Dynamic Variation:
Foodie
Wine and Dine Your Way Through H-Town
Houston boasts numerous diverse neighborhoods, many of which are anchored by ethnic restaurants and groceries. Explore key destinations that have transformed the city into a multicultural microsphere.
Chinatown/Bellaire
Visit palatial food court and grocery store Hong Kong Market inside Hong Kong City Mall—one of the largest Asian superstores in the region—on Bellaire Boulevard. In the area you'll also find Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish unique to Houston at Crawfish and Noodles, and HK Dim Sum offers dim sum daily.
West Houston
Venture into west Houston-set Phoenicia for 55,000 square feet of international delicacies. Among the outpost's more than 6,000 exotic offerings are freshly-baked pita breads, flakey baklava and tempting tabouli. A smaller downtown store opened in November 2011. BYOB to Vieng Thai, which serves up some of the city's best Thai cuisine. Next door, sample cabrito cooked on an open pit at El Hidalguense. Don't miss H-Mart, a massive Korean grocery store, which is just down the street from Chinese grocery 99 Ranch Market.
Phoenicia Deli & Coffee House
Memorial/Energy CorridorEl Hidalguense
Memorial/Energy Corridor99 Ranch Market
Memorial/Energy CorridorMid-Main
The area south of the Central Business District known as Midtown was one of the city's first residential neighborhoods. Midtown began to flourish around the turn of the 20th Century and the intersection of Main Street and Alabama became a center of commerce for the neighborhood. Today, established businesses like Continental Club and the famous Breakfast Klub mingle with new hotspots such as Double Trouble Caffeine & Cocktails.
Continental Club, The
Midtown/MontroseDouble Trouble Caffeine & Cocktails
Midtown/MontroseThe Breakfast Klub
Midtown/MontroseNavigation Corridor (Eado)
For more than a century, Houston's East End has been a vibrant, multicultural neighborhood made up of mostly minority-owned homes and businesses. Ninfa Laurenzo, known to many as Mama Ninfa, opened the Original Ninfa's on Navigation here in 1973. Now a $5 million pedestrian oriented esplanade is renewing the neighborhood's destination appeal. Check out new neighborhood hotspots like Moon Tower Inn, Ninfa's sister restaurant El Tiempo Cantina and the funky drinkery Voodoo Queen.
Market Square
The Market Square Historic District is Houston's original town center. Located just steps from Buffalo Bayou where the Allen brothers established the city in 1836, Market Square long served as the commercial and civic heart of Houston. Here the oldest bar in Houston, La Carafe, overlooks a redeveloped Market Square Park. Around the corner, a clutch of new bars and restaurants have opened in century-old buildings like drinkery Angel Share. For dinner there is no shortage of variety with eateries like El Big Bad for Mexican classics, The Big Casino Kitchen + Bar for American food and a killer patio, Moonshiners for southern fare and Hearsay Gastro Lounge for upscale pub grub.
Historic Heights
There's no better way to experience the Historic Heights neighborhood than wining and dining your way through its walkable streets. Start with an artisan coffee on 19th Street at Boomtown Coffee. The street is lined with boutiques and antique shops, so sip a cup of joe and get a little shopping in before grabbing a bite. For casual dining and a great patio head to Cedar Creek, or for something upscale grab Italian fare at Coltivare.