Dark Horse Tavern
2207 Washington Ave.
Houston, Texas
Tel. 713.426.2442
This comfortable local Houston bar, serves better than average bar food at better than average prices with excellent cocktails to wash it down out of an old 1920s five-and-dime. The eclectic drinking crowd at the Dark Horse Tavern along with the friendly service makes everyone feel welcome, so many park their caboose at the Horse for a while and the inviting attitudes keep them coming back. Also, the Dark Horse Tavern sports one of the best jukeboxes out of the many Houston local bars simply for the fact that certain classic rock albums that dominate the others are blessedly absent.
Uropa
3302 Mercer St., Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.627.1132
Uropa is a hideaway Houston dance club and lounge that has a separate room to fit any and every vibe. The packed dance floor, held in command by slick DJs, often spills over into the main bar and lounge areas, but it’s all good because everybody is seriously just there to have a good time: read as “no drama.” The drinks are poured fast and heavy at Uropa for the hip twenty-something crowds that bring their friends, but otherwise keep this chill Houston hipster retreat to themselves.
TOC Bar
711 Franklin St., Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.224.4862
TOC Bar is a busy Houston dance club for those just getting their bar legs under them creating a raucous booze fueled party that’s a freakin’ blast if you have absolutely no responsibilities nagging at you in the morning. DJs spin a mix of hip-hop, dance, Latin and reggae keeping the young clubber masses dancing at TOC Bar until closing at this hot Houston nightclub.
The Roxy
5351 W. Alabama St., Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.850.7699
Hedonistic dance club activities abound at The Roxy in Houston that gets the dance party raucously started every night with pumped up DJ stylings and drink specials. The dance vibe at The Roxy is infectious and this spacious Houston dance club hosts some of the best theme contests around—like being on a perpetual spring break, but it’s only the weekend.
Suede Lounge
1000 Prairie, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.227.5500
Originally a low key hipster lounge for clubbers that liked conversation over cavorting, Suede Lounge has recently become one of downtown Houston’s hottest dance clubs for those that like their swankiness with an edge. By that we mean, you have to check out the cocktail staff at the Suede Lounge; more entertainers than servers, these hotties are a little risqué, dancing on the bar in their high heels and fishnets. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t other great aspects about this Houston nightclub; the décor is art-deco cool, the drinks flow and the crowd has that “in the know” attitude, but, umm, have you seen the cocktail waitresses at Suede Lounge?
South Beach
810 Pacific St., Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.529.7623
Houston’s premier dance club, South Beach has a lock on being the hottest scene around. It’s surely a hot scene, Saturdays especially see an equal ratio in Men and Women. Houston’s premier dance club, South Beach has a lock on being the hottest scene around. It’s surely a hot scene, Saturdays especially see an equal ratio in Men and Women.
Scott Gertner’s Sky Bar
2710 Richmond Ave., Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.526.5100
Sky Club creates a good mix of sports, DJs and dancing for the partying Houston club goers to revel away a weekend in. When there aren’t sports dominating the tubes, resident spinners take over the sound system and Sky Club begins its ascent into the nightclub stratosphere. On Saturdays, a local group of traveling party promoters, known as Chamito, takes over this Houston dance club for one of the cities hottest Latin dance parties
Shadow Bar
213 Milam, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.221.5483
Houston hipsters frolic in the deep red ambient glow of Shadow Bar nightclub to be treated decadently in its loungey space. Slick resident DJs keep the dance party moving for clubbers who are always dressed to impress and this incredibly spacious, yet wholly intimate, Houston dance club hosts some slammin’ special events that turn its already hot scene up a few degrees.
Rumba Club
11030 Kingspoint Road, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.947.8622
The dressed to impress dance party scene is flocking to the Rumba Club in Houston to get a heavy dose of salsa and merengue. This posh Houston nightclub is decidedly upscale and gorgeously decorated with a sound system that rivals any club. Rumba Club insiders know to get there early on the weekends for some free salsa lessons to hone their skills before the dance floor gets packed.
Ruby Room
509 Main Street, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.222.1033
A chill lounge and hot dance club located above the Slainte Irish Pub, the Ruby Room is a favorite weekend hangout for the young and beautiful Houston hipster set. Resident DJs keep the crowds moving on the dance floor while those into people watching or lounging teem on the Ruby Room’s balcony that overlooks Main Street. Also, the upscale environs are made just that much better by the excellent cocktails served by their ever-friendly staff that keeps the Ruby Room drinkers thirsting for more.
