The hip and newly-renovated Heights House Hotel off Cavalcade plays host to this poolside bar, which serves up staycation-worthy drinks like the Pajaro, a take on the classic jungle bird cocktail. Food comes from Chef Lyle Bento and heavily references his Hawaiian upbringing, with dishes like army rice, huli huli chicken, and coconut shrimp bao.

This sister bar to chef Brandon Silva’s tasting restaurant Degust includes cocktails made with ingredients from local urban farms, and a drink menu that changes monthly. One impressive example is a tiki-inspired drink made with meyer lemon foam, edible “sand”, and served in an edible dark chocolate mug.

Heights handroll sushi restaurant Hando is notoriously small, but the restaurant has converted an unused hallway — you read that right — into a new bar perfect for late night eats or a few cocktails while you wait for your seat next door. The cozy little spot, inspired by alley bars in Japan, serves drinks with ingredients like yuzu, umeboshi and Japanese whiskey, plus small bites from Hando’s kitchen.

This classy, no frills bar, hidden away above a law office off of Main Street Downtown, has finally reopened for the first time since the pandemic. Sip on well-shaken daiquiris or gin martinis, or try one of the draft cocktails, like the Bad News negroni.

This eclectic bar in the Greater East End brings jungle vibes with a massive palm tree-lined patio, mezcal cocktails and spritzes, and food inspired by Southeast Asia, like Filipino egg rolls, papaya salad, and glazed fish sauce wings.

This sustainability-focused East End bar has Tulum-like vibes and a menu of cocktails influenced by tropical flavors, as well as a large yard for social distancing and a rotation of food trucks. The bar plans to donate a portion of its sales to conservation efforts, specifically organizations working with endangered species like white rhinoceroses.

This sprawling, open-air East End joint has quickly become a gathering place for residents of the neighborhood thanks to an enclosed dog run, events like crawfish boils, and a well-stocked bar.

It’s been a year of changes for cocktail impresario Bobby Heugel. In November, Heugel announced that Tongue Cut Sparrow would be relocating to the Penny Quarter space, since businesses Downtown continued to struggle as people work from home, and it fits in nicely in its new home. The bar’s elevated service is still a feature, and a portion of the Anvil parking lot has been converted into a patio. In addition to classic craft cocktails, the bar is also serving tamales from The Pastry War.

This coffee shop by day, cocktail bar by night — a longtime staple of the MidMain block — closed last march in the midst of the pandemic, and didn’t reopen until May 2021. Now the charming little watering hole is welcoming drinkers again, eager to sip boozy coffee cocktails and frozen Suffering Bastards, a popular tiki drink made with bourbon and ginger.

A longtime Galveston chef has brought a bit of the island to Pearland with Good Vibes, a family-friendly burger joint that also serves up classic beach drinks like the hurricane, Bahama mama and several takes on the margarita. The menu also includes a handful of signature cocktails like a rosemary gin gimlet and cucumber martini.

This no-frills bar in the Greater East End puts the focus squarely on the cocktails, with a deep menu of expertly-made classics. As the name implies, Night Shift also caters to after-midnight crowd, serving bites like yuca fries, churros, gas station burritos and crispy friend enchiladas potosinas until 2 a.m. every day.

This more affordable, casual offshoot of chef Chris Shepherd’s luxe steakhouse Georgia James offers an list of rye, whiskey, and scotch, plus a menu of “boundary-pushing” cocktails, including the El Capitan, made with coconut fat-washed mezcal, amaro, and sweet vermouth, and a booze-free CBD cocktail with peach, lemon, and pomegranate flavors.

This new pour-your-own bar from Kevin Floyd, founding partner of Underbelly Hospitality and Anvil Bar & Refuge, opened in July in Spring Branch. STM boasts more than 80 taps of beer, wine, and batch cocktails, where diners can serve themselves — anywhere from one ounce to a full pour. This allows diners to sample many different options instead of committing to a full glass. Food-wise, STMs menu includes thin-crust pizzas and sharable plates.