Barbecue in Sharpstown and Gulfton: Brisket, Kabobs and 8 Grills

The best barbecue in Sharpstown and Gulfton starts with Pappas Bar-B-Q on the Southwest Freeway at Bellaire Boulevard, the only Texas-style pit in these two southwest Houston neighborhoods that we could verify. The rest of the list is barbecue in the global sense: kabobs over charcoal on Hillcroft, tandoor grills, Cantonese roast duck, Korean tabletop grills in Chinatown and a Tampico-style mixed grill in Gulfton. All eight picks below were confirmed as operating on their own official websites in November 2026.

Here's the hook we'd put on a sticker: in Sharpstown and Gulfton, barbecue means whatever is over the fire. One afternoon can take you from hickory-smoked brisket to saffron chicken to a crackling slab of roast pork belly, all within a few miles of the same freeway exit.

Where are Sharpstown and Gulfton?

We use the City of Houston's super neighborhood lines and checked every address on this list against the city's super neighborhood map. Sharpstown (Super Neighborhood 26) is bounded by Beltway 8 on the west, the Westpark Tollway on the north, the Southwest Freeway (I-69/US-59) on the east and Brays Bayou on the south. That puts the Mahatma Gandhi District on Hillcroft and the stretch of Chinatown between Gessner Road and the Beltway inside it. Gulfton (Super Neighborhood 27) sits across the freeway, outside the 610 Loop and just north of the city of Bellaire.

Two boundary notes. Blood Bros. BBQ, the Asian-Texan smokehouse on Bellaire Boulevard, is in the City of Bellaire, not Gulfton, so it lives in our Chinatown barbecue guide. And anything west of Beltway 8 belongs to Alief, covered in our Alief barbecue guide.

Five things even regulars don't know

• You can get a brisket breakfast taco from a drive-thru before 7 a.m. Pappas Bar-B-Q's I-59 at Bellaire location opens its drive-thru at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, and the Pappas breakfast menu lists a Beef Brisket, Egg & Cheese taco.
• Pappas started with barbecue. The company says its whole restaurant family started with one little Pappas Bar-B-Q in downtown Houston.
• Himalaya's Hunter's Beef is basically Pakistani pastrami. The restaurant describes the dish as Indian-style pastrami: beef cubes marinated and cured in traditional spices.
• Darband has been grilling kabobs on Hillcroft since 1986. It calls itself the oldest Persian restaurant in Houston.
• Fung's Kitchen will wrap your Peking duck in a tortilla. The menu offers the house-roasted duck with your choice of steamed buns or tortilla wraps, a very Houston option.

How we chose

Every pick had to sit inside the Sharpstown or Gulfton boundary above, cook meat over smoke, charcoal, a tandoor or a grill as a main event rather than a side, and show current hours, a live menu or online ordering on its own official website as of November 2026. The dishes we name come from those official menus.

We're upfront about one thing: Sharpstown and Gulfton have just one verifiable Texas-style barbecue restaurant, so this guide covers the neighborhoods' barbecue as it actually exists, across five cuisines. We left out several Chinatown roast-meat counters and skewer bars because we couldn't confirm them on an official site. That doesn't mean they've closed. Hours change, so treat every schedule below as typical and check the official site before you go.

The quick list

• Texas brisket and ribs: Pappas Bar-B-Q (I-59 at Bellaire)
• Cantonese roast duck and pork belly: Fung's Kitchen
• Pakistani grill and cured beef: Himalaya
• Tandoor and a full bar: London Sizzler
• Chicken tikka and burgers: Bismillah Restaurant & Cafe
• Persian kabobs: Darband Shishkabob
• All-you-can-eat Korean BBQ until 2 a.m.: Hongdae 33
• Gulfton mixed grill: Tacos El Jaibo

Texas barbecue on the Southwest Freeway

1. Pappas Bar-B-Q (I-59 at Bellaire)

Sharpstown, 7007 Southwest Fwy (Hwy. 59 South) · Texas barbecue · open daily

Pappas Bar-B-Q at I-59 and Bellaire Boulevard is the Texas-style answer in Sharpstown: brisket and ribs slow-smoked over Texas hickory and mesquite, according to the company. Order the Mixed Platter (beef, ham, sausage, rib and pulled pork) if you want a tour, or the Rib Combo (one beef rib, two pork ribs and three baby backs) if ribs are the point. The dining room typically opens at 11 a.m. daily and closes at 9 p.m., or 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Insider tip: the weekday drive-thru opens at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast tacos, then closes from 10 to 11 a.m. every day while lunch gets going. This location also has three party rooms, the largest seating up to 120, which makes it a go-to for team lunches and family reunions.

