The Houston Historic Downtown Pub Tour features four bars in the old Town of Houston. Locations vary each night, but always start at The Cellar in the basement of Georgia’s Market, a restaurant, grocery store, and bar inside the former home of an 1895 gambling parlor.
Walk past 1880s buildings housing Pepper Jack’s (“Serious Burrito’s and More”) and Frank’s Pizza (hand-tossed pizza by the slice) on your way to Market Square Park. Stroll through this small urban gem, complete with Niko Niko’s Greek kitchen, a dog park, a garden in memory of a victim of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, a sculpture by James Surls, and remnants from old Houston buildings and sidewalks.
The park is ringed by bars and pubs inside historic buildings, including La Carafe, an award-winning, cash-only wine bar inside the Kennedy Bakery Building (1861); the Hearsay Gastro Lounge, a chic bar and restaurant sporting a crystal chandelier inside an 1889 building almost destroyed by a fire in 1989; Char-Bar, a tailor shop that becomes a bar at night; Warren’s Inn, a local hangout with a jukebox featuring tunes from the fifties, and Market Square Bar & Grill, whose founder says, “It’s every Texan’s right to hold a burger in one hand and a beer in the other.”
A block over on Main Street, step inside the 1912 Union National Bank Building, now home of the Hotel Icon, a Marriott Autograph Hotel. Check out the bank vault behind the front desk before heading over to the Line & Lariat Bar, where you can sip elegant designer drinks perched on cowhide seats.
After stops inside four bars, a comfy hotel might be a good way to end a perfect evening.
