Memorial City

The Pit Room’s expansion to Memorial gives Central Texas-style barbecue a larger stage

The Pit Room, one of the top barbecue joints within Houston’s inner Loop, opens a second location today at 10301-A Katy Freeway in Memorial.

After a long-awaited debut the past few years, customers will finally find the restaurant’s Central Texas-style barbecue — including brisket, ribs, sausages and tacos — served for lunch and dinner in a much larger space, with two 26-foot-long bars.

“Joining the Memorial City community is an exciting next step as we expand the Pit Room’s signature offerings,” said Michael Sambrooks, founder of Sambrooks Hospitality, in a prepared statement. 

Sambrooks’ restaurant group, which also runs Tex-Mex favorite Candente and modern steakhouse Andiron, opened the Pit Room in 2016.

The original Montrose restaurant on Richmond has regularly been featured on various lists of leading barbecue joints in the state.

Design firm KT Ventures and Philip Ewald Architecture worked on the new space together, which spans more than 6,300 square feet inside. A sprawling outdoor patio also features one of the Pit Room’s bars. Sarah Crowl, who’s worked at Better Luck Tomorrow and Coltivare, led the beverage program.

The larger space is also home to a new homemade ice cream sandwich station and a market selling the Pit Room’s line of bottled sauces (flavors include barbecue, house mustard and coffee bourbon) and spices (such as rubs for poultry and pork).

A forthcoming dinner menu will also feature chicken tenders, brisket egg rolls, burgers, steaks and more, according to the Pit Room’s announcement.