rosé-colored summer

These are the 20 Houston hot spots to rosé all day

Houston offers myriad choices for a refreshing glass of rosé.

Courtesy photo

Thankfully, the trend that is all things rosé isn’t going away anytime soon. (Also, thank goodness the rosé drought of 2014 is past us.) Premium imported rosé wines have hit double-digit growth over the past decade and Houston isn’t missing out.

There’s no better time to partake in the national trend of rosé than during these hot summer months (lest we forget National Rosé Day on June 9), we’ve rounded up a complete guide of when and where to drink the pink in Houston — and view life through rosé-colored glasses.

Bar Victor
Brand-new to Montrose sits Victor, a sexy, French lounge (the old Zimm’s space), that is already a local favorite. This plush lounge replete with colorful velvet seating and private rooms offers plenty of rosé, and amps up each week with the Rosé Soiree, happening every Wednesday from 5 pm to 8 pm, and featuring buy one bottle or glass of rosé, get one free.

Le Colonial
Mondays are more tolerable thanks to Le Colonial’s Monday rosé promotion, where the entire rosé list is 50 percent off (you can get a bottle of Miraval for $29.50, which is cheaper than retail). Fun fact: You can actually score a bottle of rosé for 18.50. By the glass Le Colonial carries three options and seven bottles, as well as four rosé champagnes. (The 50 percent off wine promotion happens every Monday in the dining room and lounge for bottles under $100.)

Bosscat Kitchen & Libations
If ever there was a Houston spot dubbed the home of Miraval Rosé, this is it. Bosscat kicked off its patio service with a launch party with Miraval Rosé in December, and now that the weather is heating up, be on the lookout for another rosé patio party this summer (the Miraval umbrellas make for the perfect Instagram background). Not only do they offer three rosé variations (Matua Rosé, Miraval and Sterling Sparkling Rosé), they also add the pink stuff to their food: If you’re looking to eat your rosé, try the Drunken Pasta with rosé sauce, wide egg noodles, tomato cream, and peas.

a’Bouzy
Boasting one of the most extensive rosé lists in Houston, a’Bouzy offers 40 different labels of still rosé wine available in several size bottles — with offerings all the way up to six liters. Prices range from $17 per bottle to nearly $500. You can find more than 65 different labels of sparkling rosé and champagne by the bottle, so if you’re the indecisive type, you’ve been warned. Choose between a bottle or glass, sparking or still, and enjoy a beautiful Houston day on their expansive patio with other like-minded drinkers.

Brasserie 19
When it comes to rosé, Brasserie 19 (affectionately known as B19) is a great spot that offers plenty of options and low markups (only 1.6 times retail — reason enough to go) with 12 sparkling rosés and 25 non-sparkling rosés. Grab some friends and snag a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Sparkling Rosé for a mere $69 a bottle. If you feel like mixing it up, B19 also features a Rosé Spritz with Clementine Rosé, thyme, framboise, and raspberry. Head to B19 for National Rosé Day (June 9), from noon-3p for 30 different rosés. Be sure to wear pink for a chance to win some coveted swag.

Eight Row Flint
When it comes to whiskey and tacos, Houstonians already know you can’t go wrong at Eight Row Flint. The watering hole was one of the original spots to grab frosé in Houston (if not the first), and it’s on the menu, rain or shine. Their frosé is made with Rosé, Luxardo Aperitivo, lemon, strawberry, lemon oleo, and basil cordial and is the perfect patio drinking companion in the hottest summer months — it even pairs well with tacos. Guests can also grab a refreshing can of Sway Rosé, from William Chris Wines, which is a Texas-grown wine ($9).

Night Heron
Head over to Night Heron, one of Montrose’s best neighborhood patios, for a refreshing glass of frosé, made with Provencal Rosé, brut champagne, strawberry-basil cordial, and lemon. Co-owner and beverage director Morgan Weber notes, “the combination of strawberries, lemon, and basil is nothing but classic.” The strawberry-basil cordial is made by mascerating fresh chiffonaded basil in a rich simple syrup while the syrup is still warm. The basil syrup is then added to strawberry purée, fortified with a bit of overproof rum. Night Heron frosé is also on happy hour for just $5, Monday-Friday from 2 pm to 6 pm.

