The 10 Best Restaurants in Seabrook and Kemah, Texas

Eater

21-05-2025

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Kemah may be known for its flashy boardwalk and a sea of Landry's restaurants, but locals know this laid-back bayside city, roughly 30 miles southeast of Houston, has a lot more going on. Just a five-minute drive from the neighboring town of Seabrook, Kemah is home to some of the best seafood in the region, a sail-up tiki bar, a standout Thai joint, and one of the most innovative Native American tasting menu restaurants in the country. So, while traveling out to Kemah might feel like a journey, once you're there, you'll wonder why you don't come more often. Whether you're looking for something sweet, soulful, or smoked, Kemah's food scene is worth the trip. Use this map as a guide to some of the best restaurants in the Kemah area.
If you're willing to travel a little farther south — 20 more minutes — you'll hit San Leon, home to seafood staples like Pier 6, Topwater Grill, and the beloved dive Gilhooley's Restaurant and Oyster Bar.
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Technically, this soulful restaurant is in Seabrook, but the five-minute drive from Kemah means that you shouldn't miss it if you're in town. Inspired by chef Aaron Davis's grandmothers, this laidback, BYOB restaurant in Seabrook has garnered national attention for bringing Creole home cooking to the forefront. Diners can find gumbo loaded with chicken, sausage, and blue crab; fried cheese curds topped with red gravy; and New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp and grits served with toasted French bread. A crowd-pleasing combination of crispy, Cajun-spiced fried chicken atop a diner's choice of a buttermilk vanilla, pecan praline, or Southern red velvet waffle has become a signature. The daily specials, typically written on the chalkboard wall, are where Davis gets wildly creative — he cooks up things like chargrilled short ribs marinated in Korean barbecue and Caribbean jerk spices and a standout oxtail plate. The food takes time, but a cold drink can make the wait go by faster. Vibe check: Expect a casual, down-home feel in this no-frills restaurant. Prepare to wait for your table and the food. The restaurant has a small staff, and Chef Davis is often hard at work in the back making the best and homiest versions of his dishes.
Locals rave about this Thai restaurant. Start with the Dragon Fire chicken and vegetable dumplings, which are served in a ginger-soy sauce with shrimp and avocado, before diving into a curry dish, such as bowls of creamy panang, pad Thai, and Pad King, a yellow bean sauce with sautéed vegetables that pairs best with lamb. Want a full experience? Order the five-course Chef's Table meal. For $75 per person, diners can enjoy an appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert (with a two-person minimum).
Just over the bridge from Kemah sits one of the best seafood joints in the Seabrook-Kemah area. Diners love it for its variety, with solid bowls of gumbo, fruity cocktails and margaritas, and oysters served six different ways, including raw oysters on the half-shell, Rockys oysters topped with shrimp, spinach, bacon, and a creamy cheese sauce, and Shoysters (grilled oysters topped with oyster butter, parmesan cheese, and grilled shrimp). Treat yourself to a nice dinner, or stop in for lunch for fried or grilled options from the Texas Gulf, like fried alligator, Texas redfish, and jumbo shrimp. Switch things up and head to nearby sister restaurant Tookie's, known for its flavorful, always dependably good burgers.
It doesn't matter your style — sweet or savory, Seabrook Waffle Company has it all. This neighborhood spot serves up Italian espresso drinks alongside Liege waffles, the ultimate canvas for toppings of all sorts. Breakfast here comes in the form of a Monte Cristo-style waffle layered with Swiss, ham, turkey, bacon, and raspberry jalapeño preserves or the eggs Benedict, which is topped with ham, bacon, an over-easy egg, and Hollandaise sauce. For something sweet and decadent, try out the Nola, a waffle piled high with Speculoos, bananas, and vanilla ice cream, and dusted with a cinnamon-maple powder. Want just a taste? Order the miniature waffle bites, which come in sets of four, and share them with a friend.
