Houston restaurateurs open Milton’s, an Italian-American trattoria in Rice Village

Milton’s opened for dinner on September 27 in Houston’s Rice Village neighborhood. The Italian-American trattoria comes from Benjy Levit, who also operates Benjy’s, Local Foods, and Maximo, and partner and culinary director Seth Siegel-Gardner, who once led the dearly departed Houston restaurant Pass & Provisions.

The new restaurant replaces Eau Tour, which Levit opened in the spring of 2023. Rather than give up the space, which sits atop Local Foods, he decided to re-concept.

“It is certainly always a challenge to discern what needs to change,” said Levit about replacing one restaurant with another. “Luckily, over the years our neighbors have come to trust us. We realized in our post-COVID world, that rather than indulgence, we, along with our guests, are seeking a return to connection and a place that feels like an extension of home. The transition from Eau Tour, which centered around rich French cuisine, to soul-satisfying Italian-American classics at Milton’s, fits that bill.” 

Milton’s opened September 27 in Rice Village and comes from the team behind Local Foods. Photo credit: Julie Soefer

When designing the 2,000-square-foot space, Brittany Vaughan of Garnish Design wanted to move away from classic trattoria colors and motifs, instead choosing to focus on a color palette featuring Irish green, golden yellow, and rich mahogany accents.

The foyer’s walls are lined with family photos, contributing to the homey scene. An 11-seat bar anchors the right side of the restaurant and leads to the open kitchen. The dining room seats 60 people across its tables and banquettes, and an enclosed patio serves as a private dining room. 

“It feels to me like in the Golden Era of the ’50s and ’60s, [when] everything just looked good and felt right,” said Vaughan. “That’s the mood I wanted to evoke at Milton’s. It’s refined, but not uptight.”

The restaurant serves an Italian-American menu that highlights pasta. Photo credit: Julie Soefer

Milton’s menu begins with a wide selection of starters, ranging from arancini, tuna nduja on sourdough toast, and sweetbreads to baked clams, chargrilled oysters, and octopus carpaccio. A handful of salads — hearts of palm with shaved fennel and toasted pistachio, endive with verjus vinaigrette — lead into the mains.

Housemade pasta is the star here, available as spaghetti and meatballs, bucatini amatriciana, linguine alla vongole, and more. One standout dish is the 100-layer lasagna, which is offered in a limited quantity each day and features unique fillings, like duck confit and foie gras, that change each week.

Additional dishes include branzino, eggplant parmesan, and steak Florentine. Photo credit: Julie Soefer

Levit and Siegel-Gardner, along with Vaughan, are also working to revamp the restaurant’s adjoining concept, Lee’s Den. The speakeasy-style bar is expected to open this winter, serving cocktails, wine, and small bites.

The Milton’s team has yet another project up their collective sleeve. They were approached by neighboring Rice University to help reinvigorate The Brochstein Pavilion, a tree-lined architectural gem that acts as a social hub on campus. Levit and Siegel-Gardner are creating a menu featuring freshly baked pastries at breakfast, sandwiches and salads at lunch, and homemade pasta and pizzas for dinner. It’s expected to debut later this fall.