Best Asian Restaurants on Washington Avenue, Houston: 8 Picks

The best Asian restaurants on Washington Avenue in Houston are Local Pho for Vietnamese, Duck N Bao and Fortune Eight for Chinese, Nara Thai for Thai, Kitchen Rumors for Indian, and Aiko, Miyako and Soma Sushi for Japanese. All eight sit on the Washington Avenue corridor between downtown and Westcott Street, and every one was checked as operating on its own official website or official social page in November 2026.

Here's the line for the group chat: at 4601 Washington Avenue, Thai curry and nigiri share one building, and a few blocks away there's a Peking duck that takes up to two days to make. Washington Avenue gets talked about as a bar strip, but between the patios it has a run of Asian kitchens we'd happily send you to on a Tuesday.

What counts as Washington Avenue in this guide?

For this guide, Washington Avenue means the busy eastern stretch of the avenue, from the edge of downtown west to Westcott Street, plus the blocks between Interstate 10 to the north and Buffalo Bayou to the south. That takes in Rice Military (Washington Avenue to Buffalo Bayou, Shepherd Drive to Westcott Street), the First Ward and Sawyer Yards at the avenue's east end, and the Old Sixth Ward just south of it. North of I-10 is the Heights, which has its own Heights Asian restaurant guide.

The quick list

• For Peking duck and soup dumplings: Duck N Bao on Memorial Drive.
• For a cheap, fast bowl: Fortune Eight at 5555 Washington Avenue.
• For pho after a gallery walk: Local Pho at Sawyer Yards.
• For a Thai dinner with kids: Nara Thai at 4601 Washington Avenue.
• For a big, shareable Indian fusion night: Kitchen Rumors in the Old Sixth Ward.
• For omakase at a fair price: Aiko at 1902 Washington Avenue.
• For late sushi on a Friday: Miyako Washington, open until midnight on weekends.
• For sushi and cocktails before a night out: Soma Sushi at 4820 Washington Avenue.

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that cook one Asian tradition with real character, or blend one with Houston in a way you won't find elsewhere. Each pick had to sit inside our boundary and show a current address on its own website or official social page in November 2026. We left out places that have closed (the corridor has lost several Asian spots, including a ramen bar and an omakase counter) and places we couldn't confirm from an official source.

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

Where to eat Chinese food on Washington Avenue

The corridor's two Chinese picks are Duck N Bao for a sit-down Sichuan and Peking duck dinner and Fortune Eight for a fast, affordable bowl.

Duck N Bao

Rice Military, 5535 Memorial Dr, Suite O · Sichuan and Peking duck · open daily

Duck N Bao on Memorial Drive in Rice Military opened in 2021 as the restaurant's second location. The “I didn't know that” detail: the restaurant says its Peking duck is marinated and air-dried for 24 to 48 hours before roasting, and only a limited number are made each service. A whole duck comes with 12 pancakes, duck sauce, cucumber and scallion, plus a choice of duck soup or minced duck lettuce wraps.

What to order: the whole Peking duck for a table of four, the black truffle and pork soup dumplings, and dan dan noodles. The bar pours baijiu, the Chinese spirit, straight or in cocktails.

Know before you go: Duck N Bao typically opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes between 9 and 10 p.m. Because the ducks are limited, go early or order ahead if the duck is the point. For more, see our Chinese food guide.

Fortune Eight

Rice Military, 5555 Washington Ave · Chinese fast casual · dine-in, takeout, delivery

Fortune Eight in the Washington Avenue Shopping Center builds fresh Asian bowls the way you want them, for dine-in, takeout or delivery. It's the quick weeknight answer on a street better known for big nights out.

Best for: a fast lunch or a takeout dinner on the way home. Check its Instagram for current hours.

Where to eat Vietnamese food on Washington Avenue

Local Pho at Sawyer Yards is the Washington Avenue corridor's Vietnamese pick, a family-run noodle shop inside the arts campus.

Local Pho

Sawyer Yards, 2313 Edwards St, Suite 145 · Vietnamese · open daily

Local Pho at Sawyer Yards serves recipes the owners say were passed down through their family. The beef pho comes with eye round added raw so it cooks in the hot broth, and there are chicken and vegan bowls too. The menu's sleeper hit is banh mi fries: fries topped with your choice of protein, a fried egg, pickled daikon and carrot, jalapeño and aioli.

What to order: the combination beef pho, then banh mi fries to share, and a Vietnamese coffee.

Know before you go: it's typically open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Pair it with a walk through the studios on the Sawyer Yards campus. Our citywide pho guide has more bowls.

Where to eat Thai food on Washington Avenue

Nara Thai at 4601 Washington Avenue is the corridor's Thai restaurant, and the easy choice for families.

Nara Thai

Washington Avenue, 4601 Washington Ave, Suite 100 · Thai · open daily

Nara Thai on Washington Avenue is part of a small Houston-area Thai group with a great origin story. By the company's own account, founder Danny Wongsuwan, who came from Thailand, got his start in 2006 selling chicken teriyaki at Houston flea markets, then opened the first Nara Thai in Humble in a repurposed sandwich shop. That's right: a Thai restaurant group that began with Japanese teriyaki.

What to order: the beef massaman simmered in coconut milk and served with sliced avocado, the roasted duck red curry with pineapple, and tom kha soup. Can't decide? The combination plate is nicknamed “the indecision platter” on the menu.

