El topo
El Topo is a New Western restaurant grown from a food truck founded in November of 2015. Our cuisine features sophisticated tacos on house made, heirloom corn tortillas, delicate pastries baked from scratch, and responsibly-sourced meats and produce prepared with practiced technique, both ancient and cutting edge.
Nestled in the neighborhood of West University and surrounding Houston for all-day, brunch and light luncheon fare, as well as a bustling, romantic dinner service featuring a consciously-sourced, eccentric wine list. Our dining room has been carefully designed by Chef-Owner Tony Luhrman to be a celebration of both beauty and comfort, with an eclectic, West Texas aesthetic.
Chef Tony Luhrman was born and raised in San Antonio, where he immersed himself in the historical Tex-Mex signature to the fair city and the smokey air of the surrounding Hill Country BBQ scene. He has been cooking for the city of Houston as Chef-owner of El Topo for more than half a decade. As both gourmet food truck operator and roaming fine-dining viral pop-up director, he has earned both critical and awarded success, including a 1st Place showing at the 2018 Butcher’s Ball and a top 50 listing on Eric Sandler’s debut of Culture Map’s Top 100 restaurants of Houston for 2019. Chef Tony also has a formal education in design, film and literature which he uses as an influence for his craft and cuisine. He is a knife-maker, a bread-baker, a fire-tender, a husband and a father.
Chef Tony Luhrman has designed the menu to reflect the heritage of Texas cooking and its most primal influences. Our team works diligently to craft each item and product from scratch, using both historical and cutting-edge techniques with an ultimate respect for both culinary tradition and the integrity of our meticulously sourced meat, produce and heirloom grain.
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