Lists of the best
This an attempt to recommend the best restaurants in Houston in a number of categories. These lists might be a top ten or a comprehensive list of all that are worth recommending; some of those might be less than ten restaurants. These should be fun, as most "best of" lists are and, hopefully, even useful, unlike most of them. Though some hubris is certainly involved in trying to do this, a terrific amount of eating and drinking has been involved in their creation. Unlike too many of these lists you'll find, I've been to every place recommended, and a great many more not in the course of the research. I've been doing this for a while for Houston; I was the local editor for the Zagat Survey from 2007 until 2015 (when then-owner Google pulled the plug on those roles), and before that, way back in 2002, the first edition of my Houston Dining on the Cheap guidebook was published. Two more followed.
The ones in red are completed, and have been occasionally updated, but much more to do. It's been going slowly, but it will get there. To note, some of the articles show the restaurants ranked in order of preference, others alphabetically. The latter is easier to do.
Last updated on January 26, 2024.
Roasted oysters at Eunice
The ones in red are completed, and have been occasionally updated, but much more to do. It's been going slowly, but it will get there. To note, some of the articles show the restaurants ranked in order of preference, others alphabetically. The latter is easier to do.
Last updated on January 26, 2024.
- The 50 Best Restaurants in Houston - 100 was just too ambitious for me....
- Bakeries - For Bread - For the boulangerie rather than patisserie aspect
- Banh Mi
- Barbecue
- Best Values
- Breakfast - The best 15 spots for plentiful morning calories
- Breakfast Tacos
- Cajun / Creole
- Chicken Fried Steak - If you must, here is where you should go
- Chinese
- Cocktails - The best 20 places for cocktails
- Crawfish - Boiled, in season
- Downtown Dining - The 10 best restaurants in downtown proper
- EaDo and East End Dining
- Fajitas - The 10 best restaurants to enjoy a longtime local favorite
- French
- French Fries
- Fried Chicken - Just the Southern fried kind, that is
- Galleria Area Dining - The 10 best restaurants in and near the Galleria
- Guinness
- Greek
- Hamburgers - The best 30 spots divided among burger joints, nicer places, and the chains
- Heights Area Dining - The dozen best
- Houston-centric - The best of the eateries that are uniquely or emphatically Houston
- Indian / Pakistani
- Italian
- Italian-American
- Japanese - For dishes other than sushi, but usually sushi, too
- Kolaches
- Middle Eastern
- Mexican - Not Tex-Mex, that's below
- Midtown Dining - The best restaurants in this area adjacent to both downtown and Montrose
- Montrose Dining - The top restaurants in city's top dining area, nearly 20
- Pho
- Pizzerias
- Pizza at non-Pizzerias
- Raw Bars - Mostly for oysters on the half-shell, from the Gulf and elsewhere, the top 25
- Rice Village Dining
- Sandwiches
- Seafood
- Splurge-Worthy
- Steakhouses
- Sushi
- Tacos - The 20 top stops for tacos in the city
- Tex-Mex - The 10 best names in Houston Tex-Mex
- To Take Visitors
- Thai
- Toughest Reservations
- Vietnamese
- Wine Bars
- Wine Lists
Roasted oysters at Eunice