Best Restaurants in Timbergrove and Lazybrook, Houston
Date Published
Timbergrove and Lazybrook are mostly quiet streets of 1950s ranch houses under tall pines. Most people only see them through a windshield on TC Jester Boulevard. But the edges of the neighborhood feed you well: a century-old log cabin serving wild game, a Tex-Mex dining room that has been on Ella Boulevard since 1992, a family barbecue name that goes back to 1964, and a birria taqueria directly across West 18th Street from a Vietnamese tavern.
On one block of West 18th Street you can choose between birria ramen and shaking beef, and they're across the street from each other.
This guide is for neighbors who want something new on a weeknight, and for anyone riding the White Oak Bayou trail who needs lunch. It's short on purpose. This is a residential neighborhood, not a restaurant row, and we only list places we could confirm are open.
How we define Timbergrove and Lazybrook
Neither neighborhood has a welcome sign, so here's the map we used: inside the 610 Loop, with the Loop on the north and west, Durham Drive on the east, and the blocks around West 11th Street on the south. White Oak Bayou and TC Jester Boulevard run through the middle.
Timbergrove Manor sits mostly south of West 18th Street. Lazybrook sits north of it. The name tells you where it is: Lazybrook takes its name from White Oak Bayou, and Timbergrove from the pine trees that still shade the area. The blocks between Ella Boulevard and Durham Drive north of West 18th are often called Shady Acres, and a few of our picks sit there. We've labelled them so you know.
How we chose
Every restaurant here had to be inside the boundary above and currently open, confirmed on its own website or official ordering page in October 2026. We left out places we couldn't confirm that way, including some neighborhood regulars with no working website. That's a verification rule, not a verdict on their food.
We mixed cheap counter meals with sit-down dinners, and for each one we tell you what to order. Prices and hours change, so treat everything as "typically" and check the restaurant's own site before you go.
Four things even locals don't know
- Rainbow Lodge's bar is a carved trout stream. The lodge describes its Tied Fly Bar as a hand-carved rainbow trout stream.
- The Friday burger is bison, elk and beef ribeye. Rainbow Lodge serves its wild game burger at Friday lunch only, and the topping changes every week.
- Cavatore's name is older than Houston by centuries. The restaurant says the Cavatore name and coat of arms are more than 800 years old, from a village near Acqui in Italy's Piedmont.
- The Demeris family has been in Houston barbecue since 1964. The same family once ran Carol's Kitchen on South Shepherd and Shipley's Grill on West Gray.
The sit-down dinners
Rainbow Lodge
2011 Ella Blvd at East TC Jester · wild game, steaks, seafood · $$$$
This is the neighborhood's big night out. Rainbow Lodge serves wild game in what it calls a 100-plus-year-old log cabin on the banks of White Oak Bayou, and the room is the reason people book anniversaries here. The menu runs from elk, bison, venison, antelope, duck and quail to steaks, Gulf shrimp and rainbow trout. Two kitchen gardens on site help shape the seasonal menu.
Order: something from the game side of the menu, and start with a drink at the Tied Fly Bar. On a Friday, come at lunch for the wild game burger. On the first Sunday of the month, the lodge typically runs a chicken-fried steak Sunday Supper.
It's typically open Tuesday through Sunday, with dinner only on Saturday and brunch on Sunday. For more special-occasion tables, see our date night restaurants guide.
Cavatore
2120 Ella Blvd · family-run Italian · $$$
Cavatore is the old-school Italian dining room every neighborhood wishes it had: family-run, with several private dining rooms and live music Thursday through Saturday evenings.
Order: dinner on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, when the live music plays from early evening. Lunch is weekdays only and it's closed Sundays, so plan around that. For more red-sauce rooms, see our best Italian restaurants in Houston.
Tony's Mexican Restaurant
2222 Ella Blvd · family Tex-Mex · $$
Tony Vega came from Zacatecas, Mexico, and opened Tony's in 1992. The family still runs it, and it's the dependable Tex-Mex table on Ella: the place you take your parents, the soccer team and the neighbors who just moved in.
Order: chile con queso (Tony's signature dip), then fajitas, either on the nachos or in the fajita bowl. On Saturday mornings it typically serves brunch with chilaquiles and breakfast tacos. Our best Tex-Mex in Houston guide has the city's other family empires.
The everyday spots
Tacos Doña Lena
1805 W 18th St · birria taqueria · $
Tacos Doña Lena is built around birria, and the West 18th Street shop is its second location (the first is in Spring Branch). It is one of the cheapest good meals in the neighborhood.
Order: the quesabirria, three crispy griddled corn tortillas with beef birria and cheese, with a cup of consomé for dipping. If you're curious, try the birria ramen, noodles in consomé with birria, cheese and a fried egg, or a machete, a long crispy corn tortilla folded around melted cheese and meat. Single tacos are a few dollars each. More birria in our best tacos in Houston guide.
Hughie's Tavern & Viet Grill
1802 W 18th St · Vietnamese and American comfort food · $$
Hughie's is Lazybrook's neighborhood tavern: Vietnamese classics on one side of the menu, American comfort food on the other, and a local craft beer list behind the bar. It also pours wine and cocktails. There's a second Hughie's on North Shepherd (with pickleball courts), but the West 18th one is the Lazybrook local.
Order: the shaking beef, the dish Hughie's itself leads with, plus a local beer. If you're feeding a picky kid, the chicken tenders are on the same menu. For pho and banh mi further afield, see our best Vietnamese restaurants guide.