Know before you go: it's typically open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Nara Thai advertises a free kids' meal with any entree for children 12 and under, dine-in only, Sunday to Thursday. See our Thai food guide for the rest of the city.

Where to eat Indian food on Washington Avenue

Kitchen Rumors in the Old Sixth Ward is Washington Avenue's Indian pick, a creative Indian fusion restaurant built for sharing.

Kitchen Rumors

Old Sixth Ward, 2310 Decatur St · Indian fusion · dinner Tuesday to Sunday

Kitchen Rumors in the Old Sixth Ward, just south of Washington Avenue, is listed in the Michelin Guide as a fusion restaurant where Indian flavors meet global ones. The showstopper is a whole marinated chicken slow-roasted inside a sealed wheat dough crust and cracked open at the table. Around it, the menu runs to butter chicken ramen, bison short rib nihari, and spaghetti Bolognese made with Hyderabadi lamb keema.

What to order: the dough-crust chicken for the table, the lobster dumplings, and the oyster tikka.

Know before you go: dinner typically runs 5 to 10 p.m., it's closed Mondays, and the restaurant recommends reservations. There's on-site parking and a patio. It works as a date night on Washington Avenue.

For traditional curry houses, see our Indian restaurants guide.

Where to eat Japanese food on Washington Avenue

Washington Avenue has three Japanese picks: Aiko for omakase, Miyako for late-night sushi, and Soma Sushi for sushi and cocktails.

Aiko

East Washington, 1902 Washington Ave, Suite C · sushi and omakase · lunch and dinner daily

Aiko at 1902 Washington Avenue is run by two chefs with more than 30 years of combined experience in Japanese cooking, who built their careers in Houston. The name means “child of love” in Japanese. The omakase is served piece by piece at the sushi bar, with a $55 tasting (starter, crudo, five nigiri, a hand roll and mochi) and a longer $95 version, prices that may change.

What to order: the $55 omakase, or the yellowtail crudo with tom kha, the corn ribs with gochujang aioli, and engawa, flounder fin muscle, which the menu marks as limited.

Know before you go: Aiko typically serves lunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. daily, with a social hour at lunch and from 5 to 6:30 p.m. There's on-site parking. More counters in our best sushi in Houston.

Miyako Washington

Washington Avenue, 4601 Washington Ave, Suite 150 · sushi · open daily, late on weekends

Miyako on Washington Avenue is the newer of two Houston locations of a sushi restaurant that dates to 1978, by its own account. It shares a building with Nara Thai, so a split group can eat Thai and sushi on the same block.

What to order: nigiri and a couple of rolls from the sushi bar.

Know before you go: it's typically open until 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday, which makes it a reliable late sushi stop on the avenue.

Soma Sushi

Washington Avenue · sushi and cocktails · check hours online

Soma Sushi describes itself as serving elevated sushi and craft cocktails in the heart of Washington Avenue, a modern take on Japanese tradition.

Best for: sushi and a cocktail before a night on the avenue. Check its Instagram for current hours.

What about Korean food on Washington Avenue?

We couldn't confirm a Korean restaurant inside our Washington Avenue boundary in November 2026. For bulgogi and banchan, head to Long Point Road in Spring Branch, covered in our Korean restaurants guide. Closer to home, Aiko's corn ribs with gochujang aioli are a small Korean nod on a Japanese menu.

Save this: a Washington Avenue Asian food checklist

Screenshot this and tick them off:

1. Whole Peking duck at Duck N Bao (order early, it's limited).
2. Black truffle soup dumplings at Duck N Bao.
3. Banh mi fries at Local Pho, then a lap of Sawyer Yards.
4. Beef massaman with avocado at Nara Thai.
5. The dough-crust chicken cracked open at Kitchen Rumors.
6. Butter chicken ramen at Kitchen Rumors.
7. The $55 omakase at Aiko.
8. Midnight nigiri at Miyako on a Friday.

Want the wider city? Our Chinatown Asian restaurant guide covers Bellaire Boulevard, and Memorial Park is just west of Westcott Street if you need a walk after the duck.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best Asian restaurants on Washington Avenue in Houston?

Our picks are Duck N Bao and Fortune Eight (Chinese), Local Pho (Vietnamese), Nara Thai (Thai), Kitchen Rumors (Indian fusion), and Aiko, Miyako and Soma Sushi (Japanese). All eight sit on the Washington Avenue corridor between downtown and Westcott Street.

Where can I get Peking duck near Washington Avenue?

Duck N Bao at 5535 Memorial Drive in Rice Military serves house-roasted Peking duck, whole or half. The restaurant says each duck is marinated and air-dried for 24 to 48 hours and only a limited number are made each service, so go early.

Is there omakase on Washington Avenue?

Yes. Aiko at 1902 Washington Avenue serves a chef-guided omakase at the sushi bar, with a shorter and a longer tasting; its menu listed them at $55 and $95 in November 2026.

Is there a Korean restaurant on Washington Avenue?

We couldn't confirm a Korean restaurant inside the Washington Avenue corridor in November 2026. The nearest concentration of Korean restaurants is on Long Point Road in Spring Branch.

Which Washington Avenue Asian restaurant is open late?

Miyako at 4601 Washington Avenue typically stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday and until 11 p.m. the rest of the week. Nara Thai in the same building typically serves until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Which Asian restaurant on Washington Avenue is good for kids?

Nara Thai at 4601 Washington Avenue advertises a free kids' meal with any entree for children 12 and under, dine-in only, Sunday through Thursday.