The Most Delicious Diners in Houston

KW's Dairy Mart

★★★★★ 4.8 (11) • $

"Juicy sourdough burgers with an excellent seasonal fried seafood menu. Just added gizzards and they are pretty good but need to add more to their basket. They serve blue bell Icecream, shakes, malts, and sundaes."

Urban Social

★★★★☆ 4.4 (71) • $$

"Overall, I think it's a great bar. Drinks are strong, music is good, and atmosphere is chill. I went early in the evening during the week, so the place was extremely pleasant. However, based on the other reviews and Urban Social's IG page, this place easily transitions to a crowded lounge with a club-like scene on the weekends. So choose your vibe wisely.My drink of choice was the White Gummy Bear. It was fantastic. Sweet but packed a punch. The bartenders definitely know what they're doing here.Food options can be consumed here but must be purchased next door. Parking is shared with the establishments in the strip mall. I definitely recommend taking an Uber or Lyft."

Midtown Bar & Grill

★★★★☆ 3.6 (236) • $$

"I came to Midtown Bar & Grill with my Sunday Brunch friends. I love about this place because of patio seating, parking lot, convenience to major thoroughfare, split check and most importantly, it's located in the Gayborhood. Food was good. I studied the menu before arriving. I ordered Gyro Sandwich. The pita was fresh and soft. The meat was tender and juicy. The cucumber sauce was thick. The overall food experience was excellent. I just wish there were more options to substitute the fries. Service was also great. There were 2 servers at our table of 12-ish. I would return to try other dishes."

Simos Diner

★★★★☆ 4.4 (114)

"Simo's diner gives you a no nonsense Northeast 70's diner experience and happily advertise their food is meant for working folks. Pretty darn good for retirees too. Great prices and hearty plates of no frills comfort food. You won't find any wayward parsley here as food is for eating not for looking pretty (come to think of it, no one plates with parsley any more but you get my drift). A side of bacon gets you FIVE slices. A biscuit and gravy side offers an option of one or two biscuits but trust me when I say one is enough. And that sausage gravy is full of savory pellets of sausage and bursting with flavor. No fancy, clever names or complicated dishes, just quality essentials and a warm, welcoming atmosphere where the staff gets to know your name."

Del's Diner

★★★☆☆ 2.9 (30) • $

"I ordered the western omelette with hash browns and toast and it was delicious. I'll definitely go back to try out other menu items . The waitress was very polite and made sure I had everything I needed ."

Lankford Grocery & Market

★★★★☆ 4 (865) • $$

"Must Do!These are my kind of places!... Where the local go!Lankford is located in our Aunt's neighborhood in the heart of Houston. We found ourselves in town for a quick in and out job, and decided to stop by to have a lunch with the kin folk. Lankford is where there wanted to take us. It's been featured on the tv show Diners, Drive - Ins, and Dives. It was a late weekday lunch. It wasn't crazy busy. We ordered:Brisket Enchilada specialCheeseburgerOnion ringsI wouldn't say my burger was the "best", yet we enjoyed our experience with family at a local joint the most."

Waffle House - Houston

★★☆☆☆ 2.3 (41) • $

"Best by far the greatest WAFFLE HOUSE.SERVICE GREATLOCATION GREATWAIT STAFF BETTER THAN MOST.This store should be a training store. Very clean restrooms.Marc the mgr. Wasgreat. Super ice and backed his staff."