Star Fish
Rosé happy hour offerings are usually limited, but not at Star Fish, which offers Veuve de vernay Cremant de Bourgogne or Pellehaut from Gascony France — both are $5/glass — from Monday to Friday, 4 pm to 6 pm. It doesn’t hurt that their rosé offerings extend well beyond happy hour, with nine total offerings of still rosé (three by the glass) as well as four rosé sparkling options (we highly recommend pairing the rosé with Star Fish's oysters).

FM Kitchen and Bar
This spot serves up a covered patio, drinks, bright and picture-worthy art murals, classic food, music, and canned rosé. What more could your summertime heart desire than Babe Rosé at FM Kitchen and Bar? You can also grab a bottle or glass of Charles and Charles Rosé (still) or go for the happy hour option of Segura Viudas Brut Rosé, which is only $5 per glass during happy hour (Monday to Friday from 3 pm to 7 pm, and Sundays 6 pm to close). Don’t be alarmed if you see a few folks attempting to shotgun the canned rosé, as it’s been known to happen, according to bar manager Ravinder Bath.

King’s BierHaus
Whoever said German food doesn’t pair well with rosé has never been to this Houston spot. Offering five variations of rosé, including a $6 rosé draft (Perrin Cotes du Rhone Rosé for $6 during happy hour) and their famous frosé, made with a homemade strawberry cordial, vodka and rosé — $7 during happy hour. Other rosé offerings include Pierre Sparr Cremant D'Alsace Brut Rosé (sparkling), Terlan Lagrein Rosé, Miraval Cotes de Provence Rosé, and Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rosé. Here rosé bottles start at $25 and are sure to be a summertime hit for your wallet — and your friends.

Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café
This Instagram-worthy café (all three Houston locations fit this bill) doesn’t skimp on rosé options and early birds will flock to happy hour Monday through Thursday, running from 11 am to 7 pm, where you can sip on $5 glasses of rosé (bottles for just $20). Choose from J.P. Chenet Brut Rosé or Los Dos Rosé (both pair perfectly with the Californian crêpe).

The Oceanaire Seafood Room
Don’t miss the chance to sip on one of the few rosé cocktails in Houston, the Petal Pusher. The Petal Pusher is made with Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur, Rose Water, Francis Coppola Sofia Brut Rosé sparkling wine, club soda, and grapefruit. If you’re looking for rosé by the glass, you have Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Rosé, sparkling wine, Monterey, Moët & Chandon, Rosé Impérial, Brut, Champagne, Épernay, or Chateau Beaulieu, and Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence Elouan. Also, don’t miss Rosé All Day, an annual event celebrating the pink drink Saturday, July 14.

Relish Restaurant & Bar
Sip on Relish Rosé, a signature cocktail made with Ford's Gin, St-Germain Elderflower, lemon and sparkling rosé, only $5 per glass during happy hour (Monday through Friday, 3 pm to 6 pm). Additionally, Relish offers several by the bottle or glass.

Seaside Poke
Nothing says summertime quite like a fresh and locally sourced poke bowl paired with a cold can of Babe Rosé ($8) at Seaside Poke. Good times, good food and a can of pink bubbles is everything EaDo.

Truck Yard
Astros and Dynamo fans already know the drill, but now the rest of you know it’s time to cool off with a Frose ($8) at Truck Yard — a mix of California rosé spiked with New Amsterdam Berry. If you haven’t tried this expansive beer garden and adult playground that just opened in East Village, get there soon or risk FOMO.

Coppa Osteria
This Rice Village location has three rosés by the glass and nine by the bottle. Grab a seat on their patio and sip the day away with your favorite rosé with their house-made Fritto Misto. They also offer frosé made with Paul Jaboulet, Parallèle Rosé from Cotes Du Rhone and berry purée for $10 – not a bad way to beat the Houston heat.

UB Preserv
Try the “Adult Entertainer" cocktail with gin, passion fruit, lime and vanilla, served with a sidecar of Chanceny Brut Rosé from the Loire Valley. UB Preserv has a total of six rosés to pick from, and one of the more fun variations is Rezabal Txakoli Rose from Spain's Basque region made from Hondarrabi Beltza. It's vibrant and fresh, and rich with wild berries, salinity, and mouthwatering acidity.

Goodnight Charlie's
Master sommelier David Keck is a partner in Goodnight Charlie’s, so you know the rosé here is thoughtfully selected. One of those is June’s Rosé, a 50/50 blend of Zweigelt and PN (Goodnight Charlie’s is the only place that carries it outside of the McGuire Moorman Hospitality Group, so it’s incredibly exclusive). Grab a glass on the patio to hydrate before or after some of the best two-stepping in the city for a true Houston experience.

