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Houston’s culinary scene has always been an eclectic mix of cultural cuisines. Black-owned restaurants in the city are bringing it, from old-school soul food to creative upscale menus and from vegan to Caribbean and West African.
“When I grew up here in the 60s, there were Black-owned soul food and BBQ shacks and people would also sell dinners out of their homes and at churches for fundraisers,” says Houston First’s Director of Media Relations Carolyn Campbell.
“However, I didn’t see Jamaican or African restaurants back then, but we have those today. And Houston’s Black-owned restaurants are as competitive as any of Houston’s best restaurants, where it’s not just about good food, but about providing a unique experience,” she adds.
So before you head to the Bayou City, check out our curated list of 10 of the best Black-owned restaurants in Houston.
This Is It Soul Food, 2712 Blodgett Street | Website
We’ll start with the most seasoned restaurant, This Is It Soul Food in Houston’s Third Ward, which has been feeding the community for almost seven decades and paved the way for many of the newer Black-owned restaurants in Houston.
Owner and CEO Craig Joseph, a former Houston firefighter, took over the restaurant from his grandparents, who originally started it in Houston’s Historic Fourth Ward in 1959.
“The area was originally called Freedman’s Town, which was founded by Blacks who were formerly enslaved,” notes Joseph. He adds, “It was our enslaved ancestors who learned how to make what was considered waste taste great. And it’s that style of cooking that carried over into what we call soul food today.”
Joseph has locals, tourists and even customers from his grandparents’ era who still come for his down-home fried chicken, fried fish, award-winning macaroni and cheese, smothered pork chops, chitlins and oxtails.
“If we don’t have oxtails, the customers leave,” Joseph laughs. “And we sell about 5,000 pounds of chitlins on New Year’s Day alone,” he exclaims.
Campbell adds, “Joseph’s daughter, Jessica, has carried on the tea cake recipe from her grandmother and they will make you slap your mama,” she laughs. “And she’s now in talks to have them sold at a grocery chain.”
The restaurant is so popular that it’s part of Houston’s “Signature Experiences.” It was also featured in the 1994 film, “Jason’s Lyric” with Jada Pinkett Smith and Allen Payne. In fact, there’s a poster of the movie on one of the walls, along with a TV monitor that runs a slideshow of the VIPs who patronize the establishment, including Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, The O’Jays, the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and First Lady Jill Biden.
This Is It is also known for hiring employees from the community to keep them off the streets, partnering with churches to feed the homeless and partnering with schools to provide school supplies, haircuts and winter coats. As Joseph says, “We’re not just a restaurant, we’re an institution.”
Ray’s Real Pit BBQ Shack, 3929 Old Spanish Trail, Suite 300 | Website
Another Black-owned restaurant in Houston’s Third Ward is Ray’s Real Pit BBQ Shack, which has been around for four decades. Family-owned and operated since 1984, it’s attached to a gas station and is known for being one of the best BBQ joints in Houston with hickory-smoked BBQ chicken, ribs, sausage links and brisket.
The extensive menu also includes fried fish and shrimp, po’boys, burgers and their popular gumbo. Co-owner and pitmaster Ray Busch started out with a food truck after retiring from the Harris County Sheriff’s Department after 30 years.
“They have great BBQ sauce and I love their loaded baked potatoes, which I always have my BBQ chicken added to,” notes Campbell.
Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers, 302 Crosstimbers Street | Website
A fairly newcomer (2022) on the Black-owned restaurant scene is Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers in Houston’s Historic Independence Heights, where owner-chef Greg Galtlin’s father and family grew up.
But Gatlin himself isn’t new to the restaurant scene. He started out with Gatlin’s BBQ, which opened in 2010. Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers is the sister concept where Chef de Cuisine, Darius King is known for his crispy fried chicken and fresh Gulf Coast seafood. Especially popular are the chargrilled oysters.
“I don’t normally like oysters,” says Campbell, “But I will eat Gatlin’s grilled oysters! I also love their fried catfish, their salmon and their biscuits.” In fact, your order is not complete without their Not My Mama’s Biscuits.
Taste Kitchen + Bar, 420 Main Street | Website
Now, from biscuits to waffles. Taste Kitchen + Bar in downtown Houston is taking breakfast to another level with its “Elevated Chicken & Waffles,” including jerk chicken & waffles, Nashville chicken & waffles and Cajun chicken & waffles. There are also biscuit waffles and cornbread waffles.
Their “Elevated Grits” include fried lobster tail grits, catfish grits and oxtail grits. But breakfast isn’t the only thing owner and chef Don Bowie has on the menu.
Other delectable items include jerk lamb chops, Cajun fried lobster bites, lobster mac & cheese, jerk surf & turf and deep-fried waffle bread pudding. Their craft cocktails Dessert Bar puts a boozy spin on desserts like their vodka peach cobbler.
Mo’ Brunch and Brews, 1201 Southmore Boulevard | Website
Mo’ Brunch and Brews is one of the best Black-owned restaurants in Houston for breakfast and brunch lovers who are vegan. Owned by Courtney and Chasitie Lindsay, the creators of Houston Sauce Co., and DJ and ethnomusicologist Flash G. Parks, the cafe is located in the Museum District and is known for vegan dishes that even meat eaters would love.