Simona’s Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.3 (24) • $$

"Why 4 stars? Because I loved the European vibes. --- --- ---This is one of the most European restaurants I've been to since my visit to Europe, 6 years ago. The vibe, the menu, and even the plates/cups/utensils. I'm pretty sure I entered some kind of portal in the Woodlands that teleported me across the Atlantic. How I ended up here is: we have taken our son to the Play Museum next door many times and recently noticed Simona's had opened. I bookmarked it, but kind of forgot about it. Fast forward to a morning a couple of months later where I got done playing basketball and was experiencing a shocking level of hunger. Like, I was going to need medical attention if I didn't consume a lot of food, very quickly. I opened up my bookmarks and Simona's was the closest spot to me at only 6 minutes away. Done!I ordered a very odd combination of things, but when you're that hungry, nothing makes sense:Protein Shake: 3-stars. This was fine, but not something I'd order again. I just really needed protein.Ribeye Sandwich: 4-stars. I didn't love that jalapenos were in this, despite them not being listed on the menu. That was a surprise, found out too late. But otherwise, this mostly hit the spot for me.Berries and Sweet Cream: 4.5 stars. Not too sweet, but perfectly satisfying. Hey, did I mention that this place reminds me of Europe?It certainly didn't hurt that I sat outside and the weather was postcard-perfect. Next time, we will definitely plan a visit here for the whole family post-Play Museum."

Ken's Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.9 (44) • $

"So, I'm updating my review because...*drum roll*, Ken's is NO LONGER SMOKING! Y'all this is fantastic. I can finally bring my nieces and nephew on the weekends without subjecting them to the smoke. They've cleaned the place up and given it a bit of a makeover. You can't even tell that this used to allow indoor smoking. The food is virtually the same but if they added fresh fruit or avocado toast, I'd probably make this a regular spot. Great bacon and the service is always friendly and spot-on."

CIEL Restaurant & Lounge

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (221) • $$$$

"Our first time here. Previous YELP reviews very mixed. We went tonight for Valentine's Day , fixed price menu. Great cocktails to start and we did a bottle of a very nice Petit Chablis. There were some other nice choices on a small wine list. The first flight, not shown was a sushi flight which we both had. My only complaint there was that i did not noice the wagyu beef which i cannot eat and which not normally on. Sushi flight, traded for th yellowtail with my wife so not big deal. Good quality sushi, no soy sauce needed thank you.I followed with Salmon and my wife had Chateaubriand. I did the passion fruit and my wife did a strawberry sorbet. NiceWait staff great, they seemed to know well the frequent diners (not us) and the decor was modern and a nice match with the not modern music. Good, mixed crowd. Not sure how much mix from an artificial v-day mix (ah, that would be us). Hint. We took the very very uncool 6pm seating , but heck, we got seated on time. When we left at 8:30 pm or so, the line was very long with people waiting for their much cooler 7-8pm seatings. We were not chased out and frankly the kitchen backed up anyway. It's V-day, cancellations are very low and this sort of things happen. I think if i had one of those ultra-cool 8pm seatings and waited 60min for my table I would have killed a star or two. There is no 'wait bar' , it is a line out to the parking lot. They need to rethink that form a cash standpoint.We also went a week later, to see what it was like on a non holiday Friday night. Obviously better menu though portions a bit too large. No change to the review. Pricy, but good food, great waitstaff in a fun environment. We also did the 6pm seating to avoid the chance of a wait but that was a bit paranoid. 7pm would have been fine."

Hungry Like the Wolf

★★★★☆ 3.7 (236) • $$

"I can only rate it a 4 via Yelp but it's more like 4 and a half stars! I loved my experience at Hungry like the wolf! They definitely do a great job of carrying out the 80's theme! I especially loved watching all of the old 80's music videos while I ate. Let's start with the best part of the meal... y'all the boozy milkshakes are NOT TO BE MISSED! You hear me?! Order it! We had the banana Rama and the chocolate whiskey one and man..... these were so delicious! Both my husband and I made sure to not leave a drop. Dinner was good! My husband ordered the chicken fried steak and he loved it! He kept saying eating at this restaurant felt like someone's home. The food had a homemade essence to it that we really appreciated. I ordered a Ruben and I wasn't crazy about it but at that point I was tipsy off of my boozy milkshake to even care! We loved it and we will be back!"

