If you are in the mood for Tex-Mex and do not want to overthink it, Goode Company Kitchen & Cantina is a Houston chain that covers the bases: wood-fired cooking, a long list of margaritas and a few different neighborhoods to choose from. It is the kind of place that works as well for a casual weeknight dinner as it does for a group brunch, and with locations in River Oaks, Memorial and The Heights, you are rarely far from one.
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The menu leans hard into the classics. To start, the guacamole comes in medium or large with chips and salsa, and you pick three ingredients to mix in from bacon, queso fresco, roasted garlic, chicharrón, toasted pepitas or pickled onion, with blue crab or Gulf shrimp available as premium add-ons. From there it is a familiar run of nachos, quesadillas, taquitos dorados, chile con queso, pork empanadas with green chile and jalapeños and stuffed jalapeños. For something lighter, there is a 1836 salad and soup, an avocado, tomato and cucumber salad, grilled romaine and tortilla soup with chicken.
The mains are where the wood-fired part comes in. Tacos come grilled over charcoal, alongside tamales, chicken flautas, composto tostadas and enchiladas in cheese, chicken, beef or salsa verde. Fajitas are a mainstay, and the family-style parrillada, cooked over mesquite wood, is built for groups of four to six: a pound of fajitas, a smoked cheese sausage, two Texas quail, four jumbo Gulf shrimp and a half-pound of carnitas. Other standouts include the Texas quail, half-shell red snapper, carnitas, Laguna Madre shrimp and the Tampiqueña. On the weekends, the brunch menu adds breakfast tacos, chilaquiles, migas, carnitas with potatoes, huevos rancheros, La Guisada, Saddle Up enchiladas, La Posada, carne asada with eggs, granola and pancakes.
No one comes here for the water, and the margarita list makes that clear. The Damn Goode Margarita is the namesake, joined by the Cantina, Prickly Pear, Mad Dog, Strawberry Habanero, Watermelon Mezcal, Margarita Flaca, Cadillac El Dorado, Damn Goode Mixto and Category 5, plus a Paloma Classica, Fancy Ranch Water, Cazuela, Batanga and several micheladas. Mexican beers, draft beers, wine, Jarritos, Mexican Coke and agua de piedra round it out. Dessert is handled by the Brazos Bottom pecan pie, made since 1977, chocolate cream cake, tres leches, churros and sopapillas.
Depending on where you land, the vibe shifts. The River Oaks spot at 2002 West Gray Street has Bar Buena, a space dedicated to agave drinks, and tends to be the one people rave about for the service and the atmosphere. Memorial, over at 9005 Katy Freeway, leans into warm wood and white brick with a horseshoe bar and takes reservations for groups of up to 20. The Heights location sits at 1801 Yale Street. If you are bringing a group, the catering packages run from $215 for six to eight people up to $1,000 for 40 to 50, with a-la-carte dozens of empanadas, tamales and tacos and margarita kits. Most locations are pet-friendly, so you can bring the dog along.
