Welcome to
Georgia James Steak
Georgia James is Underbelly Hospitality’s take on a steakhouse. It’s unconventional. It’s driven by quality. And, most importantly, it’s fun.
The Food
Georgia James serves the food our Chef cooks at home—cast-iron seared steaks, lots of cold seafood and seasonal sides. We opened Georgia James to be the steakhouse that cares—about sourcing quality product, technique, execution and the highest level of service.
Wine & Cocktails
We have designed a list with 500 selections from around the world with representation from all major wine regions, in addition to more obscure locations and varietals. We’ll have your California Cab, but we’ll also have plenty of well-priced wines that will challenge your preconceptions about a steakhouse wine list.
Our cocktail list is made up of classic steakhouse cocktails that are reworked to fit the style of craft cocktails we expect today. Similar to the food menu, we’re taking something comfortable and shaking it up a bit.
Spirits
When you’re pairing with baller boards, there should be no shortage of baller booze. And lots of whiskey.
Our Team
Teamwork makes the dream work.
GREG PETERS
Executive Chef, Georgia James
Houston native Greg Peters began working in the restaurant industry in 2007 when he was a journalism major at the University of Mississippi. He cooked under Chef John Currence at City Grocery and Vishwesh Bhatt at Snackbar in Oxford before moving back to Houston in 2014 to work as a line cook at Underbelly. Greg grew up hunting and fishing and was drawn to Underbelly’s whole animal philosophy. He was promoted to sous chef after two years and managed both the Underbelly and Hay Merchant kitchens. When Underbelly closed in 2018, Greg was named chef de cuisine at Georgia James. In 2019, Georgia James was named the best new restaurant in Texas by Texas Monthly, was included on GQ s list of the best new restaurants in America, and on Robb Report‘s list of the 25 Best Steakhouses in America. Greg was promoted to executive chef of Georgia James in 2021.
RAUL LORENZANA
General Manager
New York native Raul Lorenzana started in the hospitality industry at a young age as a dishwasher in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Early in his career, Raul earned an Associates in Food and Beverage Management from the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, studied Sociology and Economics at Harvard University, and specialized in Business Management Studies at Northeastern University. Raul continued to work in restaurants and nightclubs to get through school, and eventually found himself immersed in the industry once again. Raul has held various management roles, including managing partner for Assaf Group, Inc., general manager at Ember Grille and Wine Bar at L’Auberge Casino, and general manager for Bayou & Bottle at the Four Seasons. Raul joined Georgia James as general manager in August 2021.
BEN SNELLENBERGER
Sous Chef
Houston native Ben Snellenberger always had an interest in cooking but followed his parents’ suggestion to attend college before choosing the restaurant path. After graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in construction management, he immediately sought out kitchen jobs, starting out as a prep cook at Masraff’s. He moved to New York to attend the Culinary Institute of America and worked in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C, and Montana before returning to Houston. After staging at Oxheart, he accepted a job at Coltivare under Chef Ryan Pera and was promoted to sous chef. After opening Pera’s East Downtown restaurant Indianola, he led the kitchen of Calle Onze as executive chef of Calle Onze. He joined Georgia James as a sous chef in 2021.
VICTORIA DEARMOND
Pastry Director
Victoria Dearmond has been a member of the Underbelly team since the restaurant opened in March 2012. In addition to managing the pastry departments for all Underbelly Hospitality concepts, she serves as Chris Shepherd’s consigliere—managing his schedule, collaborating on recipe development and overall project management. Prior to joining Underbelly, she worked in the pastry department at Triniti and at a ski lodge in Washington State. The Lake Jackson native graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Austin. In 2016, she was named an Eater Young Guns semifinalist, and in 2018, she was named Eater Houston’s Pastry Chef of the Year.
FREMMIOT RODRIGUEZ
Managing Sommelier
Fremmiot Rodriguez grew up in a blended Puerto Rican and Midwestern family, spending most of his formative years in Puerto Rico. Fremmiot’s first restaurant job was shucking oysters and dishwashing. From there, he was able move up the ladder in the hospitality industry in Corpus Christi, Texas, and eventually made his way to Houston in 1995 where he worked front of house at Pappa Mia. He then transferred to Pappas Bros. Steakhouse where he was a reservationist, cigar steward, office administrator and sommelier for 25 years. Fremmiot joined Underbelly Hospitality in 2018 as assistant general manager for Georgia James and moved to Georgia James Tavern as general manager in 2021. He returned to his first love—wine—and to Georgia James in 2022 as managing sommelier.