Bismillah Restaurant & Cafe

Always a treat for us outsiders visiting Houston. Their food is always on point. Bun kabab reminded us of the old days in Karachi, mint lemonade was refreshing, and bihari kabab had balanced flavors.

The place is comfortable and cool and the service was excellent. However, despite ordering in a not so busy time, the pooris didn't seem very fresh and the Halwa was just average. Not sure how it compares to places in sugar land but the taste of the Nashta can be improved for sure.

The atmosphere was simply elevated. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Dahi Puri was the star of the show. The bunkabab was good but if you're expecting Karachi mirchilis level you won't find that but good for Houston. The sev puri was decent.

First time here and weren’t disappointed. Great menu and great food. Authentic Pakistani cuisine. Check it out yourself.

I always enjoy the Diablo burger. Their " Chaat"is okay . Their fries are always spot on... If you like your burgers and want a desi Flair ,this is your place to eat!

I used to go pretty frequently, the quality has changed so much over time. The fries, burgers, and mojitos were all not upto par unfortunately. The bread was stale, the burgers had no pop of flavor and mojitos were straight up jaritos with mint and lemon. It used to be so good. Not anymore. The wings were 13.99 for just 6 pieces… come on now. Need to revamp.

OMG this place has the best Chicken Pulao in the entire country and I'm not exaggerating. First off, finding chicken pulao is super rare anywhere, you can find mutton option but finding one with chicken is a Unicorn. Their taste of the chicken pulao is just like when your mom makes it at home. It's so comforting, rice is so soft, yakhni in it tastes wonderful. I cannot stop ordering this item from them via UberEats. It's especially best to eat when you are feeling sick, gives your tummy nice cozy feeling afterwards. I've been wanting to try their Chicken Biryani but each time end up ordering chicken pulao instead. I also really liked their bun kebabs, the buns tastes just like the buns you ate in Pakistan growing up. Chicken Seekh kebabs are packed with flavor. Can't wait to try more items but this place is a gem so far!

🤤🤤It was great I got a volcano burger( the one with the onion rings),the other burger was a black mamba burger and the kids got a cheese toast sandwich all came with fries cooked to perfection. Nice and crispy like I like none were soggy.

What can I say about this place that hasn't already been said? It used to be more of a hole than the wall type place and it's grown considerably, but I actually really like how clean it looks even though it seems to look dated (even though it's not). Honestly- when you see this type of no frills place, and lots of- what looks like to be regular- patrons, you know it's going to be good. The customer service seems to be on point because they do things quickly and precisely. The Food is actually quite spicy, but I know we can't handle our spice, so I told them mild and it came out really good for us. This is one of the places that I really like to visit when I cut to the hillcroft area, the biryani and the barbecue chicken are really good. Mango Lassi and chaat in the edible bowl (sorry, forgot the name) are our favorite things! I love trying street foods from other cultures, and from someone who has been to Pakistan multiple times, this is the best place for pakistani street foods.

I came to Bismillah Restaurant & Cafe because I was doing my mall audit at Westcroft Center. The employee at the cash register was friendly and helpful. He recommended a few popular items on the menu. There are so many to choose from. I wanted something small to start with. Then, I was directed to sit anywhere. Food came out pretty quick. I ordered Pani Puri and Chicken Bihari Kebob Roll. The Pani Puri was huge and tasty. I couldn't stop eating, even though I knew this was an appetizer. The roll was also pretty big. I could taste the freshly made bread (wrap). Incredible BR&C sauce. I ordered mine mild but they came out spicy still. The restaurant has only one location but there are 2 Yelp biz pages. Not sure why the owner kept the other one as it was already converted to a different restaurant over a year ago. This one is located at 5696 Hillcroft Street.

We were a big group and got there early on the weekend to try and get seated sans reservations. It worked out. It's a decently sized dining space and it's nicely done inside, fairly casual with pics of the food around. Service wise you order at the counter and they bring the food but it's not full table service. They have a really nice menu with a big variety of things to choose from. Traditional dishes, street fare, breakfast. Definitely multiple visit worthy to try new things. The food was great as well. We all tried from each other's plates so got a good idea of the consistency of the food quality. Portions were generous. We all left satiated. Definitely worth a try.

