Best International Grocery Stores in Houston

The best international grocery stores in Houston are spread across five distinct corridors: Asian supermarkets on Bellaire Boulevard’s Asiatown, Vietnamese and Cantonese markets further southwest, Indian and South Asian grocers on Hillcroft Avenue, African and Caribbean markets in Gulfton and Alief, and Middle Eastern importers along Westheimer. This guide covers eight picks — the specific store, what to buy there, and the sourced fact that makes the drive worthwhile.

Houston doesn’t have one international food district. It has five — and four of them are south of the West Loop.

The quick list

• For Korean and pan-Asian pantry staples: H Mart, multiple Houston-area locations
• For Chinese staples and live seafood: 99 Ranch Market, Bellaire Asiatown corridor
• For Vietnamese herbs and Southeast Asian produce: Viet Hoa, 8300 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S
• For Cantonese roasted meats: Hong Kong Food Market, Bellaire Blvd
• For Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and European imports: Phoenicia Specialty Foods, Westheimer and Downtown
• For Latin American staples and fresh tortillas: Fiesta Mart, Houston-born Hispanic grocer since 1972
• For Indian spices, lentils and fresh paneer: The Hillcroft corridor
• For African and Caribbean pantry staples: The Gulfton area markets

How we chose

Each market on this list was confirmed open via its own official website or is well-documented in Houston food guides, and carries something that makes the specific trip worth it: a prepared-food counter, an aisle you can’t replicate at a standard supermarket, or a regional specialty unavailable elsewhere. Hours and prices change; check each market’s own site before you drive.

Asian supermarkets in Houston: the Bellaire Asiatown corridor

Houston’s Asian commercial district runs along Bellaire Boulevard from roughly Chimney Rock Road west through Beltway 8, and is Houston's primary Asian commercial district and one of the most significant in Texas. The Bellaire Asiatown area anchors two major supermarket chains, a Cantonese grocery, and a Vietnamese supermarket within a few miles of each other. More on the dining scene in the Chinatown and Asiatown guide.

H Mart

H Mart is a Korean-American supermarket chain with multiple Houston-area locations. Founded in Woodside, Queens in 1982, it now operates more than 100 stores across North America, and its Houston locations carry Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, and Southeast Asian products under one roof.

What makes the trip worth it: The banchan (Korean side dish) counter near the prepared-foods section, selling house-made kimchi, braised potatoes, seasoned spinach, and jellyfish salad by the pound. The in-store food court typically runs Korean BBQ, sushi, and ramen stalls. It operates less like a grocery store and more like a destination you can spend a Saturday exploring.

What to buy: Gochujang, doenjang, sesame oil, dried seaweed by the case, fresh Asian produce (perilla leaf, shishito peppers, Korean chives), and Korean instant ramen in flavors unavailable anywhere else in Texas.

Check hmart.com for current Houston-area locations and hours before you go.

99 Ranch Market

99 Ranch Market is a pan-Asian supermarket chain with Chinese pantry goods at its core, surrounded by Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino products. In the Bellaire Asiatown corridor, it anchors a shopping plaza alongside Chinese restaurants, tea shops, and bakeries — the Bellaire Chinatown restaurant guide covers the dining options on the same block.

What makes the trip worth it: The live seafood tanks at the back: blue crab, whole snapper, tilapia, clams, and prawns sold to order by the pound. The prepared-foods counter runs char siu (Cantonese BBQ pork) and whole roasted duck on weekdays.

What to buy: Chinese pantry staples (oyster sauce, doubanjiang, Sichuan peppercorns), fresh tofu made daily, a full aisle of noodles from rice vermicelli to hand-pulled wheat, and Chinese sausage.

Check 99ranch.com for current Houston-area locations and hours. More Chinese food in Houston nearby.

Vietnamese and Southeast Asian: Viet Hoa

Viet Hoa International Foods at 8300 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S, Houston TX 77072 (phone: 832-448-8828) is a large Vietnamese-American supermarket stocked for cooking Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodian, and Chinese dishes, with a fresh produce section that carries what standard supermarkets don’t.

The “I didn’t know that” fact: Houston has one of the largest Vietnamese-American communities in the United States, concentrated in the Bellaire and southwest Houston corridor — a community that grew significantly from post-1975 refugee resettlement programs.

What makes the trip worth it: The fresh herb section, stocked with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, fresh turmeric, Vietnamese perilla, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), and banana blossoms. It’s the best fresh Southeast Asian herb selection in Houston for home cooks. The prepared-food section sells banh mi sandwiches to go.