Demeris Bar-B-Q
1702 West Loop North, near 610 and 290 · family barbecue · $
Demeris is the neighborhood's link to old Houston barbecue. The family says it has served barbecue in the city since 1964, and the second generation runs it now. It also has a second location on South Shepherd and a big catering business, so you may already have eaten it at an office lunch.
Order: brisket and jalapeño sausage with baked beans and potato salad, plus the house barbecue sauce the family is proud of. Online ordering for curbside pickup makes it an easy weeknight dinner. For the craft-barbecue side of town, see our best BBQ in Houston guide.
Cactus Cove
3333 W 11th St · bar and grill with a patio · $$
Cactus Cove calls itself the neighborhood bar and grill tucked between Timbergrove, the Heights and Hempstead Highway, and that's exactly what it is: cold beer, bar food, cocktails, big-screen TVs and a large patio. It also runs a trivia night.
Order: weekend brunch, served Saturday and Sunday mornings, with mimosas, Bloody Marys or a michelada. On a game day, grab a patio table near a screen. Find more weekend options in our best brunch in Houston guide.
Over in Shady Acres
These three sit between Ella Boulevard and Durham Drive, north of West 18th, still inside our map.
Preslee's Southern Eatery
1430 W 19th St · Southern comfort food · $$
Preslee's is a family-owned Southern restaurant built for families: a big patio where kids and dogs are welcome, a kids' play area, and a full bar for the grown-ups. Weekday lunch specials typically come with a fountain drink, and weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday.
Order: the smoked turkey leg, which you can have stuffed with mac and cheese (or brisket mac and cheese). It's made in limited quantities, so go early. Otherwise, a smash burger or the brisket grilled cheese. It's the easiest pick in the neighborhood if you're bringing kids and a dog.
CRISP
2220 Bevis St · Italian and wood-fired pizza · $$
CRISP is a wood-fired pizza and Italian restaurant with its own extra parking lot, which matters on these narrow streets. It says the heart of its pizza is "The Sauce," a blend of Italian herbs, garlic and a few undisclosed extras.
Order: a wood-fired pizza for the table. At weekday lunch, the 10-inch pizza and the drunken meatball sandwich are the easy picks. Brunch runs on weekends.
La Hacienda Escondida
1431 W 26th St · family Mexican · $$
Just below the Loop, La Hacienda Escondida is a family Mexican restaurant with banquet space and a to-go menu. Its name means "the hidden hacienda," which fits its spot on a side street.
Order: tortilla soup and chiles rellenos, two dishes it puts up front, with a margarita.
A beer stop: Eureka Heights
Eureka Heights Brew Co., at 941 W 18th St just east of Durham Drive and our map, isn't a restaurant, but it's the closest taproom: more than 22 taps, a rotating food-vendor schedule and pinball machines. The taproom is typically open Tuesday through Sunday. A bit of local history to drink to: the 1930s oil discovery in this area was called Eureka, and the nearby rail yard is still known as the Eureka Yard. Our breweries guide has more.
Save this: eat your way through Timbergrove
- Saturday, 9 a.m.: brunch with chilaquiles at Tony's on Ella.
- 10 a.m.: walk it off on the White Oak Bayou trail, which runs right past the neighborhood.
- Noon: quesabirria and a cup of consomé at Tacos Doña Lena on West 18th.
- 3 p.m.: a local beer at Hughie's across the street, or a pint and a pinball game at Eureka Heights.
- 5 p.m.: an early dinner of wild game in the log cabin at Rainbow Lodge (Saturday is dinner only).
- Friday version: swap step 5 for the wild game burger at Rainbow Lodge's lunch, and end the night with live music at Cavatore.
Tips for eating in Timbergrove
- Parking is easy. Most restaurants have their own lots along Ella, West 18th and West 11th. On residential streets, park legally and don't block driveways.
- Watch the days. Rainbow Lodge is closed Mondays, Cavatore is closed Sundays, and brunch days vary. Check each site.
- Bring the bike. The White Oak Bayou trail connects to the Heights hike-and-bike trail, so a Heights lunch and a Timbergrove dinner are a short ride apart.
Nearby
- Best restaurants in the Heights, minutes east.
- Things to do in the Heights for an afternoon after lunch.
Last verified: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best restaurants in Timbergrove, Houston?
Our picks include Rainbow Lodge for wild game, Cavatore for Italian, Tony's for Tex-Mex, Tacos Doña Lena for birria, Hughie's for Vietnamese and American comfort food, and Demeris for barbecue.
Where are Timbergrove and Lazybrook?
They're adjoining 1950s neighborhoods inside the 610 Loop, just west of the Heights, along White Oak Bayou and TC Jester Boulevard. Timbergrove Manor sits mostly south of West 18th Street and Lazybrook north of it.
What is the most special-occasion restaurant in Timbergrove?
Rainbow Lodge at 2011 Ella Blvd, a log cabin on White Oak Bayou that serves wild game, steaks and seafood. Book ahead, and note it serves only dinner on Saturdays.
Where can I get cheap eats in Timbergrove?
Tacos Doña Lena on West 18th Street, where single tacos cost a few dollars, and Demeris Bar-B-Q near 610 for brisket and sausage plates to go.
Which Timbergrove restaurants serve brunch?
Tony's serves brunch on Saturday mornings, Rainbow Lodge on Sunday, and Cactus Cove, Preslee's and CRISP on Saturday and Sunday. Check each site for current hours.