3 days ago
A Slew of Very Cool Cocktail Bars Dominate June Openings in Houston
1120 Dennis Street in Houston
Why vacation in Tulum when Tulum is available in Houston? Tago, located in Midtown, offers dinner service with a menu featuring items such as pulpo served over hominy with savory tomatillo sauce, a duck mole tostada, ceviche, spicy watermelon and tuna aguachile, as well as adobo chicken, filet steak, and mushroom risotto. There is also a summery cocktail menu with drinks including a Mango Suave (gin, mango, lime, and sugar) and the French Kiss (vodka, Chambord, lime, and pear, served with a bottle of prosecco). It's also a late-night spot — some might say club — with bottle service. The dark interiors feature velvet couches surrounding tables, a spot-lit bar, and a tree growing from the center of the room. Outside is a patio with light wood furniture that looks like a wonderful resort escape.
4520 Washington Avenue in Houston
Straight out of the mind of Abbas Dhanani, founder of Burger Bodega, comes a pop-up that Houston needs this summer: Bas's Cheesesteaks. The first pop-up will happen on Monday, June 30, at 11 a.m. and go until it sells out, with more dates to be announced on social media. Dhanani said in a press release that he wanted to honor cheesesteak culture in Philadelphia, while bringing it to Houston — and that cheesesteaks are his favorite sandwich. Diners should try the Bas (white cheese and sliced rib-eye beef on a seeded hoagie roll with or without onions).
18207B Egret Bay Boulevard in Houston
Making sushi accessible to all is the mission of this restaurant and its executive chef, Leo Hirai. Hand rolls from the menu are made fresh to order; options include classics like tuna and salmon, as well as items such as spicy scallop and lobster. It also offers curated hand roll sets to make ordering easier for those who are new to sushi. Located down by NASA, this strip mall outlet has a sushi counter with swivel stools, and the color scheme of tan and red is punctuated by adorable art of kittens cuddling with rolls of sushi.
1815 North Durham Drive in Houston
The owners are the folks behind now-closed Flying Fish slipped this ad-hoc bar into the same space in the Greater Heights area. The new operation is serving beers from the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium and, for opening, burgers from Rodeo Goat, both businesses also owned by the team behind the Kid (who were also behind the now-closed Meddlesome Moth in Dallas). Though this bar opened back in April, per a report on it is hosting its official opening party now. One interesting note: To keep it adult, kids are not allowed in after 7 p.m.
1226 West Clay Street in Houston
After closing in Spring Branch, this inventive cocktail bar is back at a new location between River Oaks and Montrose. It shares a space with Emma Jane, making it a tea house by day and cocktail bar by night. Imbibe exotic cocktails like the Operation: White Flame (vodka, dry vermouth, Earl Grey, and caviar), an Ottoman Fashion (Scotch, coffee, cardamom, and fig), or the Culture Exchange (reposado tequila, pineapple, and miso agave). There are also small bites, including a Crudo 'Hot Pot' featuring wagyu and Hawai'i shrimp with a warm and savory custard, Morel Sunomono with preserved wild mushrooms in chilled dashi, and the KFC: Korean fried chicken with peanut sauce, Maggi aioli, and citrus-cured fennel.
4500 Montrose Boulevard in Houston
An immersive tiki bar is coming to Montrose, in the back of Betelgeuse, on July 2. Created by Chris Cusack and Brian Dibala, the space aims to 'represent the space between death and vacation,' per a press release, with decor that brings the hyper reality of the movie Betelgeuse to mind, and certainly owes a debt to filmmaker Tim Burton. Drinks include options like Brown Butter Rum Old Fashioned (brown butter fat-washed Planteray and Smith and Cross, rich paradise syrup, blended bitters), This Sunset Should be Illegal (mezcal, acid-adjusted orange juice, orange liqueur lime punch syrup, fassionola) for $17, and a Pistachio Mai Tai (Probitas, El Dorado 8, and Hamilton 151 rums, house pistachio orgeat, orange liqueurs, lime, fire, and a pretty flower). It will only hold 50 people at a time, and reservations will go live on Resy at any minute — you'll want to snap one up.
2102 North Shepherd Drive in Houston
The Heights lands a cute spot selling shave ice and frozen cocktails. Owned by Shawn Bermudez and Matthew Pak of the Burger Joint, this place has a menu of Hawai'i-style shave ice that includes flavors such as Coco Loco (blue coconut and lime syrup, sweetened condensed milk drizzle, mochi, toasted coconut flakes, and a coconut ice cream base), Aloha Island (blue coconut and passion fruit syrups, sweetened condensed milk drizzle, mochi, toasted coconut flakes, and a vanilla ice cream base), and Happy Rainbow (strawberry, pineapple, and vanilla syrups with strawberry and pineapple puree, sweetened condensed milk drizzle, fresh strawberries and pineapple, rainbow mochi, and a vanilla ice cream base). There are also frozen cocktails, such as the Very Piña Colada (a frozen piña colada topped with blue coconut and pineapple shave ice), strawberry frosé, and Island Dream (a frozen Miami Vice topped with passion fruit and pineapple shave ice). See More: Houston Restaurant Openings