What to buy: Shrimp paste in multiple varieties, pandan leaves, taro root, fresh banana flowers, fish sauce from regional Vietnamese producers, and French-Vietnamese pantry items (a nod to the community’s history).

Hours: The official site at viethoa.com does not publish hours; call 832-448-8828 before your first visit.

Pair a Viet Hoa run with a meal from our Vietnamese restaurant guide.

Cantonese grocery and roasted meats: Hong Kong Food Market

Hong Kong Food Market at Diho Square on Bellaire Boulevard is a Cantonese-focused supermarket in the heart of Asiatown. Diho Square was among the first Asian-focused retail centers built in Houston and remains a neighborhood anchor for the local Cantonese and Hong Kong community.

What makes the trip worth it: The roasted meats counter near the store entrance. Whole Cantonese-style roast duck, soy-sauce chicken, and char siu pork are prepared fresh and sold by the pound — ready to slice at home over steamed rice. It’s different from the char siu at 99 Ranch: this counter focuses on whole-bird and whole-piece roasted meats in the traditional Cantonese style.

What to buy: Cantonese pantry staples, preserved vegetables, dried shrimp, gai lan, yu choy, water spinach, and fresh tofu.

Verify the current address and hours directly before visiting — the official website was not accessible during research. Diho Square is on Bellaire Blvd in the Asiatown corridor; confirm the exact address and operating status.

Middle Eastern and European imports: Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Phoenicia Specialty Foods has been a Houston institution for more than 40 years. Their flagship Westheimer location (12141 Westheimer Rd, Houston TX 77077) spans 55,000 square feet and carries more than 10,000 products from over 50 countries — the densest collection of international pantry items under one Houston roof. A second location sits Downtown at 1001 Austin St, Houston TX 77010.

What makes the trip worth it: The olive and pickle bar with more than a dozen varieties sourced from Greece, Morocco, Turkey, Lebanon, and California. The cheese case stocks halloumi, feta, manchego, and hard-to-find European varieties at accessible prices. At the Westheimer store, Arpi’s Phoenicia Deli serves Mediterranean mezze plates on-site. The Downtown location has a coffee and gelato bar plus MKT BAR, a wine and beer gastropub.

What to buy: Za’atar, sumac, rose water, pomegranate molasses, tahini in bulk, imported Greek olive oil, Lebanese flatbread, Eastern European pickled vegetables, and international chocolate.

• Westheimer: 12141 Westheimer Rd · typically Mon–Sat 8am–9pm, Sun 8am–7pm · (281) 558-8225
• Downtown: 1001 Austin St · typically Mon–Wed 8am–7:30pm, Thu–Fri 8am–8pm, Sat 8:30am–8pm, Sun 8:30am–6pm · (832) 360-2222

Check the official site before you go for current hours. Our best halal restaurants guide has more Middle Eastern dining nearby.

Hispanic and Latin American: Fiesta Mart

Fiesta Mart was founded in Houston in 1972 as a Hispanic-focused grocer, and now operates more than 60 Texas locations as part of Chedraui USA.

The “I didn’t know that” fact: Fiesta Mart has been serving Texas since 1972 — a full decade before major national supermarket chains began deliberately catering to Hispanic and immigrant communities in major US cities. The official company description is still “Hispanic-focused retailer,” but its shelves reflect a far broader range of Houston’s communities.

What makes the trip worth it: The in-store tortillería at most locations, making fresh flour and corn tortillas on-site daily. The produce section carries tomatillos, nopales (cactus paddles), chayote, fresh tamarind, and plantains as standard stock, not as specialty items. The butcher section stocks cuts rarely found at Anglo-style supermarkets: tripe, lengua (tongue), and bone-in cabrito.

What to buy: Dried ancho, mulato, pasilla, and guajillo chiles by the bag; Maseca masa; piloncillo; Mexican oregano; Knorr Suiza caldo; dozens of hot sauce brands.

Find the nearest Houston location at fiestamart.com. See our Mexican restaurant guide for dining nearby.

South Asian spices and groceries: the Hillcroft corridor

Hillcroft Avenue south of the Southwest Freeway (US-59) is Houston’s South Asian commercial corridor, sometimes called “Little India.” The stretch between US-59 and Westheimer includes Indian grocery stores, spice shops, and a sweet shop within a few blocks — the densest South Asian grocery corridor in Houston.

What makes the trip worth it: Spice bins with hard-to-find South Asian spices sold in quantity. Fresh curry leaves (nearly impossible to source outside specialty stores), black mustard seeds, fenugreek, atta flour for chapati, fresh paneer and ghee from Indian dairies, and multiple lentil varieties (moong, masoor, toor dal, chana dal) that go far beyond the generic grocery store offering.