You know the food is good when the locals come here! This is a go to spot whenever I am in Houston. I come here mainly for BR&C Fries, mint lemonade, and beef kebab. Last time we order the goat biryani and it was delicious! I liked it more than the chicken one. The service here is okay, but I keep coming back for the food. This is a family oriented restaurant, a lot of people with children come. We even saw people doing their mid-afternoon prayers.

Really impressed by this place! I tried calling in an order but their line was busy so ended up just having to place my order in the restaurant. But I'm glad I did because they offered me a complimentary hot tea while waiting for my food! I got the Ten Spicy Chicken Tenders with a side of Hunter Beef fries. Don't let the name fool you because "Ten" is actually the name of their sauce and not the number of tenders in the order (6). The portions were huge and this actually came out to two full meals. The chicken tenders were huge and were marinated in their special Ten sauce, which is like a Buffalo sauce. Got some spice, but not unbearable for the medium-goers like me. The Hunter beef fries were really good. The fries were crispy and piled on with lots of shredded beef, marinated in their home spices. I sorta regret ordering these both as one meal because it's an overload of meat, but splitting it up makes you less prone to a meat stroke afterwards. Nice hole in the wall on Hillcroft! I really liked this place and especially am fascinated by their unique creations that you won't find at other Mediterranean restaurants, or any other restaurants for that matter. Looking forward to coming back to try more of their creations!

Pos at its best. No peppers just bits of onions, little cheese inside, seasoned too salty and....Russian/thousand island dressing on top??? Yuck! So sorry and disappointed for paying $11 for this pos wether it is halal or not.

This is the greatest restaurant around Hilcroft. I ordered chicken kabab. It was super delicious. The tea was super awesome. I really enjoyed it. This is the best Pakistani restaurant!

I had the Chop Shop Burger and the Mix Pupri Chaat. Based off of my experience with the Chop Shop Burger, I can say that Bismillah makes some of the best burgers in Houston. The ingredients are pure quality BUT for $15 a burger and no side, they better be quality. Each time I come back to Houston I will make it a point to come by here to try a couple more dishes. This isn't my native culture, so I did not know what to expect with the Chaat. I didn't expect for it to be a cold/cool dish, which through me off a bit. The flavors were also different than anything I've experienced; even though I could tell it was a very good dish, it wasn't for me.

i always order the wrong things here but both of my takeout orders were really good so far. last time I had the chicken karahi this time I had a pizza. It was crispy and had about a pound of cheese on it so I didnt mind the $26. Next time I'm going for the burgers and fries. thank you

It does get crowded so get there early. There are a bunch of Indian and American dishes. Everything is Halal. Self-serve water, utensils, napkins. I dined in today around 11:15a so it wasnt crowded. When they say "spicy" on the menu, they mean it. Lol

To expensive for what you get. Panic Puri dish was horrible, very bland. Will not be coming back. You may want to try this place for yourself and I hope your experience is better than mine. I wanted to like this place, but I just couldn't. Maybe I order the incorrect thing.

Brought my dad here for Father's Day and it was just as good as we expected! I highly recommend the papri chaat. Just as good as the original location.

Great food! Service was fast and the man working the register was full of suggestions. Ambiance was lacking but the place was packed!

This place was so wonderful. Service was excellent. My father asked 100 questions about the menu and the gentleman at the front answered all of them. Place was super clean. The mural on the back that represented Houston was beautiful. The lights were super pretty as my mom kept commenting on them. The food was great. The Paratha Roll was really good and came with this smokey sweet red sauce and this super satisfying green yogurt like sauce. The 10 Chicken Burger was fried but tasted super clean and the sauce was great. Had a nice heat and flavor to it. The loaded fries were legit some of the best fries I've had. The onions were cooked perfectly and the sauce on top could be put on anything. Will definitely be back.

