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The interior of the bar with a large neon sign shaped like an arrow that reads “Whiskey”.
Eight Row Flint’s new Second Ward location is open.
Mikah Danae

Houston’s 12 Hottest Cocktail Bars, March 2023

From neighborhood gems to luxe late night hangouts, quench your thirst at these buzzy bars

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Eight Row Flint’s new Second Ward location is open.
| Mikah Danae

As a cosmopolitan city in a Southern state, Houstonians know how to imbibe. While established drinking institutions like Anvil Bar & Refuge and Lei Low are considered essential for their top-notch cocktails, newer bars, restaurants with great drinks, and watering holes with exciting, boozy, and buzzy offerings are popping up all over.

So, here’s Eater Houston’s newly-revamped cocktail heatmap — a place where curious drinkers will find cheeky espresso martinis, late-night bites, and masterfully-made cocktails.

Cheers.

Is your favorite new cocktail bar missing from this map? Shout it out in the comments.

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Heights & Co.

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In just months, this patio bar has become a fun neighborhood hangout spot. Find a pagoda with mood-setting string lights, covered patio seating with games, a dark and romantic indoor bar, and a refreshing cocktail list. The Mini Hulk Smash is a refreshing combination of bourbon, basil, ginger, lemongrass, and Topo Chico, while the gin-based Hipstrict is made with strawberry, lemon, and coconut. No need to hurry off — the bar offers a worthy food menu with dishes like cheesy spinach and artichoke dip and steak frites, with sage-oil fries covered in a creamy herb-loaded au poivre sauce.

EZ's Liquor Lounge

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Neighboring its sister concept, Coltivare, EZ’s is a new Heights addition from Agricole Hospitality. Like its name suggests, guests can take it easy here, as the bar offers a casual, albeit well-appointed, space in which to drink and snack. Go for the dulce de leche old fashioned or a hillbilly high ball and take in a game of pool, before stretching out on the back patio.

A pool table surrounded by tables at EZ’s.
EZ’s boasts a large outdoor patio and a pool table.
Mikah Danae

Permission

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This attractive cocktail bar is a fancier alternative to some of the bars that line White Oak Drive in the Heights. Its known for its whiskey program, but find so much more on the menu. Along with classics like daiquiris, margs, and mules, Permission serves up an impressive menu of bar snacks, including shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, and oversized grazing boards.

Todos Santos

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This tequila bar promises more than 40 types of agave-based spirits and photo-ops galore thanks to its interactive, neon decor. Try the Sandia margarita, a mix of fresh watermelon juice, lime, and serrano for a spicy kick, or the fizzy Pretty in Pink, a combination of Calirosa’s rosé tequila, lemon, and Prosecco.

Bayou Heights Bier Garten

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As a follow up from the team who operate Wooster’s and Heights Bier Garten in Houston, it’s no surprise Bayou Heights Bier Garten has quickly become one of the hottest drinking destinations, day and night. Anchored by a central courtyard, the bar boasts dedicated areas for guests to explore its various beverage programs, which include coffee, beer and wine, and cocktails, and its menu of hearty bar snacks curated by chef Teddy Lopez.

A nighttime shot of a crowded patio with fire pits.
The crowds pack into the open-air courtyard at Bayou Heights Bier Garten.
Dustyn Zenner

Though Julep is certainly not new, this bar has yet to go out of style. The recent recipient of the city’s first national James Beard Award, this bar makes a mean Mint Julep, a refreshing gimlet, a classic Old Fashioned, and dozens of other cocktails. Try more inventive or Southern-style renditions of your favorites, like the Tepache Julep, made with sous vide pineapple, white wine, mezcal, maraschino, raspberry, and tamarindo, or the Jungle Bird — a combination of aged and Blackstrap rums, Campari, pineapple, and lime juice. Take advantage of the Monday through Friday happy hour. From 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., house cocktails and house wines are half-off.

Rhapsody Bar

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Located inside the newly opened Lyric Market food hall at Lyric Center, Rhapsody Bar has become a welcome escape for downtown’s corporate crowd. Guests looking to wait out rush hour traffic can take advantage of themed nights, like Trivia Thursdays and a live jazz happy hour on Fridays, and then peruse the various food stalls for a bite.