Cantonese roast meats

2. Fung's Kitchen

Sharpstown, 7320 Southwest Fwy #115 · Cantonese and dim sum · closed Mondays

Fung's Kitchen on the Southwest Freeway is a banquet-hall Cantonese restaurant with a serious roasting program. The site calls its Peking duck award-winning: it's carved and served with scallions, plum sauce and your choice of steamed buns or tortilla wraps, by the half or whole duck. For barbecue in the Cantonese sense, add the Roast Pork Belly with crispy skin and Fung's BBQ Pork in the house sweet barbecue sauce. Fung's is typically open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Best for: a big group, a lazy Sunday of dim sum that turns into duck, or a celebration.

Hillcroft and the Mahatma Gandhi District

The Hillcroft stretch between the Southwest Freeway and the Westpark Tollway is Houston's South Asian dining street, and its grills run hot. For the wider scene, see our best Pakistani restaurants in Houston and best halal restaurants.

3. Himalaya Restaurant

Sharpstown, near Hillcroft on the Southwest Freeway · Pakistani and Indian · closed Mondays

Himalaya has served Indian and Pakistani food in the Hillcroft area since 2004, and its chef was a James Beard semifinalist in 2019, according to the restaurant. Order the Hunter's Beef Plate, the cured, spiced beef the kitchen compares to pastrami, and anything from the kebab and grilled-meat side of the menu. It's BYOB. Himalaya is typically open Tuesday to Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday to Sunday until 10:30 p.m.; the dining room switches to takeout only for the last half hour.

4. London Sizzler

Sharpstown, 6690 Southwest Fwy · Indian bar and grill · dinner Tuesday to Sunday

London Sizzler on the Southwest Freeway describes its cooking as Indian food influenced by British colonialism and African spices, and it has a full bar, which is rare on this stretch. The grill is the reason to come: the restaurant's own photos show tandoori chicken, tandoori wings, chicken kabobs, lamb chops and a sizzling mixed grill. It typically opens at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and at noon on weekends, until 11 p.m. Its website links to online reservations.

5. Bismillah Restaurant & Cafe

Sharpstown, 5696 Hillcroft St · Pakistani-American · closed Mondays

Bismillah on Hillcroft is a family-run Pakistani cafe, now led by the founders' son and daughter, that mixes kebabs and curries with burgers, pizza and wings. For barbecue, order the Chicken Tikka Boti, the restaurant's featured specialty. It's typically open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Best for: a group where half the table wants kebabs and half wants a burger.

6. Darband Shishkabob

Sharpstown, 5670 Hillcroft Ave · Persian kabobs

Darband Shishkabob on Hillcroft has served Houston since 1986 and bills itself as the city's oldest Persian restaurant. The menu is a straight run of charbroiled kabobs served with vegetables and fresh-baked bread, most with grilled tomatoes too: Kubideh (ground beef with grated onion), Barg (thin-sliced marinated beef filet), Jujeh (saffron-and-lime Cornish hen) and the Soltani, which pairs barg with kubideh. Prices are modest. For more, see our best Persian restaurants in Houston.

Korean barbecue in Chinatown

7. Hongdae 33 Korean BBQ

Sharpstown, 9889 Bellaire Blvd, Suite D-229 (Dun Huang Plaza) · all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ · open late

Hongdae 33, named for Seoul's Hongdae cultural district, is an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant in Dun Huang Plaza in Chinatown. The restaurant says it uses only USDA Prime, USDA Prime Black Angus and USDA Choice beef. Here's a fun contrast for Texans: its Black Angus Beef Brisket is shaved paper-thin and cooked at the table in seconds. Add the Texas Wagyu Sliced Beef Belly and Premium Tamari Pork Jowl, plus Black Angus LA-Galbi short ribs on the dinner menu. It's typically open from 11:30 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with last seating an hour before close. More options are in our best Korean BBQ in Houston guide.

