Drinking Neighborhoods in Houston, Ranked

Look , we love all of Houston ’s neighborhood ; they ’re what make the urban center ’s culture so unique . That said , there are some you want to purchase a mansion and raise kids in , some you hit up to exhaust , workshop , or see a movie , and others you pay a visit to spend the intact day / night fox back cold ones . Those are the hoods we have here , outrank in club of just how telling their drinking shot is .

11. Galleria/Uptown

Fact : shopping / navigate your style around the over - crowded Galleriamakesyou require to drink . That must be why there ’s a bajillion nearby gin mill just wait to pour you a dry pint , include but not confine toRichmond Arms Pub , Ron ’s Pub , Sam ’s Boat , Muldoon ’s the Patio , andThe West End . On the all over diametrical side of the spectrum , the neighborhood also has stain like the Miami - by - manner - of - Houston clubBelvedereand vino barThe Tasting Room . Volume aside , unless you live / work / are pre - play for a show atStereo Live , are you really prove to go out drink near the Galleria ?

10. Museum District

We get it , you go to the Museum District to see museums , not to drink , so there are n’t a ton of measure line the territory . That being say , there are still worthy spots to get some cabernet while you check out Monet ( or just like , a sweet frozen beverage from a margarita machine , but that did n’t verse ) . It ’s about lineament , not quantity here , with heavy - hittersBistro Menil , Bosta Wine & Coffee , Grand Prize Bar , Monarch at Hotel ZaZa , andBrooklyn Athletic Clubgiving the hood ’s report even more ups .

9. Upper Kirby

The folk hanging around Upper Kirby must really like wine-coloured , because the neighborhood has become the closest matter Houston has to Napa Valley . Minus the actual product of grapevine … which we suppose is the most of import part so we guess it ’s not like Napa at all . What we ’re trying to say is , there are a fortune of wine-colored taproom here . strike the newly opened and already highly ratedBeckrew Wine House , Portuguese tapas and vino barOporto , California - focusedSonoma Wine Bar , or aphrodisiacal West Ave spotCRU Wine Bar . If something more laid back tickle your phantasy , pubs likeMcElroy’s , Velvet Melvin , andThe Cellar Barawait .

8. Garden Oaks/Oak Forest/Lazybrook/Timbergrove

We bunched these suburban hoods together in an arena we ’ve dubbed “ WeNoGeHe , ” West and North of the Greater Heights ( we really hope that grab on , by the way ) . Thanks to a grow telephone number of young pro and house who were n’t unforced to rent the dreaming go but got priced out of the Heights and kinda let their dreams go , worthy drinking holes are flourish in each . There ’s the casually cool hauntsSassafrasandDown the Streetand uber - popular craft beer barsPetrol StationandCottonwoodin Garden Oaks / Oak Forest , for starter . Then there ’s Vietnamese gastropubHughie ’s Tavernand rooter - favoriteKarbach , hands down one of the cool breweries in Houston , go down right in Lazybrook / Timbergrove .

7. Washington

A few years back , this street - turned - de - facto - neighborhood would have likely place higher on the list . Sadly , the “ new Midtown ” did n’t pan off out the way everyone have a bun in the oven , as a number of the haute - spot that once lined the block have since shutter . But that ’s not to say a few shining new single have n’t popped up in their position . We have eminent hopes Washington can turn back around , thanks to shudder drinkeries likePorch Swing , Underdogs Sports Pub , andTaps House of Beer , plus standouts like Alba Huerta ’s across the nation recognizedJulepand the always reliableLiberty StationandBeaver ’s Ice House . Now if there was only a Washington Ave trolley …

6. Rice Village/West U

barricade creeping anyone ? With athirst Rice students dwell the area , bum dives , boozy bars , and beer pubs are the name of this exhaust hood ’s game ( not “ flippy cupful , ” as one may think ) . Sip unbelievably good frozens at the tiki - diveUnder the Volcano , salute local and blase trade soapsuds atThe Ginger ManandHans Bier Haus , Diamond State - stress on the terrace atLittle Woodrow’sand55 Bar , hitMarquis IIfor Texas Tea Tuesdays , shoot kitty and ride at a Texas - work billiard tabular array atKay ’s Lounge , listen to amobarbital sodium atThe Big Easy , or salute in an one-time bank vault at Scottish pubKelvin Arms . On campus , the not - so - surreptitious secret pubValhallawill keep you prim after final .

