It’s time to add soul food to the growing list of what Houston, Texas, is doing right culinary-wise. We all have black restaurant owners to thank for that. While barbecue and Tex-Mex are always at the top of visitors’ foodie to-do lists, Houston’s soul food scene is an underrated and often overlooked area for people who aren’t from there.
It’s time to eat like a local and indulge in Black-owned soul food restaurants in H-Town. The staff is known for treating guests like family. Prepare to eat to your heart’s content and get to know Houston on a deeper level thanks to these Black-owned restaurants that will touch your soul.
Aunt Bill’s Soul Food Café
Just outside of Houston, in Katy, lies the Southern gem Aunt Bill’s Soul Food. Chef and co-owner Kevin Muccular named the restaurant after his grandmother Willie Mae Reed, who was known as Aunt Bill. The menu is full of homemade Southern comfort food, including baked macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Other delicious items on the menu include oxtail, BBQ ribs, pork chops, and chicken and waffles. They also say this is the creamiest peach cobbler in the area.
- Owner: Kevin and Ryan Muccular
- Location: Katie
- Type of kitchen: Southern States, Soul Food
- Menu Spotlight: Chicken and Waffles, Oxtail, Mac and Cheese, Peach Cobbler, Gumbo
- Before you go: Vegan soul food options are available.
Esther’s Cajun Café and Soul Food
Guests who dine at Esther’s Cajun Café & Seafood will experience a nostalgic feeling of home while dining with loved ones. Esther Lewis-Bernard wants people to experience that feeling when dining at her restaurant.
Making people feel good with her soulful cooking is a tradition she inherited from her great-grandmother and her mother. Both women believed in the importance of passing on their recipes to the next generation. Esther serves the community recipes full of love, history and tradition.
- Owner: Esther Lewis-Bernard
- Location: northwest
- Type of kitchen: Southern States, Cajun
- Menu Spotlight: Honey smoked chicken, lamb chops, garlic roasted chicken, Cajun pasta, Cajun fried catfish
- Before you go: The restaurant accepts reservations for large and small private events.
Greasy Spoon Soul Food Bistro
Max Bozeman has been in the restaurant business for more than 10 years, but Greasy Spoon Soulfood Bistro is his first solo venture. Bozeman’s mission is to elevate the culture of Southern cuisine by creating a five-star experience around Southern comfort food.
At Greasy Spoon, culture and cuisine collide. Guests can enjoy a great atmosphere and even better home cooking that Bozeman says is popular across cultural boundaries.
- Owner: Max Bozeman
- Location: Cypress, Pearland, food truck
- Type of kitchen: South
- Menu Spotlight: Oxtail, macaroni and cheese, collard greens
- Before you go: Greasy Spoon also accepts online orders.
Lucille’s
Chris Williams’ nationally acclaimed restaurant Lucille’s was originally opened as a tribute to his great-grandmother, culinary pioneer Lucille B. Smith. Smith was an educator, culinary innovator and successful entrepreneur who founded her own food company. She is widely known for Lucille’s All Purpose Hot Roll Mix, the first hot roll mix to be released in the United States.
Williams, a James Beard Award finalist, continues to pay tribute by recreating some of her most famous recipes with chef Khang Hoang.
- Owner: Chris Williams
- Location: City centre
- Type of kitchen: South
- Menu in focus: Braised oxtail, famous chili biscuits, spicy chicken sandwich
- Before you go: The restaurant accepts reservations.
Mikki’s Soulfood Café
Located in southwest Houston, Mikki’s Café has earned a reputation that extends beyond the boundaries of Space City. The late Jeanette Hamilton Williams founded Mikki’s as a catering business that later became a brick-and-mortar store.
Williams passed away in early 2019, leaving behind a community that loved her dearly. Her children, Craig Joseph and Jeanelle, continue to serve the community and honor her legacy.
- Owner: The children of the late founder, Jeanette Hamilton Williams.
- Locations: Southwest Houston, Pearland
- Kitchen: South
- Menu Spotlight: Oxtail, fried catfish, braised pork chops, macaroni and cheese, collard greens
- Before you go: Reservations are accepted by filling out a form on the restaurant’s website.
ReMo’s Café
ReMo’s Café is a family-owned Southern barbecue restaurant where the staff treats everyone who walks through the door like a VIP.
The restaurant offers a selection of food full of soulful comfort. The wide selection includes specialty salads, French fries and homemade desserts. Remo’s Cafe is the perfect place for a hearty meal.
- Owner: Family owned
- Location: Southwest Houston
- Kitchen: South
- Menu Spotlight: Delicious baked potatoes
- Before you go: Online orders are possible.
Vegan-SoulFood
Chef Tramone “Taliek” Terry is behind Soul Food Vegan, a restaurant that is a major player in both the vegan community and meat lovers. His food shows that soul food can be healthy and delicious. He also makes a convincing case that plant-based soul food can be beneficial, as evidenced by the number of non-vegans he attracts to his restaurant.
- Owner: Chef Tramone “Taliek” Terry
- Location: City centre
- Kitchen: South
- Menu in focus: Fried okra, grilled platter, fried vegan catfish
- Before you go: Online orders are possible.
These soul food restaurants in Houston prove that there’s a lot more to the Bayou City than barbecue. For many of these restaurants, it’s about more than just soul food. The roots of many of these establishments lie in family traditions and recipes from generations past. Sitting in a soul food restaurant in Houston is literally a piece of black history, and families look forward to sharing these culinary stories through delicious food.
