Best Restaurants in Seabrook, TX: Where to Eat on the Bay

Seabrook is the bay town you cross on Highway 146 on the way to Kemah, and most people never slow down. That's a mistake if you're hungry. Inside a few square miles you'll find a Thai restaurant that came back after a hurricane took everything but its sign, a seafood house with oysters named after the town's mascot bird, a cafe that has served Seabrook since 1985 and a pizza joint whose story starts in 1969.

In Seabrook, the pelicans are fiberglass, the oysters are named after them, and the pizza has been flying since the year we landed on the moon.

Here are 15 places we'd send you, from breakfast tacos to bouillabaisse, with what to order and a one-day eating route to save.

What we mean by Seabrook

For this guide, Seabrook means the City of Seabrook: the bayfront strip between La Porte to the north, the Clear Lake channel and Kemah to the south, and the Clear Lake area to the west along NASA Parkway.

Seabrook eats in three clusters:

• Old Seabrook, the grid of Main Street, Hall Avenue and 2nd through 5th Streets near the bay, plus Waterfront Drive. Cottages, oak trees, coffee, waffles and Merlion.
• Bayport Boulevard (Highway 146), the main road through town, where you'll find Tookie's.
• NASA Parkway, the strip running west toward Clear Lake past marinas and yacht clubs, packed with family-run spots in small shopping centers.

How we chose

We started with Visit Seabrook's dining directory and kept places whose own websites confirm a Seabrook address, favoring local, family-run spots over chains. Hours change, so check before you go. Nobody paid to be here.

Five things even locals don't know

• Merlion was washed away by Hurricane Ike. The restaurant says the 2008 storm left nothing but its sign; it reopened in February 2009, two streets over. The original spot had been Thai since 1990, when the chef's father opened Bay Thai there.
• Mario's says its "flying pizza" first landed on the Texas coast in 1969, the same year Apollo 11 landed on the moon, with Mission Control a few miles up NASA Parkway.
• At Tookie's, a "Pelican" is an oyster, baked with bacon, jalapeño and cheese. In a town whose Pelican Path dots the streets with painted fiberglass pelicans, it's the most Seabrook thing on any menu.
• Seabrook Waffle Company began as a conversation between neighbors about needing a place for the community. It opened in May 2012.
• Habanero's isn't named for the heat. The taco shop says the name is about a way of life: relaxed and unhurried, like the coast of the Mexican Caribbean.

The best restaurants in Seabrook

1. Tookie's Seafood

Best for: oysters and Gulf seafood, Seabrook-style. Where: 1106 Bayport Blvd.

If you only eat once in Seabrook, eat here. Tookie's calls itself a mesquite grill and shuck room, and the oysters are the reason to come: on the half shell, or baked as Pelicans, Rocky's (shrimp, spinach and bacon) or New Orleans style with oyster butter and parmesan.

What to order: the oyster trio, which gives you two each of three baked styles, then something off the mesquite grill such as Texas redfish or red snapper. The menu's names are half the fun: Shrimp Squealers are bacon-wrapped stuffed shrimp, Shrimp Blimps are seafood-stuffed jumbo shrimp and Fried Beach Balls are jalapeños stuffed with seafood and cheese. Tookie's is typically open daily for lunch and dinner.

2. Merlion Thai Restaurant and Lounge

Best for: date night. Where: 1205 Main St, Old Seabrook.

Merlion is the most dressed-up dinner in town, in a cottage on Main Street run by a second-generation Thai chef who puts an American fusion twist on his father's cooking. It takes reservations, and there's a dress code for the main dining rooms: no hats, cut-offs or tank tops.

What to order: the Merlion Signature Dish, red snapper pan-seared or panko-crusted in a Thai basil red curry with scallops and New Zealand mussels, or a panang curry with seafood. Start with corn cakes or crab and cream cheese rolls. There's also a five-course Chef's Table menu for two or more. Insider tip: happy hour is on the bar and patio only, and there's a late "reverse" happy hour at the bar.

3. Seabrook Classic Cafe

Best for: chicken-fried steak and a slice of pie. Where: 2511 E NASA Pkwy, in the Lakeside Yachting Center.

Seabrook Classic Cafe has served the town since 1985 and does what its name promises: homestyle American cooking with a Southern, Gulf Coast lean.

