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888 Restaurant
Rating Details »
Category: Chinese
Neighborhoods: Gulfgate/Pine Valley, Pecan Park403 Winkler Drive
Houston, TX 77087
(713) 644-8888
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
18 reviews for 888 Restaurant
This place is best Szechuan food i've ever had in america, hands down.
I was born in China, didn't come to america until i was 11, so i know my chinese food, and this is authentic chinese food.
I wish there was one in Dallas, but i'll just have to eat here everytime i go to houston.
I went with a coworker during the lunch rush, and the waitstaff didn't rush us. How cool is that?
IMO, the meal is typical westernized Chinese food. It isn't bad, but it isn't authentic either. Still, for a place this packed and located within a former Pizza Hut on a side of town not too terribly known for its Chinese population, I can't complain.
The lunch plate is actually really big. My co-worker and I thought we would get those so we'd actually be able to finish everything. So much for that.
I really find the name funny, though. It sounds like a motel name, not a restaurant name!
I'll update this when I go again. Parking is a little sketchy at lunch time, but it seems like it might otherwise be adequate.
Food
Having been to the other two locations: Clear Lake and League City/Dickinson, we wanted to try the original 888 Chinese Restaurant. We ordered the Chicken Fried Rice on the English menu and the waitress gave us suggestions on the Chinese menu. We had the Pork with Eggplant in a Hot Pot, Pork with Bean Curd and Various Vegetables, and the Sizzling Beef on a Hot Platter, all on the Chinese menu. Where do I start? The Chicken Fried Rice was the same as the other restaurants, a little salty but full of vegetables, eggs, and chicken. The pork with eggplant served in a hot pot was one of the best Chinese dishes I have ever tried! It came out very hot and stayed hot. The pork was minced and mixed with slices of eggplant. The whole dish, especially the sauce was very zesty. The pork with bean curd and vegetables was pretty tasty, but very similar to the other 888 restaurant locations. The sizzling beef was very flavorful and just melts in your mouth. The beef was marinated very well and there were plenty of onions and black peppers in the sauce that went along very well in it.
Service
Our waitress was very helpful and translated and recommended some items on the Chinese menu for us. She was very kind and was quick to get us whatever we needed. She spoke English very well, knowing that we were not Chinese.
Atmosphere
This restaurant was full of diversity, but mostly of Chinese people, which lets you know that this really is a good price. It was very crowded on the inside and seemed like the restaurant had run out of tables a few minutes after we sat down. The prices were very cheap. The restaurant looks old and rundown from the outside, but is pretty spacious and nice on the inside.
Food was good and so was the service.
However apon entering the resturant I was greeted by a live oversized cockroach near my table... The place was loud and small. After a nice meal we left and there was a dead mouse right outside the door with ants all over it.
I will never go there again!
This is a great take-out and delivery chinese retaurant. They deliver tasty foods quickly to you by friendly staff. Anything with garlic sauce is a winner. My favs are Singapore Rice Noodles, Won Ton soup and fried dumplings. Make sure to ask for extra sauces when you pick up or have it delivered. Prices are cheap too, can't be beat!
Not the best, but definately worth every penny!!!
I am sad that I do not live in Houston anymore to enjoy this place, but my family eats here like 4 times a week and usually puts Joyce, our fave waitress on the phone to say hi to me! They have nice lunch specials, but we love the off-the-menu Chinese menu that they choose from for us - we have had some delicious dishes...recommend Cilantro Chicken and Double Spicy Beef. My lunch special fave is chicken + eggplant, but also the grilled redfish is amazing!!! With grilled onions and jalepeno, with lime and for dinner, you get Shrimp fried rice!!!! The owners are awesome, there is great service, and the glasses for drinks are tall!!! Highly highly recommend. My family drives like 50 miles round trip several times a week and it is totally amazing!!
Also, every time I land at Hobby airport, my family makes that another reason to eat here.
Eat here all the time. I'm vegetarian and they'll do almost anything on their menu with tofu. Tofu eggplant. Tofu asparagus and broccoli. Mmmmm. Yummy!
To celebrate MLK Day, I was "free at last" to range a little farther for lunch since the office didn't have its hold on me today. I had a hankering for dumplings, consulted Yelp for ideas, and debated whether to stay ITL or go to New Chinatown.
