The Rice Box on 20th is a solid option if you're looking for quick, very Americanized Chinese food in 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. read more

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I got the grilled eggplant and chicken egg roll and nitro Thai tea. The eggplant was super flavorful and had a nice crisp to it! I would not get the Thai tea again as it was more liquidy than creamy due to it being a nitro. I didn't love the rice as well because it wasn't fluffy or soft. Overall good flavor and good for a quick lunch read more

The Rice Box - Garlic EggplantEggplant - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

RB has been a staple favorite for over a decade since I was introduced to it! Food never fails even when I try new dishes. From the orange peeled beef to the sesame chicken everything is a win at this place--TRUST! I would say the service has shifted; before Covid servers would come and do this magical trick where your choice of protein & rice is undone right before your eyes--it used to be my favorite (especially for families or friends who are sharing entrees). Ambiance has always had that Cyberpunk feel (as my husband mentioned to me over and over again). Never a dull moment here, but I do wish for more... servers forgot my sweet & sour sauce when I paid for it too ‍ hopefully they get it together in time For all the tourists visiting in the next few weeks! read more

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If you're going to the Rice Box and not enjoying the what you are getting you are ordering the wrong SHIT. Stop ordering your normal take out order that doesn't work anymore. Try something new. Quit ordering orange chicken and general tsos. Step outside your comfort zone and order the curry cauliflower, the beef chow fun, the ribs. Anything other than the ordinary. You have to venture out. Don't skip on this place because a review or two tells you different. Either they have no taste buds or just don't get it! read more

Box of rice Haven't been here in almost 8 years. 1st experience was great, second was terrible so I didn't go back. My friend Aurora wanted to meet Donna early dinner and gossip session and she really liked this place. (We tried having a team lunch at the Rice Village location during the cold front last Oct but they had no heat so we opted for a warmer place but she grabbed a to go on the way home) Here we are for a late lunch 3:45 pm on a Friday. Parking was none had to drive around the block and saw some movement and bam, someone was leaving. We ordered at the bar, staff was super nice and opted to sit outside. Did not realize they deliver to the table. Order: Mongolian beef combo with fried rice and egg roll $14.99 The food comes in takeaway style containers. Win. Mongolian beef (2.5/5) - slightly over sauced for me; beef was pretty tender and there were carrots and edamame which is not the standard so maybe that's what makes it fusion? Fried rice (3/5) - standard style fried with small pieces of bean sprouts which I love so that was a nice surprise Egg roll (3/5) - I assume it was chicken because I didn't realize there was a choice) - it was crunchy and soft on the inside which I like, and pairs well with sriracha (did not eat till I got home) They seem to do a whole lot of take away. The staff were nice and hard working. I was excited when they first opened bc they had chow fun on the menu and being HK Cantonese, I love that dish but when I ordered it the 1st and 2nd time eight years ago instead of bean sprouts they had cabbage and that alters rhe flavor tremendously. I see why it's popular among the people but just don't think it is for my taste. read more

The Rice Box - Mongolian beef combo - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

Fair pricing, but nothing too special. I feel like Ricebox is overhyped because of the branding and atmosphere, but the food isn't anything insane. It's a solid spot, but nothing crazy great. I will say their rice isn't the best texture. It feels dry and just not great in texture. Overall, this place is a solid 4/5. read more

I got the beef lo mein last night; medium spicy, chicken eggroll. Friggin' delicious. I'm about to eat the leftovers for lunch and I been lookin' forward to it since yesterday. Literally inspired me to make this post. LOVE this place. I haven't had a bad experience yet. Staff is always cool af. Vibe is 10/10, too. read more

The Rice Box - Beef lo mein; medium spicy - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

I haven't even received my food yet, but the kindness shown by the employees here has already earned 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. read more

Some of the BEST food! The beef was so tender and good. REAL BEEF!!! Everything was awesome! Highly recommend!