Damn Fine Coffee and Fried Pies
This humble stand offers an understated pairing of coffee and pie. Damn Fine Coffee roasts its beans on site in its next-door roasting room and features a menu filled with various espresso and coffee drinks and teas. The handheld fried pies nearly steal the show, with savory options like sausage and gravy or the vegan soyrizo and potato that are a go-to for breakfast, while others are stuffed with comforting fillings like chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, and crawfish etouffee. The sweet pies filled with chocolate pudding, strawberry rhubarb, and caramelized apples are especially hard to resist. On cool days, enjoy your coffee and pie out on Damn Fine's expansive patio, or take it all to go, with a bag of roasted coffee beans for later and an extra pie for the road.
After a stroll on the boardwalk, take an essential trip to Kemah's only small-batch scoop shop, Cool Cow. Decide between a cup, cone, shake, or sundae, or choose to go all out by sandwiching your ice cream between two brownies or cookies. A dozen flavors are available in store at any time, with new features rotated in often, but diners can expect staples like milk chocolate brownie fudge and Peanut Butter Pandemonium. Dairy- and sugar-free options are also available.
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There aren't many places in the Houston area where you can go for British cuisine, but this pub in the heart of Kemah promises just that and more. As for the menu, the restaurant's name speaks for itself. Fish and Chips serves various 'supper' plates featuring fried fish, including Icelandic Haddock and cod, as well as entrees like Shepherd's Pie, Scotch Eggs, and Bangers and Mash (sausage and mashed potatoes served with an onion gravy). Fish and Chips sticks to its guns with a full bar full of brews, and a lively atmosphere perfect for watching the latest soccer (football) match. Make your experience here extra memorable by ordering the sticky toffee pudding, a homemade date cake soaked in a sweet, sticky syrup, served with a side of ice cream or fresh double cream. The restaurant deems it life-changing.
Choctaw chef David Skinner, who also owns Clear Creek Winery, switched gears in 2023, closing down his restaurant Eculent, a tasting menu restaurant in Kemah with avant-garde displays of modern gastronomy, and replacing it with his newest endeavor — Ishtia. The Native American tasting menu offers a 20-plus-course experience diving into the familiar and lesser-known Indigenous ingredients presented in ways that feel both modern and reverent to Native American traditions. Diners are treated to warming bowls of tanchi labona, a soup that's recognized as the first Choctaw dish to incorporate pork; a handheld smudge stick salad with walnut-sumac pesto; and a braised rabbit served atop a silky mole that's months in the making. Desserts here are just as special: a corn cake tres leches served with chica morada sorbet. Be sure to book a reservation. Ishtia is only open Thursday through Saturday, and seats must be pre-paid for $225. Try out his other restaurant, Th Prsrv. A collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter, this restaurant takes diners on a journey through Thai and Native American cuisines starting at 2400 BCE.
What started as Kemah Meat Market in the 1960s eventually evolved into T-Bone Tom's BarBQue in 1974, before transforming into one of the most beloved steakhouses in Kemah. While diners often go for the hand-cut steaks, which include the chicken-fried variety, T-Bone Tom's also serves a bevy of seafood dishes, burgers, wings, salads, and its diner-favorite smoked sausage Shark Eggs (jalapeños stuffed with sausage and cheese, wrapped in bacon). Daily specials offer hard-to-beat prices on favorites, like prime rib on Tuesdays and all-you-can-eat ribs on Fridays, and you're guaranteed a show, with live music scheduled for almost every night of the week (except most Mondays).
Tucked into a strip mall, Coco's is not your average tiki bar. This veteran- and woman-owned hangout offers top-notch cocktails made with fresh juices and garnished with specially dehydrated fruits. The menu features fun sips like the Floor is Guava (vanilla and coconut rums, pineapple, lime, and guava) and a Lychee Nut Daiquiri (rum, Giffard Lichi Li, Maraschino liqueur, lime juice), but if you have something in mind that you don't see on the menu, tap one of the talented bartenders to help make your dream drink come to life. One of the best parts about Coco's is the atmosphere. Start inside amid the neon-lit bar before making your way out to the spacious back patio that overlooks the canal, where boats and jet skis dock right alongside regulars and newcomers. Check Coco's schedule for its weekly lineup of events, including karaoke, live music, and burlesque on the first Monday of each month. Ridesharing is encouraged unless you're driving in on your boat, since parking is tight.