Came here for lunch today and the atmosphere of the restaurant was alright. There were seats for large groups. The staff was welcoming however it almost seemed like a fast food sort of place where you go up to the cash register and order then wait for your food and you go and pick it up. We ordered the beef samosas which was tasty and flavorful. The tamarind sauce was delicious with a slight kick of heat to turn up to the taste buds. For the meals we got the chopped burger and the ten chicken burger. The chopped burger was big and delicious. Might have been slightly salty with the added bacon and beef patty. The chicken burger was nothing to write home about. Someone earlier stated that the chicken burger was too spicy to even eat but I didn't think there was spice and flavor to my chicken burger. To wash the meal down we also ordered the mango lassi. However, the mango lassi didn't have any flavor of spice. I could be mistaken but I was under the impression the mango lassi had spice in it to give it an extra pulp of flavor. Overall the restaurant was good but there can be things that can be improved upon.

Food and service are great. If anyone is looking for great fusion food, Bismillah is a great option. Just be ready to open your wallet!

I had dinner at Bismillah Cafe with my mother yesterday night. I specifically came here because I heard about the recent renovations. Hadn't been in ages as well. The restaurant is now in a bigger space and has a cleaner look. Plenty of seating to accommodate large families and friends. There is a large painted mural against the wall depicting some of Houston's best icon's. Very playful and unique. The lighting fixture gives this place an overall ethereal feel. So I normally don't eat burgers but I was craving for one at the time. I decided on the diablo burger because it sounded very intriguing. I'm a fan of spicy food and thought I'd be able handle it. The lady at the register was friendly and had suggested this item as well. My mother ordered the papdi chaat. It's an item that a friend recently recommended.. plus my mother loves chaat. Both of our orders came out around the same time and everything tasted quite fresh. Unfortunately the diablo burger was too spicy for my liking. I had a difficult time consuming it. The hot sauce had a very grainy texture and tasted a bit raw. The burger contained the works (chopped lettuce, onion, tomato, etc.) Didn't care for the cucumbers that I found in my burger. Guess they were added for the fusion appeal. I had ordered fries with my meal as well. A heaping pile of cajun seasoned fries accompanied my burger. I would have preferred plain but I suppose these are the default fries that accompany each meal. They made the meal salty and overwhelmed my taste buds. I went ahead and ordered the classic burger because I simply could not digest the other one. Manager was friendly and brought out the second burger which was far better than the first one. Chatted with us for a bit and asked how everything was. I appreciated that and it gave this place a more homier feel. The classic burger came with all the works but without any cucumbers. Melty cheese and ketchup accompanied the beef patty. Bun and beef patty were quite large and everything tasted fresh. Overall I enjoyed the classic burger and only ate half of my meal. Papdi chaat was nice and crisp. Garbanzos beans and potatoes were blanketed in a sweet and savory sauce. The service was warm and friendly which made the dining experience quite nice. I definitely see myself coming back again with my family to try other items. I'm normally not in the area but I recommend everyone to visit the newly renovated Bismillah Cafe. They have something for everyone here.

It is a classic spot with a lot of good things. The breakfast is great, hunter beef is very good, rolls are good. Only bad thing, I would say is the chicken club sandwich (Very bad, bland version of a Pakistani club sandwich), and charging $7 for drinks. It always ends up being far more expensive than it should be for lack of waitstaff and an all-around cafeteria feel. For this reason, we do not come here often. We are a family of 6, with small children and getting six sandwiches with mango lassi (jug) and a drink was $160 with tip. That is unreasonable. This is the same issue with Wok it Out, in that it is overpriced. Lots of restaurants are able to give value for money, either by actually having wait staff and great service or by having lower prices. You cannot have it both ways and charge accordingly.

Came here on recommendation from some weight staff downtown. It was next level food, best burger you could imagine.

If you're ever craving chaat like from the streets of Karachi - head straight over to Bismillah. Their papri chaat really hits the spot. Not to mention that they have recently renovated the interior and it is absolutely unrecognizable in the best way possible. I know of people that have tried almost everything from their menu and swear by it, while I am a repeat customer for their chaat every single time. I cannot wait to branch out and try other things but thei papri chaat is literally what I go here for! The chai is also strong and will wake you up!