Food was amazing! Grace was so attentive and kind about going over the menu and making suggestions. We want to come back over and over again! She doesn't know this / but I really needed a place that I could be with my husband that was friendly and good food. My mom has been in hospice and I have been very sad. Not only did she cheer me up unknowingly - the food was great. Thank you to the staff - sometimes you never know what someone is going through. Jennifer and Paul read more

The food here is life changing. It's just too bad it was too hot and filthy to enjoy it. I love that there are all the protein options with every dish. This place is very vegetarian friendly. The food is made quick and fresh. The service was also great. They were happy to answer all questions and get some extra things we needed when asked. They were kind and accommodating. I personally got the sweet and sour chicken and it was amazing. I haven't had Chinese food that good in a LONG time. The fried rice I got with it was perfectly seasoned and there was plenty of it to go with my chicken. My son (11 going on 16) got the orange chicken, extra spicy. He really liked it and ate almost all of it but said he wants to go back and try it not spicy because it was REALLY spicy and he thought there would be more flavor with less spicy. My little kids (5 and 3) shared the sesame tofu and pepper stack tofu. They both loved it and said they wanted more. My kids aren't really picky but for them to say they love something, it really is a compliment. My husband got the chow fun with Chinese sausage. He said the Chinese sausage was alright but he would probably get another protein next time. Overall, the food is amazing and we will be going again, to another location. So why 3 stars? 1. The heat. My goodness, this place was hot. There is no air circulation and very little seating in the hot building. The seating outside was also very hot because it's Houston in May! Food tasted better when people are comfortable and we were not. 2. Lack of cleanliness. We walked in and, next to the wall menu, there was a pile of flies. Dead, alive, just a mass of wings and buzzes. When going to see if we could find a table outside, they were almost all caked with bird poop and had clearly not been recently cleaned. The bathroom was the worst part. I don't mind the metal toilet or the theming of the place. I LIKE dives and hole-in-the-wall dingy places. This was something else. All around the toilet, a brown textured ring graces the walls. This is beyond gross and I can't possibly believe it was a style choice. We won't be back to this location but will go to another in the future for the great food. read more

The Rice Box - The bathroom... - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

I enjoy Ricebox every time I go. Doesn't matter the location. I get the Honey Walnut Shrimp, Fried Rice, Eggroll. read more

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Let's play "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly"... THE GOOD Wow, the food here is fantastic. Truly, the sweet & sour chicken is actual chicken thighs with a satisfying crunch and great sauce. The fried rice is probably the best fried rice I've had in a very long time! I got the Chow Fun noodles with Chinese sausage and extra spicy and it was spectacular! Also tried the Salt & Pepper Tofu, which was nice and crunchy and HOLY MOLY IT CAME OUT SO FAST! The atmosphere is spot on and the staff are friendly and helpful, smiles all around and very inviting. From all of this alone I would have easily given this place 5 stars! but THE BAD The seating at this place was not great, very few spots and there's almost no AC, so it's very warm and very humid, which is not a comfortable experience. The only other option is outside, which in Houston is even worse. THE UGLY Good lord, I've never seen a bathroom in this place is... something else. I didn't think about it while I was in there at first, but with kids I had to make multiple trips. The wall next the toilet is...textured...with a brown substance. I'm not touching it and I'm not investigating. The whole vibe of the place is one thing, but this really feels like the cleanliness of the place fell off a cliff. I'm really torn here. I want to come back, but I'll probably try a different location, because you can tell the decor and everything has a lot of love put into it. Like for real, I wouldn't be surprised if a Disneyland Imagineer had a hand in decorating the place. I'll be back...but a different location. read more

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I'll be honest, I had high open for rice box. It was nice, but it definitely didn't live up to my expectations... :( I stopped in the rice box off 20th street. The actual restaurant was really small and I couldn't find parking nearby. Ended up having to street-park a few blocks away.. The restaurant wasn't too busy when I was there. Our orders were taken quickly and food was cooked quickly too. The ambiance was really great. I liked the vibe and neon colors everywhere. The food itself was just ok though. I was disappointed with the broccoli beef (the beef was really tough and chewy. I got the honey sesame fried tofu which was pretty good. The flavor lacked complexity & was mostly sweet, although the fried tofu was yummy. The white rice was a bit dry too... I probably won't come back here. The vibe was great but for the price / quality of food I was disappointed read more

