Team Behind Popular Houston Restaurants Brings its ‘Mediterranean DNA’ to New Austin Steakhouse

Sof Hospitality, the restaurant group behind Houston restaurants like Hamsa and its international Israeli steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, is opening an entirely new restaurant in Austin. Aris will open on Saturday, January 11, bringing a steakhouse with a Mediterranean spin to Clarksville.

The restaurant, led by Sof’s executive chef Hai Avnaim, will offer dry-aged prime cuts of meat and Mediterranean-style dishes. These include a sweetbread cigar appetizer, refreshing spins on crudo and tartare, Moroccan tiger shrimp in a creamy sauce served with challah, and slow-cooked short rib. Aris will also feature a selection of fish, a raw bar, and a variety of vegetable dishes like Israeli salad and honey-glazed harissa carrots to complement the steaks.

“Normally, when you speak of a steakhouse, vegetables are not the first thing you think of,” says owner Itai Ben Eli. But Aris is different. “People who know us from Doris will kind of expect that, but I think that’ll be really exciting for people who are dining with us for the first time.”

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Ben Eli says the Sof team, named a James Beard Award semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, also prides itself on its cocktails and extensive wine list, which includes picks from Burgundy and Bordeaux as well as wine producers in Lebanon and Israel.

Aris is the seventh restaurant from Sof. Sof Hospitality opened Doris Metropolitan in Costa Rica in 2009, followed by another location in Houston in 2013, now considered one of the city’s best steakhouses. Sof opened three additional restaurants in Houston, including Badolina Bakery & Cafe in 2021; Hamsa, an Israeli restaurant, which opened in Rice Village in 2022; and most recently, Októ, a restaurant that opened in 2024, serving a fusion of Mediterranean cuisine in the bustling Montrose area.

Ben Eli says he’s been eyeing restaurant locations in Austin for around a decade, particularly following the Sof team’s first U.S. restaurant opening in New Orleans in 2013. “Once we knew we wanted to be in Texas, we started looking in Austin. We saw a lot of similarities and a coolness between New Orleans and Austin, and we thought, this is where we want to be,” he says. “It has a great culinary scene and a lot of talent.”

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Desserts and drinks will also feature a Mediterranean spin.

Finding a location proved difficult since many vacant buildings were swept up by local operators and restaurateurs. “But we didn’t give up on the dream,” Ben Eli says. Sof took its time on its Austin search and eventually landed its space in Clarksville.

Ben Eli says Aris is similar to Doris in that it’s a modern Mediterranean steakhouse and builds upon its premise with a focus on dry-aged beef. Still, Aris offers an entirely new menu and feel. “We redid all of it,” he says, adding that his wife and Sof’s interior designer Lin Ben Eli designed the space, incorporating a “wavy” theme throughout that can be seen in the curves of the walls, columns, banquettes, and its horseshoe-shaped bar. Similar to Houston’s location of Doris, diners can peek into the open kitchen and its meat locker, where beef is dry-aged, plus access to different spaces, including a private dining room and outdoor patio. Ben Eli says Houstonians are already planning trips up to Clarksville to dine at Aris. He only hopes Austinites will be just as excited. “Getting to know a new crowd, it’s kind of proving yourself all over again. We have a very Mediterranean DNA in all of our concepts, and this is no different,” he says.

Bethany Ellen Ochs

Aris will be open daily at 5 p.m. starting on Saturday, January 11. The kitchen will close on most nights at 10 p.m. It’s located at 1111 West Sixth Street in the Clarksville neighborhood.