TV Restaurants

What Happened to Reef After Best Thing I Ever Ate? (Houston, TX)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, Reef has closed — confirmed via click2houston.com, November 26, 2019.

Primary source
click2houston.com ·
Secondary source
houstonchronicle.com

Last verified

What the source shows: Houston news coverage from November 2019 documents chef Bryan Caswell's permanent closure of the Travis Street restaurant, with employee pay confirmed through November 18, 2019.

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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

The 'Smoky' episode (S5E3) featured Reef, a Gulf Coast seafood restaurant from chef Bryan Caswell in Houston's Midtown neighborhood. The restaurant, paired with Caswell's 3rd Bar, built its menu around wood-grilled and smoked seafood preparations served at 2600 Travis Street. According to Click2Houston, published 2019-11-26, Caswell closed Reef & 3rd Bar permanently that week, citing a recent health matter alongside 'other economic factors.' The Houston Chronicle also reported that the closure followed an earlier 2017 shutdown after Hurricane Harvey flood damage, after which the restaurant had taken nearly two years to reopen before closing permanently in 2019. Click2Houston reported that all employees were paid through November 18, 2019, and that a fellow restaurateur, Charles Clark of Clark-Cooper Concepts, offered job placements to displaced staff and covered existing holiday reservations. No successor restaurant at the Travis Street address was identified in these sources.

Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season / episode
Season 5, Episode 3
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Smoky
What was featured
Gulf Coast seafood restaurant from chef Bryan Caswell, 'Smoky' episode
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Reef

Frequently asked questions

Is Reef still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Reef has closed — confirmed via click2houston.com, November 26, 2019.

What happened to Reef after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

The 'Smoky' episode (S5E3) featured Reef, a Gulf Coast seafood restaurant from chef Bryan Caswell in Houston's Midtown neighborhood. As of September 2026, Reef has closed — confirmed via click2houston.com, November 26, 2019.

Is Reef permanently closed?

As of September 2026, Reef has closed — confirmed via click2houston.com, November 26, 2019. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is Reef located?

2600 Travis St, Houston, TX 77006. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured Reef?

Season 5, Episode 3 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “Smoky”.

Is Reef still using the Best Thing I Ever Ate menu or branding?

The restaurant, paired with Caswell's 3rd Bar, built its menu around wood-grilled and smoked seafood preparations served at 2600 Travis Street. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
2600 Travis St, Houston, TX 77006
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

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Sources

  • click2houston.com — https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2019/11/26/popular-houston-seafood-spot-suddenly-closes/
  • houstonchronicle.com — https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/article/Bryan-Caswell-closed-Midtown-restaurant-Reef-2019-14864061.php
  • houstonpress.com — https://www.houstonpress.com/restaurants/reef-closes-its-doors-11389765/

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