Waffle House - Spring

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (51)

"Waffle house, you know what it is. So good American breakfast food. May not be the best for you but it's so so good. I have a sausage egg and cheese hash brown bowl. I topped with chili, it's one of my favorites. First class"

District 7 Grill

★★★★☆ 4 (693) • $$

"WooowwwI can't believe this place! This was the best food we had and all of Houston. It is in a tiny, metal, unassuming little restaurant on the side of the road. It looks like nothing from the outside, but when you go inside, it is the friendliest people ever. The waiter came over and had a full conversation with us, and we did not feel imposing or anything. While he was talking to us other people helps the other tables. They all worked together and all of the diners were having a great time. It's a very friendly place and the food is absolutely outstanding. We made substitutions and asked questions and they were very accommodating and helpful. We had a crab cake, chicken and waffles, and pancakes. They don't have a liquor license but they have a bunch of different drinks so we have a peach mimosa, Bellini, Moscow mule, and some other drinks. Absolutely terrific and I hope they stay this way."

Lercy's Diner

★★★★☆ 4.3 (69)

"This place was very good! My coworker and I stopped here for lunch on a Thursday while headed to East Texas. The parking lot was packed, which is always a good sign. The interior is very country, clean, and cute. The ceiling has a fabulous lamp made out of a mattress box spring, which caught my eye. Seatings is family style, at long picnic tables. It's cafeteria style, but there's also a board with none cafeteria items that can be ordered. My coworker got the chicken fried steak with corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, and cornbread from the "buffet," and I ordered the California Monkey (a ham sandwich on a croissant) with fries from the kitchen. The food was delicious and the portions were large enough to share. My sandwich was piled high with ham and other toppings."

Sweet T's Diner

★★★★☆ 3.9 (61) • $

"Awesome food and service. Grits, sausage, biscuits, and hash browns all hot and delicious."

Telwink Grill

★★★★☆ 4.2 (326)

"My Mom likes to keep it simple when it comes to her food choices, we was out running errands and today was my turn to treat. I knew she would really like Telwink Grill. The wait wasn't too long, while she waited in line, I was enjoying the energy of the eclipse moon.Your never to young or old to enjoy their country cooking and wonderful service.I ordered my usual, a real egg meat omelette, an omelette is not a real omelette without real eggs. Grits of course, fresh churned buttery butter hold the cheese and sugar please. Mom got fish, green beans and fries. So we're chit chatting and my nose and eyeballs keep zooming on my neighbors stack of pancakes. My nose and eyeballs all ways bully's my waistline, I fought really hard but that's a battle I choose not to fight. "Miss, can you bring me 1 pancake?" Who said that? In my Porsha William voice, I look around and Mom said "You, Niki"Our food came and all conversation ended.That's my review in 300 words are less."

Frank's Grill

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (54) • $$

"Sorry but Not sorry...I've heard of the great reviews of this place and was very disappointed in the way they conduct business. The ONE time we come out for breakfast we were totally ignored when we first came in. 2 Other tables got served before we were even greeted or acknowledged..I had to stop a waitresses to get service. It's not like No one saw us....because everyone stared at us when we came in. My father is a disabled veteran and was in a wheelchair. However they tried to make it right but the damage was already done..Not coming back."

Denny's

★★☆☆☆ 2.2 (52) • $

"This is a well-established chain restaurant that had to do a major overall of their image. Many may not remember, but this chain was notorious for not wishing to serve Blacks in their restaurants from coast to coast. I mean really crazy issues like just plain ole' not serving Blacks what so ever...making Black pre-pay for their food...making Blacks pay more than the normal price that was advertised or on the menu...and that's the icing on the cake. It was not long ago that they did a $54 Million dollar settlement with scores of Black customers over these issues. I remember looking at the kids menu and seeing a statement stating that they would not discriminate against customers based off race and what not. Mot all the hatred was stemmed towards Blacks however, Asians and the LBGT community got it as well...as recently as 2014...that I know of!Well, in 2016, this place has done many things to get people to consistently come back. One thing is the addition to the $2, $4, $6, and $8 menu, which includes all you can eat pancakes for $4. You start off with 3 pancakes, and they bring two more until you are full.This particular Denny's has free Wi-Fi and is open 24 hours a day. You have kids can eat free days and times, so make sure to look for when that is to save a few bucks on the family dining. With this particular Denny's, should I be concerned with multiple signs letting you know that you are on camera? What issues have they had in the past that they felt compelled to visually remind people that they are getting watched? Maybe I need to make sure my car alarm is on?!?You can't expect too much from a chain restaurant...you just can't! The service was adequate here, but nothing mind blowing or tongue blowing. I even seen an employee go the extra mile and chase a stray dog away. Yet, it is a chain place that you visit when you have a very particular itch to scratch. Food is of the average Denny's variety...nothing over the top awesome here folks. Nothing beyond average here either. All in all, come here for an average Denny experience.Just in case you were wondering, I went with the all you can eat pancakes!"

