Houston’s Best Outdoor Dining on Resy

Houston’s Best Outdoor Dining

Where to dine outside this season — from sunny sidewalk seating to secret backyard gardens.

Restaurants

Tiny Champions

The folks behind perennial EaDo favorite Nancy’s Hustle has another winner on its hands with this chill pizzeria, so named for the small microbes, or “tiny champions,” the very ones that give the world bread and wine. Pastry chef Julia Doran lends her dough-fermenting prowess to the restaurant’s airy, perfectly charred thin-crust pizza while chef Jason Vaughan whips up toothsome pastas and small plates — like the not-to-be-underestimated thinly sliced mushrooms generously layered with parmesan and olive oil. Pro tip: Always save room for ice cream.

Nancy’s Hustle

Combine a cozy bistro feel, serious natural wines, and chef Jason Vaughan’s wildly inventive cuisine, and you get Nancy’s Hustle, an EaDo fixture and a critically-acclaimed dining destination.

Boheme

Traveler’s Cart

Restaurateurs Matt and Thy Mitchell already have a hit on their hands with Traveler’s Table, their Montrose gem that takes the spirit of global exploration into the realm of food. With Traveler’s Cart, they set out to bring that same sense of culinary adventure to a more casual setting. From the yellow chicken curry of Thailand to Peruvian lomo saltado and a classic all-American roadside smash burger, whatever flavors you seek you’ll likely find on the menu.

Traveler's Table

Get ready to embark on a culinary journey unlike any other: Traveler’s Table is an aptly named extravaganza, where Brazilian pão de queijo and Singaporean soft shell chile crab brush shoulders with braised oxtails Caribbean-style.

Bayou Heights Bier Garten

An offshoot of the original Heights Bier Garten, this sleek, modern, and sprawling arrangement of four buildings around a central courtyard with a room-length bar is the place to drink. Look for almost 75 craft brews on offer, plus a full range of beer-friendly fare, from pretzels and burgers to ribs.

ALORA Restaurant and Bar

Because Alora impeccably blends the cuisines of Peru and Vietnam, and that’s all you need to know. Think dishes like Peru-Viet ceviche with leche de tigre and nước mắm, or a mash-up of lomo saltado and shaking beef. Don’t miss the cocktail where Tequila’s infused with the essence of phở.

Pondicheri

If you like Indian food so much you sometimes wish you could have it three times a day, this one’s for you. Award-winning chef Anita Jaisinghani (of Indika) opens at 9 a.m. for masala eggs and coconut pancakes, then keeps going well into the evening with her perfectly crafted menu of rich curries and thalis, which are largely vegetarian and gluten-free.

Squable

There’s nothing like a neighborhood restaurant executed to the nines, and the Heights’ Squable is just that. Think plush digs, house cocktails, and joy-inducing comfort food, from the trio behind Better Luck Tomorrow.

Heights Bier Garten

This family-friendly (and pet-friendly!) patio bar — from, you guessed it, the Kirby Group — takes the typical beer garden concept to stylish new heights, boasting a chic interior lounge, porch swings galore, and cozy firepits for those cooler Houston days. Guests can enjoy 94 taps of beer, cider, mead and wine, not to mention the full offerings of Wooster’s Annex, next door. The food menu, meanwhile, adheres to the beer-garden theme with items like pretzels and burgers, but also includes lighter fare like a golden beet salad and madras curry roasted cauliflower.

Coltivare Pizza & Garden

Because nothing says a weeknight out like pizza and pasta from this charmer of a spot where rustic Italian classics get a bit of the Gulf Coast treatment.

Moca HTX

Because the Third Ward’s popular Café 4212 evolved into this more upscale destination (“Moca” stands for “Men of Color Achieving“), and you can expect innovative cocktails and an eclectic crawfish-toast-to-lamb-meatballs menu curated by “Next Level Chef“ competitor Mariah Scott.