Delicious food and a great experience. Will definitely come back! Will be back! Love the ambience read more

Good late night restaurant! with good hospitality and good vibe. The skewers are immaculate with good drinks read more

Gao's Kabob - Dining Area - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

Great experience. Would definitely recommend this restaurant. Amazing pork intestines!

This was my first time here. The server explained the entire menu to us. It was super helpful! Loved the skewers! There were so many varieties to choose from. I really enjoyed the grill bbq oysters! The garlic was sooo good! Would order again. I also enjoyed the vibe of the space. read more

Gao's Kabob provides an ambiance unmatched by any other restaurant. The skewers are fresh, their cumin seasoning is filled with umami and sweet salty goodness, their vegetable skewers are marinated in deliciousness revealing oily and crunchy at the same time. My go-to order is Big Lamb, Kimchi Fried Rice, Big Beef, Mini sausages, Corn and cauliflower! I tried basically everything on their menu and after coming back for 6-7 years in a row I can confidently say those are my favorite! This time there was a special squid dish for $10! The squid was soft and the portion size is huge (larger than the kimchi fried rice which is $16)! The cilantro and ketchup/oyster sauce pairs well together. There was enough leftover for 2 meals the next day. Gao's has free karaoke at the expense of having to step on stage. The community is extremely nice and no one will bat an eye if you are not musically gifted. On weekends, it may be impossible to get any conversation in with your friends as the karaoke slots are full and people belt their hearts out to Chinese classics and loudly talk with large pitchers in hand. Coming here makes me remember Houston is alive and thriving. I go here when I want a party or a celebration, and it's a great place to go with friends. read more

Food was amazing and everything tasted good. Shoutout to Benjamin for explaining everything so clearly. Staff was amazing and paid attention to us to make sure we were good at all times. read more

Food was delicious I loved the vibe of the place and they had the soccer game playing which was a big plus! The service was amazing, Benjamin explained to us the whole menu and gave a few recommendations!! 10/10 read more

Gao's kabob is a Chinese skewers place. It opens late and when I came here at 11 pm on a Sunday, it was still quite busy. I've actually had it before at their NYC location, but it's been a while since I had it. I had their lamb and beef skewers and I liked their beef skewers a lot! I also had their crawfish and a side of fried rice. I did wish the fried rice had a bit more taste to it though. One thing that stood out to me here was I thought that their service was friendly read more

Great bbq skewers spot! Our group loved the big lamb, the chicken skin, and the cauliflower was also surprisingly good. We got smal lamb, small beef, chicken and the beef and pepper which were also good. After 10pm, beer is buy 1 get 1 free, which our server told us, which was appreciated. Service was attentive and so good. Ambiance is chill but cool. My friends also loved the spicy shrimp dish. We definitely want to come back and also to check out the seafood spot next door. Great experience for a group of friends to chill and have a good time. read more

Lots of variety from vegan to proteins, and a total vibe with a DJ, beer tower, and cozy spaces. Not very big so it gets noisy. read more

Gao's Kabob - Veggies and proteins on a skewer - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

Came on a recommendation of a friend and was heavily craving lamb skewers. It was a busy Friday evening and we were put on a waitlist for a party of 4, but the wait was minimal. You order from your phone and a server will come to confirm once the order is sent in. Food comes out pretty quickly. They served plastic cups, utensils, and styrofoam bowls + plates. Big minus for me. They're quick to clean up and change the water pitcher. As for the food, my favorite dish was the king eggplant. It was nicely seasoned and heavy on the garlic, just the way I like it. The lamb skewers were decent, but lacked in comparison to other establishments. We also ordered grilled garlic skewers, but they were old and had sprouts growing out of them. Gao's is lively and has a great selection of a combination of pop and Kpop music. And there's a stage for karaoke, which we had the pleasure of having someone sing on stage during our visit. Overall, it was a decent visit, but Gao's wouldn't be the first place I would go to for skewers. read more

Gao's Kabob - Gao's WiFi - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

I was hungry and tired last night after work. Being the first day of the end of Microsoft Windows 10's life, my eyes were crossed and felt hangry. I just wanted to get a quick bite or a cold drink. I decided to come to Gao's Kabab for a midnight snack. When I arrived, the music from the karaoke machine was so loud. But my tummy said just sit down and ignore it. Throughout the night, it felt like one person sang the same song over and over. That means I was not paying attention to those Chinese songs. Waiter asked when I was here before. I was here when it first opened 7 years ago. He said the prices are still the same. Oh? Not according to my old photos. Everything went up by up to double. I ordered my usual comfort food, malatang 麻辣烫. The picture looked so good. Full of stuff. In reality, it came out with a big flow of hot grease on top and barely anything under that worth mentioning. The only protein was the pork blood pudding 猪血. It took about 20 minutes and it felt like an hour because I had to endure the loud music. This Gao's restaurant serves grilled skewers and the sit down restaurant dishes. The other Gao's serves seafood. I chose this one because of non-seafood choice. The clientele was so young and like at my son's age. Damn I'm old. read more

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More and more skewer places continue to open in Chinatown! With all this competition, Gao's continues to stands out. It is always filled with customers every time. Beware that there's a slight wait on the weekends, but it seems that they do their best to get you in as fast as possible. They have live music on the weekends and it is very lively. Bring a couple friends a sing some karaoke! Why does Gao's stand out? DAN DAN NOODLES. Point. Blank. Period. I get them every time. They're not the usual dan dan noodles at other Chinese restaurants. It's more like a cold noodle dish. It's refreshing yet nutty. I freaking love it. Add your meat of choice from the selection of skewers, and you got yourself a bún thịt nướng. There are many skewers to choose from. Whatever they recommend, just get. All the recommended dishes were pretty good. They also ask the spice level, I personally prefer medium. I would skip on the smashed cucumbers. I feel like they could've seasoned it better. I ended up using the dan dan noodles sauce to dip the cucumbers. Drinks here are cheap as well, so doing a pre-game here would be a good idea! read more

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I love the vibe of this place! It's like a small Chinese version of a izakaya/tapas place that's bustling. Friday evenings they have someone on stage singing for most of the night which I really enjoyed. The grilled skewers are great here but the best ones in my group's opinion are the Grilled Pork and the Grilled Small Lamb /w fat skewers. Delicious, and everything here goes well when hanging out with friends catching up or just having a great time. We also tried their: Fried Enoki Fried Tofu Skin Big & Small Beef /w fat Corn Skewer Grilled cauliflower 3L Beer tower and Soju bottles I would say all of them were quite delicious. It's easy to rack up a high bill here since you're paying per skewer. The one most unworth it was definitely the grilled cauliflower. You get a 2 pieces and one skewer for $2. If it was perhaps two skewers it would have been a little more worth. Service is pretty quick and friendly despite how busy the place is on a Friday evening. Orders may take 10-20 minutes depending on how busy their kitchen is. A bit pricy for what it is but overall I really enjoyed this place and would recommend and come back! read more

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Delicious food! Wonderful service Awesome and cozy ambience. Will definitely come back and tell friends about such great experience. Sun.Flower read more

This was a new experience for my husband and I. The place is dark, quiet, and intimate. It does appear that they do karaoke nights, though, because we noticed the stage. The restaurant's food had a street vibe feel, so that was neat. The meats are on skewers and even when we ordered fish, it was placed on a slab in front of us instead of on a large plate. It was a different and fun way of eating food, which we enjoyed. When we sat down, we were given complimentary edamame and sunflower seeds. They don't have physical menus; you have to scan a QR code and you can place everything you want on your phone. Once your order is placed, a waiter/waitress will come by to confirm your order. I don't know if it was a special or if it is something they always offer, but we got free kids meals! That was a nice surprise because we had our two boys with us. The staff and owner were really friendly and sweet. The price is a little steep and ran easily rack up. We ordered: Chicken Skewers - This was our favorite! I highly recommend this! BBQ Small Beef Skewers - We thought this was okay Small Lamb w/ Fat - My husband that it was okay. I don't like lamb in general, so I can't judge. Grilled Tilapia w/ Garlic Sauce - I liked this! It was crispy and I liked the garlic seasoning. It really is loaded with garlic. So if you're not a fan, this may not be for you. It is a whole fish, bone and all, so you kind of have to work for your food here. haha Yong Chou Fried Rice - This was good. It was flavorful and has a homey feel to it. Before tax, everything was $47.50. After our meal, my husband and I were still hungry. The kids meals came in clutch and definitely helped us feed everyone. My husband and I actually ate the boys' leftovers and felt more satisfied afterwards. Overall, we enjoyed the environment and experience that this place had to offer. This place is great for a late night friends hang out. read more

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Service was great! As a first timer, the waiter was very informative and attentive as the order process is via table tablet. Food was all cumin based which is great in chunks but too much for us. Wagyu was the best and the happy hour price advertised on the wall could be an awesome way to go! read more

GAO's food is so delicious !! The service is absolutely amazing as well!! Every time we come here we are never disappointed read more

Gao's Kabob - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

Good service and food was great The ambiance was good On top of all of that the waiters helped when we called so that goes to show that you should try this place read more

I tried both GAO's and Midnight Kabob to see the difference between the two spots. In my opinion GAO does a better job of the cook on the skewers and the spice blend, but Midnight does a better job at the non-skewer menu items. I came to GAO on a weeknight and was quickly seated. I ordered the corn, Chinese cauliflower, okra, shrimp, mackerel skewers. I also ordered the eggplant, Dan Dan noodles, shrimp fried rice, and grilled scallop. I really enjoyed the skewers, but my surprise favorite was the eggplant dish. Combined with some hot white rice, it was an absolute flavor bomb. The cauliflower was also a favorite. It was my first time trying Dan Dan noodles and I really enjoyed the cool noodles with the balanced flavors. The one dish that really fell flat was the grilled scallop. I didn't find any of the flavors or spices had stuck to the noodles or the scallop. Instead the chili oil just created an oily aftertaste. I prefer this dish or similar dishes at Midnight. Overall I had a good experience and the service here was very courteous and explained the ordering process well and the food came out quickly. read more

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The singer is professional.There were so many people waiting in the queue. We had to wait for a long time, but it's still worth it.

3.75/5 Came here on the recommendation of a friend. I was very excited to try this place out as a big fan of Chinese skewers. At first, I liked the a la carte model with the thought that I only order what I can finish and what I enjoy the most as compared to AYCE model. However, I was not very impressed with the overall quality and flavor of the food. We ordered small fatty lamb skewers, garlic skewers, king eggplant, and Dan Dan noodles. The lamb skewers were honestly pretty flavorful but small in size. At a cost of 5 for $7.50, value was okay. The garlic skewers came mostly unpeeled although the garlic came out of the skin easily. You could see some of the garlics sprouting though. Probably not a commonly ordered item. The Dan Dan noodles are labeled as "northern style". They come with rice crisps, cucumber slices, chili crisps, and a slightly nutty sauce. Flavor was different from your typical Sichuan Dan Dan noodles- vinegary and mildly nutty - and not really what I was looking for. The king eggplant was definitely the highlight. It was soft, the skin had a smoky flavor, and the seasoning was perfect. Overall, the cost was slightly under that of AYCE skewers at another restaurant but for far less food and honestly not super impressive quality and flavor. I would consider coming for their happy hour which supposedly has $1 lamb skewers and $2 waygu skewers. read more

Fantastic hidden gem!!! Gao's is delicious. It's a great skewers spot. Every single one of the skewers I ordered was great and fresh. The lamb skewer was probably my favorite, as it was the biggest and juiciest. However, the chicken, potatoes, and corn were also perfect. While everything was great, the Chinese BBQ spice/ sauce included on all of the skewers is very spicy. However, the flavor is really good and worth the pain. I will say that I do have low heat tolerance, so the spice may be average for those with high/ average spice tolerance. I did notice that those around me did not seem to mind the spice. The service was great. Our servers were very attentive and verified each order we placed. They also offered us a free soda to go and gave us free candies at the end. They were very sweet! This is also a great late night spot, considering they are open late. Parking is easy, as this spot is in a plaza. Prices are cheap. Two of us ate for around $30-40. Overall, I would definitely eat here again. 10/10. read more

Delicious seasoning and cooked well. Just like the street food in China I used to eat all the time when I lived there. My favorites were the lamb kidney, pork belly, green beans, enoki mushrooms, and king oyster mushrooms. The fried rice was good too. My only complaint is the ordering method could be easier. You scan a QR code at the table to order but you can't see what others at the table ordered so you inevitably end up ordering double. If you order more, you also can't see what you've already ordered. Overall we had a delicious dinner here and we will be back. read more

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We came during happy hour. While we waited for our order there's complementary sunflower seeds and edamame. We ordered squid dish, lamb and beef skewers, corn on the cob. Squid dish was tender and tasty with the right amount of spice! Skewers were so tender and delicious! Customer service was also very good. Highly recommended and will come back! read more

Gao's Kabob - Lamb skewers - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Stopped by Gao's Kabob on a weeknight and it was such a fun, casual spot for skewers and street food vibes. We ordered a mix of chicken, lamb, and beef skewers which were all seasoned really well with that smoky char that makes you want to keep eating. The lamb was the standout, super tender and flavorful. We also got some noodles and grilled corn on the side, which paired perfectly. The place can get a little smoky from the grill, but that's part of the charm. Service was quick, prices were fair, and it's definitely a spot I'd come back to for a low-key, flavorful dinner with friends. read more

Gao's Kabob - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

The server fully explained how things worked. You basically order from the digital menu and everything comes out on skewers and served hot. We absolutely loved the options. Was not expecting a lot but it was an experience to say the least! Drinks were different and honestly not bad at all. It was very loud in there because we went during live music night but the ambiance was lit. read more

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Such a great spot to drink and hangout with friends! Service is quick despite how busy it can get. Everything is priced fairly well too. There's also open mic karaoke. I recommend ordering bbq pork skewers, grilled oysters and dan dan noodles! The other skewers I got were good too, charred and flavorful but the dishes I mentioned were the standouts for me. read more

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Stumbled upon this spot through an IG post while looking for a quick dinner--BAM, it seemed like the perfect fit. We had about a 30-minute wait, which wasn't a big deal since the restaurant is in a shopping strip (the waiting area is tiny, fitting maybe three people). We killed time at H-Mart before heading back. Once seated, the space was cramped--I was barely a foot away from the next customer. Since we were practically dining together, I asked them how the ordering worked. They explained that everything is done through your phone, and you can keep adding as you go. They brought out some edamame to snack on while we figured out what to get. I went a little click-crazy while ordering, so I don't remember everything I ordered, but some standouts were the Big Beef with Fat, Grilled Shell Scallop, Bullfrog Legs, Squid, and Beef Sashimi. The Big Beef with Fat was juicy with a nice seasoned, cumin-crusted exterior. The Grilled Shell Scallop was both visually pleasing and packed with flavor--the vermicelli underneath had a rich, oily spice that was great! Overall, despite the tight seating, the experience was interactive and delicious. read more

Gao's Kabob - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

I wish I could tell you what all we ordered, but I don't know. This place does not take reservations, so we waited about 40 minutes for a table of 12 people on a Saturday night. Not too bad considering their's stuff to do around like shop at HMart, lol. We had no difficulty finding parking. We ordered probably everything on the menu, the only thing that makes it hard is, if you're in a big group, no one knows if you actually got the item/s you ordered. So maybe go with 6 people or less. My favorites, off the top of my head was the corn for sure, the vegetables, and pork belly. I was a HUGE fan of the donut dessert, lol. I could eat 100 of those fried donuts/bread. Definitely check them out. They play good music.. people karaoke.. just a good time! read more

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Delicious food. 100% recommended. Good for groups and family. Other places to have fun nearby as well.

Nice decorations. Love music in the back ground. Waiter super nice and helpful. Definitely appreciate the free kid menu. Very thoughtful.

I love this place. It was better the first time.. we went at night. The most recent was during lunch time and unfortunately the food was not the same. The BBQ items were decent, but the other items such as fried rice and ramen were very bland and tasteless. We had to doctor the rice and noodles up with salt, pepper and spicy oil. It's worth a try but go at night! The service was good but keep in mind it's very small. read more

Gao's Kabob - Scallops - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Great place Good customer service And good food if you like authentic Chinese bbq read more

I'm hanging out with my friends tn. the food here is great. I love the barbecue. Everything is perfect. Such a good night. read more

Gao's Kabob - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

Very welcoming area, great staff, and extensive menu! Wait times were not too long, and in a great spot in chinatown.

Amazing food! Great service staff. Super beautiful atmosphere! I went on a Thursday just after open. About 430pm. It wasnt busy, I didnt know they had karaoke. First time here. My girlfriend lives in Xi'an, so it was amazing to find such a great kabob/skewer place. I had the wagyu and lamb kabobs as well as a plethora of BBQ veggies. The BBQ garlic cloves were so good also. Amazing 5/5 10/10 100/100. Will be back! read more

Amazing service. Love the food and vibe of the place. Would come again. I will bring more people next time

Amazing service! The place is very clean and neat. The food is great and came out quick. read more

Gao's Kabob - Kebob - Kebab Near Me - Houston, Texas

The vibe is amazing! This is our first time, the server was very friendly and did a great job explaining the menu.