Soul Food in Houston

5101 Almeda Third Ward

713-528-0020

This cafeteria-style restaurant on Almeda is like a smaller version of This Is It, with all of the heart and soul intact in a comfortable, homey setting. Standouts on the steam table here are the oxtails, chicken and catfish, as well as the bacon fat-laden green beans and cabbage, all of which are served with a genuine smile. Portions are immense, so beware: You won't be walking out of here hungry, or with room for dessert. Luckily, Alfreda's packages its desserts (try the banana pudding) to go, so you can enjoy them later.

Aunt Bea's Restaurant - CLOSED

5422 N. Freeway Outer Loop - NW

713-692-2432

American, Diner, Soul Food, Southern, Recommended

Hungry for a huge breakfast at 3 a.m.? Aunt Bea's to the rescue. It looks like a country kitchen, and the food tastes homemade. Their daily steam table offers a meat and three side dishes, and it's an incredible amount of food for $6. The rest of the menu offers fried food, funky Italian dishes and a ten-ounce rib eye steak for $14.

1 article

Avenue Grill

1017 Houston Ave. Heights

713-228-5138

American, Breakfast, Soul Food, Southern, Best Of, Menu

Cops, reporters, lawyers and other folks who frequent the police station and the municipal courthouse have made this steam-table diner a lunchtime institution. The people-watching is great: Downtown business types rubbing shoulders with folks in African-inspired tribal garb. Try one of the best chicken-fried steaks in town, presented with huge servings of true homestyle vegetables. And be sure to save room for a piece of near-perfect pie. Breakfast and lunch only.

1 article

the breakfast klub

3711 Travis St. Downtown/ Midtown

713-528-8561

American, Breakfast, Soul Food, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Menu, Readers' Choice

There's a reason why there is a constant line outside the door here - the food. The hustle and bustle of Midtown's the breakfast klub is all part of the show, from hungry onlookers on the outside eagerly watching the food being delivered to tables, to the expression of satisfaction on the faces of customers leaving this shrine of soul food cuisine. Signature dishes include the incredible Katfish and Grits and the equally good Wings and Waffles. While catfish and chicken may strike some as not fitting for breakfast, they simply don't know what they're missing.

16 articles

City Acre Brewing

3418 Topping St. Outer Loop - NE

832-377-0237

American, Brewery, Soul Food, Southern, Breweries and Wineries, Slideshow

3 articles

Conscious Cafe

2612 Scott St. Third Ward

713-658-9191

Soul Food, Vegetarian, Recommended

Perhaps the only Nation of Islam-run restaurant in town, Conscious Cafe is also - therefore - the only place in town to get some bean pie, that cross between sweet potato and buttermilk pie that uses navy beans (the only beans allowed under Elijah Muhammad's strict dietary guidelines) in place of sweet potatoes, which are forbidden to eat. Adhering to those guidelines, the cafe specializes in healthy pescatarian food like a grilled wild salmon burger and a savory eggplant hoagie. Customer service is tops at this little neighborhood joint, which also serves as a community center of sorts for this Third Ward neighborhood; you'll feel right at home in no time, even if you don't know Farrakhan from Marrakesh.

1 article

Davis Meat Market

2204 Lockwood East End

713-672-1803

Barbecue, Breakfast, Soul Food, Southern, Retail, Services, Recommended

This old-fashioned meat market in the Fifth Ward serves some of the best soul food in the city. Choose from steam-table classics like oxtails, beef tips and chitterlings. There's also a sausage and egg breakfast, hamburgers and sandwiches, and a full line of barbecue items. Don't miss the homemade sweet potato pie.

Esther's Cajun Cafe and Soul Food

5204 Yale Outer Loop - NW

713-699-1212

Cajun, Creole, Soul Food, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

You know that when you're eating here, you're one of the family. The customers are a tight-knit bunch at this little restaurant with a steam table. (If there's no steam table at your soul food restaurant, then you're doing it wrong.) Pass your tray through and let Esther load it up with smothered pork chops, buttery mashed potatoes, sweet yams and a giant slice of chocolate cake for later. In the spring, Esther's even does crawfish boils on the small patio. You might feel like you ended up at someone else's family reunion, but they throw one hell of a party.

