the beautiful assortment of stone countertops to the intricate metalwork of the bathroom sinks imported from India. We showed up in the middle of that rollout so that twin brothers Mark and Jonnie could take us through all of the details of what’s already open, as well as what’s still to come. Level 8 has been gradually opening venue-by-venue since late August, but you can expect all of them to be in service starting September 15. And there are plenty of hidden entrances (four of them) tucked inside, a hallmark of the guys whose bars have you walk into a fridge ( Good Times at Davey Wayne’s) or underneath a bed ( No Vacancy).
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