Happy hour deals

8 best new happy hour deals in Houston let you drink and eat well on the cheap

Few antidotes to a long day at the office hit home quite like happy hour. While finding a place to drink after work is seldom a problem, why not mix things up with some stellar deals, new to Houston’s happy hour scene?

Hit up the restaurants and bars below — some recently-open and some familiar faves with newly revamped menus — for discounted food and drinks, and still be home by 8 pm. Read on for eight new happy hour specials worth the Uber (or Lyft) ride.

The Pastry War
An easy vibe and festive Mexican decor, including a skull-laden ceiling mural, make downtown's The Pastry War the perfect setting to throw back a little salt and lime ... with tequila, of course. During happy hour, every tequila — and mezcal — in the house can be yours for half price. What more could you ask for? How about free aqua frescas and games of pool. Score. (Daily; 4-6:30 pm)
310 Main St.; 713-225-3310

The Branch
Spring Branch bar The Branch brings a curated selection of 26 craft beers on tap, mostly from Texas, to the neighborhood ($2 off apiece during happy hour). Select wines by the glass ($2 off), plus beers by the can, house margaritas, and well drinks ($1 off) share the happy hour menu. (Weekdays; 3-6 pm)
7710 Long Point Rd.; 832-623-6725

Tongue-Cut Sparrow
A host greets you at the door at downtown’s Tongue-Cut Sparrow, accessible by a rear stairway inside The Pastry War. Kick back to an all-jazz soundtrack and mingle amid cozy furniture and a large fireplace while sipping the carefully crafted drinks. Options include 16 classic and four creative cocktails, along with beer and wine. Sample the bar's signature Japanese highball, a blend of Japanese whisky and soda, available during happy hour for 50 percent off.

Half the seating at the intimate bar, with space enough for 25, is available by reservation with the other half on a first-come, first-served basis. If you're going to leave it to luck, happy hour is the best time to score an empty seat.
310 Main St.; 713-321-8242

Wooster's Garden
Beers are just $3 during happy hour at Wooster's Garden in Midtown. What’s more, wines by the glass and a roster of expertly-crafted cocktails are half-off. We recommend the The Friend Zone ($4.50), stirred with sherry, raspberry liqueur, muddled black cherries, and lemon and lime juices. (Monday-Saturday from 4-6 pm; Sunday from 2-4 pm)
3315 Milam; 713-520-0015

Axis Lounge at the Royal Sonesta Hotel
Houston is packed with hotel bars, but when it comes to a dynamic atmosphere and delicious fare by executive chef Robert Graham, formerly of New York’s Tavern on the Green, Axis Lounge at the Galleria-area’s Royal Sonesta takes the cake. Happy hour is tops here, too. Offerings include $3 draft beers, $5 wines by the glass, and $7 cocktails from a cucumber grapefruit mojito to the Hibiscus Lemon Drop, made with citron vodka, orange liqueur, fresh lemon juice, and hibiscus tea syrup. (Monday-Thursday; 5-7 pm).
2222 West Loop S.; 713-627-7600

Ship and Shield
If you've ever wished you could live like a Scandinavian seafaring warrior, now you can—at least for a few hours. Viking-themed restaurant Ship and Shield, complete with a bar decked out like a ship, has landed in Montrose. Fill up on hearty smorrebrod ($8 each), a traditional Scandinavian open-faced sandwich, with options from pulled pork with pressed cottage cheese, tomatoes, and cranberry jam to smoked salmon with scrambled egg, radish, red onions, and dill. Wash it all down with house-made mead ($6), Lone Star by the can ($2.50), and draft beers ($1 off). (Weekdays; 3-7 pm)
403 West Gray; 346-701-0555

Peli Peli
Mosey up to the 40-foot bar at The Galleria outpost of South African restaurant Peli Peli and enjoy a discount on bites (think stuffed mushrooms, $8, and sauteed calamari, $10), and libations with select beers, wines by the glass, and specialty cocktails all priced at 50 percent off. Don’t skip the Breede River Tonic, a house take on a gin and tonic, mixed with saffron-infused gin, grapefruit liqueur, lemon juice, and elderflower tonic, and finished with a spritz of aromatic lemon-lavender mist. (Weekdays; 2-7 pm)
5085 Westheimer Rd.; 281-257-9500

Hotel Ylem
Hotel Ylem, a former Holiday Inn Express near NRG Park, gets an upgrade not only by way of design, now an eclectic mix of contemporary and traditional decor, but also by way of a standout beverage program led by top barman about town Hal Brock (Boheme, Hearsay, Anvil). Happy hour drinks at the hotel's low-key bar Esperanto (priced at $4-$7), include select beers and wines by the glass. But it’s the delicious cocktails, like the Journeyman’s Punch, a blend of cognac, Jamaican rum, lime juice, allspice berry liqueur, and ginger beer, that have us coming back for more. Drink for a good cause: Nine percent of drink proceeds go to nonprofit, Charity: Water. (Weekdays; 5-8 pm)
8080 Main St.; 713-665-4439

An easy vibe and festive Mexican decor make downtown's The Pastry War the perfect setting to throw back a little salt and lime — with tequila.

