Monday, August 31, 2026

The Best Dive Bars in Houston, by the Record

The best dive bars in Houston, by the professional record: Huckberry, Houstonia, and Esquire have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Poison Girl Bar comes out on top.

EZ's Liquor Lounge and Big Star Bar hold the next two places. Houstonia shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with Esquire next.




  1. Rank 3. Catbirds

    Dive Bar



  2. Rank 3. Notsuoh

    Dive Bar

    Taxidermy, graffitied walls, mannequins, shelves of old shoes, and a trippy dome with bean bag chairs on the second floor: Notsuoh is less a dive bar and more a three-story cabinet of curiosities that also happens to serve drinks. The art is strange, the vibe is stranger, and the whole place reads like a dare Houston issues to anyone who thinks Austin has a monopoly on weird. An old-school Main Street institution that earns every square foot.


  3. Rank 3. Sunny's Bar

    Dive Bar



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Eat Score

The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

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    Drink Score

    The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

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      Stay Score

      The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

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        Do Score

        The score comes from the awards it's won, weighted by who gave them: a Michelin star outweighs a listicle. When you sort by what's nearby, distance changes the order, never the score.

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          Best Place Score

          The Best Place Score rates the area around a point, not any one place. It runs on the scored places nearby: more good stuff within reach, higher score. If it looks low, we probably haven't found enough critics out here yet.