4 articles

Family Discount Food

8805 Homestead Outer Loop - NE

713-631-7000

Soul Food, Comfort Foods, Retail, Recommended

The steam table buffet in the back of this salvage grocery store in the Fifth Ward serves some of the city's best soul food. Try the black-eyed peas, cabbage, butter beans, okra with sausage, moist cornbread, and kitchen sink gumbo. Take home some crunchy pork cracklins. For dessert, don't miss the homemade banana pudding and sweet-potato pie.

Hoggs n' Chicks

8817 Highway 6, Missouri City Outside Houston

281-778-4644

American, Soul Food, Southern, Best Of, Menu

Hoggs n' Chicks, the latest Missouri City joint from long-time restaurateurs Frederic and Michelle Perrier, is helping transform this far-flung stretch of Highway 6 into a food destination, whether it knows it or not. In fact, the restaurant is so unassuming and so casual, you'd never know to expect items like a fiery Tabasco pulp rémoulade to pair with perfectly fried shrimp or a juicy Saigon pork slider that you can dress up even further with the ruby-hued jalapeño jelly that sits in jars on each table. That jelly, like everything else at Hoggs n' Chicks, is made in-house from scratch.

1 article

Hungry Farmer

8222 Airline Outer Loop - NW

281-931-0217

Barbecue, Soul Food, Southern, Recommended

Family-owned and operated, this expansive place has been around since 1975. Eating here is like eating in the country. Deer heads and other stuffed animals add a touch of authenticity. Food is served cafeteria-style, so you'd better know what to order so as not to hold up the line. The barbecue is solid, but the comfort food, like the chicken-fried steak, fried catfish or pork roast, will have you dreaming of home. The accompanying side dishes are so plentiful, you'll be hard-pressed to pick just two.

JOEY Uptown

5045 Westheimer Rd Suite X-01 Downtown/ Midtown

604-699-5639

American, Appetizers, Comfort Foods, Contemporary, New American, Restaurants, Soul Food, Southern

Just Oxtails Soul Food

4207 Reed Outer Loop - SW

713-733-8111

Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

This stand-alone restaurant could do with some updating and cleaning, but the food is downright glorious. Just Oxtails serves down-to-earth soul food, and lots of it. The menu changes daily but, as you might imagine, the wonderful oxtails are featured every day. The smothered pork chops are excellent, as well as the ham hocks and chitterlings. All are served with corn muffins and three sides, such as collard greens, mustard greens, yams, rice, beans or corn. The homemade coconut cake is just like Mom used to make.

2 articles

Le' Pam's House of Creole

1644 FM 1960 W., Suite A North-Northwest

281-444-1464

Cajun, Soul Food, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Le’ Pam’s is a modest Creole café both in environment and price. There’s a steam table and up front and a Mardi Gras-themed dining room off to the side all adorned in purple and gold. It’s hard to say what’s more charming—the food or the service. The menu changes daily, but chef-owner Pamela Graham will enthusiastically guide guests to good choices. People who prefer gumbos with dark roux might not pick her brothy version as their favorite, but the seafood version is chock-full of fresh shrimp, crab and andouille sausage. Crabmeat is a highlight of the stuffed, thoroughly baked green bell peppers, where it’s mixed with lean ground beef and shrimp. The succulent, saucy oxtail over rice is fatty, decadent and the pepper sauce-spiked greens and okra with stewed tomatoes are perfect to order alongside.

