A live-fire Mexican restaurant from one of the country's best-known Mexican chefs is set to take over a corner of the Galleria area's reborn hotel at Westheimer Road and 610. dLeña, a wood-fired concept from Chef Richard Sandoval, will anchor The Greenleigh, the 299-room property rising from the former Hotel Derek, with a menu built around charcoal, hot rocks, and tableside tequila flames.
The opening date remains unsettled: Houston First has described dLeña as opening in summer 2026, while CultureMap Houston reports a spring 2027 opening at The Greenleigh. The Houston restaurant would be Sandoval's third in the city and the second location of dLeña, a concept he developed with his son Giancarlo and daughter Isabella, according to CultureMap.
A Menu Built Around Fire
Open-flame cooking is central to the planned menu. CultureMap reports that much of the food will be cooked over a wood-fired grill, with some dishes finished on hot stones or flamed tableside.
“My hope is for our Houston guests to experience Mexico through fire and smoke,” Sandoval said, according to CultureMap.
The menu is expected to include hamachi ceviche with achiote leche de tigre and a 14-ounce, 30-day dry-aged ribeye finished with herb Wagyu butter and chimichurri, CultureMap reports. The restaurant also plans a tequila- and mezcal-focused cocktail program, with more than 300 spirits available for drinks and tasting flights, according to the outlet.
Designing the Space
CultureMap reports that dLeña is planned to have a main dining room, fireside lounge, private dining room, and outdoor patio, with seating for about 120 people indoors and 15 outdoors. The design is expected to include a chef's table and wood installations made from pecan and mesquite.
Richard Sandoval Hospitality operates more than 60 restaurants in the United States and international markets, including Canada, Mexico, the Middle East, and North Africa, according to CultureMap. The original dLeña opened in Washington, D.C.'s Mt. Vernon Triangle neighborhood. Eater DC reported that its concept centered on a wood-burning hearth and Oaxacan-focused grilling.
A Hotel Reborn
The Greenleigh itself represents a full overhaul of the old Hotel Derek, which opened in 2002 and closed in 2024, according to KHOU. The new hotel will join Marriott's Autograph Collection, and CultureMap reports it is also expected to offer a rooftop lounge called Highgrass, attributed to PaperCity's reporting. The Houston Chronicle previously described the property as a 299-room hotel managed and operated by Dallas-based Makeready.
An Earlier Hotel Restaurant Model
Houston has had another Sandoval hotel-restaurant project: Four Seasons Hotel Houston and Richard Sandoval Hospitality opened Toro Toro downtown on October 30, 2021. The Pan-Latin steakhouse features rodízio-style churrasco and shareable dishes, a different cuisine and dining format from dLeña's Mexican live-fire concept, according to Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
Hotel restaurants like dLeña fit a broader shift the hospitality industry has noted locally: Houston First has observed that hotel restaurants are no longer just an amenity for overnight guests but are increasingly becoming destinations in their own right. With a chef of Sandoval's profile attached, The Greenleigh is betting its restaurant will draw diners well beyond anyone actually staying upstairs.
