Sole Lynds, owner of Aromas Latin Cuisine and Wine Bar, said she wants to give people new food experiences when they come into her restaurant. She opened the business when her family moved to Houston in October 2016.

The eatery serves authentic Venezuelan cuisine as well as Latin- Asian fusion cuisine. Lynds said the inspiration came from her extensive travels, her family’s culinary roots and her training as a wine expert, she said.

“I always played that I had a restaurant when I was a kid,” Lynds said.

Lynds was born in Venezuela and has lived on every continent but Africa and Antarctica before moving to the Greater Houston area. Her fascination with food and cooking started when she was a child, she said.

Her father owned a restaurant in Venezuela, and her grandmother was a caterer and baker specializing in desserts.

“Even though I had experience with my dad’s restaurant and had [other] experience, you never really know until you really run your own ‘boat,’” Lynds said. “I had the experience. I had the knowledge. I had the theory, but the practice is completely different [from] what [I was] actually expecting.”

Wine is what Lynds thinks is most important about the business, she said. The restaurant changes its selections every three months, and Lynds said she keeps a close eye on what wines are at chain stores. Once she sees a variety on the shelf at a major store, she pulls that item from her list.

Her goal is to expose her patrons to new wines from smaller producers such as family-owned vineyards and vintners, or wine merchants.

Lynds is a trained wine expert and has studied with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, a global education organization that trains students in the wine, spirits and sake industry. She has a Level 3 certification at the moment and is studying to take the Level 4 test, the highest ranking offered by WSET.

To achieve her certifications, Lynds has studied in England, Australia, Austin and Houston, she said. But Lynds said she does not call herself a sommelier and that she does not focus mainly on French wine.

In five years, Lynds would like to grow the restaurant, possibly with a new location, she said, but she wants to keep Aromas small. Keeping each location small helps make sure that it feels like a family is hosting the guests when they come in, Lynds said.

The menu’s traditional Venezuelan fare includes pabellon criollo, a shredded beef dish with white rice, black beans, fried plantain and an optional egg or avocado ($14.50). Asian-inspired cuisine includes Pacific island seafood rice with mussels, shrimp, calamari, clams and crisp shaved red onion on a bed of bright yellow jasmine rice ($26).

She also offers Venezuelan arepas—corn patties—and cachapas—corn pancakes—at breakfast and lunch.

“I want to take people traveling with me from a bite or a sip of wine,” Lynds said.

Aromas Latin Cuisine and Wine Bar
402 W. Grand Parkway S., Ste. 103, Katy
832-913-3784
https://www.aromaskaty.com
Hours: Mon.-Wed. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Thu.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m., closed Sun.