6 articles

Lucille's

5512 La Branch St. Third Ward

713-568-2505

Contemporary, Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Chef Chris Williams comes from a culinary legacy with deep Texas roots: His great-grandmother Lucille, the restaurant's namesake, was a pioneer of Southern foods who owned U.S. Smith's Famous BBQ in Fort Worth and helped establish one of the first college-level commercial foods departments in the nation at Prairie View A&M University. At his charming Museum District restaurant, Williams serves the same Southern food that Lucille did, including her "claim to fame" chili biscuits, shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes and braised oxtails.

17 articles

Mama's Oven

9295 S. Main Braeswood

713-661-3656

Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Best Of

Items at this hole-in-the-wall comfort food joint include oxtail, meat loaf, smothered pork chops and turkey wings (suck it, vegetarians). If you actually have room for dessert, there's peach cobbler with a double portion option. You can get chitterlings with a side of broccoli-rice casserole on Sundays. Oh, man, after-church Sundays at this place...good luck with that!

1 article

Mikki's Soul Food Cafe

10500 W. Bellfort Outer Loop - SW

281-568-5115

Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Mikki's on the southwest side is the epitome of the "meat and three" soul food experience. Eating here is like eating at Grandma's house -- its huge portions of real home cooking are sure to elicit fond memories of times past. The food is typical soul food, with some mean oxtails in a thick, gelatinous sauce served every day and daily specials that include baked catfish, pork chops and meat loaf, all served over rice. Traditional sides, including collard greens, yams and cabbage, suffer from too much time on the steam table, although they still taste great.

3 articles

Mikki's Cafe & Catering

375 Greens Rd. Outside Houston

281-919-1506

Soul Food

2 articles

Old Hickory Inn

5427 S. Braeswood Blvd. Outer Loop - SW

713-723-8908

Barbecue, Greek, Mediterranean, Soul Food, Recommended, Menu

This Meyerland restaurant is not your typical barbecue joint, although a "joint" is what it is. Old Hickory Inn's menu includes decent chicken-fried steak and fried catfish, along with great-tasting gyros and rice pudding (both a testament to the owner's Greek heritage). As for the ´cue, the brisket and sausage are good, but the ribs are dry. The chicken is moist and has an excellent smoke flavor. Baked potatoes come with a choice of chopped beef, beef slices or chicken topping. The sauce here is dark, sweet and tangy.

Pearl's Soul Food Café

7730 W. Bellfort Outer Loop - SW

713-773-3040

Soul Food, Restaurants, Recommended, Best Of

A friendly staff and an easygoing atmosphere make Pearl's one of Houston's favorite soul food restaurants. The wood-paneled walls, fake hanging plants and stained-glass light fixtures make the dining room look like an expanded breakfast nook. But it's the huge portions of seemingly homemade food that really make you feel like a guest at Sunday dinner.

1 article

Soul on the Bayeaux

3717 Dowling Third Ward

713-528-0732

Cajun, Creole, Soul Food, Best Of

This Third Ward cottage serves a mixed bag of gumbo, étouffée and other Louisiana dishes they call "Cajun soulfood." It may not be your idea of authentic Cajun cooking, but the food is made with great care and the location is convenient to downtown. Lunch only.

2 articles

Soul to Soul Cafe

6991 Highway 6 S Outer Loop - SW

281-575-0400

Soul Food, Restaurants

The Greasy Spoon Soulfood Bistro Pearland

10009 Broadway St Suite 101 Pearland

(281) 809-5246

Soul Food, Bistro, Brunch

This Is It

2712 Blodgett Third Ward

713-521-2920

Soul Food, Restaurants, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Monumental platefuls of braised oxtails, stalwart meat loaf, simple cabbage and clove-scented yams still work their restorative powers on a democratic array of regulars.

2 articles

West Gray Cafe

415 W. Gray River Oaks

713-528-2887

American, Cafe, Diner, Soul Food, Recommended

There's always room for another home-style diner, especially if it serves chicken and dumplings as good as those found here. Make sure to stick around for the pies; a slice of the lemon chess is worth letting out your belt for.

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Soul Food in Houston