Gulfton

8. Tacos El Jaibo

Gulfton, 5821 Bellaire Blvd · Tampico-style Mexican · open daily

Tacos El Jaibo on Bellaire Boulevard serves Mexican food with the flavor of Tampico, on Mexico's Gulf coast, and it's the Gulfton pick for grilled meat. Order the Parrillada Jaibo, a platter of charbroiled chicken, beef fajita and sausage with grilled onions, chiles toreados, rice and charro beans, sized for one or more. The menu flags parts of it as Bellaire location only, so this Gulfton branch is the one to visit. A whole Pollo Asado with tortillas and the Tampiqueña (steak with enchiladas) are the other plays. It's typically open every day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., so breakfast works too.

Save this: the Sharpstown and Gulfton barbecue crawl

1. Breakfast: brisket, egg and cheese taco from the Pappas Bar-B-Q drive-thru at I-59 and Bellaire (weekdays from 6:30 a.m.).
2. Lunch: kabobs at Darband or chicken tikka at Bismillah, a few doors apart on Hillcroft.
3. Afternoon: roast pork belly to go from Fung's Kitchen (not on Mondays).
4. Dinner: Korean barbecue at Hongdae 33, or the Parrillada Jaibo for two in Gulfton.

Checklist:

• Avoid Mondays: Fung's Kitchen, Himalaya and Bismillah close, and London Sizzler doesn't list Monday hours.
• Bring your own drinks to Himalaya (BYOB); London Sizzler and Hongdae 33 have bars.
• Hongdae 33 is the late option, open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
• Pappas is the only Texas-style pit inside the boundary; for more brisket, cross into Bellaire or Alief using the guides linked above.
• Check each official site the day you go.

Getting there and parking

Sharpstown and Gulfton are southwest of downtown Houston along I-69/US-59 (the Southwest Freeway). Exit at Hillcroft for the Gandhi District picks, Bellaire Boulevard for Pappas, Fung's and Tacos El Jaibo, and Gessner or Bellaire for Chinatown. Most of these restaurants sit in shopping plazas with surface lots. If you're making a day of it, our Sharpstown and Gulfton brunch guide covers the morning, and the citywide best BBQ in Houston guide covers the big-name pits.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is there Texas-style barbecue in Sharpstown?

Yes. Pappas Bar-B-Q at I-59 and Bellaire Boulevard (7007 Southwest Fwy) smokes brisket and ribs over Texas hickory and mesquite. It's the only Texas-style barbecue restaurant inside Sharpstown or Gulfton that we could verify.

Where can I get Korean BBQ in Sharpstown?

Hongdae 33 Korean BBQ in Dun Huang Plaza, 9889 Bellaire Blvd, is an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant in the Sharpstown part of Houston's Chinatown. It's typically open until midnight Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on weekends.

What are the best kabob restaurants on Hillcroft?

Darband Shishkabob (Persian, since 1986), Himalaya (Pakistani and Indian), Bismillah Restaurant & Cafe (Pakistani-American) and London Sizzler (Indian bar and grill) are all on or near Hillcroft in Sharpstown. Darband's kubideh and barg are the classic orders.

Can you get barbecue for breakfast in Sharpstown?

Yes. The Pappas Bar-B-Q drive-thru at I-59 and Bellaire opens at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, and the Pappas breakfast menu includes a brisket, egg and cheese taco.

Is Blood Bros. BBQ in Gulfton?

No. Blood Bros. BBQ at 5425 Bellaire Blvd is in the City of Bellaire, just outside Gulfton. Houston.com covers it in its Chinatown barbecue guide.

Which Sharpstown barbecue spots are closed on Mondays?

Fung's Kitchen, Himalaya and Bismillah close on Mondays, and London Sizzler lists no Monday hours. Pappas Bar-B-Q, Hongdae 33 and Tacos El Jaibo are typically open daily.