where to party on cinco de mayo

20-plus Houston favorites firing up feisty fiestas for Cinco de Mayo

By now, most Houstonians know that Cinco de Mayo marks the Mexican army's pivotal defeat of the French army at the Battle of Puebla, during the Franco-Mexican War. No, it isn’t a major holiday, but it is a great excuse to party.

Here in Houston, that means local bars, clubs, and restaurants will serve up Mexican fare, beer, tequila, and mucho margaritas. Here are some favorite spots for a serious Cinco de Mayo celebration. Fiesta safely, Houston.

8th Wonder Brewery will host “Lucha Libre Live” on Saturday, as a lead-up to Cinco de Mayo. Join the iconic brewery for a night of thrilling performances, delicious food, and endless fun. 6 pm.

BoomerJack's Grill will be offering its Jack's Ritas for $3 all day. Their signature, crafted draft margarita features Sauza Hacienda Silver Tequila. It also comes with a custom rim (salt, sugar, tajin) and flavors including strawberry, watermelon, peach, sangria, and pineapple. 11 am.

Candente is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with their annual fiesta happening all weekend. They will showcase lively festivities including festive decor, two additional satellite bars for extra house-made margaritas, and a special appearance from a mariachi band. 10 am.

Caracol, Hugo’s and Xochi will have a five-hour, Sunday brunch buffet for Cinco de Mayo. They will also have $10 signature margaritas, along with The Greatest Margarita Ever Sold for $18. 10 am (11 am Xochi).

Comalito is kicking off the holiday with a day-long celebration at the Houston Farmers Market featuring $5 margaritas, food specials like pozole and cochinita pibil. Lalo Tequila will also be there to share freebies and stellar sips. 10 am.

Cyclone Anaya’s wants all their customers to have a marg in hand on Cinco de Mayo. They’ll have $5 margaritas all day long, with the option to upgrade to a jumbo for $10. 10 am.

El Bolillo Bakery is celebrating their patria (translation; homeland) all weekend long. We’re talking about delicious Mexican-themed pan dulce, sugar cookies, tres leches cakes, cake pops, and more. 6 am.

El Patio aka Club No Minors will have happy hour all day, with $3 Dos XX, Tecate & Miller Lite; $7 house margs; and $8 famous blue Margaritas. A DJ and a mariachi band will be around to provide music. 11 am.

Gaspachos Mexican Bites will be basically getting its “Mariachis y Margaritas” on. They’ll have margaritas featuring heavenly flavors, soulful mariachi tunes and an electrifying DJ (starting at 4 pm). 2 pm.

Hidden Bar has partnered with popular Houston deejays Wunderboi, Zino and Loopy, to keep the Cinco de Mayo party going. There will also be drink specials on margaritas, Tommy margaritas, and palomas, as well as specials on all tequilas and mezcal. 3 pm.

Mutiny Wine Room will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo all weekend long, inviting people to same vintages from Mexico’s wine country. The bar will also serve its take on chiles en nogada. 2 pm.

The Original Ninfa’s is doubling down on Cinco De Mayo with weekend-long festivities, including promotional giveaways and drink specials, at both locations. Live mariachi performances will infuse the atmosphere with the vibrant sounds of Mexico. 11 am.

Pistolero’s will have a Cinco de Mayo parking-lot party, complete with $7 margaritas, $6 shots, $7 Mexican candies, and $8 Ranch Waters. There will also be a mariachi crew, a flower wall, a photobooth, and music by DJ Rhyno. Noon.

The Savoy is hosting a festive celebration loaded with deals on scratch-made Mexican dishes, frozen margaritas, specialty drinks, and tequila. They will also offer south of the border favorites and frozen margaritas for $5 each. 11 am.

State Fare Kitchen & Bar will offer $5 frozen or on-the-rocks margaritas (originally $14) all day at all three locations. Their signature margaritas pair perfectly with their chunky guacamole and queso blanco with green chiles. 10 am.

Tacodeli will be offering diners a $5 margarita or the Special of the Month, the carne asada taco, which will be launching that day. The limited-time taco will be served with grilled steak, avocado, onion, cilantro and a lime wedge, and will only be available through June 22. 8 am.

Thirteen, James Harden’s Midtown restaurant, is hosting an exclusive Cinco de Mayo tasting event. Guest chefs Raul Gonzalez and Jorge “Monstro” Ortiz will present a gourmet, seven-course culinary adventure, complete with seven wine and cocktail pairings. 6 pm.

