Where to eat during Rodeo season

19 bars and restaurants with discounts and specials for Rodeo Houston 2025

Let’s go, girls — it’s Rodeo Houston time. If this isn’t your first rodeo, then you know the entire city gets in on the festivities, including restaurants with special food and drink offerings to boot. We’ve lassoed up details on deals we think you won't want to miss. Unless otherwise noted, all menu items and discounts apply through March 23.

Auden
Skip the long lines at the Rodeo and head to Auden for the Fried Oreo Funnel Cake. The crispy fried Oreo dough is topped with Oreo cookie bites, cream cheese Chantilly, fresh strawberries, blueberries, and a chocolate drizzle. This decadent dessert is available until March 17 during Sunday brunch from 11 am to 5 pm.

Dandelion Cafe
Dandelion Cafe has collaborated with Blood Bros BBQ on a Breakfast Brisket Hash. Served in a cast-iron skillet, this dish features smoked brisket, two eggs, bell peppers, onions, and country potatoes.

Emma Jane
Dress up in your Western best for Emma Jane’s Country Time Tea, offered every Thursday during Rodeo season. Highlights include fried chicken and caviar, with other surprises promised. Tea service is $75 per person and is available from 11 am to 4 pm.

Goode Co. Barbeque
Order the 1977 Sandwich, a hearty handheld stuffed with sliced brisket, ham, mac ‘n cheese, jalapeno, bacon, and onion. It's available at all three locations.

Hungry’s
Hungry’s Boots and Brunch menu is available at all locations. Sip on a Cowboy Margarita ($12) or a BBQ Bloody Mary ($11) and dig into entrees such as the Rodeo Burger with fries ($17) or a Cinnamon Churro Waffle ($14).

Local Table
Try the slow-braised short rib burger served with hickory-smoked barbecue slaw and pickles.

Molina’s Cantina
Go for the Jalapeño Chicken Fried Steak ($17), a top-round steak seasoned with the restaurant’s taco blend and double-dredged in flour and egg. It’s smothered in spicy gravy and comes with crispy fries and charro beans.

The Original Ninfa’s
To honor three Rodeo concert performers, Ninfa’s has created several unique cocktails. On Friday, March 7 (for Bun B’s Birthday Bonanza), try the zero-proof Purple Drank ($15), featuring Ocho Verde Cannabis Spirit, Cut Above Blanco, and 4mg of THC. On March 17, sip the Calle de la Frontera ($13) — with mezcal, pineapple juice, guava juice, lime juice, and a salted rim — in celebration of Grupo Frontera. And on March 22, toast Brooks & Dunn with the Chilly Billy Deluxe ($12), a blend of vodka, lemon juice, and Topo Chico in a salted-rim glass.

Puttshack
Tee off at Puttshack with the Texas Tailpipes: spring rolls filled with smoked brisket, mac ‘n cheese, and chipotle barbecue sauce.

Relish Restaurant and Bar
Relish is dishing out 44 Farms mini corn dogs ($10), a pulled pork sandwich ($18) with smoked pork shoulder, and a Rodeo burger ($20) made with house-ground beef. Pair these entrees with the Space City Cowboy ($14) — a bourbon, blackberry, mint, lemon, and maple cocktail — or the Rodeo Rita ($14), featuring mezcal, tequila, lime, blood orange, and bitters. All Rodeo-themed fare is available from 11 am to 5:30 pm.

Santé
The recently-opened cocktail lounge in Upper Kirby is hosting a nightly pop-up from 4 pm to 2 am with charcuterie, live music, $10 specialty shots, and $17 signature cocktails such as the Smokey Old Fashioned and Cowboy Lemonade. The Rodeo Reverse Happy Hour (Sunday through Wednesday, 10 pm to 2 am) offers discounted prices, including $12 signature cocktails, $7 specialty shots, and bottle deals like Cristal Brut for $700.

Winnie’s
Chow down on Winnie’s Rodeo Burger ($14), a classic all-beef patty topped with smoked cheddar, housemade sauce, pickles, fried jalapeños, and fried onion strings — all on a sesame seed bun.

Zanti Cucina Italiana
Check out Zanti’s braised beef slider, featuring chipotle aioli, fontina cheese, and crispy potato strings on a house-made brioche bun.

Courtesy of Zanti

Zanti Cucina Italiana's braised beef slider is just one of the many dishes created specifically for Rodeo season.

Other restaurants are offering discounts on their entire menu:

Christian’s Tailgate on Kirby: 10 percent off food tab with a Rodeo badge or ticket (same day).
Heights & Co: 20 percent off the bill with a Rodeo badge.
Kazzan Ramen & Bar: 10 percent off meals if you’re in Western wear or have a Rodeo ticket.
KP’S Kitchen: $10 off lunch, brunch, or dinner with a Rodeo badge or ticket.
Norigami’s Hidden Bar: 10 percent off with a Rodeo ticket.
State Fare Kitchen & Bar: Kids 12 and under eat free throughout March at all Houston-area locations.

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What's Eric Eating Episodes 518 and 519

Meet the men behind River Oaks' new destination for bowls and broth

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Honest Mary’s founder Nelson Monteith and COO Andrew Wiseheart joined CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the Austin-based restaurant that just opened its first Houston location in the River Oaks Shopping Center (2047-A West Gray St).

Monteith shares that he started the restaurant in 2017 in order to fulfill his vision of a restaurant which could serve food that’s fast, fresh, and affordable. A trained chef who operated pioneering Austin restaurant Contigo, Wiseheart joined the group to bring both culinary expertise and operational acumen to the grouping company.

Part of what sets Honest Mary’s apart is that diners can add cooked vegetables to the rice and proteins at the heart of every bowl. The “Market Sides” section includes an array of roasted vegetables — including sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and Brussels sprouts — as well as black beans, maple-glazed carrots, and green lentils. Bowls can be further enhanced with toppings such as Texas pecans, crispy chickpeas, goat cheese, avocado, and apples as well as sauces such as creamy poblano, cashew lime crema, sesame vinaigrette, spicy peanut, chimichurri and apple cider vinaigrette

Monteith explains that looking at the ingredients on display usually inspires him when he’s deciding what to eat at Honest Mary’s.

“I will almost always look at the line and see what looks fresh and good,” Monteith says. “Today, I got the salted kale with white rice. Then, I got garlic-pepper steak. I added on lentils — they’re my go-to in the winter. They blend everything together, and I love it Then Brussels sprouts looked green. I got some jalapenos. Avocados, cause that’s healthy. Then I got the chimichurri sauce.”

Honest Mary’s is also known for its hearty broths, a classic chicken and a vegetarian option made with seaweed and mushroom. Sandler raves about the chicken broth to Wiseheart, who shares how it’s made.

“We spent six or seven months testing recipes and drinking it ourselves to see if it’s a good idea,” Wiseheart says. “I talk about it as a great complement to the menu. It’s healthy. It’s really simple. Most of the kitchens I came up with were rooted in French cuisine. This is just chicken stock with salt in it.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Honest Mary’s plans for additional locations in Houston and Dallas. Then Monteith asks a Sandler a few questions about the Houston dining scene.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Home Slice Pizza opening a new location in the Heights; the closures of Brett’s BBQ Shop in Katy and Killen’s Barbecue in The Woodlands; and Esquire including ChòpnBlok on its list of America’s best new restaurants.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two friends discuss their recent meal at Hypsi, the Italian restaurant in the newly-opened Hotel Daphne. Listen to the episode to hear their favorite dishes and other thoughts on the meal.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

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