“They can make cauliflower fly to the moon,” exclaims Campbell. “It is so good! They can really make it do all these things and make you feel like you’re eating real chicken!”
The menu also includes items like hot honey ‘shrooms & waffles, tofu scramble, Johnny Nash sweet potato hash, cauliwing tacos and lump crab gumbo. You can also sip on signature coffees and cocktails while chilling to vinyl vibes, which are also for sale.
RELATED: R&B Singer Tanya Nolan’s Shares Her Passion For Texas Gulf Coast Cuisine
Cool Runnings Jamaican Bar & Grill, 8270 W. Belfort Avenue | Website
For a trip to the Caribbean, husband and wife team Janay and chef Terron Henry’s Cool Runnings Jamaican Bar & Grill in Houston’s Brays Oaks community is the place to go for authentic dishes like jerk chicken, jerk pork, curry goat, chicken stew, saltfish fritters, and festival.
“My favorite menu item is their escovitch, made with whole red snapper,” says Campbell. “I’ve had it in Jamaica and Cool Runnings can match it.”
That’s because Chef Terron is from Jamaica and knows how it’s done. On certain nights, you can even dine with a DJ spinning dancehall music. But Campbell warns it’s best to get there early for takeout since long lines can sometimes cause them to run out of certain items like their festival (fried sweet bread).
ChopnBlok, 507 Westheimer Road | Website
For a trip to West Africa, try one of the hippest new spots in town—ChopnBlok. Nigerian Chef Ope Amosu, who grew up in Houston, recently opened his brick-and-mortar location in the Montrose/Midtown section of Houston after first starting his concept as a pop-up and then as a vendor at POST Market International Food Hall, which still garners long lines of locals and tourists for authentic Nigerian and West African cuisine.
Amosu’s new stand-alone location opened in October of this year with a decor that hits you at the door with a “Black is Beautiful” vibe. From the artwork of Black people made by Nigerian and West African artists to wallpaper with drawings of Nigerian daily life and West African plants dividing the dining room and vinyl album covers by Nigerian and West African artists, which decorate a wall and are for sale, the West African vibe is vibin’!
“I want this to be a space where when you walk in, you feel represented and feel heard,” states Amosu. “You get to learn who we are and how we as a [Black] diaspora are truly unified, and ultimately how we can showcase the beauty of the culture that we come from.”
But it’s the food that keeps patrons of all races and cultures coming back for more. Some of the most popular items on the menu include Trad —smokey jollof jambalaya, chicken, yagi vegetables and stewed plantains; Golden —like Trad but with added Motherland Curry; Polo Club Suya—grilled beef skewers dusted in traditional Yaji peanut pepper spice, West African beef and veggie patties, plantain chips and dip made with Liberian greens, and Scotch eggs from Nigerian’s colonial past, but with a deviled filling twist.
ChopnBlok’s Nigerian and West African cuisine will keep you coming back to try everything on the menu.
Blue Nile, 3030 Audley Street | Website
If you have a taste for East Africa, check out Blue Nile in the River Oaks section of Houston. This family-owned and award-winning restaurant has been serving authentic Ethiopian cuisine since 1994.
The menu includes dishes like sambusa, lamb dishes like fitfit and dulet, beef dishes like banatu and kitfo and their most popular chicken dish – doro wat. All meals are served with their authentic injera bread.
Bungalow, 407 Main Street | Website
For a Black-owned restaurant in Houston with a more upscale experience, visit Bungalow in the city’s downtown. The fine dining establishment, founded by Mojeed Martin and Jonathan Reitzell of ALIFE Hospitality Group in 2013, is known to have the best steaks in town, with amazing views of the city from their rooftop patio.
Steaks include filet mignon, New York strip, prime rib and porterhouse. Other entrees include whole-fried snapper, pan-seared salmon, apricot chicken and fried lobster tail. The restaurant is also known for its decadent desserts like bread pudding, lemon meringue tart and chocolate dome.
Davis Street at Hermann Park, 5925 Almeda Rd. A | Website
Another upscale Black-owned restaurant in Houston’s Museum District is Davis Street at Hermann Park. Legendary chef Mark Holly, who started his career at some of New Orleans’s top restaurants, mixes his love of Southern cuisine with pan-Asian staples and Latin flavors.
“His pecan pie is to die for,” Campbell exclaims. She adds, “We need to allow our chefs out of the box and let them be creative, let them elevate our palettes and take us to new levels. I’m certainly not downing our BBQ and chicken joints because those are staples that got us here and will always be with us and loved, but it’s also great to experience some of what the more upscale restaurants can bring to the table.”
The number of Black-owned restaurants in Houston has certainly grown over the decades, but this list is just an appetizer because there are always new openings bringing more diverse menus to the table.
Whether you are planning a trip to Houston or a local looking to expand your restaurant roster in 2025, go to Visit Houston’s website for more Black-owned restaurants in Houston.
