TEXAS
The Best Restaurants in Beaumont, From Viet-Cajun to Mind-Blowing Barbecue
By Rebecca Thompson | Nov. 15, 2025
1701 Barbecue
AUTHOR BIO: Rebecca Thompson has held many jobs over the years, from daily newspaper writer to middle-school math teacher. As a restaurant critic, she’s reviewed everything from Michelin-starred fine-dining to barbecue counters in the back of gas stations.
For most of my life, “going to Beaumont” meant three things: seeing my dad’s side of the family, driving past refineries that looked like sci-fi cities, and eating at the same handful of places everyone went to because there were not many better options. Beaumont was where you went for hugs, boudin, and maybe a chicken-fried steak, not for a tour of the best restaurants in Southeast Texas.
That has changed. In the last few years, every visit to the Beaumont side of my family has turned into a scouting mission: one more bowl of pho, one more plate of Gulf shrimp, one more strip-center restaurant that could hold its own in any bigger city.
So this is my running answer to the question of where to eat in Beaumont right now. Call it a working list of the best Beaumont restaurants—places I actually drag my relatives to when I roll off I-10.
1701 Barbecue
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
1701 Barbecue is the place that put Beaumont solidly on the Texas BBQ map. Blue Broussard, a seventh-generation Texan, runs the place like it’s his religion, turning out brisket that collapses under its own smoke ring, thick 44 Farms beef ribs, and brisket boudin and sausage links that nod to Cajun country. Trays get crowded fast with pepper jack mac, sweet jalapeño potato salad, pit beans, and a square of banana pudding or cobbler that makes you question driving back to Houston for the stuff. Show up early; by midafternoon, the “sold out” board reads like a cautionary tale about sleeping in.
Best for: Brisket and beef ribs that justify the wait
Buckstin Brewing Co.
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Most local breweries serve chicken fingers and hope the IPA does the talking. Buckstin actually put effort into the menu. The pizza dough is made in-house, the green beans come crispy-fried with ranch, and the beer list reads like someone’s thesis on Texas malt. Bonus: It doesn’t feel like a frat house.
Best for: House-made pizza dough and serious beer
Carmela’s Mexican Restaurant
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Carmela’s looks like the kind of place where you might find a good margarita and a laminated menu—and you will—but the food here is surprisingly legit. The housemade corn tortillas are soft and smoky, and the green chile enchiladas land with a pleasant burn that builds instead of slaps. Come on a Sunday and you’ll be surrounded by families who’ve been coming here since back when Carmela herself still ran the register.
Best for: Enchiladas verdes and the town’s most reliable margaritas
Chaba Thai Bistro
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
If the phrase “Texas Thai” makes you nervous, Chaba is here to reassure you. The green curry is hotter than you’d expect, the tom yum sings with lime, and the pad see ew is solid enough to make you briefly forget what strip mall you’re in.
Best for: Takeout nights when only real Thai heat will fix the week
Daddio’s Burger
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
You know a place takes its burgers seriously when they bother roasting hatch chiles and making garlic aioli in-house. Daddio’s does both. It’s fast-casual but with ambition, and the sweet potato fries aren’t just a throw-in—they’re crispy enough to make you reconsider your stance on sides.
Best for: Drive-thru burgers that feel like a serious splurge
Elsa’s Greek Grill
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Elsa’s is your weekday lunch MVP—quick, fresh, and just chaotic enough to feel local. The gyros are overloaded (in a good way), the hummus tastes house-made, and they’ll let you sub a side Greek salad without rolling their eyes. Mediterranean, but with a Texas-sized portion.
Best for: Quick gyros and Mediterranean plates
Frankie’s Italian Grill
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Frankie’s feels like it should be in an early Scorsese movie, with red booths and a bar that smells like Chianti and sausage. The lasagna is the kind that comes out in molten brick form, and the seafood pasta doesn’t skimp on shrimp. Nobody’s reinventing anything here—and bless them for that.