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Place is pretty small and can get cramped if there's a lot of people but the food is great and customer service good. The portion sizing on the food is actually what makes this place really really good. Tasty Chinese food with plenty for another meal later on in the day. Can't wait to go back and try other meals here. read more

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Took two bites of chow fun and knew immediately I would never eat here again. The food is beyond mid. The restaurant is coasting on vibes and good looks. Obviously it's not meant to be authentic, but even in the land of westernized Chinese food, it's not worth it. Go to your local mom and pop place instead, and give this place a miss. read more

Service is always good and friendly. Best chicken and fried rice I've ever had. Every location in Houston is comparable to the other. Great food. read more

Fast casual Chinese / Asian fusion. A handful of popular Chinese inspired dishes. Tasty Asian fusion food. Good portions for the price. The sweet chili wings take a little time to make but are very worth it. The Chinese sausage Chow fun is flavorful. I know the "unfold the box to make a plate trick" is kind of their thing since it's part of the name, but an actual plate makes a better plate and getting another box to put your left overs at the end seems counter productive. I just eat from the box so that my food doesn't get cold unnecessarily. It doesn't feel like they want to you eat there. There are only a few seats inside. Outside seating is less than pleasant most of the year. They really want to you pick up your food and leave. Don't worry they won't forget to ask for a tip as you order at the counter. They really want you to order via grubhub or uber eats, because each dish is a few dollars more plus all the fees. read more

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Stopped here for late night eats after parr of my order at another place was "delivered to the wrong table." We were greeted as soon as we walked in. The staff was super nice. Just a comfy little place with freshly made food. My only disappointment was they were out of Thai tea. My dumplings and chive pancake were just what I needed. Well worth the drive and the best part is that I've had the same experience at the other location I've visited too! See you next time. read more

Today the portion of orange chicken was far from the regular. Also miss the old general Tso. I'll definitely give it another shot but seems light the heights location needs some attention. read more

The Rice Box - Sesame chicken - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

The food was alright nothing crazy. Service was very fast. Ambiance is a feeling you're sitting inside a small restaurant in Tokyo. Feels like you're In a John wick movie scene. read more

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Food to go is great. The Fow Chun with beef is delicious and their steamed pork dumplings are great too. We got it to go but they wouldn't take our order on the phone - guess it's their policy but kinda weird. Went inside and ordered take out which worked well. read more

Our 1st visit in over a year and I believe that it has gotten better. I've ordered a few items on the menu. I might have found some new favorites. First, I've ordered last year's favorite Garlic Eggplant with minced meat, it was just as good as last year, if not better. The second thing I ordered was a family favorite, Crab Rangoon. It was perfectly crispy and delicious. It came with a sweet chili sauce, it compliments the Rangoon well. The last thing I ordered and what I wanted to try, was the scallion pancakes with a side of curry sauce. The scallion pancake was perfectly thin and made to perfection. The highlight of that dish was the green curry sauce that went with the scallion pancakes. I honestly can say that it was probably the best combination of flavors I had in a long long time. I've put the Garlic Eggplant with one of the scallion pancakes and dipped it in the curry sauce... my mind was officially blown. Seriously, I'll get all three items again but next time, I want a large tub of the green curry sauce. The service is always top notch.We'll be back once again read more

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Okay, you MUST try this place!! It's well made, savory and saucy Chinese food with a variety of options you can choose from! It's a good fusion of different Asian flavors and items. From entrees to small bites this place has it all! Their nitro Thai tea is one of a kind and a must try. Each of their entree comes with a side of noodles and or rice and it's a good generous portion! Definitely recommend checking this place out! read more