TRIS

★★★★★ 4.6 (382) • $$$

"This was my second time here and I forgot how good this place is.We ordered oysters and drinks for appetizers. The cocktails were delicious and well made. I ordered the fried chicken and my husband ordered the steak pastry dish.The chicken was enough for two people!It was crispy on the outside, and juicy on the inside with great flavors.Our server was absolutely fantastic, I love this place and will be back soon"

Pat's Donuts

★★★★☆ 4.1 (83)

"Small kolache store off of 59. Donuts are cooked well and taste like Shipleys. The jalapeño sausage kolaches are solid. The Boudain kolache is a bit bland and heavy, I forgot to consider it was rice wrapped in bread..."

Waffle House - Cypress

★★★☆☆ 2.8 (83) • $

"I'm sad to say this was our first time at Waffle House but what a great experience! Yaketta took care of our family and was wonderful! I can truly say this staff is some of the hardest working people ever!"

Darlin's Diner

★★★★☆ 4.3 (94)

"Me and my Friend Cece stopped in during the Cook off at 7am. Amazing coffee and friendly faces! 100% recommend!"

Denny's

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (70) • $

"An extremely clean restaurant. Friendly service and of course, great prices. My only issue was that I requested no cheese in my veggie omelette and my request was ignored."

Denny's

★★★☆☆ 2.6 (76) • $

"I should write an a-Denn-dum to my previous review to say it's not the worst location I've visited.Definitely in terms of service this is one of the better Denny's in the Houston area. In terms of food at least it comes out hot, but it's every bit as overpriced and tasteless and awful as every other Denny's location, and that is the main reason why I would never be able to recommend to anybody to actually eat at Denny's.It's a little bit better than IHOP, but eating from a toilet bowl is also better than IHOP, so that's not really an advertisement for anything.In any case make sure you come and check out all the amazing International unique local foods of Katy instead of just hitting up chains like Denny's. I say that knowing Katy has alllll the chains but you should take my advice.I tell that to our family too but we still end up here sometimes. Not our decision."

Waffle House - Houston

★★★★☆ 3.6 (75) • $

"Fast and friendly service. Good food. I would come here again. Been here many times and never have I been disappointed"

World's Burgers

★★★★☆ 4.2 (196)

"I've been here a few times and have always had a pleasant experience. The staff is friendly & helpful. The restaurant is small but very clean and the burgers are amazing! Fresh veggies are always used and the burgers are cooked when ordered. No big restaurant frills just good burgers, fries and service."

T Jin China Diner

★★★★☆ 4 (138) • $$

"This restaurant is one of eight with a similar name in the northwest, west and southwest houton suburbs. I visited here on a holiday when not much else was open but asian restaurants, Dennys, IHOP, Starbucks, etc. During several other places during holidays, they have dinner prices all day, but at least they are open.I ordered the general tsos chicken and an iced tea. The meal was served on a nice wavy, modern plate and there were several chunks of fried white meat chicken with it Also. 2 broccoli, a few jalapeno slices, few diced green bell peppers, finely diced green onions resting in a brown sauce. As far as taste, I would say it is just average. The best part for me is the sauce. I requested white rice. Fried rice or brown rice are $1 more, but I just don't usually eat either of those rices, so I got white. It was a little on the mushy side.Service was excellent, so that is a plus."