What to order: chicken-fried steak or a shrimp po' boy, the seafood gumbo, and house-made Key lime or peanut butter pie. On weekends it opens early for breakfast (dine-in only), when the crab cake Benedict and migas come out.

4. Frenchie's Villa Capri

Best for: old-school Italian with a lake view. Where: 3713 NASA Pkwy.

Run by brothers, Villa Capri is the classic special-occasion Italian dinner on this side of the lake, with a Garden Rooftop room for small parties that looks out over the garden and Clear Lake.

What to order: Bouillabaisse Capri-style, a steaming bowl of seafood in white wine sauce (there's a version for two), or snapper Pontchartrain. The Sunday brunch buffet is the other big draw. Typically closed Mondays.

5. Mario's Flying Pizza and Italian Restaurant

Best for: New York-style pizza and a family table. Where: 2100 NASA Pkwy, Suite 100.

Mario's leans into its story: hand-tossed, New York-style "flying pizzas," now alongside a full Italian menu. It takes reservations and delivers.

What to order: a hand-tossed pie, or pasta from the full Italian menu.

6. Habanero's Taco Co.

Best for: Yucatán cooking, not Tex-Mex. Where: 1908 Hialeah Dr.

Habanero's has served Seabrook since 2014 and says it plainly: no Tex-Mex here. The food leans toward the Yucatán and the Mexican Caribbean, with banana leaves, achiote, plantains and a properly spicy habanero salsa.

What to order: cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork in annatto and orange, wrapped in banana leaves), the Mayan ceviche, or plantain tacos with pickled red onion and queso fresco. Finish with the Yucatán tres leches.

7. Viola and Agnes' Neo Soul Food

Best for: Louisiana soul food. Where: 3659 NASA Rd 1, Suite A.

A chef from Lake Charles who trained in New Orleans and spent years cooking offshore runs this small cafe, and the menu is short on purpose: every dish is prepped and cooked by the chef. Good to know if you're feeding a mixed table: most sides are vegetarian, and there's no pork in the greens or beans.

What to order: the gumbo (chicken, sausage, blue crab and okra), NOLA barbecue shrimp and grits, or chicken and waffles. Call to ask about daily specials. Typically closed Mondays.

8. Athena's Corner

Best for: Greek food and weekend brunch. Where: 2900 E NASA Pkwy, Suite 310.

A family-owned Greek-American kitchen with indoor and outdoor seating, serving lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday plus weekend brunch.

What to order: gyros and a Greek salad, or something from the brunch menu. It's an easy lunch on the way to or from Space Center Houston.

9. The Backyard

Best for: burgers, a beer and weekend brunch. Where: 1301 4th St, Old Seabrook.

A laid-back gastropub with a full bar, a few blocks from the bay: burgers, wings, chicken-fried steak and a lot of mac and cheese.

What to order: buffalo chicken mac, pork belly bites and a burger. It opens at 10 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, which makes it a good brunch call. Typically closed Mondays.

10. Zane's Original and Damn Fine Coffee and Fried Pies

Best for: smash burgers under the oaks. Where: 910 Hall Ave, Old Seabrook.

Zane's is a family-owned burger and wing spot that has been a local favorite since 2020, with a yard full of tables under shade oaks. It shares the address with Damn Fine Coffee and Fried Pies, so dessert is built in.

What to order: a Zane Burger (American cheese, grilled onion, house pickles and Zane Sauce) or a Blackened Blue Smash, jumbo wings in mango habanero, then a fried pie (caramel apple, strawberry rhubarb or peach cobbler) with a sweet-cream cold brew.

11. Seabrook Waffle Company

Best for: breakfast and coffee. Where: 1402 5th St, Old Seabrook.

Liège waffles, the dense, caramelized Belgian kind, since 2012, plus an Italian-style espresso bar pouring locally roasted coffee. Mostly a morning-and-lunch place; open later on Fridays and Saturdays.

What to order: a waffle from the menu and an espresso drink.

12. Pelican Grill

Best for: a big breakfast. Where: 3142 E NASA Pkwy.

A family-friendly breakfast-and-lunch spot with sister locations in Friendswood and Pasadena, typically open daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Arrive early on weekends.

