Where to Get the Best Menudo and Pozole in Houston
Date Published
The best menudo and pozole in Houston come from a New York Times–recognized Spring Branch taqueria, a Montrose family bakery open at 7 a.m., and taquerias scattered across the city that treat Sunday morning as a civic event. Most spots serve menudo only on weekends; pozole tends to run all week.
What is menudo?
Menudo is a beef tripe and hominy soup slow-cooked in a chile broth. The red version — menudo rojo — is the dominant style in Houston, built from dried guajillo and other chiles that give the broth its deep brick-red color. A white version, menudo blanco, skips the chile for a cleaner, fattier broth; it turns up occasionally at restaurants with northern Mexican or Sonoran roots. The soup arrives with warm tortillas and accompaniments you stir in yourself: diced white onion, dried oregano or fresh cilantro, crushed dried chile, and lime. Eating it is participatory by design.
What is pozole?
Pozole is a close cousin: the same large, chewy hominy kernels in a rich broth with pork (or sometimes chicken), dressed at the table with shredded cabbage, sliced radish, white onion, dried oregano, and lime. Three versions exist — rojo (red chile), verde (tomatillo and green chile), and blanco (light, minimal chile). Unlike menudo, pozole is not tied to a single morning ritual; most of the restaurants below serve it on a full-week schedule.
The weekend morning tradition
In Houston’s Mexican communities — many with deep roots in Jalisco, Michoacán, and Hidalgo — Sunday menudo is a multi-generational tradition that functions less like brunch and more like a standing appointment. The best spots open before sunrise, fill steadily from 8 a.m., and run out before noon. Arriving early is the unspoken rule. Bring cash to most of these places, expect a wait at the popular ones, and plan for the tortillas to disappear faster than the bowl.
El Hidalguense — Spring Branch, 6917 Long Point Rd
El Hidalguense is the most decorated restaurant on this list. In 2023 The New York Times named it one of the 50 best restaurants in the United States, making it the only Houston spot to appear that year. The kitchen is best known for its Sunday barbacoa. Pozole is available year-round; menudo is most reliably found on weekends — call ahead to confirm weekday availability. Handmade tortillas arrive with every bowl, pressed and cooked in the kitchen while you wait. The pozole is $15.99 per the published menu.
Open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Located in Spring Branch, a few minutes off I-10.
Best for: the full Long Point experience. Come for the menudo, stay for the tortillas and the barbacoa.
La Guadalupana Bakery & Café — Montrose, 2109 Dunlavy St
La Guadalupana is part bakery, part café, and part neighborhood anchor in Montrose. The space is small, service is counter-order, and the menu covers breakfast tacos, enchiladas, huevos rancheros, and both menudo and pozole — available as weekend specials. It opens at 7 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closes at 2 p.m. — which makes it natural for the crowd that skips brunch entirely. Order a cup of café de olla and a piece of pan dulce alongside the bowl. Closed Mondays.
Best for: menudo paired with pan dulce, without the brunch-spot rush.
Chapultepec Lupita — Montrose, 813 Richmond Ave
Chapultepec Lupita has served the Montrose neighborhood since 1977, making it one of Houston’s longest-running Mexican restaurants. The hours are its signature: it opens at 7 a.m. daily. Current hours run until approximately 1 a.m. Monday, 2 a.m. Tuesday, and 4 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday — confirm before a late visit, as hours can change. Menudo is a confirmed menu item at approximately $13.50–$17.50 depending on size, served with fresh jalapeños, onion, cilantro, and your choice of flour or corn tortillas.
The restaurant has built its late-night reputation as the place Houston goes when the night needs a second chapter — but it works just as well at sunrise.
Best for: menudo at 7 a.m. or well past midnight, one of the few spots in Houston where both are genuinely possible.
Laredo Taqueria — near Washington Ave, 915 Snover St
Laredo Taqueria is a no-frills breakfast and lunch institution in the Washington Avenue and Memorial Park corridor, open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Sundays). Multiple customer sources confirm menudo on the menu. The restaurant has outdoor seating and its own parking lot — both of which fill up fast on Saturday mornings.
Best for: a weekday morning bowl before the neighborhood wakes up, or an early Saturday before the lot fills.
Doña Chela — East End, 3738 Broadway St (plus other locations)
Doña Chela has been the menudo anchor of Houston’s East End for more than two decades. The recipe traces back to owner Teresa Ramón’s own family tradition, which explains why it has outlasted trends and kept regulars loyal across three locations: the original Broadway Street spot in the East End, a second at 1112 76th St, and a third at 7222 Spencer Hwy in Pasadena. Open Sunday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday–Saturday to 10 p.m.
Best for: East End menudo with a family-tradition backstory and a schedule that works any day of the week.
Taqueria Arandas — Multiple Houston locations
Taqueria Arandas has been a family-run operation since 1981 and operates 26 Texas locations, including more than a dozen across the greater Houston area. Menudo is confirmed as a menu item at Houston locations. Hours vary significantly by location — some run until 2 a.m. on weeknights, others close earlier — so check the specific location at taqueriasarandas.com before going. If you need late-night menudo, the Houston locations with extended hours are among the few options in the city.
