The Best Lunch Spots in Houston

Many Houston restaurants offer inviting places to break from the office, lounge with friends, or simply retreat for sustenance on a hot, humid day, and even more are offering special deals that make grabbing lunch all the more appealing. Whether searching for a place to connect with coworkers or a gathering place for family and friends within one of the city’s premier shopping districts, here are 16 Houston restaurants that stand out for mid-day dining.

Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers

For a comforting and filling lunch, head to pitmaster Greg Gatlin’s Independence Heights restaurant, where signature crispy fried catfish and chicken are just the tipping point.

Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers also serves Gulf Coast gems like New Orleans barbecue shrimp and chargrilled oysters and lunch items like shrimp po’boys and pork belly BLTs made with honey-glazed pork belly, Creole mayo, arugula, and tomato piled on Texas toast. For a fun and very Texas spin on soup and salad, order its charred Brussels sprouts salad with a cup of gumbo.

Lunch service is offered Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Third Place

Housed inside JUN, Third Place is where Houston chefs get a chance to play.

From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., its rotating residency program brings in local talent, from Chavo’s BBQ’s Mexican-meets-Texas barbecue to Chef Suu Khin’s Burmese cooking and Novi Burger’s crispy-edged smash burgers. The lineup is always changing, so you might just stumble onto a new Houston favorite while grabbing lunch.

Casaema

Yes, the parking lot is full. Yes, there’s probably a line.

But that’s all part of the CasaEma experience. In a city full of excellent Mexican fare, CasaEma stands out for its fresh, bright, and deeply satisfying breakfast and lunch dishes.

Don’t miss the mole enchiladas, mushroom tetela, confit carrot tacos on heirloom blue corn tortillas, and brisket chilaquiles, plus the horchata cream doughnut if you’ve somehow saved room.

Doko

Make a lunch date out of a trip to Autry Park, where Doko joins the mix of boutiques, greenspace, and easy post-meal strolls that can and should include Lick ice cream.

The Japanese spot keeps things casual at midday with dishes like the Doko Burger, a double smash burger dressed with tonkatsu sauce, plus sushi sets when you’re craving something a little lighter.

Urbe

When an escape from the mundanity of the office is needed, lunch at Urbe provides exactly the right vibe.

The casual, counter-service restaurant from chef Hugo Ortega is decked out with vibrant Mexican art and offers a colorful backdrop to dine and drink margaritas (should you opt not to return to work). Go for the shrimp tostadas or the dripping quesabirria, and save room for a treat from the on-site bakery, where glass cases are stocked with pastries like pan dulce, orejas, muffins, and cookies.

Street to Kitchen

Those who like spice can get it (and then some) at Street to Kitchen, one of Houston’s most exciting Thai restaurants. Inside East End’s The Plant development, James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan “G” Jabthong Painter serves bold Thai classics.

Come hungry and order a few dishes for the table, or opt for the $19 Lunch Box Menu with veggie soup, vegetables with roasted chili dip, and your choice of favorites like garlic chive pancakes, green curry chicken, massaman curry, crispy pork belly, or drunken noodles (add $4 for noodle dishes). Don’t skip the excellent cocktails, either.

Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen

If your idea of lunch is a sandwich stacked so high you need a strategy to tackle it, Kenny & Ziggy’s is the move. This old-school New York-style deli has been a Houston institution for over two decades, serving sky-high sandwiches alongside the kind of Jewish deli classics that reward a little planning.

The menu is massive, but start with a potato or spinach knish for the table, grab a bowl of Mishmosh soup (matzo ball and kreplach) when the weather cools down, and then dig into a legendary sandwich like the Fiddler on the Roof, piled with house corned beef, triple-smoked pastrami, coleslaw, and creamy Russian dressing.

Marmo

This vibey Italian restaurant at the Montrose Collective is an easy pick for a leisurely lunch, serving its full menu starting at 11 a.m.

Dig into everything from burrata with yellow tomato gazpacho and squid ink campanelle with blue crab and uni cream sauce to classic chicken parmigiana and dry-aged steaks. If you’re looking for a deal, the $29 two-course prix fixe includes a choice of starter and entree, with the option to add gelato, sorbet, or tiramisu for just $5 more.

ChopnBlok

What started as a food hall favorite at Post HTX is now one of Houston’s standout spots for West African cooking.

At its Montrose home, ChòpnBlọk serves up bold, comforting dishes that celebrate the flavors of the African diaspora, from rice bowls topped with braised short rib or suya-spiced steak to fan favorites like Buka Blọk, a rich red stew rooted in chef-owner Ope Amosu’s childhood. Don’t skip the apps, especially the Polo Club Suya skewers, and if lunch turns into happy hour, the cocktail menu highlights West African ingredients with drinks like the plantain-spiced Calabash Colada.

State of Grace

State of Grace brings back the kind of lunch that feels like an occasion.

Executive Chef Ryan Lachaine and team are serving seasonal Gulf seafood alongside classics like onion soup gratinée, cacio e pepe, house-roasted turkey club, and steak frites, plus the return of Lachaine’s cult-favorite butter burgers from his former Montrose restaurant, Riel. Add in the daily oyster happy hour with $1.50 oysters from open to 6 p.m., and you’ve got a pretty good excuse to linger.

Chroma

For a lunch that feels like a mini escape, head to Chroma, Claire Smith’s new all-day cafe on the Menil campus. The chef behind Alice Blue, Shade, and Canopy fills the sunlit space with a mix of cafe classics and globally inspired plates, from a picnic plate piled with curried tuna salad, smoked chicken salad, fennel radish salad, hummus, and crostini to a double-patty burger and pan-seared red snapper in coconut lemongrass curry sauce.

Grab a seat on the patio overlooking the Menil grounds, and don’t miss the return of Alice Blue’s chicken flautas. Lunch is served Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Le Jardinier

A Michelin-starred lunch for $45? Le Jardinier makes it possible with its Art Lovers Lunch, a two-course prix fixe available Wednesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The French-inspired restaurant set within the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston offers seasonal dishes like whipped burrata with stone fruit and Iberico ham, chilled zucchini velouté with crab, delicate branzino with a bright sauce vierge, and a wagyu burger topped with Gruyere. Add dessert for $10 more, with options like a Valrhona dark chocolate dessert with caramel sabayon and white chocolate ice cream or a millefeuille layered with mascarpone lemon cream and raspberry compote.

Hamsa

The variety of salatim alone is reason enough to visit this Rice Village gem.

Hamsa’s modern Levantine menu begs to be shared, starting with fluffy, piping hot pita meant for scooping up spreads like squash tahini, smoky muhammara, tangy matbucha, and hummus so impossibly smooth you may be ruined for all other hummus. From there, keep the table going with dishes like flame-kissed ribeye skewers, crispy turmeric potatoes, and charred octopus. Add in excellent cocktails, a beautiful dining room, lush patio, and next-door bakery where you can grab a cardamom bun for the road, and Hamsa makes lunch feel like a proper outing.

Crawfish Cafe and Pho Prime

Crawfish Cafe and Pho Prime each have locations around Houston, but in Chinatown, there’s a two-for-one that brings the worlds together.

The massive outpost lets diners mix and match from both menus, whether that means Viet-Cajun seafood boils and garlic noodles or pho, banh mi, and Vietnamese classics. It’s a particularly good lunch move for groups with competing cravings, with standouts like the Pho French Dip, Bo Ne steak and eggs, and Crawfish Cafe’s signature Smack Packs.