The 5 Best Restaurants in Houston for Your Next Casual Date Night 

Don’t let Lankford Grocery Market deceive you; it’s not a market; it’s one of Houston’s oldest diners. At least, that’s what we were told by Houstonians who frequent the establishment. 

Although its location may be tricky to find as it’s slightly off a beaten path close to the city center, we didn’t have a problem finding it. But we did have trouble finding parking on the streets nearby. 

When we walked into Lankford’s Grocery Market, it took a little longer than we would have liked to be seated. Perhaps, that was because the restaurant was packed, not even counting the people we passed by on the patio tables. 

We ordered the cheeseburger and fries and the chicken fried steak. 

Before we could dig in and eat, we had to wait a little while because everything was steaming hot. Both the cheeseburger and the chicken fried steak were an average portion size, but we wouldn’t say they were big enough to share.

We thought the melted cheese and the patty flavors blended well together. However, the fries that came with our burger were too greasy and undercooked.  

As for the chicken fried steak, it came with a savory white country sauce. Moreover, the loaded mashed potatoes, side salad, and Texas toast made the meal all the more delicious. 

Of course, we couldn’t leave without having some of their sweet homemade peach cobbler.

The Blind Goat is a master chef winner restaurant that serves up traditional Vietnamese food with additional flair.  At least that’s what we were told. 

The atmosphere of The Blind Goat consisted mainly of bar seating, so it was cozy and intimate. We liked how we got to watch the chef prepare our food since the seating arrangements allowed us to observe the kitchen.

However, while we were there, we noted the service was mediocre. The staff did not bother answering any of our questions about the menu and hardly checked in on us. 

Regardless of this, we ended up ordering the beef carpaccio, chicken pho, chicken vermicelli bowl and the briskey fried rice. 

The beef carpaccio was lightly seared, thin blankets of beef crowned with a sweet and savory sauce, citrus, Vietnamese herbs, corn nuts, and roasted peanuts and served alongside puffed prawn chips. 

We liked how they emphasized various textural components with this delicious, unique, and creative spin on a traditionally bland appetizer.

Their chicken Pho consisted of chock-full of chicken, cracklins, scallion, fried onion, rice noodles, and broth. By the way, the pho was topped with a sous vide egg. 

At first it tasted bland, but we learned the trick is to stab the egg and stir the molten yolk throughout the broth to add to the broth flavor. 

As for their chicken vermicelli bowl, we found it to be flavorless and it didn’t even include any fish sauce on the side as this dish usually does. Furthermore, we didn’t like their brisket fried rice; the rice was oily and the brisket was hard to chew. 

At Tiny Champion, reservations are not needed, but it does help you secure a table faster. You can choose between sitting inside or on the patio. 

On our last visit to Tiny Champions, we liked how friendly and helpful everyone on the staff was. We were greeted by everyone in the restaurant as we walked to our table. 

We noted that Tiny Champions has an intimate atmosphere as the tables are close to one another, this could make it hard to have private conversations. The menu at Tiny Champions was also limited. 

However, options for vegetarians and vegans are plentiful, with varied vegetable sides available with every meal. Everything we found on the menu was reasonably priced and when we received our food the portion size was average. 

We started off with an appetizer of thinly shaved mushrooms. We liked the flavors of Parmesan infused with lemon and black pepper that coated the mushrooms along with a light olive oil drizzle. 

Furthermore, the mortadella tortellini we had was cooked to a perfect al dente, doused in lemon butter, and topped with pistachios for crunch. Additionally, the mortadella pizza we had was delicious, but the crust was overwhelming. 

All that extra bread made it hard to eat, so we would have preferred if the toppings had gone closer to the edge of the pizza. For dessert, we ended up ordering one of their ice cream pints to go. 

Lucille‘s offers Southern comfort cuisine for reasonable prices. However, we recommend making reservations ahead of time due to how crowded it can get.

When we went to Lucille‘s, there was hardly any parking on the street or in their limited parking lot. They do offer a valet service though. 

Right away when we walked into Lucille‘s we were greeted by the live jazz band playing smooth jazz hits and a welcoming hostess. Its atmosphere is very homey as it is an old home that’s been restored and converted into a restaurant.

The waiter we had was kind enough to give us recommendations on what to order off the menu. So we tried out a variety of meals on their menu. 

First, we tried their classic pork and beans, which looked nothing like the traditional campfire dish of pinto beans and pork nuggets. Rather it was a bowl filled with vibrant green fava beans surrounding a large pork shank. 

We liked the sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce that mirrored the acidic flavor of old-fashioned pork ‘n’ beans from a tin can, cutting cleanly through the fattiness of the pork shank and enlivening the garden-fresh fava beans around it. 

As we dived deeper into Southern cuisine we tried the signature fried green tomatoes.They were delicious, when paired with the creamy and spicy Ranch dressing that we had on the side. 

For one of our main entrées, we had the shrimp and grits. The grits were smooth and not gloopy, the shrimp was juicy and fresh. 

However, the oxtails we ordered were rough and overcooked. They came with a sauce which was neither sweet nor savory. 

Furthermore, the pan-roasted chicken we also ordered looked like it had been cooked in water and then sprinkled with pepper. A few barely cooked potatoes were the hash, while the kale on the side still had ice chunks on its leaves.

Brazil has earned a reputation in its community for being a chill date spot and its pizza. At least that’s what we were told.

On our visit to Brazil, we were engulfed by its relaxing atmosphere the moment we walked through the door. We liked the laid-back music being played by their live DJ.

We noted Brazil runs differently than most restaurants. Instead of getting a table and waiting for a hostess to come and serve you, at this place you go up to the register yourself, you pay for your order first and then they’ll bring you your food to the table of your choosing.

Although Brazil has two indoor seating areas and some tables outside under their large porch, we opted to sit inside.

At first glance at their menu, their options are limited. So we ended up trying out their fig prosciutto pizza and their tamales. 

Their fig prosciutto pizza was the perfect blend of sweetness from the figs, but savory from the mixture of the well-seasoned tomato sauce, and the crisp prosciutto. 

As for their tamales, we thought the massa was dry and the pork was bland. In fact, it didn’t even look like a tamale; it reminded us of more of a flat taco. 

Besides this, Brazil has a nice selection of beer and decent options for lovers of wine.