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Technically, this soulful restaurant is in Seabrook, but the five-minute drive from Kemah means that you shouldn't miss it if you're in town. Inspired by chef Aaron Davis's grandmothers, this laidback, BYOB restaurant in Seabrook has garnered national attention for bringing Creole home cooking to the forefront. Diners can find gumbo loaded with chicken, sausage, and blue crab; fried cheese curds topped with red gravy; and New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp and grits served with toasted French bread. A crowd-pleasing combination of crispy, Cajun-spiced fried chicken atop a diner's choice of a buttermilk vanilla, pecan praline, or Southern red velvet waffle has become a signature. The daily specials, typically written on the chalkboard wall, are where Davis gets wildly creative — he cooks up things like chargrilled short ribs marinated in Korean barbecue and Caribbean jerk spices and a standout oxtail plate. The food takes time, but a cold drink can make the wait go by faster. Vibe check: Expect a casual, down-home feel in this no-frills restaurant. Prepare to wait for your table and the food. The restaurant has a small staff, and Chef Davis is often hard at work in the back making the best and homiest versions of his dishes.
Locals rave about this Thai restaurant. Start with the Dragon Fire chicken and vegetable dumplings, which are served in a ginger-soy sauce with shrimp and avocado, before diving into a curry dish, such as bowls of creamy panang, pad Thai, and Pad King, a yellow bean sauce with sautéed vegetables that pairs best with lamb. Want a full experience? Order the five-course Chef's Table meal. For $75 per person, diners can enjoy an appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert (with a two-person minimum). Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
Just over the bridge from Kemah sits one of the best seafood joints in the Seabrook-Kemah area. Diners love it for its variety, with solid bowls of gumbo, fruity cocktails and margaritas, and oysters served six different ways, including raw oysters on the half-shell, Rockys oysters topped with shrimp, spinach, bacon, and a creamy cheese sauce, and Shoysters (grilled oysters topped with oyster butter, parmesan cheese, and grilled shrimp). Treat yourself to a nice dinner, or stop in for lunch for fried or grilled options from the Texas Gulf, like fried alligator, Texas redfish, and jumbo shrimp. Switch things up and head to nearby sister restaurant Tookie's, known for its flavorful, always dependably good burgers. Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
It doesn't matter your style — sweet or savory, Seabrook Waffle Company has it all. This neighborhood spot serves up Italian espresso drinks alongside Liege waffles, the ultimate canvas for toppings of all sorts. Breakfast here comes in the form of a Monte Cristo-style waffle layered with Swiss, ham, turkey, bacon, and raspberry jalapeño preserves or the eggs Benedict, which is topped with ham, bacon, an over-easy egg, and Hollandaise sauce. For something sweet and decadent, try out the Nola, a waffle piled high with Speculoos, bananas, and vanilla ice cream, and dusted with a cinnamon-maple powder. Want just a taste? Order the miniature waffle bites, which come in sets of four, and share them with a friend. Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
This humble stand offers an understated pairing of coffee and pie. Damn Fine Coffee roasts its beans on site in its next-door roasting room and features a menu filled with various espresso and coffee drinks and teas. The handheld fried pies nearly steal the show, with savory options like sausage and gravy or the vegan soyrizo and potato that are a go-to for breakfast, while others are stuffed with comforting fillings like chicken and dumplings, macaroni and cheese, and crawfish etouffee. The sweet pies filled with chocolate pudding, strawberry rhubarb, and caramelized apples are especially hard to resist. On cool days, enjoy your coffee and pie out on Damn Fine's expansive patio, or take it all to go, with a bag of roasted coffee beans for later and an extra pie for the road. Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
