THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Birraporetti's

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Birraporetti's Restaurant Review:

When the now-popular River Oaks Shopping Center was first trying to make a name for itself, it took two routes: staying open late hours (which was unlike most other businesses in the area at the time) and having its tenants be a constant presence at cultural events. Therefore, no program was without a Birra's ad or sponsorship mention, and late night diners wanting more than pie-house fare got into the habit of dropping by Birra's after the ballet or the opera or a touring musical at Jones Hall. When other restaurants with higher quality linguine with clam sauce tried to get a piece of the after-hours action, Houstonians found the Birra's habit hard to break. A decade has passed since Birra's updated its image with banquettes in the dining room, a slightly-but only slightly-more adventurous menu, and a cosmopolitan bar. The original mood, persists, however, and people come not for polenta or grilled lamb, but for a lighthearted atmosphere with a touch of class. Swing dance nights and Sunday brunches are, by honest alchemy and not design, a throw-back to the era of the supper club.