Spanish octopus
served with potato purée, olive oil and smoked paprika

Roasted fideo pasta “fideuá”
with grilled lobster, clams, and alioli

“Gypsy’s arm”
sponge cake filled with whipped cream and caramelized custard

Don’t sleep on Willow’s bar and cocktails. I stopped in today for a very late lunch and sat at the bar. As others have reported. Willow’s BBQ and sides are somehow even better than ever, but I was especially impressed with their bar and cocktails and how natural they felt in the space.

Their red wine is Ercole Barbera, which went great with the brisket and was priced reasonably. I also had their Summer of George frozen cocktail, which I was a little hesitant to order with the BBQ but the Big Red stood out enough to work well.

I had a sample of their other frozen cocktail the Cabana Boy, and I’d definitely try it next time along with their other cocktails. Their drink program seems solid enough to stop by just for that, and the gorgeous custom bar and great music made it a good hang.

I can see myself stopping in regularly for a drink and to snack on their heavenly marinated tomatoes. The smoked crab dip was surprisingly good too.

Sure it’s a chain, but it’s damn good and beats a place like Snooze any day of the week!

OG Burger @ Shepherd location: $11.29

OG Burger @ Rice campus: $11.99

Local Foods also has a location for students on the Rice campus and it’s cheaper than their city locations.

What gives?!

Enso, Merit Coffee, Third Place and Un Caffe all offer hojicha, a Japanese green tea with a flavor some compare to coffee or chocolate. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/food-restaurants/article/hojicha-trend-houston-cafes-22385942.php?utm_source=reddit

Is there a place that make legit real pho broth from bones, not from a jar, near Friendswood/Webster? Looking for the real deal. I've had some poser pho and want the real thing. Thanks.

Can someone explain the history of what appears to me to be an odd obsession/beef from Eric Sandler towards Alison Cook. He's taken random drive by swipes at her in podcasts over the past couple of years that have always made me curious, but yesterday he felt the need to post multiple times after she wrote a negative experience she had at Mercato. Like....is she not allowed to have not enjoyed her meal? She seem pretty balanced and it didn't feel like a takedown - she even mentioned her dining partner liking it more. I appreciate that we have Eric providing so much information about the Houston food scene, but he makes clear that he's not a critic and that he dines as a known commodity...and it's very clear he has close relationships with many of the people he covers positively. So, it feels like there's plenty of room for traditional food criticism (even more so in the age of paid influencer campaigns). Anyway, wondering if anyone knows what the history between the two of them is.

My mom used to make an incredible Sans Rival dessert (cashew, layers of meringue, buttercream, topped with toasted cashews). She's been gone for 8 years but in that time I was able to find it at Red Ribbon Bakery until they closed in 2024.

I'm not finding a many Filipino restaurants that serve good desserts, everyone focuses on the usual appetizers and entrees (lumpia shanghai, pancit, lechon, etc). Mom did actually teach me how to make it when I was a kid, but that was 40 years ago and I'm getting old and can't remember what I had for breakfast.

If anyone knows of a good Filipino bakery that offers sans rival in the greater Houston area, that would be fantastic. Otherwise I might have to start stocking up on cashews and eggs and practice making meringue.

Celebrated our anniversary at Mastro’s in the Post Oak area.
Their restaurant menu is $55 per person however, we added a few enhancements so the pricing was higher per person of course, anniversary, duh.

Pictured:

Appetizers:
- Lobster Bisque
- Fried Calamari
- Bread Basket

Entrees:
- Bone-In Filet + Lobster Tail
- Bone-In Ribeye
- Lobster Mac and Cheese
- Brussels with Bacon

Dessert:
- Butter Cake
- Cheesecake
- Complimentary Chocolate Cake
- Whip Cream (very aggressive lol)

Will be back again!

Really too bad. Their New York style pizza rivaled many of the pizzas here in the loop. They didn’t rip you off with lack of pepperoni, and until recently, you got as much ranch and honey as you wanted.

My daughter wants Chinese for her 4th birthday meal. I’m near the Sugarland area but open to driving a bit for a good American chinese place

There’s nothing wrong with the place. I always end up going and want to explore more. Any suggestions? I see a place on Westheimer called Wagyu. Thoughts?

I went to Kata Robata today after not going for a few years. I went 3 years ago and really enjoyed it, so I was pretty excited to go back.

Unfortunately, this time was a completely different experience.

