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
Kid-friendly restaurants in Seabrook, TX: six family spots for pizza, Liege waffles, seafood and space-themed ice cream, plus honest notes on kids menus.
Six BBQ stops near Houston's Washington Avenue, from Truth BBQ's two sell-out windows to Pizzitola's on Shepherd since 1935, plus a BBQ day route.
Best BBQ in and near League City, TX: seven verified joints, from a post oak original on Main Street to a Kemah meat market smoking brisket since 1974.
Barbecue near Kemah, TX: T-Bone Tom's on Highway 146, Dave's Smokehouse in Seabrook and four more Bay Area pits, with typical hours and what to order.
Kid-friendly restaurants in La Porte, TX: kids menus, a Houston Ship Channel view, BBQ, pizza and breakfast, each checked on its own official site.
The best Asian restaurants in Memorial, Houston: a BYOB halal Indian buffet, an izakaya, ramen, special-occasion sushi and late-night Chinese takeout.
Asian restaurants in Humble, TX: pho shops on the Beltway, all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and hot pot on FM 1960, and Indian kitchens with Indo-Chinese.
The best tacos in Sharpstown and Gulfton, from Tampico-style cecina on Bellaire Blvd to $8 mini tacos, grocery taquerias and a 1 a.m. Saturday stop.
Burgers in Sharpstown and Gulfton, Houston: bison under the Westpark Tollway since 1985, halal smash burgers, a Mexican hamburguesa and 24-hour stops.
Date night in Sharpstown and Gulfton: wagyu shabu, BYOB Indo-Pak, Japanese whisky, a free two-step lesson, a karaoke room for two and churros after.
Breakfast in Sharpstown and Gulfton: 5 a.m. kolaches, Tampico-style tacos, Taiwanese rice rolls, Ethiopian ful and a 24-hour diner, all verified open.
Brunch in the Memorial Villages, verified: 8 weekend spots in Hedwig Village and Spring Valley Village, from a 6 a.m. kolache run to a 4 p.m. shakshouka.
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