From Goode Company restaurant group comes a sprawling, upscale restaurant in Houston’s Memorial City mixed-used development The McKinley: Credence opened in 2024, putting a live-fire kitchen at the center of the action. Chef, owner, and fifth-generation Texan Levi Goode, who hails from a famed Houston restaurant family, set off on his own for this first solo project and calls it an ode to his personal travels and culinary experiences—and yet it’s rooted in Texas traditions and keeps the focus on cooking as performance art. The kitchen, with a multi-layered hearth and open flame, is wide open to the dining room—you’ll feel like you’re pulling up a chair to the swankiest campfire. Dining here, especially in the coveted tables in the center of the room (aptly called “the living room”) or at the bar seats facing the seafood display, is an event. There’s patio seating and a bar-like lounge, as well.
The design of the space pulls from Goode’s own travels, with visual nods to the plains and cattle life of South Texas, but delivered with luxury touches and materials. High ceilings are punctuated by massive, artistic light features and large potted fronds guide your gaze upward throughout the space. Artwork shares imagery of remote highways and deserted towns.
The menu pulls from both the land and the sea; a long ice-filled raw bar glistens with crab legs and oysters, while the hearth pumps out signature proteins and steaks. There’s an emphasis on tableside service here, too. Seated at the bare-topped wooden tables in the low-slung leather seats, the first thing you’ll want is a cocktail; they offer seasonal selections, like the Redheaded Stranger with bourbon, Texas red corn, molasses, and bitters, as well as classics and zero-proof options. Next, jump into starters like piping hot deviled crab, roasted Gulf oysters with salsa macha butter, or the pan de campo, or their version of a Texas-style flatbread, which is offered with two different selections of toppings. From the raw bar, there’s yellowfin tuna tartare, oysters, crab claws, and a showstopping seafood tower. Mains can be for the table, like a whole duck served with dirty rice, or solo-style, like the barbecue Gulf shrimp over white cheddar grits agnolotti, or a pork rib chop schnitzel. To finish, you could indulge with a chocolate peanut butter tart—but it’s more fun to get the buttermilk softserve, loaded with caramel and pecans, with a flourish of sprinkles that get added at the table.
Folks in the know will also hit up Sidebar, the hard-to-find, reservation-only speakeasy next door. This mood-lit spot is made for enjoying cocktails, live music, and amped-up caviar service.