Ten Chicken Sandwich seriously the best sandwich I have ever ate in my life!! It's like so so so so special!! Service is always amazing!! The ambiance is super chill seriously if you want foodie food! Like something unique you'd see on tv this is the spot!!

I ordered via Uber. Their Goat Biryani was excellent, not saturated with salt or oil and it was spicy enough to give a good kick to the taste buds. The green sauce was very good but the amount provided was very stingy. Certainly not sufficient for a biryani order. I was greatly disappointed by that. I also ordered a masala chai but it wasn't included in the Uber driver's delivery. The third thing I indulged in was a keehma (ground beef) paratha believing I would receive a keehma stuffed paratha like the ones I ate in Lucknow, India. Instead the keehma dish was served separately. The dish and the paratha (bread) were great but definitely not what I was expecting. I will surely order the goat biryani again.

Came here for lunch over the weekend, ordered the chicken Bihari paratha roll and masala chai. The paratha roll was very tasty, meat was well seasoned and the paratha bread was sooo fresh and doughy. The masala chai was one of the best I've had, The cup size is a little small but just order two. ;) will be back, great spot!

Love the atmosphere. Very authentic food and friendly staff. Thank you for the hospitality. Highly recommend. D

They just opened back up after months of renovation. Now the restaurant side is under renovation. The place looks great. Went for halwa Puri unda paratha and I love how their items are not oily like other places. One recommendation to the management, the tables are pretty narrow and for people to be seated on both sides with main entrees in the middle and our own plates is very challenging. We kept knocking each other's plates and my plate was half way hanging off the table. Maybe the main entrees dishes need to be served on rectangular plates and not square serving dishes due to space constraints. There is a separate juice bar on the right side. Food and service is always the best quality here. It's on my top 3 favorite places to eat. I always bring my out of town guest here.

Love the papri chat (feels like authentic Pakistani chat), tawa qeema and Hunter beef burger! Would recommend!

This place is so far takes my go to place for chaat (any kind) they have a pretty big menu and offers a lot of variety, they're fair with their prices,their portions are little smaller than the other places for chat,the other items are good in quantity. They're not offering dine in so we always to go food,but food is always fresh and up to the mark. Everything is fresh and tasty,would definitely go back and highly recommend this place.

The renovation looks great. It's now an open place that's inviting. There's a juice stand on the right but it was closed when we visited which was on a Friday at 3pm. I've always found the food too spicy but my mom was craving a bun kabob. Ordered the kheema paratha (delicious), bun kebab (hit the spot), and the spicy fries loaded with hunter beef (huge portion, good but too much seasoning; made them too salty). For a drink, I decided to try the mango juice which at $7 was WAY overpriced and it was horrible. It wasn't smooth nor sweet. Not sure what they blend it with, but it should be adjusted. Couldn't even finish it. The mango smoothies at bubble teahouses are 100x better AND $5. A bit overpriced but may return to try the traditional dishes.

I have tried quite a few restaurants in Hilcroft and this restaurant has the best variety and the best price out of all the restaurants I have been too! Plus it is halal! They have an extensive menu which includes traditional items from shawarmas and kebobs to more American/Desi food such as burgers and waffle burgers! I was impressed by the selection and definitely plan on coming back to try more items. For my first time, I ordered the Sev puri and the Samosa Chaat as I was craving street food/snacks. The Samosa Chaat was very filling! It had the perfect balance of yogurt and other stuffings! The chaat was also a hefty portion but definitely spicy! I also got their Mint Lemonade and I wish it was more minty because it was a little too sour to be refreshing. I liked how they aesthetically presented the food and the restaurant was clean which sometimes seem lacking in some Hilcroft restaurants. Very nice and chill atmosphere. Family friendly and amole parking in the front! Will be back again!

Ordered 2 dozen frozen beef samosa 1 dozen was beef and 1 dozen was chicken. This has happened in past also. Call them they say oh maybe they got mixed by accident.