What to order: one of the Benedicts, crab cake, smoked salmon or bacon avocado, or the sweet-cream pancakes. The kitchen will cook your eggs seven different ways.

13. The Flame Tacos

Best for: cheap breakfast tacos and quesabirria. Where: 3138 NASA Pkwy, Suite A.

Breakfast tacos in the morning, street tacos all day. Typically closed Mondays.

What to order: egg, bacon and potato breakfast tacos, al pastor street tacos with charro beans, or quesabirria with Oaxaca cheese. The steak sincronizada is the dish it bills as "only at The Flame Tacos."

14. Wong's Chef

Best for: Chinese-American takeout. Where: 2900 NASA Pkwy, Suite 170.

For Hunan shrimp in a paper carton on the boat, Wong's Chef is the neighborhood call. Typically closed Sundays.

What to order: Hunan shrimp, Mongolian beef or Triple Delight.

15. Dara's Sunshine Kitchen

Best for: pastries and breakfast to go. Where: 3138 B NASA Pkwy.

A small bakery doing breakfast and lunch on the go, plus custom cakes. Grab a box of something sweet before a day on the water.

What to order: whatever is in the case that morning, plus coffee. Order ahead online for pickup.

Save this: eat your way through Seabrook in a day

1. 8 a.m. Liège waffle and an espresso at Seabrook Waffle Company on 5th Street.
2. 9 a.m. Walk Main Street and count pelicans on the Pelican Path.
3. Noon. Oyster trio at Tookie's on Bayport Boulevard. Yes, order the Pelicans.
4. 3 p.m. Fried pie and cold brew under the oaks on Hall Avenue at Damn Fine and Zane's.
5. 5 p.m. Happy hour on Merlion's patio (bar and patio only).
6. 7 p.m. Stay for the snapper at Merlion, or drive along NASA Parkway for bouillabaisse at Villa Capri.

On a budget? Swap in breakfast tacos at The Flame Tacos, cochinita pibil at Habanero's and a pie at Mario's.

Tips before you go

• Mondays are tricky. Villa Capri, Viola and Agnes', The Backyard and The Flame Tacos are all typically closed on Mondays, and Wong's Chef closes on Sundays. Tookie's and Pelican Grill are open daily.
• Dress for Merlion. The main dining rooms have a dress code.
• Breakfast is the local sport. Pelican Grill and Seabrook Classic Cafe fill up on weekend mornings.
• Getting there: from central Houston, take I-45 south and head east on NASA Parkway, or Highway 225 east to Highway 146 south. Parking is easy.
• Want to cook your own? Seabrook's seafood markets on Waterfront Drive sell Gulf shrimp, oysters and live blue crabs. Our Houston crawfish guide has tips for a boil.

More bay eating nearby

• Across the bridge: our Kemah Boardwalk guide.
• West along NASA Parkway: the best restaurants in Clear Lake and things to do in Clear Lake.
• Citywide: the best seafood restaurants in Houston and best Thai restaurants in Houston.
• Make a day of it: more day trips from Houston.

Last verified: October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is Seabrook, TX known for food-wise?

Gulf seafood above all, especially oysters and shrimp. Tookie's Seafood on Bayport Boulevard is the classic stop, and seafood markets on Waterfront Drive sell shrimp, oysters and live blue crabs to cook at home.

Where should I eat in Seabrook for a date night?

Merlion Thai Restaurant and Lounge on Main Street takes reservations and has a dress code for its main dining rooms. Frenchie's Villa Capri on NASA Parkway is the old-school Italian alternative.

Where can I get breakfast in Seabrook?

Seabrook Waffle Company for Liège waffles and espresso, Pelican Grill for Benedicts and pancakes, The Flame Tacos for breakfast tacos, and Seabrook Classic Cafe on weekend mornings.

Are Seabrook restaurants open on Mondays?

Some aren't. Villa Capri, Viola and Agnes', The Backyard and The Flame Tacos are typically closed on Mondays. Tookie's and Pelican Grill are typically open daily. Check each restaurant's site before you go.

How far is Seabrook from downtown Houston?

Seabrook is on Highway 146 on Galveston Bay, next to Kemah and the Clear Lake area. Most drivers take I-45 south to NASA Parkway, or Highway 225 east to Highway 146 south.