The Top 100 Places to Drink Near Monkey's Tail
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Rank 1. Monkey's Tail
Cocktails
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Rank 2. Trash Panda Drinking Club
Cocktails
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
- Houstonia The Official 50 Hottest Bars in Houston
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Rank 6. Julep
Global
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Winner · Outstanding Bar Program
- 50 Best 2026 · #84 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 7. Bandista
Latin-Inspired Cocktail Bar
- The Pinnacle Guide 2026 · 1 Pin
- 50 Best 2026 · #47 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 8. Lei Low
Cocktails
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- Air Canada 2019 · Top 10 · Best New Restaurants
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
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Rank 10. Casaema
Mexican/Tex-Mex
A daytime Mexican cafe in Houston Heights with a Bib Gourmand and the kind of menu that makes you wish you had two stomachs. The team elevated a bakery pop-up into something genuinely special, with heirloom corn taking center stage and coffee that holds its own. The horchata cream doughnut sells out early, so either arrive hungry or make dessert your opening move. The crowd skews weekend-brunch-regulars who knew about this place before you did.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Texas Monthly 2025 · #6 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
- Houston Chronicle #3 · Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
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Boomtown is a craft coffee shop that takes its beans seriously without making you feel underdressed for ordering a latte. The 19th Street original has a loyal crowd of laptop regulars and weekend brunchers who know the menu by heart. Small-batch roasts, a handful of creative espresso drinks, and genuinely good pastries make it easy to stay longer than you planned. There's a second outpost downtown if that's more your speed.
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- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- Eater The Best Coffee Shops in Houston
- Houstonia The Official 50 Hottest Bars in Houston
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Rank 15. Sunday Press
Café, Restaurant
Sunday Press is an all-day café that actually looks as good as its Instagram suggests, with a light-filled interior and a drive-through for when you need coffee without the production. The drink menu runs from honey sea salt lattes to nitro cold brew, and there are açai bowls and sandwiches if you're hungry. Come nightfall it quietly flips into a cocktail lounge, which is a genuinely clever trick for a coffee shop to pull off.
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Rank 16. The Coffee House at West End
Coffee Shop
A coffee shop that actually earns the Instagram moment without trying. This bustling spot occupies a gorgeous old church building, with soaring ceilings, plush sofas, and a rooftop deck where you can stare at the Houston skyline and feel like you have your life together. The crowd is a mix of laptop regulars and people meeting for a first date who both ordered lattes to seem low-key. The coffee is solid and the vibe is genuinely worth the trip.
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Rank 17. Mijo's Mezcal Bar
Cocktails
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Rank 19. Koffeteria
Bakeries
Koffeteria is the kind of bakery-cafe that makes you wonder why everyone else is doing it so plain. Chef Vanarin Kuch won a James Beard Award for Outstanding Bakery by mashing together Cambodian, French, Mexican, and whatever else earns a spot on the menu that day. The pastry case pulls in creative locals who very much have opinions about croissants. Order the Salty Cambodian latte and figure out why sourdough butter belongs in coffee.
- The Infatuation Our Favorite Bakeries In The Country Right Now
- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
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- Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
- Houstonia The Official 50 Hottest Bars in Houston
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Rank 21. Brass Tacks
Café, Bar
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Rank 23. Light Years
Wine Bar
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- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 28. Heights & Co
Outdoor Patio
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Rank 29. Little’s Oyster Bar
Gulf Coast Seafood
- Esquire 2023 · Golden Martini · The Best Martinis in America
- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- Texas Monthly 2024 · Honorable Mentions · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 30. Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Pub/Brewery
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Rank 32. Wild
Café, Bar
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Rank 33. Kanpai Club
Cocktails
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Rank 35. Cariño Coffee
Mexican Coffee Shop
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Rank 36. Bad Astronaut Brewing Co.
Pub/Brewery, Brew Pub
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Rank 37. Gristworkz
Pub/Brewery, Cocktails
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Rank 38. Better Luck Tomorrow
Cocktails
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Maven is a coffee shop and cocktail bar that decided the boundary between the two was a suggestion. Parked in Sawyer Yards, it draws the kind of crowd that shows up in nice athleisure and somehow looks right. On weekends, brunch runs from oysters and Caesar cups to chilaquiles and lobster rolls, and when you can't choose between coffee and a drink, a carajillo made with their cold brew settles that debate nicely.
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Rank 41. Big Star Bar
Outdoor Patio, Dive
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Rank 42. Eureka Heights Brew Co
Pub/Brewery
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Rank 44. Bludorn
American/New American
Bludorn is the kind of polished American restaurant that makes Houston feel like a proper dining city. The room is good-looking, with royal blue booths and an open kitchen, and the crowd dresses up just enough without taking itself too seriously. The menu swings wide, from seafood towers to hearty cioppino, and the service is genuinely attentive. Save room for the baked Alaska, which arrives on fire and earns every bit of the theater.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Houstonia The Best Brunch Restaurants in Houston
- Houston Chronicle Houston’s Top 100 Restaurants
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Rank 46. Eden Plant Co.
Coffee
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Rank 47. Fifth Vessel Coffee
Coffee Shop
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Rank 49. New Magnolia Brewing Co
Pub/Brewery
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Rank 55. Notsuoh
Dive
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Rank 57. Sunny's Bar
Dive
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Rank 58. City Acre Brewing
Brew Pub, Pub/Brewery
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Rank 61. Lee's
Cocktails
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Bars
- Houstonia The Official 50 Hottest Bars in Houston
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
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Rank 62. Moon Tower Inn
Beer, Outdoor Patio
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Rank 63. 8th Wonder Brewery
Sports Bar, Outdoor Patio, Beer
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Rank 65. Rudyard's
Beer
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Rank 66. Equal Parts Brewing
Pub/Brewery
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Rank 68. Kefita Coffee
Ethiopian Coffee
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Rank 71. Blacksmith
Café
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Rank 72. Un Caffe
Coffee Shop
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Rank 73. Two Headed Dog
Cocktails
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Rank 74. 13 Celsius
Wine Bar
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Rank 75. Mercantile
Café
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Rank 76. East End Hardware
Outdoor Patio, Beer
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Rank 78. Catbirds
Dive
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Rank 79. Bar No. 3
Cocktails
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Rank 81. Winnie's
Cocktails
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Rank 82. Agora
Mediterranean
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Rank 85. Karbach Brewing Co.
American/New American, Pub/Brewery
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Rank 88. West Alabama Ice House
Outdoor Patio, Dog-Friendly
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- Houstonia The Official 50 Hottest Bars in Houston
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Sara Stayer and Martin Stayer
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Rank 93. Baileson Brewing Co.
Brew Pub, Pub/Brewery, Beer
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Rank 96. The Library
Wine Bar
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Rank 98. Cafetales Specialty Coffee
Columbian
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Rank 100. Kohiko Coffee House
Japanese Coffee Shop