Houston, Texas’s Most Iconically Texan Burger Shack Has Been Under a Freeway Since 1985

Bubba's Texas Burger Shack sits under the Westpark Tollway at 5230 Westpark Drive in Houston. The setting, concrete overhead, picnic tables out front, and a building that looks like it survived by being too stubborn to move, is entirely appropriate for a restaurant that has been doing things its own way since 1985.

Bubba's was the first restaurant in Houston to offer American bison burgers. More than 40 years later, the bison is still the reason most people come for the first time.

For the largest state in the contiguous 48, with a burger culture as deep as any in the country, that's a meaningful distinction. It made the best burgers from sea to sea.

Owner Richard's willingness to talk with any customer who wants to sit a while and the general refusal to be anything other than what it is have made Bubba's a character in a city full of characters.

What to Order

The bison double, with cheese, grilled onions, and jalapenos, is the essential order. Bison runs roughly 40 percent leaner than beef while staying juicy and rich when cooked correctly. Bubba's has spent four decades proving the combination works.

Beef burgers are available for traditionalists. Both proteins can be loaded from the same toppings menu.

Momma's Award-Winning Chili goes on Fritos, fries, and hot dogs. Jalapeno potato salad, the original house side before fries were added to the menu, is the sleeper order that regulars never skip. For more on the food scene nearby, see Houston restaurants worth getting off the highway for.

40 Years of Eclectic Texan Authenticity Under the Highway

Bubba's was founded in 1985 by a family that wanted to serve something Houston wasn't getting elsewhere, hence the bison. The shack aesthetic is genuine, not constructed.

The picnic tables under the tollway, the long-neck beers, and the menu that hasn't changed in decades are all deliberate. This is what Bubba's is and has always been.

The bison program at Bubba's was established before bison appeared on mainstream menus, which gives the restaurant a different relationship to the protein than the newer bison-forward concepts that have opened since. This isn't a trend for Bubba's. It's the original mission.

Houston's food scene is one of the most diverse in the country, shaped by the largest Vietnamese population outside California, a substantial Mexican and Central American community, and a South Asian diaspora concentrated in the suburbs. Bubba's sits apart from all of those communities and is genuinely Texas in its own right.

The bison program at Bubba's was established before bison appeared on mainstream menus. This is not a trend for the restaurant. It is the original mission, which is why the kitchen has had decades to perfect the preparation.

The Westpark Tollway was built over Bubba's existing location rather than displacing it, giving the restaurant one of the most unusual settings in Houston. The concrete structure overhead provides shade in summer and a visual identity no other burger joint can replicate. For more of the state's dining history, see the best independent burgers in Texas.

Plan Your Visit

Bubba's Texas Burger Shack is at 5230 Westpark Drive in Houston. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Dine-in at picnic tables, takeout, and delivery via DoorDash. Cash and card accepted. While you're planning the trip, check out hole-in-the-wall restaurants Texas locals treasure.