Houston is lucky to have such a warm, welcoming restaurant scene. Our chefs are friends, not cutthroat enemies. Diners are greeted with Southern hospitality. And now, the Heights is home to a new, self-described “fine-casual” restaurant that celebrates this mindset.

Named Camaraderie, which opened on March 26, the restaurant is the first solo project for Shawn Gawle, who was most recently the executive pastry chef for Goodnight Hospitality. The inspiration for the new venture stems from Gawle’s time as a restaurant worker. He feels fortunate to have made so many great relationships and memories with team members and leaders over the years, which he attributes with his lack of burnout. He jokes that there’s no greater bond than with someone you trust and know and have been in the trenches with.

“I feel like when people go out to dinner as a group, they’re going with close friends and loved ones and they should share a meal and experience the same thing,” Gawle says.

At Camaraderie, he’ll be cooking contemporary American cuisine with French techniques, offering an à la carte menu and a $75 prix fixe. He wants to create plates that are visually appealing, nostalgic, light but still filling, and have just the right ratio of salt and acidity. For example, Gawle played around with the nduja rolls on the à la carte menu for a while before he got them just right.

“It kind of looks like a cinnamon roll,” Gawle says. “So, it comes out, people’s minds think that, and then they eat it, and it’s this Tomme-style cheese with spicy sausage and this really soft roll, and it’s like, ‘Oh this is not what I was expecting,’ and you’re confused but then it’s like, ‘Wow this is delicious.’”

Gawle likes to serve dishes that are a play on something that diners might already be familiar with. Available on both menus, the poached halibut is served with purple potatoes, clams, and lobster, then topped with a smoked potato espuma and a touch of smoked paprika. Gawle describes it as a loose rendition of the clam chowder he grew up eating in New England.

The à la carte menu is divided between “snacks” (like a tarte flambée) and a “more substantial” section, with dishes like a carrot cavatelli with carrot top pesto, mimolette, and turnip; and a hanger steak with pomme dauphine potatoes and chimichurri.

To fully create sense of camaraderie in his restaurant, the prix-fixe menu is meant to be shared family-style, with bites such as a salt-baked celery root with apple, chile, and yuzu; sformato with asparagus, morel, and parmesan; a veal osso buco with bucatini and mirepoix entrée; and a strawberry frozen marshmallow sorbet with lemon and olive oil for dessert.

The restaurant also has a beverage program with wines by the glass or bottle—mostly French and Italian—as well as cocktails, including “mini classics” for $8, nonalcoholic options, and beer.

Camaraderie’s building was previously a woodworking shed, which allowed for a clean slate for the design. Thanks to Houston-based Schaum Architects, the restaurant now boasts a warm, modern vibe with skylights, built-in wood banquette seating, a dining room, bar, lounge area, and a 400-square-foot covered patio. “We just want to make people feel at home,” Gawle says.

Though being a chef-owner is new for Gawle, his time in the industry goes back to his childhood. His dad ran a deli in Boston that was passed down from Gawle’s grandfather.

“I would always visit the deli and be around it, it was always fun,” Gawle says. “I always saw my dad’s coworkers have fun. [And] the smells felt like home and warmth to me.”

When it came to deciding what he wanted to do after high school, he had his sights set on culinary school. As soon as he graduated—literally just a few days later—he began his studies at the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. While others were enjoying their summer break before college, he wanted to take advantage of cheaper tuition, since the school raised it each July.

During that time, he also worked an externship at the Four Seasons in Boston, which then led to several stints in restaurants that offered varied dining experiences. The best part of these opportunities was meeting so many people, each of whom he says contributed to his learning in some way.

“I tried to be pretty selective to what restaurants I’d work in,” Gawle says. “[I wanted] more learning kitchens, so I could get a little bit of something from everyone.”

Gawle’s talent was evident. He soon moved up in the culinary world and worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants across the country, including L20 in Chicago, Veritas in New York City, and Saison and Quince, both in San Francisco. In 2019, Gawle made his Houston debut as executive pastry chef for Goodnight Hospitality, where he helped open Rosie Cannonball, March, and Montrose Cheese & Wine. He became renowned in the city for pastries like the Basque cheesecake with marmalade that's still on Rosie’s menu to this day, as well as Cheese & Wine’s addictive pasteis de nata and canelé. He even earned Pastry Chef of the Year at CultureMap’s 2023 Tastemaker Awards.

Through it all, though, Gawle was working toward one goal: a place of his own. He says the idea of becoming his own boss was something instilled in him from his dad.

“I want to be able to build the culture and set the standards, and teach and mentor people,” Gawle says. “I want to share what I’ve learned in the last 20 or so years.”

Gawle started working on Camaraderie’s business plan long before he came to Houston, but always felt that it wasn’t the right time. When the pandemic hit, he was encouraged to revisit the idea by his now-wife.

He founded the limited liability company (LLC) for it in 2021 and began fine-tuning the plan. He took feedback from his wife and close friends, practiced his cooking with events and some private chef gigs, and worked with a realtor to find the perfect space. Gawle says his team at Goodnight Hospitality was there to support him as he worked to bring his dreams to life and were involved in various conversations with him a year before he officially left in 2023.

Gawle settled on his space in the Heights because of the family-friendly neighborhood. With Camaraderie’s 11th Street location, he hopes families and others living nearby will be encouraged to walk there and enjoy the space like he intends—where they can go relax and forget about their days, with togetherness.

“I’m excited to finally have it open,” Gawle says. “I’ve worked on it for a very long time and I’m just happy and excited to put smiles on people’s faces.”