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Overhead view of a lively restaurant table at Ninfa's, filled with dishes including sizzling fajitas, tacos, guacamole, rice, beans, chips, salsa, queso, and margaritas, with several people reaching for food and drinks.
Three tacos with meat, pineapple, onions, and cilantro on a plate with lime, salsa, and pickled onions.
Group of people toasting colorful cocktails and a beer at a sunny table at Ninfa's with chips and dips.
Four hands clink glasses of clear liquor with lime and orange slices, chips and dip on the table.
Hands pulling apart stretchy, cheesy chilaquiles in a small black dish, with mushrooms and greens on the side.

The best Mexican food in Texas since. Texas was in Mexico™

Illustration of a smiling Mama Ninfa Laurenzo holding a platter of food with a parrot perched on her shoulder.

Mama Ninfa started something
money can’t buy – Tradition

Welcome to where it all began: This is The Original Ninfa’s.

When Mama Ninfa Laurenzo first began grilling skirt steak then placing the sizzling meat in a handmade flour tortilla, all from inside her family’s struggling tortilla factory in Houston’s East End, she had no idea she had jumpstarted a culinary revolution. It was 1973, her husband Domenic had just passed away, and Mama Ninfa was cooking to take care of her children – and provide her beloved community mouthwatering comfort food along the way.

The dish she created was tacos al carbon, which the whole world would eventually come to know as fajitas, the bedrock of Tex-Mex cuisine.

We lost Mama Ninfa in 2001, but her legacy of love and fierce skill continues.

A James Beard Award semifinalist in 2019, The Original Ninfa’s masterfully combines a commitment to comfort and tradition with a sense of culinary adventure.

Casual and fun, yet historic and elevated, The Original Ninfa’s has been serving up the best Mexican food in Texas since Texas was in Mexico, at two Houston locations: Ninfa’s on Navigation and Ninfa’s Uptown.

Plan Your Next Private Event at The Original Ninfa’s

Looking for the perfect spot to host your celebration or gathering? Email [email protected] or call 832-658-0116 to book your private event with us.

Please Note Upcoming Closures for Private Events at Ninfa’s Uptown:

  • Tuesday, September 23: Closed 4–6 pm for a private event. Reopens for dinner at 7 pm.
  • Thursday, October 9: Closed 6–9 pm for a private event and will remain closed for the rest of the night.