This Salvadoran restaurant is beloved in the East End for everything from seafood dishes to carne asadas. The stars of the show, however, are the restaurant’s pupusas—all served hot off the griddle and with a big jar of curtido brought to your table.

This local favorite serves some of the best breakfast tacos in Houston. Come here early to join the line of neighbors, construction workers, and taco tourists snapping a selfie in front of the restaurant’s colorful murals. Once inside, move through the cafeteria-style line and have your pick of everything from chorizo and egg to al pastor.

Champ Burger has been a staple in the East End since 1963 and is beloved by generations of East Enders. Stop by for a classic burger and an orange ice cream shake.

James Beard Award semifinalist Victoria Elizondo has cultivated great Mexican food and community at this labor-of-love spot. Standout items here include the vegan tinga taco made with lion’s mane and oyster mushrooms smothered in chipotle en adobo; the mole negro roast chicken entrée; and the chilaquiles. The restaurant is also home to a small market where you can purchase everything from café de olla flan to totopos, plus Elizondo’s cookbook.

This bakery and coffee shop from Top Chef: Just Desserts star Vanarin Kuch features a creative menu of items like beef pho kolaches, taro egg and cheese tacos, Chinese sausage breakfast tacos, and some of the all-around best pastries you can find in the city. The coffee drinks here are also great—we love the Salty Cambodian with condensed milk and sourdough butter—and don’t forget to come back here for Koffeteria’s special Cambodian lunch menu.

If you’re looking for killer homemade tamales, huevos rancheros, caldo or fideo, La Imperial Bakery is the spot for you. The tiny shop specializes in “comida casera” with a short, handwritten menu behind the counter that changes every day.

When it’s summer in Houston, there are few things more refreshing than a mangonada. One of our favorite places to get them is at Magnolia’s Ice Cream. You can also find a variety of fresh-made ice creams, chamoy-laced specialty treats, and sundaes.

This new entry to Houston’s growing Italian food scene is located in the colorful Tlaquepaque Market strip across the parking lot from Bohemeo’s. Enjoy a plate of handmade pasta, one of the vegetable-forward appetizers, and sip on a glass from the restaurant’s concise wine list full of lesser-known Italian gems.

This vibrant all-outdoor watering hole features an endless selection of beers on tap as well as some of the best burgers and hot dogs in Houston. Moon Tower is particularly known for its unusual meats, such as deer, elk, pheasant, rabbit, and wild boar. The graffiti wall here is also pretty cool.

The East End is becoming increasingly renowned for its culinary scene, and Nancy’s Hustle, a modern neighborhood bistro, is the restaurant that started that trend. Stop by for its famous roe-topped Nancy Cakes, the team’s take on a Johnny cake, and stay for the nationally celebrated beverage program.

When it comes to Tex-Mex, it doesn’t get any better than the Original Ninfa’s on Navigation, where Houston legend Mama Ninfa Laurenzo launched the fajita to stardom. Come here with a group and settle in for a great time.

Houston native Jonathan Delgado started Popston as a pushcart and has since opened a brick-and-mortar in the Second Ward development known as the Plant. The new spot slings unique and colorful popsicle creations in flavors like orange salted lemonade, blueberry mojito, pistachio rose water, and salted caramel chocolate cajeta.

Chef Benchawan “G” Jabthong Painter’s award-winning Thai restaurant has come a long way since its early days as a dive bar pop-up, then a teeny strip center restaurant in an old Popeye’s. Painter brought home the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas, and it’s easy to see why. The restaurant, now in larger digs in the Plant, features Thai food that will change your life and liven your senses—it’s spicy spicy. Staples here include the pad thai (yes, really) as well as the massaman curry. Don’t leave without trying the frozen alcoholic Thai tea. Just make sure you call an Uber for your journey home, since the cocktail is quite boozy.

In the mood for a mangonada or a concha ice cream sandwich? Look no further than Treats of Mexico, a snack shop that offers artisan ice cream, traditional snacks, and some really great aguas frescas.

Named after the Astrodome, 8th Wonder is the brand behind iconic Houston beers such as Dome Foam (a cream ale formerly known as Dome Faux’m) and the Mission Control porter. Oh, and you’ll find plenty of THC seltzers here too, as 8th Wonder is now also in the cannabis business. The brewery’s EaDo taproom is always packed and includes an expansive outdoor patio that’s perfect for the doggos.

This EaDo bar and arcade is home to over 275 arcade games as well as 48 taps of various hard ciders, hard kombuchas, hard seltzers, and more. Admission is $10 for a day pass or $15 for a monthly membership.