URBE will first offer a five-hour, Sunday brunch buffet; After that, the restaurant will have a special cookout with happy hour bites on the front patio. The live entertainment includes a DJ and a mariachi band. 10 am.

Verde Garden is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a first-come-first serve, all-day event. Brunch is available with $8 Tommy margaritas, both frozen and on-the-rocks. There will be a mariachi band, folklore dancers, and a live DJ. 11 am.

Both WILD spots will have $8 cocktails on mango, hibiscus, strawberry & watermelon margaritas, Ranch Water, and palomas; plus $5 Mexican candy or tequila shots, and $4 Pacificos or Modelos. You can also enjoy $3 Taquitos or $5 Elote cups. 8 am.

Photo by Shawn Chippendale

Ninfa's will celebrate with drink specials at both locations.

news-you-can-eat cocktails holidays

Ready. Set. Go.

Exclusive: New cocktail bar from Houston hospitality stars coming to the Heights

Courtesy of Thorough Fare

Bobby Heugel and Jacki Schromm are opening a new bar in the former Ready Room space.

The Heights’ growing bar scene will soon welcome a new addition with serious cocktail cred. Anvil owner Bobby Heugel has partnered with bartender Jacki Schromm to open a new cocktail bar in the former Ready Room space (2626 White Oak Drive) in the Heights, the duo tell CultureMap.

Slated to open in the fall, the still-unnamed cocktail bar will be the latest project from Thorough Fare, the hospitality company Heugel operates in partnership with James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu. The group’s portfolio also includes Heights restaurants Squable and Better Luck Tomorrow; cocktail bars Anvil and Refuge; neighborhood bars Catbirds and Blue Lagoon Club; and Theodore Rex, Yu’s fine dining restaurant in downtown that earned a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide.

The new bar will also be Heugel’s first new concept since opening Refuge in 2022. However, since Refuge evolved out of Tongue-cut Sparrow, Heugel’s Japanese-inspired cocktail bar, it retained certain elements from its predecessor. The new project aims to bring a fresh perspective to Houston’s cocktail scene.

Bobby Heugel Jacki Schromm Ready Room The new bar is expected to open this fall.Courtesy of Thorough Fare

“While I love Refuge and still think it’s one of the best bars we’ve ever done, it was a continuation of some disjointed history,” Heugel says. “It’s exciting to do a cocktail bar where we get to talk about a fresh concept, fresh ideas — really update those ideas for where the scene is at today.”

Partnering with Schromm is a key source of those new ideas, Heugel explains. Since moving to Houston from Boston in 2019, she worked with Heugel at both Better Luck Tomorrow and Anvil. Currently, she’s the general manager of Reserve 101, the downtown cocktail bar known for its extensive whiskey selection, knowledgeable staff, and extensive inventory of vintage spirits. Schromm describes Heugel’s invitation to partner with him as “a shock in the most delightful way.”

“I think it’s every bartender’s dream — when you’ve worked in X amount of spaces with X amount of owners — you start to think, I could do this,” she says. “I thought that was still five-plus years away. We’re jumping into it maybe a little sooner than what my goals were, but it’s incredibly exciting.”

First opened by restaurateur Ken Bridge in 2018, the Ready Room distinguished itself with its intimate atmosphere, vintage decor, and live music. Permission Whiskey owner Peter Nolan took over operating the bar in 2023. The bar closed last year when Bridge shuttered his Korean restaurant Mapojeong, ending his lease on the property that also includes Ready Room. Neither Heugel nor Schromm are ready to share specifics about the bar’s concept, but Schromm promises it will be a welcome addition to the Heights.

“What this cocktail bar will become is something that we don’t have in the Heights yet,” she says. “I think it will be a really fun and exciting addition to the Heights community.”

Schromm has about a month left at Reserve 101 before she devotes her full attention to the new bar. She’s eager to make a splash in a neighborhood that’s recently welcomed new additions like Starduster Lounge and The Kid — and she recognizes how meaningful it is to work with a partner who has a track record as solid as Heugel’s.

“It does not sit lightly with me. This is an incredible opportunity,” Schromm says. “I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling from the moment that we talked about it. It’s a really rewarding feeling to be recognized like that. Just feeling really blessed and grateful.”

news-you-can-eat openings the-heights cocktails nightlife