I recently took a weekend trip to Houston and the food blew us away, which is why I want to tell you all where to eat in Houston.

I will be the first to admit that I have always been particularly harsh about Houston. For some reason, there seems to be this weird competition among the big cities in Texas, which meant I threw shade at Houston. We traveled there for soccer games every now and then in high school, and all I saw was concrete concrete concrete. I refused to think anything worth noting was there, except the horrid traffic and humidity.

I follow a few bloggers in Houston who managed to make it look fun. After seeing more and more places of interest pop up, I decided it was time to swallow my pride and plan a trip to H-town. My good friend Shelby and I researched the best walls and places to eat, then headed to Houston. Typical Molly travel style is coming prepared with addresses, spots and ideas; naturally, I did this for Houston BUT I must have had too much on my mind when I left because I forgot my lists.

In the end, I was secretly thankful I didn’t have my list. I didn’t stress about making it to all these places I dreamt of going to and didn’t worry about missing one of the spots. I was able to slow down and enjoy our time there, which was definitely what I needed that weekend. On Saturday night we even passed up going to a nice restaurant to make burgers at home and watch a movie!

This time around, I saw beautiful neighborhoods, colorful walls and friendly folks in Houston. And most importantly, we conquered many restaurants a la Shelby’s recs. Keep reading for where to eat in Houston:

Local Foods

I would drive three hours solely for the reason of visiting this restaurant again and devouring the “crunchy” chicken sandwich on a pretzel bun. I have a mad love for pretzel buns after our chef at the sorority house made them to go with pasta and I would hoard a few of the leftovers they were so good. The nut crumble was the perfect match to all other ingredients on this sandwich.

Hugs and Donuts

I know donuts and these donuts were GOOD. Stuffed from our other food adventures, I only finished off one donut but I am glad I ate the one I did. It was a strawberry donut with jelly filling and while I don’t usually go for jelly filling (cream all the way), I was obsessed with this one altogether. Plus, this place has donut-themed tables and art on the walls.

Tiny Boxwood’s

The dishes and the space are absolutely beautiful. I love that you order and pay at the bar, but the overall feel is still pretty nice. I couldn’t choose between two dishes and had a YOLO moment, so I ordered both the migas and the yogurt + granola combo. If you even somewhat like yogurt and granola, GET IT because the granola is outta this world.

Honey Art Cafe

I think this the cutest little place and I would 500% be a regular if Houston was my dwelling place. You can order water colors to use at your table, as well as a wide assortment of boba teas, coffees and other fun treats. The waffle in this was OUTSTANDING. I ate every last bit without the help of anyone else and would 10/10 order again in a heart beat.

Tiny’s No. 5

I’d heard you should go to Tiny Boxwood’s over the Tiny’s No. 5 Milk & Cookies spot, but I am so glad we went to both. You can walk up to the open window and counter, looking at a back shelf of freshly baked goodies. I debated between a donut, cinnamon roll the size of my face or fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and went with the last option due to recommendations from others who have been. Best. Chocolate. Chip. Cookies. Ever.

Sweet Paris

I love crepes, but I wouldn’t say they are my favorite desserts to splurge on. We stopped by last minute and went with the s’mores flavor based off a sign we saw at the front. Not only ours, but ALL the crepes were HUGE. They stuff ‘em full with goodies and if you want a sweet crepe, s’mores is the way to go.

The Dough Cone

If you don’t get one over-the-top dessert, is your trip even worth it? This was our “crazy” dessert – a churro type cone caked in nutella on the inside, vanilla ice cream, sugary marshmallows, gummy worms…I will stop there. It was a bit difficult to eat because I couldn’t control the melting, but def worth the stop.

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While Houston still doesn’t beat Dallas or Austin in my mind, I would say it is worth the trip if you are in the area. Which one of these places would you like to visit?

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