This gentrification-resistant dive bar, open since the 1940s, is a true East End gem, filled with eclectic decor, stiff drinks, and great company.

This dive bar staple has a pool table, arcade games, nightly food pop-ups, and some of the friendliest bartenders in Houston. We love coming here when “Pupusa Mami” is slinging her Salvadoran treats.

Refresqueria Tampico has some of the best aguas frescas around, offering flavors like melon, fresa, mango, and piña. You also can’t go wrong with the refresqueria’s elote or Frito pie.

This hip dive has everything: frozen daiquiri machines, tiki boat drinks, pool and air hockey, vibey neon lights, and some of the most eclectic crowds in town. Don’t forget an order of jalapeño hush puppies or a po’ boy to sop up the strong cocktails.

This esplanade is home to an endless array of art, food, and beverage vendors, as well as the East End Farmers Market that happens every Sunday. It gets extra-lively on the weekends, especially when there is live music.

This historic, 60,000-square-foot warehouse building has been repurposed to house a variety of businesses, including Segundo Coffee Lab, a CBD shop, several vintage clothing stores, plant shops, and other cool finds.

Owned by a lifelong resident of the East End, Kismet occupies a prime corner of Tlaquepaque Market. Come here for fun items like a backpack shaped like a concha, a Takis pillow, or a taco wristlet.

Housed in a blue shipping container on the Esplanade at Navigation, this purveyor of fine leather crafts features boots and shoes as well as hats and other goods made by Ecuadorian artisans.

Super Yaki is a shop for those who love movies and movie culture. It sells everything from cinema-inspired T-shirts to pins, patches, prints, stickers, books, and games.

This quintessential East End coffee shop is a great place to fuel up, study, or work remotely. The casual art-filled space often hosts shows by live bands, both indoor and on its outdoor patio, and is also home to Sadie, Bohemeo’s resident cat.

People come to Coral Sword for its stellar coffee as well as its many tabletop games. The coffee shop, owned by ex-Houston Astro Hunter Pence and his wife, Lexi, has an entire wall stacked with board games that guests are free to play. It also regularly hosts Magic: The Gathering tournaments and D&D games, making it a favorite spot for Houston gamers.

The Harrisburg Art Museum is a mural-covered warehouse that showcases some of the best street art in the East End. It’s a casual spot, so stop by and hang out whenever you want.

MECA (which stands for Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts), located next to Guadalupe Plaza Park and Buffalo Bayou, is a community-based nonprofit arts organization that hosts performing arts events and exhibitions. Make sure to stop by for its huge annual Día de los Muertos festivities.

This newcomer to the East End serves classic coffee drinks and Mexican specialties like horchata of various flavors, horchata lattes, and cafecitos. Oso also sells horchata cold brew by the gallon, a perfect take-home treat for those who can never get enough of it.

If you’re into comedy, there’s no better place to be than the Secret Group in EaDo. The multipurpose venue was opened by four of Houston’s best stand-up comics and regularly hosts comedy shows as well as other events.

Housed inside Ironworks, Segundo Coffee Lab has a creative coffee menu that features a bevy of signature lattes and tes con leche, as well as Abuelita hot chocolate and cafe de olla. The coffee shop also serves some stellar tamales and empanadas.

It doesn’t get more DIY than Super Happy Fun Land. The eclectic, art-filled venue is a staple for Houston’s underground community and frequently showcases experimental electronic music, improvised jazz, and underground hip-hop and rock.

This pipsqueak coffee shop and roaster overdelivers on charm. The colorful patio is a perfect spot to post up for a hangout with friends while sipping on drinks like the Mocca (espresso, organic cocoa, Mexican vanilla, Vietnamese cinnamon, and oat milk), the Valley Girl (espresso, Mexican vanilla, and oat milk), or the OB (espresso, honey sauce, and oat milk).

Located between Navigation Boulevard and Buffalo Bayou, Guadalupe Plaza Park has plenty of green space, a splash pad, a large fountain, and several other amenities that make it very family friendly.

Mason Park boasts 104 acres alongside Brays Bayou filled with hiking trails, athletic fields, and shaded areas thanks to its many trees. There’s also a public pool that is open during the summer, as well as a community center that includes a gym and recreation facilities.

This historic park, located between Navigation and Clinton, features 19 acres of trails, athletic fields, and picturesque lawns. Although we’re already big fans of the park, it’s going to be even better after it receives a facelift as part of the historic Buffalo Bayou East expansion, which will see it swell to 40 acres.