What to buy: Cardamom pods by the ounce, asafoetida (hing), tamarind concentrate, frozen Indian bread varieties (paratha, puri), whole spice blends for specific regional cuisines, and Indian snack brands (Haldiram’s, Bikaji) not stocked elsewhere in Houston.

Our Best Indian Restaurants in Houston guide has more on the Hillcroft area food scene.

African and Caribbean: the Gulfton area

Houston’s Gulfton neighborhood (zip code 77081) has one of the highest concentrations of international residents in the city, with communities from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ghana, Jamaica, and dozens of other countries within a few square miles. Multiple African and Caribbean grocery markets in the area around Gulfton, Harwin Drive, and Bissonnet stock items unavailable in any other Houston grocery corridor.

What makes the trip worth it: A completely different pantry category. Fufu flour (cassava and plantain varieties), dried crayfish, egusi (melon seeds for West African soups), suya spice blend, fresh scotch bonnet peppers, and palm oil from specific West African regions are staples here that no standard grocery carries.

What to buy: Fufu flour, ogi/akamu (fermented corn porridge), bitter leaf, dried catfish, suya spice, plantains at peak ripeness, and West and East African snack brands.

Save this: what to buy and where

• Kimchi, gochujang, banchan, Korean ramen → H Mart
• Live blue crab, char siu pork, Chinese pantry → 99 Ranch Market
• Lemongrass, galangal, fresh banh mi → Viet Hoa
• Cantonese roast duck, gai lan, dried shrimp → Hong Kong Food Market
• Olives, halloumi, za’atar, tahini → Phoenicia Specialty Foods
• Fresh tortillas, dried chiles, nopales → Fiesta Mart
• Curry leaves, atta flour, fresh paneer, toor dal → Hillcroft corridor groceries
• Fufu flour, egusi, suya spice, scotch bonnets → Gulfton area markets

Plan your international grocery haul

The Bellaire Asiatown corridor covers H Mart, 99 Ranch Market, Hong Kong Food Market, and Viet Hoa within a few miles of each other — a full Saturday morning. Combine with a meal from the Beyond BBQ international districts guide.

For Middle Eastern and Indian in one afternoon: Phoenicia’s Westheimer location puts you 10 minutes from the Hillcroft corridor by car. Cover both regions in under three hours.

More Houston food geography: Best Restaurants in Houston.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest Asian supermarket in Houston?

H Mart and 99 Ranch Market are the two largest Asian supermarket chains in Houston, both anchoring the Bellaire Boulevard Asiatown corridor in southwest Houston. H Mart specializes in Korean and pan-Asian products; 99 Ranch Market has a Chinese pantry focus with live seafood tanks and roasted meats.

Where is Houston’s Asiatown grocery shopping district?

The Bellaire Boulevard corridor in southwest Houston, running roughly from Chimney Rock Road west to Beltway 8, is the main Asian commercial district. H Mart, 99 Ranch Market, Hong Kong Food Market, and Viet Hoa are all within a few miles of each other in this area.

Where can I find Indian spices in Houston?

The Hillcroft Avenue corridor south of US-59, sometimes called “Little India,” has the highest concentration of South Asian grocery stores in Houston. You’ll find bulk spice bins, fresh curry leaves, atta flour, multiple lentil varieties, fresh paneer, and ghee from Indian dairies.

Where can I find Middle Eastern groceries in Houston?

Phoenicia Specialty Foods has two Houston locations: 12141 Westheimer Rd (Energy Corridor area, 55,000 sq ft) and 1001 Austin St Downtown. Both carry over 10,000 products from more than 50 countries, including a large olive and pickle bar, imported cheeses, and a full halal butcher section.

Is there an African grocery store in Houston?

Yes. The Gulfton neighborhood and Alief area in southwest Houston have several African and Caribbean grocery markets. They stock fufu flour, egusi, dried crayfish, suya spice, scotch bonnet peppers, and West and East African pantry staples unavailable in any other Houston grocery corridor.

Do Houston international grocery stores sell prepared food?

Several do. H Mart has an in-store food court with Korean BBQ, sushi, and ramen. Viet Hoa sells banh mi sandwiches to go. Phoenicia’s Westheimer store has Arpi’s Deli for Mediterranean mezze plates and the Downtown location has MKT BAR. Fiesta Mart has Pepe’s Kitchen for Mexican hot food.