Yup if someone came to Houston and asked me where to go for delicious halal food I would put it on the top 3 and only 3 halal places I recommend in Houston!!!! Initially I reviewed the place 4 star because of the tiny seating area but my goodness this place has revolutionized and waiting for the reopening was worth every damn day cause they came back bigger and badder than ever before with the menu offering the most mouth watering and fusion infused items ever. The pizza is just amazing and if I can I'd give bismillah more than 5 stars cause the service is simply outstanding, establishment is speckless and tidy with all new seating and tables, servers are quick, food is probably the best I've had in town! I am seriously speechless at what bismillah has brought to the table for all the halalees and just the entire city. The diners were very diverse and that is a tell tale sign that this place is making its name known through its flavor and food!

Bismillah is becoming one of my favorite places to eat in Houston! Their Ten Chicken Sandwich and Ten Chicken Tenders are the absolute best things on the menu. They're spicy but so very satisfying. Update: the restaurant has been recently remodeled and is back in business. They have some of their classics and have added a lot of new things to the menu. This is the only restaurant in Houston that makes my mouth water thinking about the food. Kudos to Inam and his staff for coming up with creative food items.

The worst type of food we ate. Can't even cook rice correctly, we had to throw everything away. A big waste of time, money, food, energy. I hope you this store closes

I decided to try this place out after i walked out of Busy Boy nearby due to waiting for someone to take my order and no one came. Is it very nice inside! I was able to walk to the counter and take my order. I picked the Killer Philly sandwich with spicy garlic mayo fries. Everything was so tasty! I wish i took a picture of my food but by the time i realized it, my food was in my belly I would definitely like to go back and try other things! S/n: there is also another restaurant in the same strip with the same name so make sure you go to the one that also says Restaurant and Cafe!!!

Well we ordered so much food I can't even tell you. The only complaint I had is that because of Covid you can't sit inside which I understand but there's just certain things that you probably would want to eat on the spot instead of having to take to go like example smothered fries. Other than that I definitely will be back

This an an awesome Pakistani American fusion spot, though a bit overpriced on some items, it is a delicious indulgence. Their juicy, tender volcano burger is amazing! So good I couldnt post a photo! Cons: Some items may need improvement like the bun kabab which is literally a piece of one small kabab in a bun with a thin piece of egg, definitely not worth $6. Raj kachori was too spicy (was made with chickpeas) an Indian restaurant nearby has the real deal.

I went to Bismillah yesterday with my family and the food has improved by A LOT. I got the Chop Shop Burger with a side of Cheese Fries and the food was delicious and fresh! My Cheese Fries were actually warm this time and my burger tasted so good. Only reason it isn't 5 stars is because their food is expensive! I spent $20 on my food alone, and IMO that is way too much to pay for burgers, fries, and a can of soda.

Good food with lots of spice. The bun on the burger is delicious and the toppings interesting with cucumber and spicy sauce. The fries were pretty good but the hunter beef fries almost too spicy. Recommend you give this unique place a try!

Amazing food and one of the best juicy burgers. Taste and quality of food are always consistent.

We ordered two different burgers and a bun kabab. Philly Cheese was 7/10 because it was falling apart. Their 10 Chicken burger was 1/10 because it was breaded chicken from restaurant depo dipped in a chilli sauce. Absolutely horrible. Bun kabab was 9/10. Price - okay Customer service - non existent. typical desi service. Lesson - Eat only bun kababs.

This fine Saturday morning, while visiting Houston, my sister recommended we go to this Pakistani Restaurant in the Desi District of Houston called Bismillah for some Karachi Style Bun Kabab. Reluctantly I accepted. We met up around noon. They have two restaurants in the same strip mall, since the big one under renovation, we met at the other restaurant. We ordered Bun Kabab, Spicy Garlic Mayo Fries, Sev Puri, Mix Chaat along with some Doodh Paati (Pakistan Street Style Chai). You order and pay at the counter and they bring you the food. Food arrived in a few minutes. I am getting ready of a bit of disappointment as I usually have with Pakistani restaurant. Well I was pleasantly surprised. Bun Kabab was great, chaat normally not so good at a Pakistani place was really good and man o man those Spicy Garlic Mayo Fries were to die for. Loved the food so much I had to come back and try a couple of other items the following day for breakfast. So this second time I over ordered, we ordered Bun Kabab, Spicy Garlic Mayo fries and Omelet, Keema with Paratha. I had to take a bite of Paratha before I took a picture. Anda(egg) was great, not so crazy about Keema, but if you have it with Paratha everything tastes better. Great Experience overall, Highly recommended. Now if this place can keep the quality, I will be back on my next visit to Houston.

