There are so many happy hour choices in Houston that choosing one is as easy as selecting a specific neighborhood and pointing your finger.
Over in the Washington Corridor, Benjy’s on Washington’s happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. is one of the best. Its lounge and upstairs deck fill up to the brim by around 6 p.m. as the after-work and pre-party crowd stop in for a great menu of gourmet specialty pizzas and other appetizers for $6 — think crispy Brussels sprouts with Parmesan, deviled eggs with country ham, a bacon-cheddar burger with onion aioli — as well as a selection of $6 cocktails, along with beer, wine and mixed drinks for $3 to $5.
Other solid spots in that area include Soma Sushi and The Blue Fish on Washington.
Inside the loop and around lower Westheimer and the Montrose area, Uchi Houston offers its awesome Sake Social Hour from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with smaller tapas-style appetizers discounted to $3 to $6, and sake and beer specials. Try its machi cure, bacon tataki and walu walu while sipping on a nigori sake.
Tacos and tequila joint Pistolero’s and sister restaurant Royal Oak also have excellent happy hours. Get $6 tamales and elote, $5 rocks and frozen house margaritas, $4 sangria and $1 off all drafts at Pistolero’s Monday to Friday 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.; and enjoy tons of $6 food specials — fried calamari, pizza, fried pickles, stuffed jalapeños — along with drink deals at Royal Oak from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Anvil Bar & Refuge, one of Houston’s best cocktail bars, does a happy hour from 4 to 5 p.m. with half off its cocktails list. And the cool, artsy Mexican restaurant Cuchara sells a slew of items for $5 from 5 to 8 p.m. nightly.
In Highland Village, the Galleria, and Uptown Park, RA Sushi Highland Village has a popular happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m. with rolls, sushi and drink specials.
Restaurateur Robert Del Grande’s Bar Annie serves $6 wines, $5 beers and $8 mixed drinks and bar bites during its happy hour, from 4 p.m. to closing Monday to Friday and 5 p.m. to close on Saturday. Truluck’s on Westheimer also puts on an excellent happy hour in the lounge, with live music on certain nights, and half-off appetizers and cocktails from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
In the River Oaks/Upper Kirby area, hit up Kata Robata for a great happy hour consisting of bar bites like pork belly buns and tropical fruit sushi rolls, along with beer, wine, sake and specialty cocktails. Fleming’s Steakhouse on West Alabama is also a drinks destination with its 5-6-7 menu — five choices for $6 until 7 p.m. every day. The prime burger is fantastic.
Another option is Eddie V’s in the West Avenue complex, which celebrates happy hour Sunday to Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. with a large selection of appetizers and $2 off drinks and wines by the glass. Triniti Restaurant is also a posh place, featuring 25 percent off appetizers like the tuna poke and grilled oysters, along with $7 specialty cocktails and $8 wines from 4 to 7 p.m.
Downtown, head to Batanga for $3 to $5 specials on wine, beer, and mojitos, along with fantastic nibbles like fish tacos with jalapeño aioli and cilantro, poblano sliders and Serrano ham and Gouda flatbread for $2 to $6 from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday. Line & Lariat inside Hotel Icon turns out Texas-centric bar bites like the mini pork tostadas, fried Texas oysters, bacon-wrapped dates and discounted beers from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday.
At sushi spot Azuma Downtown, enjoy $5 to $8 happy specials kobe beef tacos, sashimi teaser with three sauces, green bean tempura, and chili shrimp, yakitori and sushi rolls with $3 to $5 drink specials. MKT Bar at the Phoenicia Specialty Foods downtown also has $3 craft beer bottles, $4 draft pints, $5 boutique wine by the glass and $5 appetizer specials. And over near the convention center, The Grove at Discovery Green offers $2 to $10 bites like shrimp corn dogs and tuna tartare tacos, along with $2 to $6 beer and cocktail specials like the raspberry margarita or pomegranate screwdriver.
In Midtown, Piola pizzeria puts out discounted whole pizzas starting at 4 p.m. at the bar, where you can also get drink specials and complimentary passed appetizers until 7 p.m. Brennan’s is another great happy hour spot: It has a 7-7-7 menu that includes seven cocktails, wines and appetizers for $7 from 2 to 7 p.m. daily.
Outside the loop, Peruvian hot spot Latin Bites throws one of the best happy hours in the Memorial area with $5 Latin cocktails, including margaritas, mojitos, sangria, pisco sours and caipirinhas, along with $3 beers and $5 wines. Hot and cold bites are also half off.
Down in the energy corridor to the West of Houston, Rattan Asian Bistro provides an excellent array of pan-Asian bites during its festive happy hour that includes everything from sushi rolls to Thai-style clams, to sesame-crusted tempura tuna, along with nigiri specials. Wash it all down with drink deals that include beer for $2.50, $5 wines by the glass and top-shelf cocktails for $7.
In Memorial City and CityCentre, happy hour goers can unwind in Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille’s bar area while noshing on half-off selections from the bar menu, wine and martinis and from 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays. At Straits, sit in the breezy cabanas outside or the slick bar/lounge with $3 to $6 drinks and $5 Asian-inspired bites like the Singapore satay sticks and hoisin barbecue pork sliders.
From 5 to 7 p.m., Monnalisa Bar at Hotel Sorella offers $5 cocktails and $5 bites.
