The Best Places to Eat and Drink in Houston

1. Houstonia Best Ice Cream Shops in Houston

1. Houstonia Best Ice Cream Shops in Houston

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1. Houstonia Best Ice Cream Shops in Houston

1. Houstonia The Best Sushi Restaurants in Houston

1. Houstonia Best Ice Cream Shops in Houston

1. Houstonia Best Ice Cream Shops in Houston

1. Houstonia Best Ice Cream Shops in Houston

1. Houstonia Best Chinese Restaurants in Houston

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1. Houstonia The Best Sushi Restaurants in Houston

This is a Vietnamese bakery counter tucked inside the Hong Kong City Mall, more prep station than dining room, and it takes cash only. The case is stacked with small snacks, from banana-leaf sausages to rice balls, but the bánh mì đặc biệt is the one people circle back for. It runs about five bucks, which makes ordering two on the first visit more sensible than greedy. It turns up on The Infatuation's list of Houston's Chinatown restaurants.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Bodard Bistro is a small, casual Vietnamese spot on Bellaire Boulevard, where the dining room doubles as a greenhouse and nobody seems to mind the foliage getting the best seats. The kitchen leans Mekong Delta, so the tamarind-and-pineapple catfish soup shows up next to pork sausage spring rolls and crisp little shrimp pancakes. It's an easy, inexpensive meal, and The Infatuation put it on its Houston Chinatown list.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Hai Cang is a Vietnamese-Chinese seafood house on Bellaire Boulevard where the platters of crab, lobster, and noodles arrive at a scale better suited to a group than a date. The lobster comes wok-fried in dry spices and the Dungeness is fire-red, so napkins are less a courtesy than a survival strategy. Bring a crowd, because the lazy susan has to earn its keep.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

This is a Korean BBQ spot where the grilling happens at your table and the staff will politely take over if you're being slow about it. Service moves at a pace that suggests nobody here has ever lingered over a menu. Reservations only open up for parties of six or more, so everyone else joins the waitlist and hopes. There's an all-you-can-eat option, with a $20 penalty for leaving food behind, which is a surprisingly effective motivator.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Hokkaido is a casual counter-order sushi spot tucked into a corner of a Bellaire Blvd shopping center, lit like the inside of a honey jar. You order up front, sit wherever you like, and a cashier somehow delivers each plate to the right person, a trick nobody has explained. The nigiri and sashimi combos are easy on the wallet, and the miso soup keeps coming. It made The Infatuation's list of Houston's Chinatown restaurants.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Mi Luna is a Spanish tapas restaurant with Moorish touches, tucked into the Montrose Collective. It spent two decades in Rice Village, vanished for a while, then reappeared in a shinier address, which is the Houston way. The menu leans on shared plates, a paella built from seafood, meat, and chicken, and a sweet-and-savory Moroccan chicken pie. Come hungry and with friends, because ordering for one defeats the point.

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Mian is a casual Sichuan noodle shop on Bellaire Boulevard, a California transplant in a stretch of Chinatown that has no shortage of Sichuan. You order everything from your phone at the table, which keeps service quick and conversation with the staff to a minimum. The beef noodle soup and the red oil dumplings are the comfort-food move, a steaming bowl that listens to your problems and never offers advice. Expect a tingle, not a fight.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

A Korean noodle shop on Bellaire Blvd, imported from LA's Koreatown, that has the casual, order-at-the-counter feel of a food court at a mega-spa. The handmade cold noodles, chewy and tinted green from chlorella, arrive in bowls piled with spice, funky kimchi, and cold vegetables. In a city that's hot as hell most of the year, it's a filling meal that won't leave you crawling to your car.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

One Roast is a Cantonese-style roast meat counter on Bellaire Blvd that, unlike most of its takeout-only neighbors, has actual diner seating, so you can eat the duck before it cools in a bag. The three-meat plate is the move, with portions generous and prices modest. The good stuff sells out before closing, so treat 6pm as a deadline. The pineapple slushie is for people who finish early.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Thim Hing is a cash-only bánh mì counter where people leave carrying sandwiches by the armload, as if provisioning for a long voyage. Around lunch, trunks get loaded with plastic bags of the stuff. The baguette runs rail-thin and loud when you bite it, which means more crunch per square inch than the usual loaf. Bring cash, order for everyone you know, and expect to be the slowest person in line.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Toukei is a Japanese izakaya off Bellaire where the kitchen keeps going until 1am and the menu covers sushi, yakitori, and ramen without ever settling on a lane. One wall is a floor-to-ceiling liquor cabinet, with a second stash stacked behind the bar for backup. It's a good fit for a pregame or an after-party, and ordering only water will make you the most conspicuous person in the building.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

Toyori is a casual ramen shop on Bellaire Boulevard in Houston's Chinatown, where the dark walls and utilitarian booths hand all the drama to a floor-to-ceiling gold mural. The menu reads a lot like every other ramen menu in the neighborhood, which makes the consistency bowl after bowl the whole trick. The meal ends with a tiny probiotic drink, a small cute gesture that somehow feels like a dessert course.

1. The Infatuation The 22 Best Restaurants In Houston's Chinatown

1. Eater The Best Restaurants in Montrose

1. Texas Monthly #6 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

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