Photo: Mark's American Cuisine's main dining room.

Photography by David Farias & Tammy Price

Have you ever been to Mark’s American Cuisine in Houston? If you’ve ever found yourself in a red-brick with black-awning shell of a church on Westheimer in the Montrose area; dined in a mezzanine choir loft overlooking an elegant dining room; selected a bottle from a diverse and unparalleled wine list; savored some of the delectable seasonal creations from the finely tuned kitchen staff; and enjoyed the kid-glove courtesy and service given to a member of the Royal family, then chances are, you’ve been to Mark’s.

Dining at Mark’s is indeed an elegant and delightful experience. Certainly one you wouldn’t expect to have when valeting your car across from a tattoo parlor and a row of “eclectic” shops and bars. But sometimes the best things in life are found in the most unlikely places. And Mark’s is no exception. In fact, since it’s opening in 1997, this culinary tour de force has wowed a distinguished list of national and local restaurant critics. With awards from the Fine Dining Hall of Fame from Nation’s Restaurant News, The Top 10 Restaurants in the United States from Zagat Survey, and a coveted nomination for the Ivy Award from Restaurants and Institutions in 2007, 2008, and 2009, Mark’s has made an indelible mark on the Houston fine dining scene.

On any given weekday or weekend, you can find a packed main dining room with couples on romantic dates for a special occasion, business execs huddled over steaks and a fine bottle of wine talking shop, and even the occasional Houston Rocket, debonair socialites, or rock star passing through. (Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow have been among many of the A-list celebs treating themselves to an evening at Mark’s.)

Not only is this Houston landmark a culinary icon, it recently received praise for its dramatic setting. Houston’s consummate foodie magazine, My Table, recently honored Mark’s with the award for Best Interior Design for the magazine’s 13th Annual Awards for Culinary Excellence of 2009. Among the other contenders for the award, including Gigi’s Asian Bistro and Tony’s, Mark’s took the prize for its classic yet unique setting.

“We’re really excited about this award because we really started with nothing and we’ve worked for a long time tweaking things to make it better,” says Executive Chef and Owner Mark Cox. “After 12 years, to get that award is a huge pat on the back.”

A cozy and intimate dining option, a single art deco chandelier hangs in the alcove that is the small private dining room.

Originally a Lutheran Church from the 1920s, the building has seen a number of iterations from a church, to retail space, to restaurant. When Cox and his wife, Lisa, took over the space in 1997, the concept for the restaurant was simple: to create a warm and welcoming environment that would allow people to engage with the new American cuisine they were enjoying.

“We originally wanted brick walls and wood accents,” says Cox. “We wanted it to be friendly and relaxed. But I found a painter from the Art Institute to help me out and we ended up going in a completely different direction.”

The previous restaurant had a rustic 
Italian-theme with stucco cracks faux-painted into the walls and Renaissance frescos painted along the sides of the restaurant. To add an update the Coxes simplified the walls with a warmer terra cotta tone. The 24-foot arched ceiling throughout the main dining room once had a dark blue insulation from which metallic stars dangled with dimming lights to create a night-sky effect. In 2006, the Cox’s altered this with a long series of golden arches that reach to the point of the ceiling. The overall look now reflects the traditional feel of a church with a little extra sparkle.

Heavy tapestries part at each window, tall iron-filigree accented light fixtures along the walls, authentic antique Belgian light sconces, and a dramatic curved stairwell leading up to the open mezzanine give the entire main room a distinct European feel, one that reflects much of the inspiration for the cuisine.

One of Mark's delectable seasonal entrees.

Room With A View
There really is no bad seat in the house. But for a little extra intimacy, many diners request a table on the mezzanine. When the Coxes first opened the restaurant, the mezzanine was really a choir loft that was somewhat restricted in size and had a tall wooden wall with little space for a view of the entire restaurant. To embellish this feature, the Cox’s elongated the loft to accommodate more tables, lowered the balcony wall and added a low iron-fence railing to open up the second floor with an exposed view of the room. This way, both upstairs and downstairs diners are sharing a meal together.

But with the expansion of the second floor, the Coxes ran into a small problem. They were in violation of the city code for a certain number of exits for the building. This minor detail forced Mark Cox to get creative. The far wall of the mezzanine abutted the vestibule tower of the original church. Cox decided to maximize the use of space in the building by blasting through the vestibule wall and creating a small, private dining room within the tower. Not only did this allow for an extra exit door, which leads down a fire escape stairwell outside, but also created an intimate place for parties of five to eight to enjoy a chef’s tasting menu or special occasion dinner in virtual privacy.

The room is very intimate. With a single art-deco style chandelier hanging low to the table and a beautiful stained-glass window peering out into the night sky, those who are lucky to dine in this room are as cozy as bats in a belfry.

An offering of desserts.

Appeasing the Masses
Having developed a loyal following from his years at Brennan’s and with the Vallone Restaurant Group, Cox was struggling with a shortage of open tables less than four weeks in advance. This is a welcomed problem for most restaurants, but Cox was eager to expand on the space. He enlisted the help of acclaimed Houston architect Randall Walker of Kirksey Architects to help create a second room addition to the west side of the building. Walker designed the addition, featuring double-height ribbed vaulted ceilings with skylights at the crossings and custom lighting at the base of the vaulting. The finished product added room for 40 more guests. The additional room is perhaps the most striking feature of the restaurant. With detailed art-deco style paintings in vibrant blues and gold, sweeping arches, and colorful lighted chevrons that mimic medieval-style flags, the room not only adds the practicality of extra seating, but is an extension of the main room, which transports diners to another world.

“We didn’t want anyone to walk into this room and think this was an afterthought. We put a lot into it so that when you walk into it you’d think that it was meant to be here,” says Cox who also says a number of people request a table in this room when making a reservation. “It’s quieter in here, and it’s just as desirable as the other main part of the restaurant.”

Wish List
Indeed, many of those who dine at this hallowed place encounter a religious experience. Whether from the award-winning food, an impeccable bottle of wine, from the warm and engaging atmosphere, or in most cases all three, guests at Mark’s seem to walk away forever changed. But despite the recent recognition for the restaurant’s interior design, Cox confesses he’d still like to make a few tweaks.

“We’ve outgrown the building four times over. The thing I’d like to do most is re-work the kitchen,” says Cox. “It’s a well-built kitchen; it’s just small. We’d really like to take the food to a higher level with new cooking techniques that would help us keep up with the Thomas Kellers of the world and a renovated kitchen would get us to that place.”

A comment to which Cox’s wife and business partner, Lisa simply rolls her eyes. After 28 years of marriage, she’s often said to her ambitious husband, “When is it ever going to be enough?” But when you’re striving for perfection, ‘enough’ is just not in the vocabulary. TH&L