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Very good and quick. The salt and pepper chicken is my go to. The service is excellent. When you order to go they will bring your food to your car outside. Today I sat at the bar because I wanted to try out my new meta glasses. read more

the meat tastes old and it was done 5 minutes after order. also didn't taste like general Taos. tasted like spicy BBQ sauce. egg rolls were great though read more

I visited the Hedwig village location several times two Mondays ago I brought a friend we order our food wasn't asked about the spice level and the questions my friend asked about the menu were responded to in a sarcastic rude manner by the cashier with the piercings and the holes in his ear. We received our food I order the fried rice with my bok choy I forgot to say I don't eat eggs the waiter was kind and took my rice back the cook made my fried rice without egg( it was a side dish) when my friend went to the cashier to ask about the spice levels he said we could just use sriracha. That is definitely not how it done on the menu. I went to this same location again order online picked my spice levels and put no egg when I picked up my order the girl who gave it to me said they do not make the rice without eggs unless I'm paying for the house rice. That is not the case. As stated above the rice was taken back and remade without the egg. Unless your food is premade the egg could've been removed. Needless to say I will not patronize this location again. read more

Love , LOVE The Rice Box! They need more locations, out in the suburbs. Between the Curry Fried Rice and the Gen Tso's, you cannot go wrong. Everything is flavorful and super good. Their presentation is super cute as well. read more

Taste like my childhood egg rolls. It's always fresh. Always hot. And always good. The duck sauce just brings me back to childhood.

I've had rice box countless of times but I usually have a very basic order (house fried rice or pepper steak). this time I decided to be more adventurous + get something that I know I couldn't get in Austin (where I live) -- and that led me to ordering the Chongqing... which I'm still salivating over days later. it was so delicious, I had it made with tofu (I'm not vegetarian or vegan) + omg. I am counting down the days until my next Houston trip (which happens to be soon) and I'm most definitely not leaving Houston without the tofu chongqing!!! Service was super quick as well for 3pm on a Thursday. Food was hot and fresh when I picked it up 15 mins after ordering online. read more

The Rice Box - chongqing tofu - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

I literally will have dreams of the place GREAT FOOD, even AWESOME ATMOSPHERE, and the service WAS FAST. Every time I am in Houston I am at The Rice Box. Highkey a disney theme park level cyberpunk atmosphere with amazing food to match the vibe. This is next level food service. I have never been so hyped about a freakin restaurant. read more

Was definitely wowed by the tofu chow fun! The tofu was done very well - super crispy outside, soft inside. I was actually worried that I would run out if them so I started counting lol! The noodles/egg/veggies were so delicious. It also comes with an egg roll that I devoured along with the noodles. A classic side! I was pleasantly surprised that this place lives up to the hype, at least with this dish. It has an interesting futuristic menu. Couldn't get a good pic due to the glare. This place is a must try if you like chow fun and they give you a ton of it. Will definitely be back! read more

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First time at rice box and I will say it was pretty good. I ordered the dumplings, chow fun, and pepper steak & noodles, which came with an eggroll. The eggroll had great crunch too it, but ths flavor was lacking. The dumplings were good, but the sauce was not the usual dumpling sauce. The pepper steak, 10/10! So good, I also got it extra spicy which was needed. Chow fun was alright, it was kind of dry. I had to add the pepper steak sauce to it. I would go again. Service/ambiance is trendy. read more

The place is definitely beautiful, but it's a bit overpriced for what you get. The food isn't bad, but it doesn't quite justify the high prices. I'd say it's worth checking out at least once just for the experience and the aesthetics, but I'm not sure I'd come back regularly. read more

The Rice Box - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The food was great! I ordered online thru Uber. And I don't know what has happened to the Ricebox, but I didn't get plastic ware and no soy sauce and no duck sauce. It's like they became cheap now. I have to pay $1.00 per sauce. ??? I dont mind but what happened to the extra sauces that were put in the the bag along with your order??? read more

