Chef Graham Laborde Brings New Orleans Flair to Heights with Little Bird

Little Bird lands in the Heights with a New Orleans pedigree

Houston’s dining scene welcomes a distinct taste of the Crescent City this week as Little Bird opens its doors on Thursday, October 29, at 1815 North Durham Dr. Led by chef-owner Graham Laborde, the 168-seat neighborhood restaurant brings a deep-rooted Louisiana culinary perspective right into the middle of the Heights, transforming a space previously occupied by Flying Fish and The Kid.

For Laborde, the project represents a return to the style of cooking that defined his career. While he remains a co-owner of Midtown’s lively Winnie’s, the pull of running a kitchen capable of executing complex proteins proved too strong to ignore. “I love what we do at Winnie’s, but the idea of being able to serve a pork chop properly cooked or a piece of fish properly cooked was really appealing to me,” Laborde tells CultureMap.

Sourcing Gulf coast roots and tight kitchen parameters

The culinary blueprint for Little Bird leans heavily on Laborde’s professional past, which includes stints in New Orleans restaurants such as Commander’s Palace, Stella!, and Boucherie, alongside his now-defunct Houston Gulf Coast restaurant Bernadine’s, which closed in 2017. Only two dishes—the New Orleans barbecue shrimp toast and the ribeye au poivre—are holdovers from the Bernadine’s days, but the philosophy of regional sourcing remains intact.

A new Gulf Coast-inspired restaurant from chef Graham Laborde of Winnie's is opening this fall in the Heights.⁠ Little Bird will debut at 1815 North Durham Drive, the former site of a gas station. ⁠ https://t.co/l8xhWbC1ep pic.twitter.com/MUumQgUyCr

— https://x.com/HoustonChron/status/2095623056282534012

The menu relies on close vendor relationships across Texas and Louisiana. The Breaux Bridge Platter features fried catfish and shrimp sourced directly from a purveyor near the Louisiana town. Meanwhile, the kitchen utilizes pork from Felix Florez’s Cherry Block Craft Butcher in Katy alongside beef from local Texas ranchers. The opening dinner menu remains deliberately tight, offering three raw items, five appetizers, eight entrees, a couple of salads, gumbo, and sides, accompanied by three Southern-style desserts crafted by former Bernadine’s pastry lead Julia Doran.

Beverage programs and compartmentalized spaces

General manager Chelsea Thomas partnered with sommelier Mark Sayre—beverage director for Local Foods Group—to curate a French-leaning wine list featuring bottles priced between $50-70. The cocktail lineup, developed by Justin Ware, who oversees the cocktails at Winnie’s, Starduster Lounge, and Johnny’s Gold Brick, borrows heavily from New Orleans traditions. Offerings range from twists on classic Sazeracs and margaritas to a frozen drink inspired by the Southern habit of dropping peanuts into a Coca-Cola, alongside a freezer martini originally served at Ware’s late East End bar, Night Shift.

The physical space retains its expansive footprint while utilizing interior walls to create distinct environments. Local artists Whitney Garrett-Yarbrough and Dayle Booth (aka The Paint It Ladies) contributed a bayou-inspired mural, and Thomas oversaw the landscaping and patio fountain installation. “The dining rooms, one of the things I love is that, it’s a deceptively big space, but it’s compartmentalized,” Laborde explains. “You can be in the front and it will still feel busy because you have people concentrated in different pockets.”

Little Bird is currently open for dinner daily, with Friday lunch and weekend brunch services scheduled to roll out in the coming weeks.