A row of martinis on the bar.
Rhapsody Bar inside Lyric Market is open at 11 a.m. daily.
Brandon Holmes

Clarkwood

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Trendy but vintage, this Old Hollywood-esque bar in the Allen Parkway corridor offers the perfect backdrop while indulging in classic cocktails. Try the espresso martini, topped with a toasted marshmallow; the Mason’s Mayfair, a mix of gin, Peychaud’s bitters, and Fever-Tree tonic; or take it up a notch with a house shot like the “Persian Cowboy,” made with vodka, orange liqueur, and Persian key lime.

A rounded white bar is lit up in the center of a room, surrounded by chair, and topped with bottles.
Houston’s Clarkwood bar offers a trendy but vintage setting for a spin on classic cocktails.
Cameron Jones

South Beach Houston

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With its recent reopening, iconic Montrose dance club, South Beach is back in a major way, with an 8-foot tall crystal chandelier, new DJs weekly, stiff drinks, and enough space on the dance floor to boogie the night away.

South Beach’s dance floor, illuminated by strobe lights and its 450-pound crystal chandelier.
South Beach is the perfect place to grab a drink and lay it all out on the dance floor.
Michael Anthony

Located just upstairs from the lauded cocktail bar Anvil & Refuge, Bobby Heugel has created a delightfully moody “cocktail apartment,” boasting more than 200 spirits, including lesser-known liqueurs, gins, European brandies, and a variety of Japanese distilled spirits — plus, a curated cocktail listing just 20 drinks. Go for an “originals” cocktail like the Pacific Rim, made with shochu, kiwi, and lime, or opt for a cocktail from the “classics and riffs” section, which features a rendition of an Old Fashioned, a sazerac, and Yeugel’s signature martini — made with two gins, vermouth, and accouterments.

An illuminated back bar with bar stools.
The dark and moody setting at Refuge.
Jenn Duncan

After a brief interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners of the Toasted Coconut have reopened the bar’s speakeasy, Quiote. Hidden behind a wall of greenery, the bar touts a separate cocktail list with a variety of sotol, mezcal, and tequila, plus a food menu with crudos and heartwarming pozole. One note of caution: The bar accepts walk-ins only, but if you can’t manage to secure a seat, you won’t be mad at grabbing a drink at Toasted while you wait.

Eight Row Flint

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Regardless of how many visits you’ve paid to Eight Row Flint in the Heights, you’ll want to check out the bar’s new outpost in Second Ward, which boasts a rooftop patio, and is conveniently located along the METRORail’s Green Line. Expect familiar favorites like the bar’s beloved ranch waters and old fashioneds, along with some new, and interesting cocktails created exclusively for this location.

Two shrimp tacos on a black plate.
Baja popcorn shrimp tacos at Eight Row Flint.
Mikah Danae

Heights & Co.

In just months, this patio bar has become a fun neighborhood hangout spot. Find a pagoda with mood-setting string lights, covered patio seating with games, a dark and romantic indoor bar, and a refreshing cocktail list. The Mini Hulk Smash is a refreshing combination of bourbon, basil, ginger, lemongrass, and Topo Chico, while the gin-based Hipstrict is made with strawberry, lemon, and coconut. No need to hurry off — the bar offers a worthy food menu with dishes like cheesy spinach and artichoke dip and steak frites, with sage-oil fries covered in a creamy herb-loaded au poivre sauce.

EZ's Liquor Lounge

Neighboring its sister concept, Coltivare, EZ’s is a new Heights addition from Agricole Hospitality. Like its name suggests, guests can take it easy here, as the bar offers a casual, albeit well-appointed, space in which to drink and snack. Go for the dulce de leche old fashioned or a hillbilly high ball and take in a game of pool, before stretching out on the back patio.

A pool table surrounded by tables at EZ’s.
EZ’s boasts a large outdoor patio and a pool table.
Mikah Danae

Permission

This attractive cocktail bar is a fancier alternative to some of the bars that line White Oak Drive in the Heights. Its known for its whiskey program, but find so much more on the menu. Along with classics like daiquiris, margs, and mules, Permission serves up an impressive menu of bar snacks, including shrimp cocktail, oysters on the half shell, and oversized grazing boards.

Todos Santos

This tequila bar promises more than 40 types of agave-based spirits and photo-ops galore thanks to its interactive, neon decor. Try the Sandia margarita, a mix of fresh watermelon juice, lime, and serrano for a spicy kick, or the fizzy Pretty in Pink, a combination of Calirosa’s rosé tequila, lemon, and Prosecco.