I don't know yelpers, but kinda left with mixed feelings n emotions While the food tasted pretty good, I felt that the pricing didn't justify the cost. The whole familia was craving burgers so we ordered the different burgers/ sandwiches in their menu which were quite a few. You can view their website or glance at the menu thru the yelp app link. Most of their burgers n sandwiches cost about 6.99 but they do not include any fries or drinks to make it into a combo. To order fries, it's an additional 3.99 for just a miserable hand full of steak cut looking fries. I counted 8-9 in my plate. Lmao. Absolutely unacceptable. This place is not in the likes of Fuddruckers, five guys, smash burger, halal guys, M and M grill and so their pricing doesn't justify. Menu has other choices to for customers who prefer some traditional food items like samosas, biryani, tikka, kabob and various types of chaat ( spicy dish with snacks n yogurt n chickpeas) but in general their items are over priced. The place is small in size and not too welcoming for a big group as seating could be an issue. Now here's the kicker. We paid and were about to leave, when we realized that we didn't pay for our 5 soft drink cans which we grabbed from the fridge, after paying for our initial order. My old man volunteered to pay for the soft drinks. We waited in the cars as we saw him come with a long face???? I asked him what's up pops? He said, those 5 cans costed him like 9.50 or something. I was almost ROTFL asking him how much each can was and he said 1.69 plus tax. I told him that we should have kept those cans as trophies, rather than discarding them for recycling purposes. Never have I heard of a soda can priced at $1.69 plus tax. OMG

Bismillah is been one my favorite go to place. Their cafe has been recently remodeled and their interiors are beautiful! We went their last week during lunch time which is usually busy time for them, staff was very helpful and had a good knowledge of their new menu items. We got their burger and hunter beef sandwich and both items were terrific. I can't wait to go back and try other new items on their menu.

I've been here a few times now but for some reason never got around to writing a review. It's usually pretty busy so if you have big group go early. You have to order at the counter and they bring the food to you. The halwa puri which is what I usually come for is delicious! So is the keema paratha with omelette. The tea is overcooked and not good so I wouldn't recommend it.

Not sure what the hype is about. Ordered the classic burger with regular fries. The burger is incredibly bland. Quarter pound patty that's dry and tough on an oversized bun. So just lots of bread. Had to down it with lots of water. Fries are okay when hot, but pretty typical.

Best food and service on Hilcroft , recommend trying everything , bun kebabs always on point

Service was exceptional and food was amazing! We got food quickly and the staff was so nice and accommodating, it was prayer time and they gave us prayer rugs and made us space to pray. Cannot recommend enough, they went above and beyond!

After living in Pakistan for 10 years I struggled to find the same delicious tasty food until I finally tried Bismillah! I'm very impressed with all the variety they offer while staying consistent with the quality of the food. The chef has developed some great flavors while maintaining the authenticity of all the dishes. Typically when I try desi food with a modern/american twist it loses its flavor, but here its just enhanced which makes it one of my favorite spots for cheat days! These are not your mediocre fries, they taste crispy and battered and the cheese sauce was addicting! The pizza sauce is spicy and savory and the toppings are fresh. My favorite part about this place is no matter what I order it just has a new depth of flavor!

This review is after I ate here on two occasions, a week apart: The chicken ten or ten chicken whatever is amazeballs and so is the sev Puri. Excellent excellent excellent. However the chicken paratha roll is really average, bland and the paratha,I mean, it's not a real paratha roll. The garlic mayo fries were really soggy and obviously came out of the frozen section. The lassi, was watery the first time, much better the second time but nothing to flip out over. Duh I'd come again, it's a mini karachi in Houston.