It’s time to add soul food to the growing list of what Houston, Texas, does right with cuisine. We all have Black restauranteurs to thank for this. While barbecue and Tex-Mex are always at the top of the foodie to-do list for visitors, Houston’s soul food scene is an underrated and often overlooked territory for people not from there.
It’s time to eat like a local and indulge in Black-owned soul food restaurants in H-Town, where staff are known to treat people like family. Prepare to eat your heart out and connect with Houston on a deeper level thanks to these Black-owned restaurants that will speak to your soul.
Aunt Bill’s Soul Food Cafe
Just outside of Houston, in Katy, is 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 Southern comfort food made from scratch, including baked macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. Other delicious items on the menu include oxtails, BBQ ribs, pork chops, and chicken and waffles. They also say this is the creamiest peach cobbler in the region.
- Owners: Kevin & Ryan Muccular
- Location: Katy
- Type of Cuisine: Southern, Soul Food
- Menu Spotlight: Chicken and Waffles, Oxtails, Mac and Cheese, Peach Cobbler, Gumbo
- Before you go: Vegan soul food options are available.
Esther’s Cajun Café And Soul Food
People eating at Esther’s Cajun Café & Seafood will discover a feeling of nostalgia from home when eating with loved ones. Esther Lewis-Bernard wants people to experience this feeling while dining at her restaurant.
Making people feel good through her soulful cooking is a tradition passed down from her great-grandmother and mother. Both women believed in passing their recipes on to the next generation. Esther is serving the community recipes filled with love, history, and tradition.
- Owner: Esther Lewis-Bernard
- Location: Northwest
- Type of Cuisine: Southern, Cajun
- Menu Spotlight: Honey Smoked Chicken, Lamb Chops, Garlic Roasted Baked Chicken, Cajun Pasta, Cajun Fried Catfish
- Before you go: The restaurant accepts reservations for private events, both large and small.
Greasy Spoon Soulfood Bistro
Max Bozeman has been in the restaurant and hospitality industry for more than 10 years but The Greasy Spoon Soulfood Bistro is his first solo endeavor. Bozeman is on a mission to elevate the culture of Southern cuisine by creating a five-star experience around Southern comfort dishes.
Greasy Spoon is where culture and cuisine collide. Guests can indulge in amazing vibes and even better comfort dishes, which Bozeman says are loved beyond cultural boundaries.
- Owner: Max Bozeman
- Location: Cypress, Pearland, Food Truck
- Type of Cuisine: Southern
- Menu Spotlight: Oxtail, Mac and Cheese, Collard Greens
- Before you go: Greasy Spoon also accepts online orders.
Lucille’s
Chris Williams’s nationally celebrated restaurant, Lucille’s, first 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 corporation. She’s widely known for Lucille’s All Purpose Hot Roll Mix, the first hot roll mix marketed in the United States.
Williams, a James Beard Award Finalist, continues to pay homage to her by replicating some of her most famous recipes alongside Chef De Cuisine, Khang Hoang.
- Owner: Chris Williams
- Location: Midtown
- Type of Cuisine: Southern
- Menu Spotlight: Braised Oxtails, Famous Chili Biscuits, Hot Chicken Sandwich
- Before you go: The restaurant accepts reservations.
Mikki’s Soulfood Café
Situated on Houston’s southwest side, Mikki’s Café has earned a reputation that reaches beyond Space City. The late Jeanette Hamilton Williams started Mikki’s as a home catering business turned brick-and-mortar.
Williams died in early 2019, leaving behind a community that loved her dearly. Her children, Craig Joseph and Jeanelle, continue serving the community and honoring her legacy.
- Owners: The children of the late founder, Jeanette Hamilton Williams.
- Locations: Southwest Houston, Pearland
- Cuisine: Southern
- Menu Spotlight: Oxtails, Fried Catfish, Smothered Pork Chops, Mac 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 and operated barbecue and Southern cuisine restaurant where staff treat everyone who walks through the door as a VIP.
The restaurant offers a variety of food packed with soulful comfort. Its wide range of options includes specialty salads, loaded fries, and homemade desserts; Remo’s Cafe is the perfect spot for a hearty meal.
- Owners: Family-owned
- Location: Southwest Houston
- Cuisine: Southern
- Menu Spotlight: Mouthwatering baked potatoes
- Before you go: Online ordering is available.
Soul Food Vegan
Chef Tramone “Taliek” Terry is behind Soul Food Vegan, which is a mainstay for the vegan community and meat lovers as well. Through his food, he shows that soul food can be healthy and tasty. He also has a strong case proving that plant-based soul food can be comforting, which is evident by the number of non-vegans he attracts to the restaurant.
- Owner: Chef Tramone “Taliek” Terry
- Location: Midtown
- Cuisine: Southern
- Menu Spotlight: Deep Fried Okra, Barbecue Plate, Fried Vegan Catfish
- Before you go: Online ordering is available.
These Houston soul food restaurants prove that Bayou City has much more to offer than barbecue. For many of these restaurants, it’s bigger than serving soul food. At the root of many of these establishments are family traditions and recipes from generations past. Sitting down at a soul food restaurant in Houston is quite literally taking a bite out of Black history with families excited to share these culinary stories through delicious food.
