Mai's Restaurant

Avg 3.4* in total 1201 reviews.

Claimed  -  $$ -  Vietnamese, Noodles, Soup

Phone: (713) 520-5300

About the Business

Specialties

Mai's restaurant was the first Vietnamese restaurant in Houston, making it a pinnacle among its competitors as the gateway to introducing Vietnamese cuisine to Houston. It's also been the hit late night hang out since its doors first opened in 1978, cranking out its stellar menu items till the wee hours of the morning, seven days a week. Look for tried-and-true dishes like Bo Luc Lac Dac (spicy garlic beef), Vietnamese eggrolls, stirfried noodles, various traditional soups, beef, chicken, pork and seafood arrangements and new desserts such as Vietnamese iced-coffee flan or coconut cheese cake.

History

Established in 1978.

Originally started by Phim and Phac Nguyen as a means to support their migrant family of eight children, Mai's has flourished to fulfill both a need and a vision. Just three years after settling into the United States, in 1978, the Nguyen family opened a pool hall on Westheimer and Dunlavy. Shortly after, they moved to Bell street to expand their pool hall to a more elaborate Billiards and sandwiches establishment called Mai's Bida (meaning "billiard" in Vietnamese). Due to its growing success and the evolving menu, Mai's Bida relocated once again to its current home on Milam and became the Mai's restaurant as we see it today, a full service Vietnamese food establishment. In 1991, Phim and Phac retired and passed on the family business to Mai Nguyen, their daughter in which the restaurant's name was inspired. Today, Mai's has a strong following of regulars that clearly represent the diversity of the City of Houston.

Meet the Business Owner

Business owner information

Mai N.

Business Owner

Just three years after her family moved from Vietnam to the U.S., Mai Nguyen--owner of Mai's, Houston's first Vietnamese restaurant--began working at her parent's new enterprise, a Houston pool hall located at 1115 Bell Street. The year was 1978 and she was just 13. (The pool hall was named Mai's as it was the easiest name of their eight children to pronounce.)Fast forward to the present and Mai's has flourished from a small pool hall without a menu to a full-service restaurant, now located at it's new Milam street address. The eatery is a popular go-to for delicious, authentic Vietnamese fare as well as late night dining, open till 3am every day. In 1991, Mai purchased the restaurant from her retiring parents at just 26-years-old. After the building burned in February 2010 due to an accidental wok fire, Mai and her family (including her manager and daughter, Anna Pham) rebuilt a bigger and better Mai's and proudly carry on the family tradition.

3403 Milam St, Houston, TX 77002