Longview, Texas, is a growing hub for cultural gastronomy. It’s located in both Harrison and Gregg counties and is the county seat of the latter. Read our guide to East Texas’ Longview and discover precisely where to dine for delicious gastronomy and award-winning local cuisine.
Pho Saigon in Longview is a southern-Vietnamese restaurant serving genuine Vietnamese cuisine – one of the chefs was born and learned to cook in Saigon, while the other learned from her Vietnamese mother. As the name suggests, Pho Saigon serves an array of pho soups – chicken, vegetable, round steak, brisket, meatball, seafood and shrimp – and even details on its website how to properly consume a pho meal. Another popular dish at Pho Saigon is the bún khô (rice vermicelli noodle bowls with stir-fried or grilled meat or fish), popular in Vietnam on warm days and perfect for the warm Texan climate. For an appetizer, try the spring rolls with sweet peanut or sweet-sour sauce. Pho Saigon also offers an array of vegetarian dishes (like stir-fry tofu), rice noodle bowls, stir-fry dishes and grilled meat dishes with rice.
With every menu item made to order, Tree Frog Café serves a fresh variety of sandwiches, soups, wraps and salads. A cozy and charming lunch café, Tree Frog offers delectable sides from broccoli salad, pineapple-pecan chicken salad and marshmallow pistachio salad to bacon-ranch pasta. You can also design your own wrap with ingredients such as avocado, black olives, jalapenos and tomato-basil or spinach tortillas. Try Tree Frog Café’s quesadilla, or one of its many cold sandwiches, such was the Baja (with pineapple pecan chicken salad) or the Sierran (with Tex-Mex chicken salad). Hot sandwiches include the Hip Hop (turkey, Swiss cheese, bacon and blue cheese on a croissant), the Ribberto (grilled chicken, ham and Swiss cheese) or the Yosemite (grilled chicken, honey mustard and bacon on a bolillo roll).
Tyler Street Bistro serves new-American cuisine, with a large selection of menu items inspired by local, Mediterranean and southern gastronomy. Located in downtown Longview, Tyler Street Bistro offers menu items such as rack of lamb, and basil pesto redfish with couscous. If you still have room, try Tyler Street’s delicious tiramisu, crème brulee or chocolate tart for a final sweet flourish. With rustic, upscale modern decor and delicious food, Tyler Street Bistro is the perfect place for lunch or dinner. The restaurant also offers a full bar with Martini’s, wines and mixed drinks.
Lil Thai House is a charming, urban Asian restaurant in Longview with exceedingly high local reviews. Begin your dining experience with the tom yum gai soup (lemon grass soup), the tom kah gai soup (coconut chicken soup) or the pork, chicken or spicy beef egg rolls. At Lil Thai House, you can choose from stir-fry, fried rice, curry and noodle entrée options. Try the drunken fried rice (minced chicken, pork or beef with onion, bell pepper and basil) or the pineapple fried rice (stir-fried jasmine rice with chicken, shrimp, pineapple, cashews, raisins and onions). Lil Thai House also serves an assortment of Japanese sodas and exotic drinks, Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee.
Dudley’s Cajun Café offers an extensive menu of Cajun classics. For an appetizer, try Dudley’s fried crab claws, alligator sausage, fried pickles or fried crawfish tails. Lagniappe offers at Dudley’s include French rolls, seafood dressing and crawfish to accompany your entrée. The main course is extensive with dishes such as Cajun fried steak. For dessert at Dudley’s, indulge in delights like bread pudding with a whiskey sauce for that extra special kick.
Nanny Goat’s Café and Feed Bin is a charming, American-style cafe. You can find a variety of breakfast items such as strawberry, veggie, cinnamon-raisin, cream cheese-peanut butter, honey or poppy and sesame bagels. Nanny Goat’s also serves sandwiches, wraps, pressed paninis, chicken sandwiches and the local favorite – chicken-fried-steak.
With a warm, bright, contemporary atmosphere and delicious sushi rolls, appetizers and entrees, Goung Zhou Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar is the perfect place for lunch or dinner. You’ll find an array of bento boxes, salads and rice, steak and seafood dishes, amongst others. Begin your dining experience with GZ’s crab bisque, pork wonton soup, chicken lettuce wraps or crab cakes. Entrees include dishes such as Thai spicy grilled beef salad, and green curry shrimp. Complete your meal with a side of fried asparagus, sautéed noodles, jumbo shrimp and lump crab in dill butter or one of GZ’s myriad sushi rolls.
It’ll Do Deli, is a small sandwich shop in Longview that serves grilled paninis, fresh fruit smoothies, wraps, salads, soups and quesadillas. It’ll Do Deli also offers a variety of stuffed peppers, like the Pup’s Jalapeno (stuffed with cream cheese and spices). You’ll also find an incredible vegetable quesadilla, made with spinach, avocado, tomatoes, black olives, jalapenos and Monterrey and cream cheese, and a delicious Cajun gumbo. For dessert, try frozen yogurt in a waffle cone, a fresh fruit smoothie or a smoothie shake.
The Fisherman’s Market, established in 1973, is a restaurant and oyster bar serving raw oysters, American-raised catfish and boiled shrimp with a Cajun influence. Fisherman’s Market’s menu offers po’boys, boats, buckets, entrees, pasta, house specials and a Catch of the Day. House specials include crawfish etouffee, shrimp creole, shrimp scampi, shrimp au gratin, Cajun-grilled shrimp or the crab crake dinner. Be sure to check online for daily specials, which include all-you-can-eat night offers.
A recently opened restaurant in Longview, Texas, Bootlegger Grill is open for both lunch and dinner and serves an array of soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees and specialty burgers along with draft beer and cocktails. Bootlegger Grill’s menu offers a range of dishes including pork chops, fish ‘n’ chips, chicken-fried-chicken, a southwestern wrap with black bean salsa and quesadillas.
