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☕ Third Ward, Houston
10 restaurants · 2026
🍽️ 10 Restaurants
✨ Cafe, Coffee, Local Faves
A historic Black neighborhood south of Downtown anchored by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University.
Known for: University of Houston, TSU, Project Row Houses, Emancipation Park
Don't miss: Rado Coffee
💡 Project Row Houses on Holman Street is one of the most important Black art spaces in the country.
Top 10 in Third Ward
1
The Breakfast Klub
Southern Breakfast
The most famous breakfast spot in Houston with a line that wraps around the building every weekend morning. The chicken and waffles are legendary -- the wings are perfectly crispy ...
90
2
Lucille's
Southern / Soul Food · Michelin Bib Gourmand
Chris Williams modern Southern honoring his great-grandmother Lucille namesake. The fried chicken is some of the best in the city, the oxtail is braised to perfection, and the Sund...
89
3
Frenchy's Chicken
Chicken
Houston's fried chicken legend since 1969 — Creole-seasoned crust, red beans and rice, and a line that's never not out the door at the original Scott Street location.
86
4
This Is It Soul Food
Soul Food
50+ years on Blodgett Street — one of Houston's oldest Black-owned restaurants. Country-cooking cafeteria with oxtails, smothered chicken, and a regulars list that reads like Third...
85
5
Ray's Real Pit BBQ Shack
BBQ
Old-school Third Ward barbecue on Old Spanish Trail — brisket, ribs, and links smoked in front of you. The pit never goes cold.
83
6
Alfreda's Soul Food
Soul Food
The longest-standing soul food restaurant in historic Third Ward — counter service since 1965 with Southern classics heavy enough to weigh down a truck.
82
7
MAM's House of Ice
Dessert
Third Ward shaved-ice institution — New Orleans-style snowballs in 80+ flavors served through a walk-up window since the '90s.
80
8
Cupcake Kitchen
Bakery
Chef Patrice Farooq's Third Ward bakery-turned-soul-food-mainstay — cupcakes with fillings, gourmet cookies, and a Southern lunch menu that came later and stayed.
80
9
Crumbville TX
Bakery
Small Emancipation Avenue bakery that specializes in plant-based cookies, brownies, and stuffed cups — a Third Ward daily habit.
80
10
Navy Seafood
Seafood
25-year-old counter-service fried-seafood shop across from Emancipation Park — fried oysters, po-boys, and a fried fish sandwich that crackles with every bite.
79
Local Favorites (10)
Southern (4)
Soul Food (4)
Historic (4)
Cheap Eats (3)
Brunch (2)
Cafeteria (2)
Bakery (2)
Desserts (2)
Iconic (1)
Casual (1)
Critics Pick (1)
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