Houston · Eat & Drink
Where to eat in Houston
Brisket and pho, Tex-Mex and Gulf oysters, Sunday brunch and late-night tacos. Our guides to eating well across the whole city.
Houston is one of the most rewarding places in America to eat, and the reason is variety. Generations of immigrants have made the city’s restaurant scene a map of the world: Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants along Bellaire Boulevard, Tex-Mex institutions in the East End, Nigerian and Indian kitchens in Alief, Gulf seafood, and Texas barbecue served from trailers and smokehouses all over town.
How to use this guide
Start with our best restaurants in Houston, the editors’ short list across every cuisine and price point. Then go deeper by craving: barbecue, Tex-Mex, brunch, coffee and happy hour. If you are short on time, spend it in Chinatown and Asiatown, the densest stretch of great cooking in the city.
Eating by neighborhood works well in a city this size. Our neighborhood guides list the best restaurants near the Museum District, the Texas Medical Center, the Heights and more. The restaurant directory has hours, addresses and reviews for thousands of places to eat.
What Houston does best
A few things define eating here. Texas barbecue, with brisket at the center, has a strong local school of pitmasters. Tex-Mex is a Houston birthright, from fajitas to combination plates at family restaurants that have fed the city for generations. Viet-Cajun crawfish, boiled and tossed in garlic butter, is a Houston original and the centerpiece of spring. Kolaches and breakfast tacos start the day, and Gulf oysters and seafood are never far away. Few cities offer this much range at every price.
The city also rewards curiosity. Some of its best cooking happens in strip-mall dining rooms with handwritten menus, so it pays to follow a guide and then wander. Our cheap eats guide is a good place to start exploring, and our date night guide covers the special-occasion end of the scale.
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For the occasion
Kids, dogs, late nights and afternoon tea.
Cuisines worth crossing town for
Ramen to pupusas, dim sum to suya.
Houston by craving
Pizza, sushi, tacos, kolaches and the rest of the list.
Local favorites
Crawfish season, taprooms and beer gardens.
Start with these guides
The best of Houston, by craving.
Eat like a local
Follow the seasons
Crawfish in spring, brisket all year, Gulf oysters when the water cools, and patio season whenever the heat breaks.
Our guides track the dishes and neighborhood spots Houstonians come back to, season after season.
Houston restaurants
A rotating selection from the directory.
More food and dining guides
The best happy hours in Houston's East End and EaDo: $7 Ninfaritas on Navigation, all-day Monday at Eight Row Flint, $3 drafts by the stadiums and more.
The best tacos in Meyerland, Houston: Los Tios street tacos, Escalante's mahi tacos, kosher fish tacos at Saba's, and a two-stop Braeswood Square route.
Date night in Meyerland, Houston: fireside steaks at Exodus, margaritas at Escalante's, schnitzel at Watershed, kosher Saba's and a Brays Bayou walk.
Kid-friendly restaurants in Bellaire, TX: a supervised kids' room, kids eat free Mondays, a park cafe by a splash pad, $6 kids' plates, a Saturday route.
Where to find tacos in Bellaire, TX: bone-marrow birria at Candente, Taco Tuesday at Blood Bros., kosher birria and a park cafe's breakfast taco shop.
Where to eat breakfast in Meyerland, Houston: a Hillcroft bagel shop open since 1975, kosher Israeli plates, weekend breakfast tacos and a Shabbat plan.
The best Asian restaurants in Spring Branch, Houston: Long Point Korean barbecue, banh xeo, pho, banh mi, Thai curry and dosas, plus a food crawl.
The best burgers in Bellaire, TX: Lankford's (since 1937), a $10 Wednesday brisket burger at Blood Bros. BBQ, kosher Wagyu and mesquite at Jax Grill.
The best burgers in Westchase, Houston: a double-patty lunch burger under a barn ceiling, halal smash burgers, a Senegalese burger and 24-hour Whataburger.
Patio restaurants and bars in Spring Branch, Houston: a Long Point beer garden, Karbach's biergarten, a puppy menu and a 100-guest crawfish patio.
Happy hours in Spring Branch, Houston, from a lunchtime Korean steakhouse deal to $5 frozen margs at Feges BBQ, with times from each official site.
Date night in Westchase: fireside steaks at Rio Ranch, Peruvian-Japanese at Pacha Nikkei, hibachi at Benihana, Persian at Kasra and a sunset trail walk.
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