Tony’s Celebrates 60 Years

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Chef Kate McLean Ringmaster of a Culinary Legend
2025 Marks 60 Years in the Restaurant Business

When one thinks of toast of the town, innovation, and the “poetry of dining in Houston, there is one name that comes to mind – Tony’s.”

Executive Chef and Partner, Kate McLean said, “Tony’s turns 60 on April 1st, 2025 and we have long been considered a Houston classic. During this tenure and over the decades our style has changed while still holding the tenets of fine dining; food, wine, and hospitality. I must insist we are beyond tableside Caesar salads, soufflé, and salt crusted snappers. We light fish on fire with airborne sparklers now, we write messages on the kitchen window in fire engine red lipstick like ‘Disco Is Not Dead.’ People dance in the middle of the dining room beside their tables when they feel like it. Dancing is important for the soul—and so is dining for that matter. There is a difference between eating and dining.”

During the month of April in honor of celebrated restaurateur, Tony Vallone, a special menu will feature a stellar line-up of his favorites. Dishes he served to friends, family, socialites, scions of business, world leaders, and United States’ Presidents.

1965-2025 Tony’s Favorites Menu:

  • Duck Liver Pâté — Toast Points
  • Black Perigord Truffles — Tagliarini, Acquerello Risotto, or Make It
    Rain on Anything You Want
  • Caviar Potato — One Ounce Kaviari Baeri Siberian, Crisp Idaho
    Exterior, Silken Interior
  • Crab Stuffed Squash Blossom — Bianco Sauce
  • Prestige Osetra Tagliarini — One Ounce, Orange Zest Crema
  • Veal Cannelloni
  • Escargot Bone Marrow Livornese — Breadcrumbs
  • Spaghetti Amatriciana — Pecorino Toscano
  • Prime Ribeye Fiorentina
  • Strawberry Cassata Cake

Reflecting on her life with Tony and Tony’s, Vallone’s widow Donna had this to say, “You have to have a degree in “good personality,” said Donna Vallone. “Customers like the staff to be upbeat and interested in them, and able to tell them the specials and if they want something that’s not a special or not on the menu we say, let me check on that and I’ll get back to you. Very simple. We try not to say no. I watched Tony through the years and Tony’s was his jewel, it was his life, you know? He tended to it, like it was a family member. And I think that’s why it thrived and succeeded for so many years. I believe that our staff under the continued leadership of executive chef, Kate McLean has done wonderfully in making fine dining fun.”

His daughter, Lauri Vallone Mazzini remarked on her 27 years working with her father and as the Business Manager said, “I admired him so much as he was a perfectionist and sought excellence in the culinary world. He loved a challenge and consistently educated himself and others on our team.”

Get more details at https://www.tonyshouston.com/.

Photos courtesy of Tony’s

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