Bayou Heights Bier Garten

As a follow up from the team who operate Wooster’s and Heights Bier Garten in Houston, it’s no surprise Bayou Heights Bier Garten has quickly become one of the hottest drinking destinations, day and night. Anchored by a central courtyard, the bar boasts dedicated areas for guests to explore its various beverage programs, which include coffee, beer and wine, and cocktails, and its menu of hearty bar snacks curated by chef Teddy Lopez.

A nighttime shot of a crowded patio with fire pits.
The crowds pack into the open-air courtyard at Bayou Heights Bier Garten.
Dustyn Zenner

Julep

Though Julep is certainly not new, this bar has yet to go out of style. The recent recipient of the city’s first national James Beard Award, this bar makes a mean Mint Julep, a refreshing gimlet, a classic Old Fashioned, and dozens of other cocktails. Try more inventive or Southern-style renditions of your favorites, like the Tepache Julep, made with sous vide pineapple, white wine, mezcal, maraschino, raspberry, and tamarindo, or the Jungle Bird — a combination of aged and Blackstrap rums, Campari, pineapple, and lime juice. Take advantage of the Monday through Friday happy hour. From 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., house cocktails and house wines are half-off.

Rhapsody Bar

Located inside the newly opened Lyric Market food hall at Lyric Center, Rhapsody Bar has become a welcome escape for downtown’s corporate crowd. Guests looking to wait out rush hour traffic can take advantage of themed nights, like Trivia Thursdays and a live jazz happy hour on Fridays, and then peruse the various food stalls for a bite.

A row of martinis on the bar.
Rhapsody Bar inside Lyric Market is open at 11 a.m. daily.
Brandon Holmes

Clarkwood

Trendy but vintage, this Old Hollywood-esque bar in the Allen Parkway corridor offers the perfect backdrop while indulging in classic cocktails. Try the espresso martini, topped with a toasted marshmallow; the Mason’s Mayfair, a mix of gin, Peychaud’s bitters, and Fever-Tree tonic; or take it up a notch with a house shot like the “Persian Cowboy,” made with vodka, orange liqueur, and Persian key lime.

A rounded white bar is lit up in the center of a room, surrounded by chair, and topped with bottles.
Houston’s Clarkwood bar offers a trendy but vintage setting for a spin on classic cocktails.
Cameron Jones

South Beach Houston

With its recent reopening, iconic Montrose dance club, South Beach is back in a major way, with an 8-foot tall crystal chandelier, new DJs weekly, stiff drinks, and enough space on the dance floor to boogie the night away.

South Beach’s dance floor, illuminated by strobe lights and its 450-pound crystal chandelier.
South Beach is the perfect place to grab a drink and lay it all out on the dance floor.
Michael Anthony

Refuge

Located just upstairs from the lauded cocktail bar Anvil & Refuge, Bobby Heugel has created a delightfully moody “cocktail apartment,” boasting more than 200 spirits, including lesser-known liqueurs, gins, European brandies, and a variety of Japanese distilled spirits — plus, a curated cocktail listing just 20 drinks. Go for an “originals” cocktail like the Pacific Rim, made with shochu, kiwi, and lime, or opt for a cocktail from the “classics and riffs” section, which features a rendition of an Old Fashioned, a sazerac, and Yeugel’s signature martini — made with two gins, vermouth, and accouterments.

An illuminated back bar with bar stools.
The dark and moody setting at Refuge.
Jenn Duncan

Quiote

After a brief interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners of the Toasted Coconut have reopened the bar’s speakeasy, Quiote. Hidden behind a wall of greenery, the bar touts a separate cocktail list with a variety of sotol, mezcal, and tequila, plus a food menu with crudos and heartwarming pozole. One note of caution: The bar accepts walk-ins only, but if you can’t manage to secure a seat, you won’t be mad at grabbing a drink at Toasted while you wait.

Eight Row Flint

Regardless of how many visits you’ve paid to Eight Row Flint in the Heights, you’ll want to check out the bar’s new outpost in Second Ward, which boasts a rooftop patio, and is conveniently located along the METRORail’s Green Line. Expect familiar favorites like the bar’s beloved ranch waters and old fashioneds, along with some new, and interesting cocktails created exclusively for this location.

Two shrimp tacos on a black plate.
Baja popcorn shrimp tacos at Eight Row Flint.
Mikah Danae

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