David Cordúa is the chef and owner of The Lymbar, a Latin-Mediterranean neighborhood craft
cocktail lounge and restaurant at the Ion in Houston. He has more than 20 years of experience
in the restaurant, catering and hospitality business.
A native Houstonian, Cordúa received a degree in finance from Santa Clara University in 2004.
Following in his family’s culinary footsteps, he moved to Paris after college and earned a
Grande Diplome in cuisine and pastry from Le Cordon Bleu while training at notable
restaurants La Tour d’Argent and L’Auberge Bressane.
Returning stateside, he joined the Dolce Management Group as Food and Beverage Manager at
the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose, Calif., where he managed the hotel’s bar, restaurants and
catering.
In 2007, David joined his family’s Cordúa Restaurants as Executive Chef and VP of Brand
Development. He opened two Americas and three Churrascos locations while working
alongside his father, legendary Nicaraguan chef Michael Cordúa. They co-wrote and published
‘The Cordúa Cookbook’ in 2013 to commemorate the family’s 25 years in operation.
David represented Houston as a food ambassador for Visit Houston’s ‘Hola Houston’ campaign
in 2016, leading a four-Mexican city tour of dinners, cooking demos and public events. In 2018,
he hosted Houston Public Media’s nationally syndicated ‘The Houston Cookbook’ show on
PBS.
Prior to opening The Lymbar, David and his father launched David + Michael Cordua Events, a
catering and events company through which they continue to serve weddings and fundraisers.
David lives in Houston’s East End with his wife Sara and daughter Estella Sofia. They enjoy
hiking the Buffalo Bayou Trails and the neighborhood’s street art, cuisine and community
events.