The Pastry War entrance with people inside

Photo by Julie Soefer

An easy vibe and festive Mexican decor make downtown's The Pastry War the perfect setting to throw back a little salt and lime — with tequila.

where-drink drinks craft-beer happy-hours cocktails

New Year's greetings

Chris Shepherd gives thanks for underrated wine and talented Houston doctors

Photo by Chris Shepherd

Chris has been enjoying wines from California's Lodi region.

I know my articles have been a bit scarce these past few months, and I owe you an apology. Life shifted in a big way. In September, my wife Lindsey was diagnosed with breast cancer, and our world narrowed, in the best possible way — to home, health, and the fight in front of us.

The first and most important thing I’m thankful for is early detection and the city we live in. Having MD Anderson here in Houston is a gift I’ll never take lightly. Lindsey is doing great with treatment. She’s an absolute warrior, and this experience has a way of reframing everything. It forces you to look back, take inventory, and find purpose in both the good and the hard. Today, we’re focusing on the good.

I love documenting delicious bottles, great bites, and the people we share them with. Every year, I scroll back through my photos to see if my drinking patterns have changed. The answer? A little, but not dramatically. That’s part of what makes wine so fascinating — it’s alive, always evolving, and so are we.

Chablis and Sangiovese were heavy hitters in 2024 and carried right into 2025. But on the white side, I found myself diving deeper into Aligoté, Burgundy’s other white grape. While Chardonnay is the big dog, Aligoté deserves your attention. Think green apple, citrus, herbal, and floral notes, with bright energy and lift. The real bonus? You can drink Aligoté from top Burgundy producers at a much friendlier price point. It punches well above its weight and belongs on your table.

I’ve also been blown away by Chardonnay from northern Oregon. Early mistakes with clones led to wines that never quite found balance, but producers committed to getting it right with different clones that did much better in cooler sites, with less oak and shorter barrel time. Barrels should be nurturing vessels, not seasoning agents. Producers like North Valley, Soter, and Alexana are making some of the best Chardonnay I’ve had in years, and I am here for it.

This past year also brought new adventures, including a month-long stay in Healdsburg, California in July. With a Southern Smoke event and another trip already planned, we packed up the cats, rented a house, and lived somewhere else for a while. It was magical and something I hope we do again.

While out there, my friend Tegan Passalacqua (Turley Vineyards, Sandlands) invited me to Lodi to taste what’s happening in that region. Lodi has long been known for bulk wine, but the story runs much deeper. Sitting just outside the Sierra Foothills, the region was shaped by massive geological shifts millions of years ago that helped it draw settlers searching for gold in the 1800s. They brought vines with them: Zinfandel, Syrah, and countless lesser-known varieties that are finally getting their moment.

Zinfandel, genetically linked to Tribidrag (Croatia) and Primitivo (Italy), has been thriving there since the 1850s. After its boom in the early 2000s and an era of ultra-ripe, high-alcohol styles it lost some favor. But tastes change. What’s coming from Lodi’s old vines today is refined, balanced, and beautiful.

“Think head-trained, dry-farmed, own-rooted vines — some 100 to 150 years old — producing wines that speak clearly of place,” Passalacqua tells me. His Zins sit around 14.5-percent alcohol, elegant and structured, a far cry from the 16-17-percent monsters of decades past.

One of my newest obsessions is Old Vine Cinsault from the Bechthold Vineyard, planted in 1885. Traditionally a blending grape in southern France, here it shines on its own with bright red fruit and soft tannins — an incredibly crushable wine. If you love lighter Pinot Noir or Gamay, this will make you smile. Look for bottles from Sandlands, Turley, Lorenza, Birichino, and others.

So here’s the takeaway, like always: break down the walls you’ve been drinking behind. Try something new. Aligoté and Lodi aren’t new but they don’t need to be. They just need people willing to make them cool again. Trust me, they’re delicious and deserving.

And in the words of the late, great Jerry Garcia:

Photo by Chris Shepherd

Chris has been enjoying wines from California's Lodi region.

Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world
The heart has its beaches, its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now, discover that you are the song that the morning brings
The heart has its seasons, its evenings and songs of its own

Happy New Year, team. Never forget to be kind and show love.

chris shepherd wine