Best Asian Restaurants in Rice Village, Houston: 7 Verified Picks

The best Asian restaurants in Rice Village are Duck N Bao for Peking duck and soup dumplings, Tiger Noodle House for Sichuan and Taiwanese beef noodles, MANA Thai Kitchen for khao soi, The Rice Box for American-Chinese takeout, and Loro for Texas barbecue with Southeast Asian flavors. Add Pokeworks for poke bowls and The Teahouse for Taiwanese bubble tea. All seven sit in or on the edge of Rice Village in Houston, and each was confirmed as operating on its own official website in November 2026.

Here’s the thing most people miss: Rice Village’s Asian food is concentrated on one short stretch. Four of the seven picks share the 2400 and 2500 blocks of Rice Boulevard, so you can eat noodles, drink boba and pick up poke without moving your car. Call it Rice Boulevard’s noodle-and-boba row.

What counts as Rice Village in this guide?

For this guide, Rice Village means the blocks between Kirby Drive on the west and Greenbriar Drive on the east, from Bissonnet Street on the north down to Times Boulevard on the south. That’s the same line we use in our other Rice Village guides. It takes in the University Boulevard and Morningside Drive dining strip, Rice Boulevard, Kelvin Drive and the shopping streets around Amherst. Restaurants just outside the line, like the ones on West Holcombe Boulevard south of Times, aren’t on this list. For the wider neighborhood, start with our Rice Village and West U guide.

The quick list

• For a whole Peking duck and a group dinner: Duck N Bao on Kelvin Drive.
• For a big bowl of beef noodles, late: Tiger Noodle House on Rice Boulevard.
• For northern Thai curry noodles and a glass of wine: MANA Thai Kitchen on Rice Boulevard.
• For wings and orange beef to go: The Rice Box on Morningside Drive.
• For brisket with Thai herbs: Loro on Kirby Drive.
• For a fast, light lunch: Pokeworks on Rice Boulevard.
• For bubble tea until midnight: The Teahouse on Rice Boulevard.

How we chose

We looked for places that cook an Asian tradition with real character and that you can actually walk into. Every pick had to sit inside our Rice Village boundary (Loro sits right on its Kirby Drive edge) and show its Rice Village address and current hours or menu on its own official website when we checked in November 2026.

We were strict, and it cost us. Rice Village has lost several longtime Asian restaurants, and old directories still list them. We left out any place we couldn’t confirm on an official site. That’s why this list has no Vietnamese, Korean or Indian pick: we couldn’t verify one operating inside the boundary. For those cuisines, our citywide guides are the better bet (see the end of this page).

Hours change, so treat every schedule below as “typically” and check the restaurant’s site before you go.

Chinese in Rice Village

Duck N Bao

5215 Kelvin Dr · Peking duck and soup dumplings · open daily

Duck N Bao in Rice Village is the spot for a proper Chinese feast. Its signature is a house-roasted Peking duck: the whole duck comes with pancakes and a second course of house duck soup or minced duck lettuce wraps, and a half duck comes with pancakes. Round it out with the handmade pork soup dumplings, the black truffle soup dumplings, or the tea leaf smoked pork ribs.

Insider tip: Rice Village was announced as the restaurant’s third location, after Cypress and Memorial, with a viewing window into the kitchen where you can watch the dumplings being made. Order the whole duck if you have four or more people; the menu marks Peking duck as limited, so go early. Hours are on its Rice Village page.

Hours: typically 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Best for: birthdays, visiting parents and anyone who wants to share. Dim sum fans should also see our dim sum guide.

Tiger Noodle House

2424 Rice Blvd · Sichuan and Taiwanese noodles · open daily

Tiger Noodle House on Rice Boulevard is a noodle shop first. The menu runs from an authentic Szechuan beef noodle soup to a Taiwanese beef noodle soup with beef shank and pickled mustard greens, plus xiaolongbao, a Chongqing dry pot beef and slow-braised Dongpo pork.

Insider tip: the Rice Village menu lists hours of 11 a.m. to 11:45 p.m., so Tiger Noodle House is a solid bet for a hot bowl of soup after a late class or a show. Check the official site before a late trip.

Best for: a cheap, filling solo dinner and rainy nights.

The Rice Box

5504 Morningside Dr · American-Chinese takeout · open late on weekends

The Rice Box on Morningside Drive does neon-lit American-Chinese takeout with a twist. Order the Chongqing wings or the orange peeled beef, which the menu warns can’t be modified. Add chow fun and one of its nitro teas.

I didn’t know that: The Rice Box started on wheels. Its own FAQ says it took its food trucks off the street in 2017 with the launch of its Heights location.

Hours: typically 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to midnight Friday and Saturday, per its locations page.

Best for: takeout for a Rice University dorm or a West U movie night.

Thai in Rice Village

MANA Thai Kitchen

2512 Rice Blvd · modern Thai with northern Thai dishes · dinner and delivery

MANA Thai Kitchen on Rice Boulevard calls itself a modern, authentic Thai fine-dining destination, and it backs that up with a curated wine and beer list. The dish to order is khao soi, which the menu labels as northern Thai: egg noodles in coconut curry, crowned with crispy fried noodles. The chef’s specials push it further, with khao soi topped with short rib or NY strip. Hoi tod (Thai fried mussels) and duck curry are also on the menu.

