Tony’s: It’s About Tradition, Training, and Fun With Food
You might be forgiven if you said Tony’s is back. Truth is, it never went anywhere, but with all the changes in the restaurant world during and after the pandemic, and now the explosion of new fancy vibe dining spots, the venerable Tony’s has been under the radar for many. But it’s not only still going strong, it may be better than ever.
The nationally famous Italian eatery in Greenway Plaza, which turns 59 in April, began life as a more casual Italian spot on Sage Road in 1965, where Tony Vallone himself manned the kitchen and had to buy calamari from bait shops. But the soon-to-be legendary restauranter moved his namesake eatery uptown, literally, to the long-time place on Post Oak where the white table clothes and velvet flocked wallpaper went hand-in-hand with Vallone’s impeccable service and incredible food. It served presidents, princes, and Pavarotti. At a time when Houston’s restaurant scene was mostly burger bars, taquerias, and steakhouses, there was Tony’s.
Then came the move to Richmond Avenue in a new building with a waterfall wall and towering artworks where the influential, the bold-names, and cattle barons came to dine on Alba white truffles and delicate pastas.
And then came 2020. First it was the pandemic and the lock down, and just when things appeared brighter for restaurants, Tony Vallone, at 75, passed quietly in his sleep that September.
“I never thought about closing,” says Donna Vallone, his wife of almost four decades who was always at his side at the restaurant. “I really think he would say ‘I trained you well.’ I paid attention to everything he did and said.” So, it was only natural that she would continue the Tony’s tradition. And, two years later when executive chef Austin Waiter left, Donna Vallone called an old friend.
Kate McLean worked her way to become Tony’s first female executive chef in 2013 at just 27 years old. She was a sensation for her youth and talent but by 2017 other muses called and McLean left for a career as a food writer and podcaster.
“I just needed a walkabout,” says McLean. “A different day, writing and bartending.” And while she was successful and happy, she also didn’t hesitate when Donna Vallone called her to come home.
“I just thought it would be a good idea for her to come back,” she says.
“I never thought it would go like this!” says McLean, who is obviously delighted by the turn of events. Donna Vallone says the two are “having fun,” and doing new and exciting things. She also says many other longtime staff have returned to the fold. McLean says that at Tony’s it’s not just about the best ingredients and extensive wine cellar, it’s about the team and service. “You can’t do this without the people,” says the executive chef and partner.
So, what does Tony’s look like today? It is both everything Tony Vallone made it, and it is refreshing and revitalizing itself.
McLean’s magic in the open kitchen extends from housemade pasta to caviar flights and a special tasting menu. Donna Vallone says she has a lot of creativity and calls her cooking Renaissance like. But besides the food, there are other things afoot. While the lunch crowd is coming back in droves and amazingly the three-course Greenway Express lunch is still only $25, Donna Vallone is planning a Mahjong lunch where diners can nosh on finger foods while playing the ancient Chinese tile game. And the duo plans to move the baby grand piano from the bar to the center of the dining room for Casablanca-style nights from 9:00 p.m. to midnight with a live piano player and a special late-night menu.
The third member of the three amigas is Lauri Vallone Mazzini, Tony and Donna’s daughter who has run the business end for decades. McLean describes her as the grounded one who catches them when she and Donna Vallone are flying too high on their trapeze ideas.
With social media and coverage such as chef Chris Shepherd’s Eat Like a Local TV program, Tony’s is gaining a new generation of fans. Donna Vallone says the crowds are about half old regulars and half new people.
“We’re like a multigenerational wedding,” says McLean. “You’ve got the grandparents over there dancing and toddlers over there playing.”
At Tony’s there’s room for everyone, and all are treated with impeccable service fit for royalty with a taste for the best.