My partner and I visited rice box today, January 21, 2026, at approximately 8:00 PM. As soon as we walked in, the employee taking orders (a white female wearing glasses) stared at us in an uncomfortable and unwelcoming way. Before we were even given the opportunity to place an order, she told us we were not allowed inside because of outside food. My partner was only holding a drink from CAVA, and we were planning to order our meal to go. There was no attempt to ask us politely or allow us to explain--her tone and approach were unnecessary and felt very disrespectful. The way this situation was handled was unprofessional and made us feel unwelcome. A simple, polite explanation would have been sufficient instead of immediately confronting us before we could order. I wanted to bring this to your attention because customer service and respectful communication are important, and this experience fell short of that expectation. read more

Food was amazing as usual. Enough for 2 portions. Guy that helped me was great. Wouldn't advise this as upscale by any means, but if you want food american Chinese food take out, I'd argue you can't do better. read more

The Rice Box - Chow fun spicy beef - Asian Fusion Near Me - Houston, Texas

What a great find this place was! A coworker had ordered some for a safety meeting we had and wow wow wow! I was told the location is nice and staff is friendly. The food was amazing and well seasoned and spiced. What I appreciate the most about the way the food was prepared was the fact that they use two different types of meat when making the chicken fried rice! Who does that! White and dark meat! My family will be coming here soon to try it in person but from what I've had already this place is a banger! read more

I have been eyeing this establishment for awhile. Honestly the reviews from fellow Yelpers were so mixed, even though the majority of the reviews were positive and amongst the lower rated reviews the issues were with things other than the food. Well, I took the delivery route and cut out the middle man (going in person and interacting with staff, or eating in). Just place my order and wait patiently for my food. Now, go ahead and follow me to the goods: I definitely enjoyed my food items. Let me tell you what I though for each item. *keep in mind that the portions are HUGE*. First item: Crab Rangoon with chili sauce. I ordered the three piece. I give this item a 4.6 out of 5. The Rangoon was big, it just needed more filling for thier size. The filling is good and inviting. They had a nice golden brown cook on them and we're not greasy at all. Also, you can but 1 or an order of three. For the price point it would behoove them to offer more pieces of Rangoon. All in all though, I would probably order again because they were pretty tasty. The next item I ordered was the Sesame chicken. I give it a solid 4.8 out of five. I love the amount if broccoli in the dish rendering it healthy, lol. The chicken was seasoned very well and the batter was light and dud not take away from the delicious chicken. I think they used both dark and white meat but more dark. That savory and sweet sauce the chicken was served in was top tier! Really really good! I usually don't order Sesame chicken from Chinese restaurants, not for and reason other than I prefer other dishes. Im glad I chose this dish. Yummy delicious. This came with white rice per my request. I think you can also get brown rice or fried rice but I chose the delicious white rice. The rice was fluffy and delicious and tasted fantastic with the sauce from the Sesame chicken. So yum. So, I had to get the lo mein. I rate it a 6 out of five, yes a 6! It's that good. For some reason a lot of Chinese restaurants use thick fettuccine noodles for thier lo mein and they ended up looking pale and unappealing. The Rice Box's lo mein are made with lo mein noodles. The noodles suck up that sauce and are almost hlazed in it so it looks caramelized. I got mine with shrimp and veggies. I was considering ordering extra shrimp and veggies but I didn't. I'm glad I didn't because the noodles have so much shrimp and veggies in it. It was so delicious in a savory sauce. It was very fragrant and delicious. Very very delicious. So, i literally have enough food for a week. If you're not sure it you want to eat here I would advise you to go ahead and do so. read more

I tried to order online, years ago it was sooo easy, and you had a running tab on the side to see what went though and what you have so far, not any more. I had to call ... the fried rice went to pot,, bad. tiny little rice that had been stirred in lots of soy sauce. not big flavor beyond the soy sauce. it used to be the best in town. amaizing. not any more. Sad. it has gone down, maybe they will recover. read more