Is The Original Ninfa's on Navigation Still Open? (Houston, TX)
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 5 Houston, Texas
Current status
As of October 2026, The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is listed open on ninfas.com, reviewed by our team on September 21, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.
What the source shows: The restaurant's own site (ninfas.com) is live with 2026 copyright, an active Toast ordering link, a September promotion running through Sept 25, and current hours for the Navigation Blvd location. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 5, Episode 7
- Address 2704 Navigation Blvd, Houston, TX 77003
- Website ninfas.com
- Show map
What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 5, Episode 7
On "Old School", 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.
Food Paradise, Season 18, Episode 5
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.
Man v. Food, Season 5, Episode 6 Aired
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.'
The episodes
Also in Season 5
Season 5: 61 of 104 still open · 7 renamed, moved or under new owners
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Ep 6Bueno Y Sano
Open - Open
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Ep 7City Tavern
Closed -
Ep 7Galatoire's
Open - Open
-
Ep 7La Scala
Open -
Ep 7Ray's Place
Open -
Ep 7Tadich Grill
Open
Nearest restaurants
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Food Paradise
Open -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open -
Best Thing I Ever Ate
Closed -
Food Paradise
Open -
Bar Rescue
Closed -
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
Open
Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- ninfas.com http://www.ninfas.com/
- Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninfa%27s
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record btiea-0453 · checked by Cal Marchetti.