The Top 34 Places to Eat and Drink Near Gaido’s
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- Houston Chronicle Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 3. Ishtia
Indigenous
- Eater 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Texas Monthly 2025 · #5 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · David Skinner
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- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
- Houston Chronicle #25 · Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
- Eater The 38 Essential Houston Restaurants
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Rank 7. Killen's BBQ
Barbecue
Ronnie Killen works a converted schoolhouse cafeteria in Pearland, where lines form before the 11 a.m. opening for beef ribs so perfectly rendered they yield to a spoon, and pork belly burnt ends glazed in pepper jelly that justify every calorie. Collards and Brussels sprouts swimming in potlikker provide ballast against the smoke and fat.
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Rank 10. Koffeteria
Houstonian
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
- The Infatuation Our Favorite Bakeries In The Country Right Now
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Rank 11. Nancy's Hustle
Contemporary
Since opening in 2017, this East End bistro has commanded the city's attention with cooking that swings from spicy beef dumplings to wagyu tri-tip without hesitation or apology. The kitchen's seasonal audacity—lively, unselfconscious, rooted in butter and bold flavor—suggests a place where the menu itself refuses to choose, and neither should you.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Food & Wine 2025 · The Top 15 US Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outsdanding Restaurant
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Rank 12. Cochinita & co
Mexican
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Victoria Elizondo
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · Victoria Elizondo
- Houstonia Houston’s Best Restaurants
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Chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter's fearless Thai cooking fills a spacious room vibrating with hip-hop, where papaya salad arrives incendiary even at medium heat and pad see ew achieves a near-perfect char. Her house-made curries—particularly the green—carry the weight of family recipes and regional breadth, unmindful of Western palates seeking gentleness.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Best Chef: Texas · Benchawan Jabthong Painter
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Houstonia Houston’s Best Restaurants
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- Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Houstonia The Official 50 Hottest Bars in Houston
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- Houstonia 2025 · The 10 Best Restaurants That Opened in Houston
- Houstonia Houston’s Best Restaurants
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Rank 16. J-Bar-M
Barbecue
Four custom smokers fuel an ambitious barbecue operation in Houston's East End, where brisket with peppery bark and jalapeño cheddar sausage share menu space with Tex-Mex hybrids like brisket tacos and creative detours—brisket lasagna, loaded potatoes—that suggest the kitchen views smoke not as limitation but permission to reimagine the plate.
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Rank 24. Las Perras Cafe
Latin
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Rank 30. Brass Tacks
Coffee
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- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Chris Williams - Lucille's Hospitality Group
- Houston Chronicle Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants