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Kim Sơn

3.6 (1.1k reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Updated over 3 months ago

Order Kim Sơn Takeout or Delivery

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KIM SƠN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Loud
Casual
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Mi kho
Thuy P.

Came back again for a birthday and food was still consistent above average. Service was also nice The restaurant is always packed on the weekends

Nadine L.

I'm coming from the DMV area, which also has a big Vietnamese population and after visiting Kim Son, I wished we had a Vietnamese buffet too!! I was impressed by the wide selection they had. They had a noodles/soup station, grilling station, general food area and desserts station. I think overall the food was pretty good for a buffet/AYCE restaurant! The standouts are for sure the soups and desserts. I was in heaven with that unlimited che!!! I was also impressed by the service! The moment we sat down, we had a few staff members check on us and even offered us a tray of crabs that they brought directly to our table. At all food stations, the food is served to you and not self serve like a usual buffet setup. Would love to visit again when I come back to Houston!

Dessert station
Kiet L.

Disappointed in what was offered for a Saturday especially for $33 a person. I've been going to Kim Son since I was a teen, and it seems to have gone downhill since Covid. If you want an assortment of everything Vietnam has to offer, then this is a great place to have that experience. But if you want the best of the best, visit and use Yelp to find the particular dishes you want. Typically Saturdays in the past were more expensive because of what they offered with seafood but there want much to choose from outside of mussels. There were shrimp dishes but in the past crawfish, crab, etc. were offered. The new-ish addition of the street food, Che station, and new desserts was nice but not for the price in my opinion. Not a bad experience but moderate compared to previous experiences to the old Kim Son experiences. I would return to let friends taste everything that Vietnam has to offer but not return if they had in mind what dishes they want to experience.

Elizabeth N.

The best largest Vietnamese buffet I've had over and over again. Everytime I come back they always have new added item. Every possible dish you can think of and all their portions are small. Not huge portion so you get full. Every noodle soup you can think of in small portion bowls. Super delicious and a must try for all their soup. They have vietnamese street food with grilled oysters. They have everything from chicken feet, to blue crabs, roasted duck, roasted pork belly, prime rib, sushi, banh xeo, banh knot, banh cuon, and some much more. Basically, all your traditional vietnamese dishes and some. They all have you traditional hot deserts, cold desert, sweet sticky rice, mango coconut sticky rice, panda waffles, coconut jelly, honeycomb sweet bread and many more. They even have a sugarcane, milk tea, and passion fruit tea station. They continuously refill the food and the food is always hot. They remove empty plates very fast and refill your drinks continuously. Super friendly staff and so many of them. Very large space and fast paced environment. Can get super crowded with lines for every serving station. Large parking lot with plenty of parking.

Shveta A.

We went for the all you can eat crawfish, we stayed for everything else! Overwhelmed is the only word that accurately describes the feeling I had when I entered Kim Son. The place is palatial, with large dining areas and tons of people. But it's the buffet area that is truly magnificent. The set up is reminiscent of an elite food market with various vendors. The lines upon lines of various goods, such as cold items, fried items, desserts, drinks and a hot noodle bar are just among a few of the choices. The crawfish was also very tasty with large portions and wonderful flavor options. The staff were attentive and checked in on us to make sure we were all right. I personally loved the noodles and the plethora of desserts. Highly recommend going to experience this restaurant!

Deiandrea C.

This buffet offers a large selection of great food choices nice customer service, friendly people

Round 1 of buffet plate
Brian T.

Asian buffets usually have a negative connotation tied to them due to the severe lack of quality for mass-produced food. Kim Son has definitely changed the game here. The quality in food is definitely there, service is great, and with all that said, this one feels like an upscale buffet (not quite Las Vegas style but pretty dang close). Kim Son has always been a Houston Viet staple. I've had two graduation parties at other locations, and our family has had many a gathering at one of various Kim Son locations. While this is the only Kim Son left, I can attest to Mama La's brand of pho broth concentrate and egg rolls found in Asian markets. The buffet starts at $22.50 for adult lunch and $32 for adult dinner. They also have a senior discount for those 65+ and also honor a complimentary buffet on the day of your birthday (ID required). On weekend peak times, there can be a wait, but they give you a buzzer. The buffet selection is huge. I usually don't even have the stomach capacity to try everything on the line. From soups to Vietnamese street food, dim sum, and buffet classics, there is something for just about anyone. For the kids, they even have fried chicken and french fries! The must-do's for me are the lotus-wrapped beef (bo la lot), Vietnamese crepe (banh xeo), and the rice rolls with cured meat (banh uot cha), all in the street food section. Solid runner-ups are the prime rib, dim sum selection, and the turnip egg cake (banh bot chien). I know that this time of year they have crawfish served on Fridays. If you come for just the crawfish alone, it is a pretty good deal. $32 for AYCE crawfish? I'm in. Service is always very good here. Waters never go empty and your dirty plates are picked up in a timely manner. Kim Son buffet is a must-do while in Houston and even more so for out-of-town visitors. I've heard it's the biggest Vietnamese buffet in the US - better believe it.

Vivian V.

This has been on my bucket list of places for years and I had the opportunity to try it! Pretty large dining space, but options seemed less than I was expecting. Soup station: 7/10 Offered about 14 different soup options that are made fresh to order. You can ask for modifications, but you'll probably have to speak some Vietnamese to get exactly what you want. You can ask for no noodles! Pretty hot and good sizes. Sauces/condiments on the side. Grill/Street food station: 6.5/10 Biggest line because they have freshly grilled oysters and shrimps. It was fine, the sauce that was served with them was okay, very syrupy Deli station: 8.5/10 The fresh summer rolls were good and fresh! Hot food bar: 6.5/10 Fresh banh xeo, but it was very coconutty in flavor which I was not a huge fan of. I loved the amount of fresh herbs and vegetables that came with it though! There was nothing that was very memorable to me I. This station had some seafood but some of them were slimy or had too much sand. Dessert station: 8.5/10 Great dessert station, this and the soup station were my favorites. They offer a lot of Che/Viet desserts as well as some freshly squeezed sugar cane juice and Thai milk tea.

Sushi
Cody P.

Kim Son is the largest Vietnamese buffet in the US, located on Bellaire in Houston, Texas. But although everything is bigger in Texas, bigger doesn't always mean better. We got here on a Sunday around 5pm to avoid the dinner rush. I thought it was pretty early to be having dinner, but my boyfriend's mom told us that it would be very busy later. And she was right. As we were leaving around 6pm, there was a huge crowd of people standing around in the waiting area. I am told the wait can be around 45 min to an hour. Although the building is huge, the buffet itself is quite normal in size. The main dining and buffet area only takes up a fraction of the second floor. It seemed like they had other spaces down the hall for private events such as weddings. The decorations were pretty cute. Aside from the main buffet, they had a couple of carts mimicking street vendors and serving street food dishes such as fried bananas and banh hoi. There was also a section of the buffet dedicated to street food skewers like nem nuong and bo la lot. You can also get made-to-order dishes such as pho or banh xeo. One strange thing I noticed is that for the vast majority of buffet items, there are staff members handing out food. For the most part, you do not grab the food yourself. If you want something, like noodles, you would point at the noodles and the staff member would place the food on your plate. I wonder why... the most obvious answer is portion control or prevention of food waste, but I felt like most of the time, they would give me way more food than I actually wanted. I like to try a little bit of everything at a buffet, so I would grab maybe... one chicken wing... one shrimp... one eggroll... a small clump of noodles... and then come back to get more if I liked it. But they try to give you so much! I would constantly have to be like "oh, just one please!" or "oh, not that much, thank you." I really don't think it's necessary to have staff members serving the food as it makes the experience more complicated than it needs to be. I think their time could be better spent making the food taste better. The food quality across the board was mostly unimpressive except for a couple of items. There's a section of the buffet with food from mien trung (Central Vietnam) that had some pretty good choices. I liked the banh beo, banh it, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't think the banh hoi was very good and the cucumbers they were served with were very bitter. I also liked the fried bananas. Aside from that, nothing was really noteworthy. Although the food isn't very good, I think it's worth a visit just for the experience and ability to say you've been. The servers were also pretty nice. I would recommend coming early to avoid the dinner rush. But I don't think I would want to come back.

Stuffed at Gold Mountain (Kim Son).
Jackie P.

Great selection and the ginger jello dessert was yummy. A lot of fried food. Next time I would stick with phô. Iced tea instead of Vietnamese ca phe in the machine. Friendly service, management and hostesses.

Patricia T.

Haven't been here in a couple months and boy did I miss me some Kim Son! It's the unlimited Nuoc Mia for me honestly. There was a wait for it when we first came in though. The girl said 5 minutes and when I came back there was a huge line and there was this lady ahead of me that asked for 6 cups.... Surprisingly today there were crabs?! I don't think I've ever came in when they had crabs on their menu but hey, let's keep it. Also they added Nem Nuong and I'm obsessed! The rice paper could be a little bit softer, but it's inevitable once the rolls are out in the air for a bit. I think I've said it before but I'll say it again, please bring back the fried shrimp balls!!! I forget what KS calls it but it's the one you usually get at Dim Sum. Management if you're reading please please please bring it back!

Celine M.

I've been here a few times, and it seems to get better with every visit. The service is consistently great, and they've expanded their menu with even more options. There's a wide variety of plates to choose from, along with selection of desserts. Everything is flavorful, and I've enjoyed every meal I've had here. I would definitely come back again.

Diana J.

I thought I reviewed this place years ago. I came to update about their newest stations. Kim son has really made full upgrades over the years. They have a great selection of Vietnamese food and they have a seafood grill station. There's ayce crawfish when in seaso. That's brought to your table. They recently added another station with pandan waffles, viet pizza, mango sticky rice. Their space is also for wedding banquets. The place is huge so the waits not usually terribly long. But it does get packed. I think this is one of the best buffets in town offering a huge variety of foods. Service is not the best for drink refills but they do clean off plates fast. The food overall is decent. On weekends they offer dimsum at lunch.

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Kim Sơn Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Kim Sơn

What's the new price now for lunch?

23.xx

Hello does Kim son Buffet have a time limit? Do they have fried crab all the time? Thx

As far as I know, Kim Son does not have a time limit. I cannot answer if they have fried crab all the time though.

Are drinks included in the buffet price?

nope drinks are separate

What's the main difference between lunch and dinner menu?

I think the dinner buffet offers more seafood options.

How much is the buffet?

I think it was around $30 for an adult when I went last month.

Are you take a reservation?

Pretty sure they do

Do they have all you can eat dim sum?

Yes

Do they take reservations?

For large groups, yes.

Do they still have hot pot?

I didn't see any hot pot when I was there a month ago

Hi there, I love seafood,I saw on Facebook they have a lot of seafood, Can someone tell me about the seafood ?thank you

They have a decent selection when we went. It was a Saturday for lunch. But be warned do not eat the oysters. two people in my party had them. One was mildly sick while the other was violently sick for a better part of a week. Besides that… 

When do they offer grilled oyster?

They had them Saturday at lunch. But I would not recommend them. Two people I went with did and they got sick. Thankfully I was hesitant to try them.

Do they still have pork feet for buffet? When is the best time to visit? Lunch, dinner or weekend buffet? And what foods are different for those 3 time windows?

I haven't seen pig feet on the menu, go there early food are fresh and not too crowded.

I only have one day to spend in Houston. I already have dinner plans and I'll be eating dim sum elsewhere for lunch. But I want to try this also, don't judge. :) Will they run out of selections by 2pm? Will they have oysters on a weekday?

Surprisingly, they never run out of food, however, so I'm not sure about the availability of the oysters.

Do they have fish and prime rib during lunch?

Was here for lunch today (Thursday) - they do have some fried and grilled fish, fish balls and grilled shrimp, but no other shellfish and no prime rib.

Do they offer seafood? What are the various seafood options? When is the best/optimal time to visit for seafood? Thank you!

Yes! they have shrimp, squid, mussels and more I went around noon which it was a 40 minute wait but was soo worth it. When we left there wasn't much of a wait time so i would say best time to beat the line around 2p.m. Weekends. During the week not… 

Are the lunch and dinner offerings different?

Yes, the menu is different thus the lower price. It is still good.

Anyone know how much the buffet is?

$17.50 at lunch, $27.95 at dinner

Do they offer lunch buffet on weekdays? If yes, what's the cost?

Yes they offer weekend buffet but forgot the cost of it per person

Do they have vegetarian options for buffet?

Absolutely.

Do they have dinner buffets on Saturday and Sunday?

Yes

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Bamboo House - Bamboo House Special Beef Noodles

Bamboo House

4.4(747 reviews)
24.2 mi
•$$

My favorite place for Peking duck around the Houston area. It's a little farther out, but I usually…read morestop by whenever I'm driving to or from AIH. The duck is roasted for hours, so the skin comes out nice and crispy without being too greasy. I also like that the remaining duck is made into a soup afterward. It's simple, hearty, and especially good on a colder day. I've tried several other dishes here, and they've all been solid and remind me of the Chinese food I grew up eating. The servers have always been attentive and friendly, and the restaurant is spacious, so it's a good spot for family dinners or larger groups.

I made the decision to eat lunch here after having a craving for Chinese food and reading the many…read moregreat reviews. Unfortunately, I shouldn't have ignored the average reviews, as this is what it turned out to be. I had lunch at Bambi House this last Friday for the first time. I was disappointed for a couple of reasons: my Orange chicken was basically mostly tempura and very thin slices of chicken. I had purchased the orange chicken, which was $9.85, with egg fried rice. The chicken was average in flavor, but as I mentioned before, the chicken was in thin slices; therefore, I mostly had tempura drowned in the orange chicken sauce. The fried rice was bland in flavor. Honestly, I agree: half and the re w the rest away. Admittedly, all of the 5-star reviews I read praised the duck, so perhaps that's what they're really good at. Unfortunately, I will probably never be back, because thin slices of chicken don't meet my expectations.

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Xiaolong Dumpling - B1. Mongolian Beef B1.

Xiaolong Dumpling

4.6(311 reviews)
11.5 mi•Fourth Ward, Midtown, Montrose
•$$

This little spot is my literal favorite place for fried rice. Everything is good but the fried rice…read moreis the best I've ever had! Pork Bao's are normally my daughter fave but the soup dumplings here are her favorite. She could finish an order on her own. The service is always great. As soon as you get in they give everyone a water and a carafe of more water. There is a QR code to order and you place your order on the phone. The order goes straight to the kitchen and you can add as you go if wanted. I always thought that was pretty cool. The owner came out to say hello and ask how everything is. She even brought out a small bowl of soup for my baby to enjoy. The waitress was also very sweet and attentive. I don't live close by but will make the trip when the craving hits. Today was one of those days. The last time I was here there was no ac and not enough seating. This time it was nice and cool in and well as having new seating! This little spot needs to be on your need to stop places!

Came here solo on a Saturday evening with goals to get some biang biang noodles. I was hoping to be…read moreable to dine there. I asked the main waitress how long it'd take to get seated as a solo diner, but she never gave me a clear answer as she was so busy as the only wait staff. I decided take out was the move. Take out took about 15 minutes to come out, so not too long. The biang biang noodles had a nice bounce, but I'm not sure if it was because it was a take out meal that the noodles were sticking together. However, they were very flavorful. I also got the pork wontons in the peanut sauce and they were also very juicy and flavorful. Overall, the food here is good and I'd try it again but hopefully for dine in. If you can get a reservation, I'd suggest doing that or else the wait will be long.

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Xiaolong Dumpling - Excellent customer service!!!

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V9. Eggplant In Garlic Sauce V9.

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The Rice Box - Sesame Tofu, really good!

The Rice Box

3.8(1.1k reviews)
12.2 mi•The Heights
•$$

I haven't even received my food yet, but the kindness shown by the employees here has already…read moreearned my respect. It wasn't just directed at me. I watched them help someone truly in need. That level of compassion means a lot, and it's why I'll always come back. If the food matches their humanity, it's going to be great.

The Rice Box on 20th is a solid option if you're looking for quick, very Americanized Chinese food…read morein the Heights. It is very much a chain restaurant, and it has that polished, standardized feel to it. I've eaten here a number of times, and while I wouldn't say the food stands out above some of the other Chinese restaurants in the area, everything I've had has always been good. I've never gotten anything that tasted bad or had an order come out wrong. It's just consistently solid. One sleeper hit on their menu, though, is the lava buns. They're warm egg custard buns like you'll sometimes find at dim sum places, and they are really good. Honestly, they're probably one of my favorite things here. I've even stopped by after already having dinner just to get an order to take home for dessert. They're definitely best hot, so I'd recommend eating them pretty quickly. The design of the restaurant is probably more memorable than the main food. They really committed to a specific industrial, techno-chic look with neon signs, animated menu boards, exposed metal, acrylic panels, textured wall details, and movies playing by the bar. The theme is carried throughout the whole place really well. At the same time, all of the metal and harder surfaces can make the inside feel a little cold and unwelcoming. There isn't much traditional indoor seating. Most of the seating inside is at the bar, with additional tables outside under some shade. Because of that, it's probably not my first choice for sitting down for lunch during a hot Houston day, but it works really well as a pickup or takeout spot. The staff has always been friendly, and they have a good system for getting people in and out. The parking lot is a little small, but since a lot of people seem to be picking up food, spots turn over pretty quickly. Overall, The Rice Box is convenient, dependable, and does what it does well. It definitely feels like a chain, but the design has a strong personality and the food is consistently good. It's not my favorite Chinese food in the Heights, but I've never had a bad experience here. And the lava buns are absolutely worth getting.

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Cooking Girl - Montrose - Spicy Chicken Cube

Cooking Girl - Montrose

4.5(205 reviews)
11.1 mi•Montrose, Fourth Ward
•$$

Love this spot! I've been coming here for quite some time, and it never disappoints. The spicy…read morechicken cubes are my absolute favorite! The interior is super cute, and the atmosphere is always inviting. Definitely a place I keep coming back to!

I have wanted to eat here for months but I always passed it up because of how busy and small the…read moreplace looked from the outside. Today was my lucky day because there was plenty of parking spots and seats (although the parking lot is very small). This place is great! I understand the hype for sure. When you walk inside it's just about the smallest restraunt I've ever. Very cozy and cute vibe with smooth jazz playing on a speaker and we got our food very fast. I really enjoyed my time here. Dry Fried Green Beans 5/5- these are the best green beans I have had in my life! I am not exaggerating like I will be thinking about these green beans all week. Do not hesitate to try these. Perfectly salty and good amount of crunch still left. The flavors they used are just perfect. Colorful Beef 4/5- The texture of the beef was so tender and not chewy at all like other places. The flavor was bright and the bell peppers were cooked through well. The issue I had with this dish was the sichuan peppercorns. I was just eating and not really looking at it super closely so I got a mouth full of these peppercorns and wow it was actually horrible. Just beware because the texture of these things are god awful and I think that they should be taken out like how a bay leaf is removed before serving. It was just really intense and it almost ruined the dish for me honestly. Other than that a great dish. My mouth was so numb but worth it. Dandan noodles 2/5- This was my first time trying this dish anywhere and I did not really enjoy it at all. The sesame flavor was really strong and it wasn't really salted at all. Very strange flavor. I will not order this again, however I do believe that the execution on this dish is great. There was a lot of sauce and the noodles were cooked well. I just really wish I liked the flavor of this dish and that's a personal problem. This dish also made my mouth numb but the flavor did not make it worth it. I wanted to like these so badly but I just couldn't do it. I will be back!

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Cooking Girl - Montrose - The bar

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Hi Trendy Dumpling - General Tso's Chicken

Hi Trendy Dumpling

4.4(437 reviews)
11.2 mi•The Heights
•$$

One of my favorite Sichuan places in town!…read more Dishes had this time around: Pork Soup dumpling - always temps me to order more Shrimp and pork Shumai - i recently had shumai that was good but not as great as the ones here. I've never had any oeovlem with any of the food not tasting fresh here Spicy chicken cube - crispy, spicy, what more can you ask for Walnut shrimp - a common Cantonese style chinese dish with crispy shrimp, mayo, and walnuts. A perfect combo! Overall would recommend to anyone in town, a favorite of mine for sure

My three friends and I were in the area when one of them suggested this place after having a good…read moreexperience here previously. We ordered quite a bit of food, and everything came out quickly. The staff were attentive and friendly, and overall, the food was decent. My favorite dish was the Chicken Steamed Dumplings. I usually prefer pork dumplings, but these were surprisingly tasty. The wrappers were on the thicker side, which I personally enjoy, the filling was moist, and the sauce was packed with flavor. I also ordered the Beef Noodle Soup. The portion of noodles and beef was generous, but I thought the broth lacked depth and had far too much chili oil. Instead of providing a pleasant spice, the excess oil left a greasy coating in my throat that actually made me cough. The other dishes were less impressive. The Pork Bao tasted like they had been frozen and reheated, with slightly soggy, overcooked buns and a filling that lacked flavor. The Egg Rolls were also extremely small and had that same frozen, store-bought quality. Overall, the service was great and there were a few solid dishes, especially the chicken dumplings, but too many of the items tasted like frozen or pre-prepared food. I would come back for the dumplings, but I would probably skip most of the other dishes.

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Cooking Girl - Downtown

Cooking Girl - Downtown

4.1(72 reviews)
13.0 mi•Downtown, Fourth Ward

My friend and I had dinner at Cooking Girl a few months back. It wasn't busy at all on a Thursday…read moreevening. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant and it was uncomfortably warm. I don't remember our server's name but she was nice. I started with a Lychee Martini. It was very good and very strong. For apps we ordered the Scallion Pancakes and the BBQ Pork Buns. The Scallion Pancakes were very good, but once they cooled down, it didn't taste nearly as good. I enjoyed the BBQ Pork Buns too. For entrées I had the Salt Pepper Fish Slices while my friend went with the Ingenious Fried Beef. The Fish Slices were very seasoned and flavorful, but a bit dry. The batter was good and I really enjoyed the peppers and onions that accompanied the dish. I think a dipping sauce would have helped. My friend enjoyed the Fried Beef. They have quite a few locations around town if you don't want to venture into the downtown area. If you're near the Theater District, Cooking Girl is a great dining option.

My husband and I were craving Chinese food and decided to try this place because it was close by…read more I've heard good things about Cooking Girl but never tried. There is a small bar when you enter. I first assumed the space was small but they have a larger dining area. It was a little after lunch time but we were the only customers. Our server was great & speedy. We ordered Sichuan Beef, pork & veggie spring rolls. I had wanted to substitute the white rice for fried but they don't allow that sadly. The Sichuan was delicious! So flavorful omg and spicy!!! My husband was literally sweating at the table and this a good sign for him lol. It was almost too spicy for me but I enjoyed it I love how much onions were in. Our rolls were yummy also. We brought the remaining home for a snack later. I can't wait to try the fried rice next time.

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Cooking Girl - Downtown
Cooking Girl - Downtown
Cooking Girl - Downtown - Apricot Spritzer & Baijiu Pom Lemonade

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Apricot Spritzer & Baijiu Pom Lemonade

Kim Sơn - vietnamese - Updated October 2026

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