In the end, stayed technically ITL by going to 888, which is in the revivified Gulgate area. Got there around 1 PM and the place was packed but had to wait only a minute for a table to be cleaned. Kudos to Alan S for his review and the detail on the lunchtime tsunami.
The building looks like a former Pizza Hut and the interior has much of the same booth/table decor but updated. The Dickinson location is far prettier, though. Plenty of staff: a mix of Latin and Chinese staff kept every table happy and served promptly. The customer base was a gorgeous mosaic of diversity, too. (Props to David Dinkins for the imagery.)
Had the Chicken Dumplings in Hot Sauce ($4.75, 8 pieces) and a small bowl of wonton soup ($1.50) to start. The soup was really good with a hearty broth, green scallions, and 3 plump fresh pork dumplings in it. A large bowl would have been a filling meal by itself.
The dumplings were a pretty presentation in their own bowl; coupled with a second plate, this was a touch of class so I didn't have to eat out of the serving bowl even when alone. The soy-based hot sauce wasn't hot in the least but I remedied it with some hot chili oil from the table condiments. Delicious, tasty, and satisfying on a cool winter day.
In sum, the dumplings and soup made for a delightful lunch on a beautiful national holiday. 3.5 stars. The Yelp plaque on the wall was pretty neat to see, too.
Favorite Chinese food outside of Chinatown in Houston hands down. No one does spicy szechuan dishes quite like they do. Unfortunately if you do not read Chinese, you're only stuck with the American menu which for me is truly missing out.
If you're feeling adventurous and you don't mind spicy foods, go there and ask for the Chinese menu even if you can't read it. And ask the waiter to recommend some favorites, you can't go wrong. All time favorite is the beef tongue and tripe in spicy sauce. I can eat that all day. I've been searching all over New York for a place quite as good.
This is the original restaurant and they have the most generous portions compare to their branches down in Clear Lake (recently opened) and League City. If you can make it out to this original gem definitely try it out.
Not to shabby for a lunch special but I've had better. I went with the orange beef, fried rice, hot and sour soup lunch combo. The major up side to this was that with tax and tip you are still looking at getting out for $10 or less. The food was good, the service good, overall I am a fan... but I wouldn't go special unless I was in the area and in the mood for Chinese.
Both people I went with enjoyed it. One felt the same way I did, the other probably would have given the place 5 stars. I would defiantly give the place another go. Word of advice, get there at 1130-1200 and get a table no problem. Get there between 12-1 and you will stand around waiting for a table.
They have a 5 star Yelp plaque on the wall... that amused me.
Awesome food. The mapo tofu is fantastic, the spice really hits you after a few bites. It seems mild at first, but then after a while you're sweating, and your nose is running. Fantastic.
The dried chili fish is fantastic. It comes in a bowl, and underneath the fish you'll find a set of delicious vegetables. The fish was cooked excellently and had a nice mild flavor, that went very well with the spice.
We also had a dish of squid and mushrooms, the squid was excellent and had a great sauce.
The final dish was an eggplant dish that everyone seemed to love It wasn't my cup of tea, but I was by far the minority with this dish.
When 888 first opened their doors a few years ago and sent their menus to the surrounding neighborhoods via mail, I was interested in how the food would be because it looked pretty good. Well I've been a loyal customers of theirs for a few years now and am so happy I took chance on them. While the outside as well as the inside of the restaurant isn't inviting to say the least, don't let that stop you from going in (although their other locations they have opened up over the years are better looking). The staff are very warm and the most part, attentive. Depending on the time of day, waiting to be seated isn't a problem (lunch and dinner hours are).
What I love about this place is that you can tell the food here is authentic (though I have yet to try their menu that's in Mandarin) and fresh. I try to be adventurous and try everything, but once you find a few favorites, it's hard to resist to try something else. The dishes I usually order are the Jumbo Shrimp with Garlic Sauce (spicy), Chicken and Mango with Garlic Sauce, and the Triple Delight (Shrimp and Scallops with Veggies and Garlic Sauce), all are so fragrant, bold, and delicious. 888 surely doesn't lack on proportions at all, and their shrimp and scallops aren't scrawny by any means, so you get bang for your buck. Each entree comes with either steamed white rice or fried/shrimp fried rice. What I love about their rice is that it's perfectly cooked, never gummy or stuck together, each grain to itself. If you do order the shrimp fried rice, you'll be pleasantly surprised that the shrimp is of a nice size compared to many other Chinese places.
