“What do you want to eat?” It’s a simple question. But during my first visit to Irma’s Original, one of Houston’s oldest Mexican restaurants, it caught me off guard. And if you’ve ever visited, you know exactly why.
Irma’s has remained a longtime Downtown staple at 22 N Chenevert St., even as its daily offerings continue to change with an “ever-changing selection of breakfast and lunch items,” according to Irma’s Original’s website.
Still, I didn’t expect to walk in and make my decision based on whatever the kitchen had prepared that day. So I did what any overwhelmed diner might do: I trusted the expert and went with what he recommended. The only catch? At a restaurant where the menu changes daily, there’s no guarantee that what became one of my favorite meals I’ve had so far in Houston will be waiting for me the next time I stop by.
In the moment, my order was simply the result of a waiter helping me decide when I admitted I didn’t know what to pick. Only afterward did I realize I had stumbled onto two of Irma’s Original’s most popular selections: Irma’s tamale, handmade with roast pork and mole sauce, and tacos topped with a colorful assortment of fresh vegetables.
I quickly understood why. The tender pork tamale was drenched in a rich, flavorful sauce that balanced the heartiness of the tamale and made every mouthful worth slowing down for. And though the tacos were tinier than I expected, the giant assortment of toppings piled on top definitely didn’t leave me feeling like they were too small. Thanks to the fresh veggies overflowing with every bite, I found myself reaching for my fork to scoop up every last piece that fell onto my plate.
Staff members moved through the dining room, greeting regulars like old friends, stopping to chat and even sharing hugs with familiar faces. They did all of this while genuinely asking each and every guest for their opinion on the meal. They weren’t serving food. It felt almost like they were sharing it. By the end of my visit, the experience felt less like a typical restaurant stop and more like being welcomed into a family’s home.
That feeling became even clearer when I learned my waiter was Irma Galvan’s son, Ray, and that I was sitting near her daughter, Monica. The space reflected that same warmth: the walls are covered with Houston memorabilia, family photos and reminders of the people who have made the Downtown restaurant a popular dining destination for decades. Even the restaurant’s signage nods to that philosophy: “comida como en su casa, just like home.”
As Houston Chronicle previously reported, Galvan opened her namesake restaurant in 1989, to support she and her four children after her husband was murdered. In the beginning, Irma’s Original started with sandwiches but after she found more success dishing out tacos to government workers in the nearby court buildings, she pivoted the restaurant’s path to offer Mexican cuisine.
Eventually, as her children got older, she also brought them into the business. Nearly four decades later, the family remains at the heart of Irma’s Original—something I saw firsthand during a weekday lunch when Monica and Ray were both working.
Even though Irma’s Original is rarely open for dinner (only open past 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays), the restaurant has garnered both local and national recognition for its flavorful Mexican food and warm hospitality and constant conversation with its longtime guests who appear to be treated more like old friends than hungry customers.
And for a first-time visitor who walked in unsure of what to order, I was treated no differently. By the end of my meal, I was no longer hesitating over the unknown—I was asking my waiter what desserts they had that day, happily curious to see what else the kitchen had prepared. The answer was a fluffy, creamy serving of tres leches. Somewhere between the tamale and dessert, the uncertainty that greeted me at the door had turned into eager anticipation and sweet satisfaction.
