Favorite
Small enough to feel intimate but not cramped, this dark and sexy bar is everything you want in a hotel watering hole. Its location inside the opulent Post Oak makes for unparalleled people-watching; flickering candles and red roses on low tables with lounge-like seating set the mood; and clubby music makes even a Tuesday night feel like Saturday. Once you Read more...
Favorite
It’s a high-octane, tropical paradise, a mid-century Palm Springs oasis dropped onto a bustling stretch of Westheimer. In its former life it was Royal Oak—a dark, whiskey-centric cave of a bar that couldn’t be more different from the punch-drunk, super-saturated successor that owner Shawn Bermudez debuted in the summer of last year. What resulted—a multi-level patio bar (nearly double the size Read more...
Favorite
Since opening in 2018, this cool spot inside a nondescript, squat little building at the end of the White Oak drag, created by Houston restaurateur Ken Bridge, has been serving up Houston-centric cocktails to the beat of good tunes—bartender-curated playlists and live jazz and blues on select nights—in an atmosphere that, as with the best of the modern speakeasies, feels Read more...
Favorite
In search of a classic cocktail? This is the spot, with a menu of 11 standards—from Sidecars to Sazeracs—for only $8 each. Happy hours offer another bargain in the form of $5 bar bites, including beefy meatballs and spicy pork ribs. Pair them with one of the 20 beers on draft (another 21 are available in bottles), like a creamy pint of Fuller’s ESB. Read more...
Favorite
A tiki bar in Spring? Thanks to owner Mark Voros, it’s a delicious reality. Vintage tiki cocktails are marked on the menu with the year of their creation, and they’re made with premium spirits. Hungry? There’s fish from Hawaiian Poke Co. Read more...
Favorite
You may remember this second-story spot in the Rice Hotel as the old State Bar. These days, it’s refreshed and renewed, as are the drink and food menus. The sunset view is simply stunning, to say nothing of the crowd-pleasing happy hour specials: $2 off bottled beers, $3 off cocktails, wine and draft beers, and $4 off plates such as Read more...
Favorite
When you walk into Canard, you have to let your eyes adjust to the low lighting. As the scene unfolds before you, you’ll scan the lounge’s jewel tones, the sea of spirits behind the bar. Finally, they will land on a shrine to Chartreuse. Similarly, and without coincidence, any chat with the bartenders about their craft is bound to lead to Read more...