Best for: Red-sauce nostalgia and one more basket of garlic bread
Hearsay
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Hearsay is the rare downtown Beaumont restaurant that feels like a night out all by itself. The Houston-based group took over the old Suga’s building and turned it into an 11,000-square-foot playground of bars, patios, private rooms, and a second-floor lounge that keeps the Suga’s name alive. The menu is pure comfort with ambitions: Wagyu meatballs and buffalo fried shrimp to start, handmade pizzas, a plant-based burger and vegetarian muffaletta, plus steakhouse plates like filet and a Bistro steak, and a brunch lineup that runs from eggs benedict to crème brûlée French toast. It is the spot where you book a table, order a round of cocktails, and briefly forget you are in a refinery town until you step back outside.
Best for: Nights when you want cocktails in a stylish dining room
J Wilson’s
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Every comfort food place wants to be your cure for a tough day. J Wilson’s just happens to do it better, with whiskey flights, shrimp and grits, and a griddle-fried cinnamon roll the size of a steering wheel. Come early or find yourself waiting behind a hefty crowd of people who know better.
Best for: Long dinners built around shrimp and grits and a surprisingly serious whiskey list
Monica’s
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
If you’ve lived here long enough, you probably remember chef Monica Cobb’s restaurant as the healthy-ish spot in a city where dinner often means fried and covered in gravy. The new location ditches the traditional restaurant concept for an event space that opens up for wedding receptions, birthdays, and whatever special occasion you can use to explain why you’re coming back.
Best for: Special occasions or just a family dinner that deserves linen tablecloths
Rao’s Bakery
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
Technically a bakery, but Rao’s functions more like Beaumont’s unofficial city hall. You’ll find politicians and preachers nursing cappuccinos while eyeing the cannoli. The king cake’s worth a detour during Mardi Gras, but the real move is a hefty slice of pepperoni-piled pizza that you’ll try and fail not to eat before you get back to the car.
Best for: Coffee-and-pastry mornings
Riverside Grille
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
With its golden chandelier, tufted leather banquettes, and tall columns, the Riverside Grille feels like a special night out. But you’re mostly here for the fried shrimp, the tangy-sweet-glazed ribs, and the feeling that this is one of the last true mostly locals joints in downtown.
Best for: Dress-up nights downtown with seafood and steaks
Sweet Basil
$$$$$ | MAP | INSTAGRAM
Chef and owner Calvin Pham’s Sweet Basil Vietnamese Noodle House feels like a secret you want to protect. The dishes that truly make this place special: smoked wagyu brisket pho, Viet-Cajun-style crawfish boils, whole fish under a green papaya salad, and the iced coffee could resurrect you from the deepest of hangovers. Yes, it shares a strip mall with a Hobby Lobby, but the noodle bowls put out by this charming-on-the-inside spot make it just simply the best restaurants in Beaumont.
Best for: Big bowls of pho and Viet-Cajun crawfish
Tacos La Bamba
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
This is where I send people who think Tex-Mex is the same as Mexican food. Tacos La Bamba doesn’t mess around with its traditional Mexican dishes: lengua, tripa, al pastor, all served on warm corn tortillas with a side of “are you sure you’re ready for this?” The salsa verde hits like a threat, but the kind you come back for.
Best for: Late-night tacos al pastor
Taz Indian Cuisine
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
At Taz, you’re joining the line at the lunch buffet next to refinery workers in reflective vests, business people dressed up for their office jobs. That’s how you know it’s good, and Indian-American families who know this is the real deal. The tikka masala is rich without being gloopy, the dosa actually crackles when it hits the table, and the buffet—when running—is the best under-$15 meal in Beaumont.
Best for: An Indian lunch buffet that rewards going back for seconds
Tia Juanita’s Fish Camp
$$$$$ | MAP | WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM
This mini chain is the kind of place where you can hear the zydeco band before you find parking. Tia Juanita’s is loud, fun, and totally unapologetic about its Cajun-Mex crossover menu. The crawfish quesadilla and grilled gator plate are mainstays, and the micheladas could power a pontoon boat.
Best for: Live-music Fridays and towering seafood platters
The New Fort Worth: 12 Restaurants Redefining the Food Scene
Fort Worth: From Bib Gourmand BBQ to James Beard finalists in Northcentral Texas.
