ReikiNa, the tasting-menu pop-up that first found its footing during the pandemic, was set to relaunch at Native Coffee in Montrose on September 1, with chef Thomas Stacy trading his old eight-course format for a leaner, more rustic five-course menu priced at $100 per person. The new location at 1712 W. Dallas St. marked a return to the neighborhood where Stacy grew up and where the project first took root as a series of weekly dinner pop-ups.
From City Centre Back to Montrose
ReikiNa began as weekly, multicourse dinner pop-ups launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic before opening its first permanent space in City Centre in July 2021, according to Houstonia Magazine. That original concept was founded by former Uchi prep cook Thomas Stacy. The City Centre restaurant had offered an eight-course tasting menu for $150 per person, with wine pairings available for an additional $89, as the Houston Chronicle reported at the time.
That CityCentre location closed in March, according to CultureMap Houston, setting the stage for ReikiNa's move into the Native Coffee kitchen. Eater Houston has described the pandemic-era version of the concept as a private tasting-menu pop-up series, a format Stacy appeared to be reviving in a new neighborhood with a different structure.
A Rustic, Trimmed-Down Menu
The new ReikiNa menu was reported at five courses for $100 per person, down from the previous eight courses at $150, per Houstonia's reporting. Stacy said he learned from the earlier iteration and wanted a different approach this time around — one with a rustic feel, fewer courses, larger portions, and individual tables rather than the communal seating that had defined ReikiNa's dinner-party roots, according to the same report. CultureMap's coverage echoed that shift, noting Stacy reduced the course count from eight to five and added the option for individual tables.
Stacy said he was excited to bring those changes to Montrose, the neighborhood where he grew up and where the ReikiNa pop-ups originally started, Houstonia reported. The launch menu was set to include dishes like yellowtail sashimi with apricot jam, tamari, olive oil, and crispy potato; a sesame Caesar with pickled kohlrabi, cherry tomato, and burnt sourdough; smoked cod agnolotti with a bonito flake cream sauce; smoked RC Ranch Wagyu with kalbi mustard greens and miso potato; and a nectarine icebox pie finished with homemade marshmallow and vanilla egg custard.
How the Pop-Up Format Was Set to Work
Stacy was planning to operate ReikiNa out of Native Coffee's kitchen every Thursday through Saturday night, according to Houstonia. Eater Houston reported the service would run three seatings per night — at 6 p.m., 7:15 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. — with up to eight guests at each seating. Unlike the communal setup of the earlier pop-ups, guests were to have the option of booking their own dedicated table, and reservations were set to go through Resy.
Reporting on ReikiNa's menu-rotation schedule has varied slightly over time. Coverage of the original 2021 launch gave differing figures, with Houstonia reporting the menu would rotate every six to eight weeks while the Chronicle put the interval at every six weeks. By 2022, CultureMap and Houstonia both reported the new Native Coffee menu would change every two months.
According to a release cited by Houstonia, Stacy planned to operate out of Native Coffee for the foreseeable future, though he also had plans to eventually open another brick-and-mortar location for ReikiNa down the line.