The Patio on Richmond
This popular watering hole (the old Jackson’s Watering Hole) has Drop Rosé in a can for $5, which is hard to beat, plus Olivare Rosado for $6.95 and makes a great spot to catch up with old friends or meet new ones.

The Cheese Bar
This locally owned gourmet cheese shop and restaurant located at The Boardwalk at Towne Lake is a little outside the loop, but starting mid-June, The Cheese Bar will feature a Rosé and Cheese Flight: three 2-ounce pours of rosé plus three cheese pairings for $20, as well as a rosé class that goes in-depth about rosé and will offer four pairings.

trends drinks happy-hours cocktails wine where-drink lists

Chris Cusack explains

Houston bar owner speaks out about surprise arrest for health code violations

Photo by Sergio Trevino

Chris Cusack owns two locations of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse.

Certainly one of the most unusual interactions between a restaurant and City of Houston officials took place on Wednesday, May 6 when Betelgeuse Betelgeuse owner Chris Cusack was arrested for health code violations at his location on Washington Avenue.

News of the arrest spread quickly across social media over the weekend. Now, Cusack is ready to tell his side of the story.

Cusack, whose time operating restaurants in Houston goes back more than 15 years to Down House and its affiliated restaurants such as Hunky Dory and D&T Drive Inn, tells CultureMap the problem began on Monday, May 4 when a health department inspector came to Betelgeuse Betelgeuse and asked to see the restaurant’s grease trap.

The only problem is that location has never had a grease trap. Prior to becoming Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, it was Liberty Station, a pioneering bar in Houston’s craft beer and craft cocktail scenes. In the early days, Betelgeuse served food from a food truck. More recently, it prepares its food next door at The Bell and Crane. Cusack acknowledges he didn’t share this information with the inspector.

“Usually I’m a charmer with the health department, but I was a little defensive. She kept asking me. I said, ‘ma’am, we don’t make food here,’” he explains. “The tone wasn’t my finest moment, but there was no name calling or anything like that. She said, ‘where does the food come from?’ I said, ‘it doesn’t matter where it comes from. It’s produced in a commercial kitchen.’”

Cusack says he knew there would be a follow up, but he was shocked when the inspector returned two days later with more colleagues from the health department, TABC inspectors, and Houston Police Department officers.

“I got somewhere between 21 and 25 citations,” Cusack says about the return visit. He got dinged for everything from graffiti in the bathroom to a missing Harris County tax stamp on the photo booth he leases from a vendor (it has both State of Texas and City of Houston stamps, Cusack says).

One inspector told Cusack he needed a food dealer’s permit. He showed the inspector that a food dealer’s permit had been issued for the restaurant's address under the former food truck’s LLC but not to the LLC that operates Betelgeuse Betelgeuse. Cusack says he had renewed the food truck’s permit in March, but that wasn’t good enough for the inspector. In Cusack’s telling, he was arrested for not having the permit, since it was also flagged as missing in an inspection from October 2025. He's the only person he knows who has ever been arrested for a misdemeanor violation of the health code.

Cusack says he spent 21 hours in the Harris County Jail. When he got out, he says he was contacted by a more senior official within the Health Department. Once Cusack confirmed he owned both LLCs, he was told he could reopen. Both locations of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse have been operating normally since Friday, May 8.

Cusack maintains he never knew about the October 2025 inspection, which is why he renewed the food dealer’s permit for the food truck’s LLC rather than applying for one under Betelgeuse Betelgeuse’s LLC. “There’s no paper trail that shows I was given this information,” he says. “I did not get the email [from the Health Department].”

As for why things got so out of hand, Cusack theorizes he was a victim of Houston Mayor John Whitemire’s crack down on “reckless behavior” on Washington Avenue and stepped up enforcement on bars generally that led to the temporary closure of near northside cocktail bar Rabbit’s Got the Gun.

Cusack says he’s a “huge supporter” of efforts to reduce crimes like street racing, drug dealing, and sex trafficking along Washington and in its surrounding neighborhoods. Still, he feels targeting by the city for being impolite to a health inspector.

He plans to fight both the arrest and the citations in court. “I want the charges dropped, and I want it expunged completely from my record. That’s the first thing, and I’m going to try very hard to do it,” he says.

“That’s going to end up costing thousands of dollars just to deal with the sheer volume,” he adds.

CultureMap contacted Mayor Whitmire’s office. A representative said the mayor was not aware of the situation and has no comment on an open investigation.

crime interview