After a stroll on the boardwalk, take an essential trip to Kemah's only small-batch scoop shop, Cool Cow. Decide between a cup, cone, shake, or sundae, or choose to go all out by sandwiching your ice cream between two brownies or cookies. A dozen flavors are available in store at any time, with new features rotated in often, but diners can expect staples like milk chocolate brownie fudge and Peanut Butter Pandemonium. Dairy- and sugar-free options are also available. Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
There aren't many places in the Houston area where you can go for British cuisine, but this pub in the heart of Kemah promises just that and more. As for the menu, the restaurant's name speaks for itself. Fish and Chips serves various 'supper' plates featuring fried fish, including Icelandic Haddock and cod, as well as entrees like Shepherd's Pie, Scotch Eggs, and Bangers and Mash (sausage and mashed potatoes served with an onion gravy). Fish and Chips sticks to its guns with a full bar full of brews, and a lively atmosphere perfect for watching the latest soccer (football) match. Make your experience here extra memorable by ordering the sticky toffee pudding, a homemade date cake soaked in a sweet, sticky syrup, served with a side of ice cream or fresh double cream. The restaurant deems it life-changing. Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
Choctaw chef David Skinner, who also owns Clear Creek Winery, switched gears in 2023, closing down his restaurant Eculent, a tasting menu restaurant in Kemah with avant-garde displays of modern gastronomy, and replacing it with his newest endeavor — Ishtia. The Native American tasting menu offers a 20-plus-course experience diving into the familiar and lesser-known Indigenous ingredients presented in ways that feel both modern and reverent to Native American traditions. Diners are treated to warming bowls of tanchi labona, a soup that's recognized as the first Choctaw dish to incorporate pork; a handheld smudge stick salad with walnut-sumac pesto; and a braised rabbit served atop a silky mole that's months in the making. Desserts here are just as special: a corn cake tres leches served with chica morada sorbet. Be sure to book a reservation. Ishtia is only open Thursday through Saturday, and seats must be pre-paid for $225. Try out his other restaurant, Th Prsrv. A collaboration with James Beard Award-winning chef Benchawan Jabthong Painter, this restaurant takes diners on a journey through Thai and Native American cuisines starting at 2400 BCE.
What started as Kemah Meat Market in the 1960s eventually evolved into T-Bone Tom's BarBQue in 1974, before transforming into one of the most beloved steakhouses in Kemah. While diners often go for the hand-cut steaks, which include the chicken-fried variety, T-Bone Tom's also serves a bevy of seafood dishes, burgers, wings, salads, and its diner-favorite smoked sausage Shark Eggs (jalapeños stuffed with sausage and cheese, wrapped in bacon). Daily specials offer hard-to-beat prices on favorites, like prime rib on Tuesdays and all-you-can-eat ribs on Fridays, and you're guaranteed a show, with live music scheduled for almost every night of the week (except most Mondays). Open in Google Maps
Foursquare
Tucked into a strip mall, Coco's is not your average tiki bar. This veteran- and woman-owned hangout offers top-notch cocktails made with fresh juices and garnished with specially dehydrated fruits. The menu features fun sips like the Floor is Guava (vanilla and coconut rums, pineapple, lime, and guava) and a Lychee Nut Daiquiri (rum, Giffard Lichi Li, Maraschino liqueur, lime juice), but if you have something in mind that you don't see on the menu, tap one of the talented bartenders to help make your dream drink come to life. One of the best parts about Coco's is the atmosphere. Start inside amid the neon-lit bar before making your way out to the spacious back patio that overlooks the canal, where boats and jet skis dock right alongside regulars and newcomers. Check Coco's schedule for its weekly lineup of events, including karaoke, live music, and burlesque on the first Monday of each month. Ridesharing is encouraged unless you're driving in on your boat, since parking is tight.