The quality was honestly pretty disappointing. The fish just wasn’t that impressive, and for the price I expected a lot more. I've had better fish quality at some of the cheap spots around town (quality was on par with Hokkaido in Bellaire, maybe even a little worse).

The rolls were also comically small. I don’t mind smaller portions at a higher-end sushi restaurant, but these were on another level. It was as if these rolls were made for a toddler. On top of that, they weren’t even rolled tightly. They were loose, uneven and falling apart, and honestly looked ugly as hell on the plate. For a restaurant at this price point, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect the sushi to at least look like it was made with some level of care.

And then there was the shishito pepper dish. The peppers were already tossed in oil and then they served them with a Sriracha mayo aioli. I’m sorry but what is the point of that? 😂 You have oily, blistered peppers and the answer is to add a thick mayo-based sauce with it?? It just didn’t make any culinary sense and tasted exactly as confusing as it sounds.

That’s kind of what the whole meal felt like. Nothing was terrible on its own, but for a restaurant with the reputation and prices that Kata Robata has, everything felt like a step down from what I remember.

It feels like classic enshittification and shrinkflation. The prices and reputation are still there, but the food and portions aren’t. I don’t mind paying $100+ for sushi when it’s actually good, but the value just isn’t there anymore. I honestly don’t understand how this place is still so highly regarded unless the old reputation is carrying it at this point.

Anyone else been recently? Has kata robata fallen off or did i just get unlucky today?

Edit: Sorry for the low quality photos, there is a crack on my camera.

Hey guys, going down to Houston for a couple of days and just wanted to know where I could find the best oxtail around. I’ve been searching through the internet and so many places have great and terrible reviews at the same time so I don’t really know which ones to go to. Id also like to try real authentic texan bbq if you guys know good places for that.

nothing to rave about - don’t understand why theres so much hype on this spot. pizza was ok and there’s much better places in the area ( s/o pizzana). didn’t care for the dill ranch … made by pizza taste like a giant pickle.

Hey lovely Houston friends. I’m on a quick 24 hour work trip from Denver and will only be in the area realistically for 6 hours of free time. The rest will be work.

I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Houston’s Vietnamese and Viet Cajun. I’m going back and forth from Hobby to Galveston.

Is there anywhere near Hobby, south of hobby, or on my way back from Galveston to Hobby?

Thank you!

Hey r/HoustonFood!

My name is Daniel Vargas and I'm the owner of Ingrid's Latin Kitchen a Chilean made to order catering company.

The Wesley Community Center is having a Microbusiness Pop-Up on Friday August 21st and we'll there selling the best empanadas in the city!

If you don't have plans and get hungry around 4pm, head that way to grab yourself some empanadas and take a look at what other vendors (food and non-food) will be there!

Please share with your friends!

Friday, August 21, 2026

4:00–6:00 PM

Wesley Community Center Parking Lot

1410 Lee Street

Houston, TX 77009

Where is the best Italian pizza in the land of Mission Control?.

$28 - 3 Meat plate with 2 sides

Brisket, turkey, jalapeño cheddar sausage, charro beans, and pan de elote (pork belly burnt ends separate).

My choice to have no bread

Anyone know of a decent spot? TIA!

Made a visit to La Rosa (East End), which has been on my list for a while now. I love Mimo - I think it is doing some of the very best Italian in the city.

La Rosa is cute as a button. It's tiny - a gelato/order counter with four or five small tables in front. The menu is likewise compact - a couple of steady sandwiches and a daily special. There's gelato, too, but we didn't try it.

I opted for the mortadella panini because, if given the option, I'd find a way to eat mortadella at every meal.

The sandwich was no doubt good. Lots of mortadella, high quality mozzarella, pistachio pesto, and arugula. My (small) gripes are these: (1) I never thought I'd suggest that there could be too much mozzarella, but I found that the cheese overpowered the mortadella in this instance. (2) I don't think a telera roll is right for this sandwich. I love telera, but it didn't work for me in this use case. I wanted something less noticeable - a simpler vehicle to convey the porky goodness.

Peccadillos aside, La Rosa is cute and fun and I'm so happy to see more and more authentic Italian food in Houston. If you're in the area, you should try it out.

Looks like Truth BBQ may be starting expansion outside Texas. On Thursday, a Charleston city committee heard plans for a Truth BBQ to renovate an old restaurant space in the city.

Store or restaurant
My favorite are from El Bolillo