Another Good Vibe from The Big Vibe Group

My wife and I really like Flora, which is on Buffalo Bayou at Dunlavy and Allen Parkway, so I was very interested to eat at another of its parent's restaurants. We went to Graffiti Raw last week, and I liked it a lot. I am sharing my thoughts here.

The restaurant is located in Montrose at the new Montrose Collective. It's on the corner of California St at Grant St. This is right by one of our favorite places, The Burger Joint! It's not far from where Picnik was. I miss Picnik! Here is a look from the corner at which it is located:

We went on a Sunday night, and it wasn't too crowded at all. The vibe was quite nice, and the service was excellent. We shared four dishes: Crispy Calamari, Nori Tostada, a bowl of Vegan Might Green Soup and Forbidden Bowl. I had a glass of wine too, an Albariño.

The calamari was fantastic, but we liked it all. Here is their photo:

The soup came with a meat option, but we got it without the pork sausage. It had spinach, broccoli, swiss chard, kale and cannellini beans.

The Nori Tostada came right after the calamari and was delicious. It has nori rice flour batter, smashed avocado, yellowfin tuna and sauce. Delicious and beautiful too!

The Forbidden Bowl was fabulous. It had salmon, forbidden rice, butternut squash, some vegetables and a red curry sauce. Here is their picture of the dish:

We liked it all, but I realize that not everyone likes what we do. The menu included several appetizers, a few soups and salads, some other raw fish and other seafood offerings, ceviche and a broad array of main dishes. There are a few desserts too.

I like the Big Vibe Group and what they have been doing since 2022. They own Coppa Osteria, which I have never experienced. It is between South Hampton and West University on Morningside. Next door, is their fourth restaurant, Gratify Neighborhood Bistro. I would like to try that one!

The Big Vibe Group is owned mainly by Grant Cooper and his wife, Jacy. Cooper was part of Clark Cooper Concepts for 20 years. They split in 2022, and Clark kept Brasserie 19 on West Gray, while Cooper kept Coppa, Gratify and what was then The Dunlavy (now Flora).

Overall, we enjoyed Graffiti Raw. For us, Flora works better. Before returning to Graffiti Raw, we will likely test the Gratify Neighborhood Bistro.

This is not a paid review! For those new restaurants that would like me to review them, you can ask me to do so. If you offer me a free meal or discounted meal, that will boost the likelihood of my doing so, but there is no amount of money a restaurant can pay me to try to influence a positive review.