Best for: consistent menudo across the city, including late-night when most other spots are long closed.
Hugo’s — Montrose, 1600 Westheimer Rd
Hugo’s is the flagship of Chef Hugo Ortega’s H Town Restaurant Group and serves regional Mexican food with refinement and full table service. The kitchen is known for its Pozole Rojo — red chile broth with littleneck clams and pumpkin seeds — though the menu changes seasonally. Check the current menu at hugosrestaurant.net before going. Reservations are strongly recommended.
See also: Xochi Houston, Hugo Ortega’s Oaxacan restaurant downtown, for another elevated take on Mexican cooking in the same group.
Best for: a special-occasion pozole that is unlike anything else in Houston.
Viva Jalisco — Tomball and Spring (northwest Houston)
Viva Jalisco has two locations northwest of the city: 10800 Spring Cypress Rd, Tomball, and 20706 Kuykendahl Rd, Spring. Both are open every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and serve menudo ($11.99 and up) and pozole ($11.99 and up) in a red chile broth, available in regular and large sizes. This is the most convenient stop if you’re coming from Katy, Cypress, The Woodlands, or Tomball.
Best for: northwest Houston residents who want menudo or pozole without the drive into the city.
Tamales Doña Tere — Multiple Houston locations
Tamales Doña Tere built its reputation on its tamales, but pozole has become a real reason to show up on its own. Locations include 11660 Westheimer Rd and 6031 Hwy 6 N (northwest Houston), among others. Most locations open between 6 and 8 a.m. and run through the afternoon or evening. The combination of early hours and familiar recipes makes it one of the more practical stops for a pozole before 9 a.m.
Best for: pairing a bowl of pozole with a dozen tamales to take home.
How we chose
We looked for restaurants with menudo or pozole confirmed as current menu items via official websites, verified ordering platforms, or authoritative published sources, and where a current address and hours were verifiable as of October 2026. We excluded restaurants where menudo appeared only in unverified reviews or where the business showed signs of closure. Spots with partial confirmation are noted in editor notes below. Every restaurant on this list is currently operating at a known Houston-area address.
Save this: a Sunday morning menudo route
Sunday menudo is a slow morning commitment, not an errand. Here is a practical east-to-west route across the city for anyone who wants to cover the best in a single morning.
- East End first: Doña Chela on Broadway. Open at 7 a.m., steady crowd, family recipe.
- Spring Branch midpoint: El Hidalguense on Long Point. The parking lot fills after 9 a.m. — go early. Grab handmade tortillas with the bowl.
- Montrose finish: La Guadalupana on Dunlavy, before the 2 p.m. close. Order café de olla and pan dulce while you sit.
If you’re staying in Montrose, Chapultepec Lupita on Richmond covers everything from 7 a.m. to past midnight without requiring you to move.
For more Mexican food across the city, see Best Mexican Restaurants in Houston, Best Tacos in Houston, and Best Breakfast in Houston.
Last verified: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is menudo only served on weekends in Houston?
Most taquerias in Houston serve menudo on Saturday and Sunday mornings only, and often run out before noon. A few spots — including El Hidalguense on Long Point Road, Doña Chela in the East End, Chapultepec Lupita in Montrose, and Taqueria Arandas — offer it on weekdays or daily. Check the specific restaurant before going.
What is the difference between menudo rojo and menudo blanco?
Menudo rojo is made with dried guajillo and other red chiles, giving the broth its deep red color and earthy heat. Menudo blanco skips the chiles for a lighter, fattier broth. In Houston, rojo is the dominant style; blanco turns up occasionally at restaurants with northern Mexican or Sonoran roots.
What is the difference between menudo and pozole?
Both are Mexican hominy soups, but they use different meats and traditions. Menudo uses beef tripe in a chile broth and is closely tied to weekend morning culture. Pozole uses pork or chicken and is dressed with cabbage, radish, and oregano at the table. Pozole comes in red, green, and white versions; menudo is almost always red in Houston.
Which Houston restaurant serves the best pozole?
For an elevated experience, Hugo’s on Westheimer in Montrose is known for its Pozole Rojo — red chile broth with littleneck clams and pumpkin seeds — though the menu changes seasonally, so check before going. For a reliably available everyday bowl, El Hidalguense on Long Point Road serves pozole year-round. Viva Jalisco in Tomball and Spring offers pozole daily from 6 a.m.
What do you eat with menudo?
Menudo arrives with warm corn or flour tortillas and a plate of garnishes you add to taste: diced white onion, fresh or dried oregano, cilantro, crushed dried chile, and lime. Most Houston spots let you choose your tortilla style. Squeezing lime into the broth and adding onion is standard; how much chile you add is up to you.
Where can I find menudo in Houston late at night?
Chapultepec Lupita at 813 Richmond Ave in Montrose is open until 4 a.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and until 2 a.m. on Sunday and Monday. Menudo is on the menu. Taqueria Arandas locations with extended hours also serve menudo late on weeknights at select Houston locations.