A new kosher Mexican restaurant will be opening soon in Houston in the heart of Houston's Jewish community, owner Kfir Azaria told Community Impact.

The details

According to Orthodox Union Kosher, a New York-based kosher certification agency, kosher food means it's fit or proper to the Jewish dietary law. For example, meat and poultry must be slaughtered in a way that causes instantaneous death with no pain to the animal, a practice known as shechita.

Azaria is the owner of Rafaello Pizza & Coffee, a Kosher pizza restaurant that opened in 2024 that offers pizza and pastas without meat.

After the success of his pizza restaurant, Azaria decided he wanted to open a restaurant that will allow the Jewish community in Houston to be able to eat meat, as dairy and meat are not allowed to be consumed together, he said.


"There is enough (kosher) meat restaurants here in Houston that are selling the same foods, like shawarma," Azaria said. "We decided that we need to bring something different, something that nobody had."

Thus, Azaria decided to create a kosher Mexican restaurant named Mexicano.

What's on the menu

Azaria said the restaurant is currently at its planning stages, with a chef from Israel coming to Houston to help develop the menu.


However, he said to expect a Mexican-Mediterranean fusion menu with 25 topping and sauce options different than what you see from other Mexican restaurants.

"You have to make it a little exciting with your sauces because we're not allowed to use cheese," said Sarah Tenorio, director of catering at Rafaello. "It's kind of a hard game to play, because we do live in a neighborhood where a lot of people like to go and venture out to the little restaurants around. It's something that is kind of growing in this area. So we want to do something that is still workable for the non-Jewish person to be able to come in and get something to eat."
Owner Kfir Azaria and Director of Catering stand in front of the pizza oven at Rafaello. (Kevin Vu/Community Impact)
Owner Kfir Azaria, right, and Director of Catering Sarah Tenorio, left, stand in front of the pizza oven at Rafaello. (Kevin Vu/Community Impact)
Azaria said his two restaurants will be a hub where non-kosher, kosher people, Jewish and non-Jewish people are able to join together, converse and enjoy good food.

"We're going to change the game," Azaria said. "We are planning to bring the Jewish people in the kosher community, more variety of food, and more good and quality places for them to have fun. Even if we are in a small city, we deserve nice places and good food."