Rachel’s Diner

★★★★☆ 3.8 (10)

"Very nice, very clean. Well laid out. Waitress very nice and courteous and pleasant to talk to. I will back soon"

Denny's

★★★☆☆ 2.9 (61) • $

"On my mini vacation in Texas, mom and I was craving a hearty breakfast/brunch and why not let's get some Denny's!! Looking through the menu automatically the double berry banana pancakes caught my attention to the point my mom had orders the same exact thing!! The Doubke berry banana pancakes came with two fluffy pancakes with hash browns, your choice of style eggs, your choice of sausage or bacon!! Our waitress was fairly friendly however some what forgetful, we had ordered two coffees and it took her awhile just to bring the coffee out. But when it did come being the coffe o' Holic I am, I was content! The meal itself was SUPER DELICIOUS!!! The double Berry banana pancakes are to die for!! Slices of fresh strawberries and bananas all over the two fluffy pancakes with whip cream and blueberries cooked inside the pancakes oh my!!! The hash browns are ultimately one of my faves!!! The eggs was cooked the way I wanted it!! And the bacon was cooked to perfection!!My mom and I was wobbling out after that brunch!! It was truly a great stop to have a hot breakfast!!"

Denny's

★★☆☆☆ 2.3 (69) • $

"Its dirty in here! And the food is not that good.Usually when my husband and I visit Denny's, its always a great experience. Unfortunately, this location is NOT what I expected. It was dirty, the walls had food on them from probably years ago, the rug is nasty and the service is sub par.Upon our arrival, we were seated fairly quickly but it took at least half an hour for our waitress to come and take our order and once she arrived, she put on a fake smile and gave us sup par treatment. Once we received our food, she never came to check on us again.If I were you, I'd stay away from this place! Its gross."

The Nash

★★★★☆ 4.1 (163) • $$

"Came for houston restaurant weeks 2022. Place was pretty empty. I made a resy prior to. I found street parking, it's metored parking during the day, there's also a parking lot up the street. I didn't see valet. Cassie I believe was our server she was attentive. Drink- I had the sunrise or sunset drink. It was good, not too sweet, it had mango brandy in it, which I never had before.Food- first course I had the mushroom toast. I liked the ingredients of it, but toast ended up soggy, should have gotten the yellowtail crudo. 2nd course I got the short rib paperadelle pasta, it was large portion. I wanted more cheese on it. Flavors were subtle, I think it needed more herbs. It had real potential. Last course I had the lemon basil cheesecake. I love cheesecake, it was a bit salty. Couldn't tell if it was salty because of the crust, the cake, or the Carmel sauce?Anyway, overall nice service, spacious place, nice decor. Would have to come back to say and see if the food is good. It was alright this visit."

Denny's

★★★☆☆ 2.7 (116) • $

"Please pick Josh Joshua was great as our server. Food was good too. We were seated immediately. Just all around a great experience."

Hot Biscuit

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (171)

"New to the area for work, I was in search of a breakfast nook that's open 24hrs. This well lit cafe off I45/JFK was just what I needed. Other than the security of having two officers enjoying their respective breakfasts when I entered, Ms Carol was a lil ray of sunshine. After I ordered, I realized I was still 20 minutes from the job, so I had it packed Togo. Ms Carol took the time to make I had everything needed and a coffee Togo. When I was able to sit down to enjoy my breakfast, everything was great. The ribeye was a perfect mid rare, the eggs were poached just right and she added tomato/bacon to my grits as requested."

Denny's

★★★★☆ 3.5 (76) • $

"Great atmosphere- clean and tidy!Amazing services! Delicious food!The pancakes were a surprise- so yummy!Good Covid protocols."

House Of Pies

★★★☆☆ 2.8 (119)

"Stopped in for some Bayoo Goo and Peach Pie. Very friendly staff, clean and well lit. Nice to have them so close to the house!"