Rosie Cannonball

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Live-Fire Kitchen on Westheimer Road

Rosie Cannonball describes itself plainly and honestly: a lively neighborhood restaurant serving European comfort food. That simplicity is deliberate. At the heart of the kitchen on Westheimer Road sits a wood-burning oven and grill, and nearly everything on the menu passes through one or the other. Hearty vegetables, housemade pastas and pizzas, simple seafood, and locally-sourced meat cooked over live fire — the menu celebrates, in the restaurant's own words, "the origins of cooking."

The team behind Rosie Cannonball is Goodnight Hospitality, the Houston group founded by partners Bailey and Peter McCarthy, Felipe Riccio, and June Rodil. Chef de Cuisine Melven Batocabe leads the kitchen, while Executive Pastry Chef Micaela Victoria handles a dessert menu that ranges from a warm Basque cheesecake with bitter orange marmalade to a strawberry rhubarb clafoutis with baked almond cream and laurel-and-juniper gelato — grounded in European tradition without being precious about it.

The Beverage Program

The drinks side of Rosie Cannonball is where the restaurant's ambitions become especially clear. June Rodil, a Master Sommelier and Goodnight Hospitality partner, has assembled a wine list with a strong Italian, Spanish, and French focus, drawing from both beloved producers and progressive New World voices. That list earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence — recognition that reflects the depth and curation behind it rather than sheer volume.

The cocktail menu mirrors the European food focus, pairing Rosie originals with well-executed classics inspired by France and Italy. The spirits selection is equally considered, running from well-chosen amaros and Italian liqueurs to a thoughtful whiskey range. For those skipping alcohol, non-alcoholic options are built into the program rather than treated as an afterthought.

The Room and the Feel

Guests can choose between an elegant indoor dining room and al fresco seating on the patio — a meaningful option in Houston's climate. The atmosphere is lively rather than hushed, the kind of place where the European comfort food ethos extends to how people are made to feel: welcome, fed well, and in no particular hurry. Happy hour runs late into the evening on every service night, which says something about the priorities here.

Rosie Cannonball sits within a small family of Goodnight Hospitality concepts, each with its own identity, but all sharing a seriousness about both food and drink that the Wine Spectator recognition underscores.