If you order your meal to go (especially for lunch), your food comes in a very nice container, that I've admittedly saved and washed to use when I take my lunch to work because it's durable. I've noticed that they have gone up on everything by $1, but it's understandable due to the economy. I hardly mind it, because their food is so fresh and delicious. My only complaint is that I wish they'd start to look to build more towards Houston instead of out towards Galveston so many other Houstonians can experience their good Chinese food.
I looooove 888 (pronounced, "triple eight"). My first visit was after treating my friend for his bday lunch (I forgot my wallet at the office--whoops! Got him later for dinner and that cost me a good hundred smackaroos!)
Apparently, the Houston Chronicle featured the restaurant years ago as one of H-Town's hidden gem. Hidden? Not so much. It's in the Gulf Gate area. But the exterior and surrounding area wouldn't coax any regular foodie like myself to venture in--but thank goodness I did!
The Chinese restaurant serves incredibly fresh food. So fresh, I spotted the owner dump over a crate of fresh green beans and began snipping and snapping away.
The meat (beef, chicken and fish) is all so incredibly soft--no chewy crap you experience at other places.
I HIGHLY recommend you try the spicy chicken dumplings. THE BEST I've had anywhere ... ANYWHERE.
The general tso's chicken, beef and broccoli, seafood soup, pineapple and mango chicken are all great dishes, and you can opt to have brown rice which is a huge plus.
Anyone who I have ever brought here or pointed in 888's direction has loved it.
The only reason I give 888 a 3-star rating is because of the three times that I've ordered delivery, food had been missing, substituted for something else, requested sauces not in the bag ... just purely frustrating when you're craving their amazing food! My suggestion? Eat in.
THE 888 ! GOOD FOOD! GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE!
Well i' ve been there a couple of time and all the time i have been there its great.
I usually get the orange chicken or general tso its very good!
There hot wings are good, really good. Also i don't usually like egg rolls but there egg roll are the best!
At the end they give u a slice of orange with a cherry on top.. GOOD!
The food here is fantastic. On our last visit we had a fish (not sure what it's called . . . don't think it's on the menu) served whole, in a platter full of red chili sauce. It was fresh and delicious. We also had the "double pork" which was incredible. This is made with thin strips of pork that is very similar to bacon. Lastly, we had string beans . . . not sure what this is called but when my girlfriend orders it, I believe she asks for long beans. However, they are cooked in garlic and are simply delicious. I'm not sure if any of this is on the menu. There were two menus on the table, one in English and the other in Mandarin. This restaurant offers really good authentic Chinese food and also appealing fusion dishes. Definitely worth a visit.
This restaurant is a really good chinese restaurant in Gulfgate (610 and 45 S) which is largely a Mexican part of town. It was a surprise find and the food really has flavor. And it's a short (and worthwhile) drive away from University of Houston.
Their fried rice is also very good -- one time they used an unique type of rice. But they didn't use it the 2nd time... :-/ And the third time they did. :-)
I guess the fried rice isn't very consistent but it has been consistently good.
I've also had the red fish with lime and it was also very good. Other dishes have garnered good reviews. I have been told to try out the shrimp mango with garlic sauce at the location as well. I've still yet to try that!
They have lunch specials for a good price.
EDITED: Try the Mango Chicken! YUM!
This place makes other Chinese restaurants want to bow down. Every time I get a chance to go, I get excited, this place makes your mouth water. I would recommend this place to anyone, even if you don't care for typical Chinese food. The spicy steamed dumplings or the seafood soup is yummy, I have to decide which one I want just because I will get full off them together, I barely have room for everything else I plan to order. I have found they have a Chinese menu and the number 19 is a must, this is dried tofu, scallions, pork and cilantro. I don't normally like cilantro but man this is wonderful. The price of the food is very reasonable. The only problem we ever have is ordering everything we like because it tastes so good. We usually know we are going to be taking home left overs for the next days lunch. The staff is awesome as well. No matter how packed the place is, if there is a wait it won't be long before we are seated.
as one of the only places near my house that my parents can eat at after 10pm. We came here twice in a row just because they were open late and we were surprised to discover that the food was actually good! and they have a special chinese menu just for older chinese people- like my parents who loved the authentic menu. For people like my little brother, they loved the "new" stylings. So win win!