5. EaDo/East End

If EaDo and the East ending were one grownup pedestrian - well-disposed hood , this recently popular area of town would be what the tyke these days like to call “ the tits . ” At least the petite area of EaDo is walkable , so you could easily chill at region pubAround the Corner , get local lather at8th Wonder Brewery , skip on over toLucky ’s PubandLittle Woodrow ’s , and finish up the night with video games and stiff drink at nerdy - in - a - coolheaded - wayNeil ’s Bahr . Rumor has it there ’s also avodka micro - still in the works . Over in the heroic East End , weenie and workmanship soapsuds barMoon Tower Inn , rummy - centric drinkeryVoodoo Queen , and quirky diveD&W Loungeare definite spots to make your way over to . So is the Tex - Mex and margarita oasisNinfa ’s .

4. Heights

If this totally livable neighborhood did n’t have that dazed dry zone , it may have localise higher on this list . That ’s because where it ’s not dry , it ’s an unbelievable place to blow off steam . White Oak is ground zero for bar hopping here , with the totally ruff - lessJimmy ’s Ice House , super chill athletics barChristian ’s Tailgate , neighborhood hangoutPublic House , and one of thoseCreeksbeing just a few of the prime alternative to get your deglutition on . A little ways north , newer cocktail spots Treadsack’sJohnny ’s Gold BrickandCanard , lazy twenty-four hour period ice houseD&T Drive Inn , whiskey - fire drinkeryEight Row Flint , and the fancified tiki hauntLei Low Barare helping to metamorphose the neighborhood into a bonafide drinking destination .

3. Montrose

In a perfect human race , Montrose may take the top spot . But the erose sidewalk and urban sprawl of the hood make it operose to bar hop and keep the drinking scene tight . That is , with the exception of Lower Westheimer , which boasts a cause of death lineup of bars within walk distance ( just think that matter we said about the sidewalks ) . Get some rooftop military action atRosemont Social Club , make your way through the craft brews atThe Hay Merchant , get jazzy atCatbirds , hit the slug bowl atStone ’s Throw , melodic phrase out on the terrace atLa Grange , sip American whiskeys andPoison Girl , and expend some fourth dimension get to be intimate the critically acclaimed first born tyke of Houston ’s craft cocktail scenery , Bobby Heugel’sAnvil Bar & Refugebefore finishing up with vino atCamerata . Off the mental block , there ’s bar and live euphony spotRudyard ’s , the fantastically diveyLola ’s DepotandGriff ’s , and ( perhaps most importantly ) cult favorite hangoutWest Alabama Ice House , which go on Montrosians squelch , happy , and full because they just ate like , 18 tacos from the Tacos Tierra hand truck .

2. Midtown

This 20 - somethings sanctuary scores real high on walkability , but it really earns the No . 2 spot thanks to its repute as the place to get rowdy . Not only does n’t only play host to an alarming number ofBad determination Bars– includingShot Bar , Howl at the Moon , andPub Fiction , it ’s also home to glorious dives and some surprisingly splendid craft cocktail and wine-colored bar . Pop inSpare KeyandDouble Trouble Caffeine & Cocktailsfor top notch craft drinks , Community Barfor garish drinking and steak night , Wooster ’s Garden , andMongoose versus Cobrafor eccentric selection of brews and equally cool cocktails,13 Celsiusfor a cleanly curated library of global wine-coloured , and newcomerAxelrad Beer Gardento chill out in a hammock while you sip soapsuds and eat pizza . All of which seems moderately hard to beat , but …

1. Downtown

decide between a bro - tastic party zona and a slightly classier , still rather bro - tastic party geographical zone is like take your favoriteRick Grimes dad joke , impossible but worth figuring out . The lineage of natural endowment mixed with miscellanea of good - attend bars within walking length in Houston ’s epicentre crusade business district over the bound . you could charitably sop up atOKRA Charity Saloon , sip mezcal at Bobby Heugel and Alba Huerta’sPastry War , get severely stiff libations atBad News Bar , Moving Sidewalk , and the NOLA - inspiredHoneymoon Cafe & Wine Bar , and have sleazy drinks and a bonkers time at the eclecticNotsuoh , all by just round the corner . Within spittin ’ space , there ’s the always classyPublic Services Wine & Whiskyfrom Justin Yu and Justin Vann , curiously cool island - style diveSunny ’s , trade name Modern surreptitious beer gardenConservatory , and whiskey - rob , bump - and - nerd dance floor atBoots ' n Shoots . Not to mention some of theoldest bars in Houstonright in Market Square Park . Because of all this ( and heap more but our hands were starting to hamper from typing all of them ) , people are finally begin to give Downtown the respect it merit . We say it ’s about damn time .

Brooke Viggianois a Houston writer who loves all of Houston ’s hoods equally , even though she totally just rate them . Learn more about her oxy - moronic ways@BrookeViggiano .

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