Pink Monkey
709 Franklin St., Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.227.3422
Dancing and drinking are the only two tenets that the Pink Monkey, a new and ever-packed dance club in Houston, holds dear to its little simian heart. The drinks are good and reasonable, the slick DJs always spin hot tunes for the gyrating masses and a decidedly hip set spreads across this nightclub until the wee hours of the morning.
Al’s Sports Bar
2204 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.654.0869
Like they stole the set pieces from some imagined live action Jetson’s movie and then the packages got mixed in with some of Kubrick’s visions, the Licor Lounge is definitely one of the coolest Houston dance clubs to knock back some booze in, shake your groove thing and find your own personal space jockey or jockeyette. The club itself has raised cubistic areas for dancing or sitting and the Licor Lounge thankfully doesn’t just cater to one type of music—you can hear everything from hip-hop and house to pop classics and rock, basically anything that gets the crowds moving. The atmosphere and décor at this Houston nightclub really defies definition, but we gave it our best and we’ll sit by the phone waiting for the Pulitzer people.
Al’s Sports Bar
2204 Louisiana Street, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.654.0869
Like they stole the set pieces from some imagined live action Jetson’s movie and then the packages got mixed in with some of Kubrick’s visions, the Licor Lounge is definitely one of the coolest Houston dance clubs to knock back some booze in, shake your groove thing and find your own personal space jockey or jockeyette. The club itself has raised cubistic areas for dancing or sitting and the Licor Lounge thankfully doesn’t just cater to one type of music—you can hear everything from hip-hop and house to pop classics and rock, basically anything that gets the crowds moving. The atmosphere and décor at this Houston nightclub really defies definition, but we gave it our best and we’ll sit by the phone waiting for the Pulitzer people.
Jefe Bar Mex Grill
502 Main Street, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.221.1695
Jefe Bar is a downtown Houston cantina and grill that also hosts a hot Latin dance party. You can wolf down some of their fantastic quesadillas at the bar, wash ‘em down with some mas fina cerveza and scope the Latina bombshells shaking their natural assets on the disco ball lit dance floor. What more could you possibly want? Jefe Bar has the hot Houston dance club vibe, excellent food and cheap drinks conversely set among decidedly more tony digs; enough said.
Heat Bar and Lounge
908 Congress
Houston, Texas
713.226.7210
Thursday through Saturday the twenty-something clubber set packs into Heat Bar and Lounge for some ultra-throbbing dancing and drinking. Some slick resident DJs provide the slamming beats at this Houston dance club as the crowd lounges on the plush furniture, scopes the hot go-go dancers or struts their stuff on the laser-lit dance floor. Also contained within Heat Bar and Lounge’s decadent walls is a late night Hibachi grill that serves sushi and grilled snacks in case all that dancing wasted your pre-party booze food a little quickly. The main floor VIP room is by reservation only, so if you really want to look the Houston player, call ahead.
Escobar
2905 Travis Street Suite A
Houston, Texas
Tel. 281.701.4248
Plush suede booths and throbbing beats encompass the well-heeled and flashy set that frequents the Escobar dance club. The bar serves up some stiff if expensive cocktails, but you know velvet rope styled hipness isn’t free and Escobar patrons are definitely dressed for the occasion. Resident DJs provide the beats piped through the blistering sound system commanding the dance floor.
Empire Club
108 Main Street, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.222.9108
With three floors sporting three different, but interconnected decadent themes, the Empire Club brings a decidedly international flavor to the Houston dance club scene. Well-heeled clubbers pack this ultra-stylish club for a night of dancing that ranges from hip-hop to Latin tracks provided by some of Houston’s hottest DJs manning the decks. All the patrons at the Empire club are seriously dressed to impress so take that to heart if you’re heading on down or else you’re going to be kickin’ it with the door man outside while your crew gets their dance on at this Houston nightclub.
Club Ultra
108 Main Street, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.222.9108
This sleek lounge and dance club in Houston caters to those willing to pay for their hipness. Club Ultra works it with three floors, each with its own dance floor and bar, full of dressed to impress clubbers grooving or kickin’ it on the designer furniture. The cocktails can get a little pricey, but you’ve got to relish in the decadent atmosphere that Club Ultra provides. Also, they offer bottle service so you and your crew can chill in some private seating and pour til your livers content.
Boaka Bar
1010 Prairie, Houston, Texas; Tel. 713.225.6372
See and be seen club goers cross the Iron Curtain of a century ago to get pampered like a Czar at the opulent Boaka Bar, a Russian themed Houston dance club that is anything but ordinary. The slick resident DJs keep the crowds up and moving with the latest pop and hip-hop tracks while the bartenders keep the drinks flowing over the bar. The weekends see twenty-somethings crowding the bar, dressed to impress and looking for their own private Romanoff.