Insider tip: the grilled NY strip is listed as Tiger Cry, a nod to the classic Thai crying tiger steak. Order it for the table and share.

Best for: a sit-down Thai dinner that feels like a night out. For the citywide picture, see our best Thai food in Houston guide.

Asian barbecue and poke

Loro Asian Smokehouse & Bar

5333 Kirby Dr · Texas barbecue with Southeast Asian flavors · open daily

Loro on Kirby Drive sits on the northwest edge of Rice Village; the restaurant itself describes the spot as near Rice Village on the border of West University. It’s the most Texas pick on this list: oak-smoked brisket with chili gastrique and Thai herbs (served after 4 p.m.), char siew pork belly, a crispy pork katsu sandwich and crispy potatoes with miso mustard.

I didn’t know that: Loro was founded in 2018 by Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue and Tyson Cole of Uchi, a pitmaster and a sushi chef. Its Our Story page says the slow cooking starts at midnight every day so the meat is ready for lunch.

Hours: typically 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a weekday happy hour from 2 to 6 p.m. Reservations are accepted but never required.

Best for: a group that can’t agree. Barbecue purists can compare notes with our best BBQ in Houston list.

Pokeworks

2514 Rice Blvd · poke bowls · open daily

Pokeworks in Rice Village is the quick, light option: build-your-own or signature poke bowls. It’s typically open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day, per its Rice Village page.

Best for: a 20-minute lunch between shops.

Where can you get bubble tea in Rice Village?

The Teahouse Tapioca & Tea on Rice Boulevard is the Rice Village boba stop, and it is a Houston original.

The Teahouse Tapioca & Tea

2518b Rice Blvd · Taiwanese tea and boba · open late

The Teahouse is Houston’s own boba story. Its About page says the family opened its first bubble tea stand in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1992, set out to bring tea and tapioca to the United States after 1995, and in 2000 opened inside Hong Kong City Mall what it calls the first traditional Taiwanese teahouse in the city’s history. Order the signature green tea or cream tea with tapioca.

Hours: typically 10 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and noon to midnight Sunday, per its locations page.

Best for: a boba after dinner, or a study break for Rice students.

Save this: a Rice Boulevard Asian food crawl

Park once and walk this route in about two hours. Every stop is inside Rice Village.

1. Start at Tiger Noodle House (2424 Rice Blvd) and split a Taiwanese beef noodle soup and an order of xiaolongbao.
2. Walk to the 2500 block for MANA Thai Kitchen (2512 Rice Blvd) and share a khao soi.
3. Grab a boba at The Teahouse (2518b Rice Blvd), a few doors down.
4. Finish at Duck N Bao (5215 Kelvin Dr) with soup dumplings, or take a whole duck home.
5. Night owls: end with Chongqing wings from The Rice Box (5504 Morningside Dr), open to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

After the crawl, browse the bookstores and shops in our things to do in Rice Village guide.

Where to go for Vietnamese, Korean and Indian

If you want Vietnamese, Korean or Indian food, leave Rice Village. We couldn’t verify a restaurant serving any of the three inside our boundary. Use our citywide guides instead: best Vietnamese restaurants in Houston, best Korean BBQ in Houston and best Indian restaurants in Houston. For non-Asian dinners close by, see our best restaurants in Rice Village.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Asian restaurants in Rice Village, Houston?

Duck N Bao (Peking duck and soup dumplings), Tiger Noodle House (Sichuan and Taiwanese noodles), MANA Thai Kitchen (khao soi) and Loro (Asian smokehouse barbecue) are our top Asian restaurants in Rice Village. The Rice Box, Pokeworks and The Teahouse round out the list.

Where can I get Peking duck in Rice Village?

Duck N Bao at 5215 Kelvin Drive in Rice Village serves house-roasted Peking duck. A whole duck comes with pancakes and a second course of duck soup or lettuce wraps; a half duck comes with pancakes.

Is there Thai food in Rice Village?

Yes. MANA Thai Kitchen at 2512 Rice Boulevard serves modern Thai food, including northern Thai khao soi, with a wine and beer list.

Is there Vietnamese, Korean or Indian food in Rice Village?

We couldn’t verify a Vietnamese, Korean or Indian restaurant operating inside Rice Village in November 2026. Several longtime spots have closed or moved, so check Houston.com’s citywide Vietnamese, Korean BBQ and Indian guides instead.

Which Rice Village Asian restaurants are open late?

Tiger Noodle House on Rice Boulevard lists hours to 11:45 p.m., and The Rice Box on Morningside Drive typically stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The Teahouse on Rice Boulevard typically serves bubble tea until midnight.

Who owns Loro in Rice Village?

Loro was founded in 2018 by pitmaster Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue and chef Tyson Cole of Uchi. Its Houston location on Kirby Drive sits at the edge of Rice Village and West University.