Paul and Doris Miller opened Passerella Ristorante & Wine Bar in summer 2022, bringing an upscale menu and interior to The Boardwalk at Towne Lake.

The couple, who owns several restaurants under the Gr8 Plate Hospitality umbrella, received valuable feedback from the local community via the property owner. After conducting a survey of the neighborhood, he told them the community wanted upscale Italian cuisine and seafood.

So Paul began to craft the menu, borrowing from his extensive experience in the restaurant business. Paul has spent his entire career in the dining industry, starting with Pappas Restaurants as well as other well-renowned restaurants, including McCormick & Schmick’s.

“My first job was washing dishes, then I got promoted to busboy, and I got to actually be out front. And then once I was pretty good at that, then I got to be a server. And then when you're a good server, you get to be a bartender; you know, that was just kind of the way it was back in the day. So I learned ... all the pieces. And that's what kind of made me start to fall in love with the business,” Paul said.

But then he made the leap to ownership and has never looked back. Gr8 Plate now boasts three different concepts in multiple locations around the Houston area, such as Jax Grille, The Union Kitchen, The Rollin’ Kitchen Food Truck and The Smokin’ Kitchen Trailer.

With more than 20 years of restaurant experience, he was named the 2018 Restaurateur of the Year by the Greater Houston Restaurant Association and a 2018 Outstanding Restaurateur by the Texas Restaurant Association.

With Paul’s longtime love of the restaurant industry and Doris’ passion for interior design, the interior of the Passerella locations showcases multiple types of lighting and wall art that help create the upscale vibe they were looking for in the new concept.

Paul and his management team worked with their corporate chef James Lundy and the culinary team of husband-and-wife kitchen creatives Ed and Stephanie Roberts. Together, they developed traditional Italian dishes with some creative twists.

“You know, we knew we wanted a meatball; ... we wanted lasagna; ...we wanted calamari; ... and we did some of the seafood items. But when people think about Italian food, they really think about that New York Italian, which is ... the [chicken Parmesan] and the pizzas and the prosciutto. But those are more northern Italy,” Paul said.

However, over the first six months of operation, the team changed the menu and the wine selection to reflect more specifically what patrons said they wanted.

“So we thought we were going to be opening with probably 75% white wine, a lot of seafood, but that has morphed into probably 75% red wine and more red sauces,” Paul said. “We still have multiple salads and the cheese board because we really do want to be known for our wine bar.”

Paul, who is a certified sommelier, developed the wine list the new restaurant concept needed.

“Wine is not just an afterthought at Gr8 Plate concepts. ... We delight in offering customers the best wines at the best prices,” he said.

The menu includes some signature dishes, such as Ched Ed’s seven-layer lasagna, pan-seared duck and a chef-inspired pizza of the day as well as Fritto Misto, a fried calamari dish with shrimp.

---

9945 Barker Cypress Road, Ste. 122, Cypress

281-213-2770. www.passerellaitaliano.com

Hours: Mon.-Thu. 4-9 p.m., Fri.- Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.