TV Restaurants

Is The Original Ninfa's on Navigation Still Open? Update (Houston, TX)

Open reported

As of September 2026, The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is listed open on ninfas.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

Primary source
ninfas.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: The restaurant's own website, checked 2026-09-08, showed 2026-dated content, current hours through the weekend, and an active online-ordering system for the Navigation Boulevard location.

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What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

On "Old School" (btiea-s5e7), The Original Ninfa's on Navigation showcased the mesquite-grilled beef fajitas that made the restaurant famous, tracing back to founder Ninfa Laurenzo's original 1973 recipe for tacos al carbon. The restaurant opened in 1973 in Houston's East End, on Navigation Boulevard, and is widely credited with popularizing the fajita in American Tex-Mex cooking. According to the restaurant's own website (ninfas.com), checked 2026-09-08, the location listed Thursday-through-Sunday dinner hours plus a weekend brunch menu and offered active online ordering. The site's "History" and "Press" pages describe the Navigation Boulevard address as the original flagship of a small chain still run within the Laurenzo family's Mexican-food tradition. The 2026-09-08 check found no notice of closure, ownership change, or relocation on the site.

The Food Paradise episode "Howdy, Texas!" featured The Original Ninfa's on Navigation, spotlighting the sizzling beef fajitas the restaurant is widely credited with popularizing in Texas. The restaurant is a Tex-Mex institution founded in 1973 by Ninfa Laurenzo in Houston's East End neighborhood, according to the restaurant's own website, ninfas.com. A 2026-09-08 check of ninfas.com found the site current, listing 2026 hours including Sunday brunch service from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., along with a working online-ordering system, indicating continued operation under the Original Ninfa's banner.

S5E6 (aired 2017-08-21) featured The Original Ninfa's on Navigation, spotlighting its Tex-Mex fajitas and Mexican cuisine. The restaurant began inside a tortilla factory run by Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo, who became a full-time restaurateur as the business grew and the tortilla operation closed; she is widely credited with popularizing the fajita in Houston, according to Wikipedia (revised 2026-04-30). The restaurant remains at 2704 Navigation Blvd in Houston's East End. According to the restaurant's website (ninfas.com), checked 2026-09-08, the site listed 2026 hours -- Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday 11am-11pm, weekend brunch service -- alongside online ordering, reservations, and catering options, and the site's title referenced the restaurant's founding, 'Desde 1973.'

Featured on Best Thing I Ever Ate

Season / episode
Season 5, Episode 7
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Old School
What was featured
Mesquite-grilled fajitas credited to founder Ninfa Laurenzo's original 1973 recipe
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Original Ninfa's on Navigation
Season / episode
Season 18, Episode 5
Original air date
Not confirmed
Episode title
Howdy, Texas!
What was featured
sizzling beef fajitas and the restaurant's fajita origin story
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Original Ninfa's on Navigation
Season / episode
Season 5, Episode 6
Original air date
Episode title
—
What was featured
Tex-Mex fajitas at the original Ninfa's tortilla-factory restaurant
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Original Ninfa's on Navigation

Frequently asked questions

Is The Original Ninfa's on Navigation still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is listed open on ninfas.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What happened to The Original Ninfa's on Navigation after Best Thing I Ever Ate?

On "Old School" (btiea-s5e7), The Original Ninfa's on Navigation showcased the mesquite-grilled beef fajitas that made the restaurant famous, tracing back to founder Ninfa Laurenzo's original 1973 recipe for tacos al carbon. As of September 2026, The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is listed open on ninfas.com, reviewed by our team on September 7, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

Where is The Original Ninfa's on Navigation located?

2704 Navigation Blvd, Houston, TX 77003. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate featured The Original Ninfa's on Navigation?

Season 5, Episode 7 of Best Thing I Ever Ate. The episode is titled “Old School”.

Is The Original Ninfa's on Navigation still using the Best Thing I Ever Ate menu or branding?

According to the restaurant's own website (ninfas.com), checked 2026-09-08, the location listed Thursday-through-Sunday dinner hours plus a weekend brunch menu and offered active online ordering. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
2704 Navigation Blvd, Houston, TX 77003
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
ninfas.com

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Record btiea-0453 · last verified .