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.

Courtesy of Urbe

Enjoy a margarita flight at Urbe.

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With or Without Whiz

Houston burger mastermind fires up new pop-up devoted to Philly cheesesteaks

Photo by Michael Ma

Abbas Dhanani is serving up cheesesteaks at his new pop-up.

Abbas Dhanani is at it again. The food influencer-turned-restaurateur behind the CultureMap Tastemaker Award-winning smash burger concept Burger Bodega is firing up a new pop-up concept devoted to another iconic sandwich.

Called Bas’s Cheesesteaks, the new concept will Dhanani’s take on the classic Philly cheesesteak, made with sliced ribeye and white cheese on a seeded hoagie roll — onions and a spicy sauce are optional. A second version swaps the white cheese for Cheez Whiz. Like Burger Bodega, Dhanani is using halal beef for his cheesesteaks.

Bas's Cheesesteaks cheesesteak sandwich The cheesesteak is served on a seeded hoagie roll.Photo by Michael Ma

“We have experimented with cheesesteaks as specials on the menu at Burger Bodega and received amazing feedback,” Dhanani said in a statement. “However, the cheesesteaks at Bas’s are the most refined versions we have done so far. I am excited to bring authentic Philly cheesesteaks to Houston as a new flavor experience while continuing to build on the energy and community we have created at Burger Bodega. This is a huge passion project for me, and I plan to take it step by step, just like Burger Bodega."

As Dhanani notes, he introduced Burger Bodega with a series of pop-ups throughout Houston. To answer the obvious question, of course a restaurant could be in the cards for Bas’s, too.

“I think thats the goal of any new pop-up concept,” Dhanani tells CultureMap. “Like Burger Bodega, we want to take it one step at a time and see where it goes.”

Bas’s Cheesesteaks will have its first pop-up on Monday, June 30 at Burger Bodega’s location (4520 Washington Avenue). In addition to the two cheesesteaks, diners can get fries. Future pop-ups will be announced via Instagram.

As for Burger Bodega’s second location in Katy, Dhanani says it’s still working through securing the necessary permits to begin construction.

news-you-can-eat openings bas's cheesesteaks