The Original Ninfa's traces back to 1973, when Mama Ninfa Laurenzo began grilling skirt steak and folding it into handmade flour tortillas inside her family's struggling tortilla factory in Houston's East End. Newly widowed, she was cooking to support her children and feed her community — the dish she created, tacos al carbon, would go on to become known worldwide as fajitas, now considered a foundation of Tex-Mex cuisine.
This Navigation Boulevard location is the original site where that history started. Chef Patricia Delgado now leads the kitchen, continuing the restaurant's mix of comfort-food tradition and culinary ambition. Fajitas, carnitas, queso flameado, and house-made tortillas anchor the menu, alongside a margarita program regulars keep coming back for.
The restaurant was a James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant semifinalist in 2019, and in 2023 the city of Houston declared November 12th The Original Ninfa's Day, marking the restaurant's 50th anniversary.
This Navigation Boulevard location is the original site where that history started. Chef Patricia Delgado now leads the kitchen, continuing the restaurant's mix of comfort-food tradition and culinary ambition. Fajitas, carnitas, queso flameado, and house-made tortillas anchor the menu, alongside a margarita program regulars keep coming back for.
The restaurant was a James Beard Foundation Outstanding Restaurant semifinalist in 2019, and in 2023 the city of Houston declared November 12th The Original Ninfa's Day, marking the restaurant's 50th anniversary.