Besides being a busy city, Houston has some beautiful spots with natural dining qualities. Luckily, due to the warm weather in Houston, you can sit comfortably and relax on an open outdoor patio as you enjoy your delicious meal without worrying about being rained on.
Try out some of our thoroughly selected best outdoor restaurants in Houston, where you can drop in for a delicious meal in a beautiful environment as you breathe some fresh air.
1. Backstreet Cafe
Address: 1103 S Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77019
Phone: 713-521-2239
Backstreet café has been running the streets of river oaks townhome for over 38 years. This beautiful spot between teetering and river oaks has a gorgeous enclosed patio. The kitchen is managed by Chef Hugo Ortega, a pro at creating great seasonal menus combining Mexican dishes, southern cuisine, and new American cuisine.
2. Monkey’s Tail
Address: 5802 Fulton St, Houston, TX 77009
Phone: 713-842-7188
This friendly neighborhood bar and food restaurant have a huge dog-friendly outdoor patio with fans, T.V.s, and umbrellas to give you a comfortable space to relax and enjoy your meals while watching your favorite sports games.
Also, they have a weekday happy hour with a long list of uniquely crafted cocktails, cheap wine, margaritas, and cheap beer. Their menu spins from pasta and pizza to burgers and tacos.
3. Rainbow Lodge
Address: 2011 Ella Blvd, Houston, TX 77008
Phone: 713-861-8666
This wild game and fresh seafood restaurant are located inside a century-old log cabin with an outdoor seating space facing Houston’s white oak bayou. Their delicious garnishes and side dishes come directly from their gorgeous vegetable garden.
Rainbow lodge has a unique romantic atmosphere favorable for weddings and date nights. Chef Mark Smidt runs the kitchen with an exquisite menu of small plates and entrees featuring bison, antelope, steaks, quail, and gulf shrimp.
4. Bistro Menil
Address: 1513 W Alabama St, Houston, TX 77006
Phone: 713-904-3537
The Menil is an art museum with a glorious garden and park where students and families can chill on those lazy afternoons. Chef Greg Martin, a classic European bistro, manages the place. His menu consists of a robust wine list and European cuisine with an artful cultural establishment.
Chef Martin is well-recognized all over Italy, France, and Spain for his tapas, pizza, and Mediterranean entrees.
5. Lucille’s
Address: 5512 La Branch St, Houston, TX 77004
Phone: 713-568-2505
Lucille’s was founded by Chris and Ben Williams, who are Houston natives and James award semifinalist chef. The restaurant was named after their grandmother Lucille, and most of their dishes comprised southern recipes.
Lucille’s dining space is located in the museum district and mainly serves classic southern soul food. They love to serve a mix of old-generation recipes smothered in house chili, harissa cream, and cheddar cheese.
6. Tiny Boxwoods
Address: 3614 W Alabama St, Houston, TX 77027
Phone: 713-622-4224
This wine bar, bakery, and eatery is located in a friendly neighborhood in the middle of river oaks nursery. Tiny boxwoods were founded by two great friends, Gregg Thompson and Lance Thompson. They created a beautiful environment to enjoy fine wine, warm milk, cookies, and scratch-made small plates.
They have an amazing award-winning wine list that combines with a robust menu of cheese plates, high-quality steak, charcuterie, seafood entrees, and poultry. Try their special French picnic plate with whipped goat cheese, basil pesto, kalamatas, artisan bread, and rosemary ham.
7. The Annie Café & Bar
Address: 1800 Post Oak Blvd Suite 6170, Houston, TX 77 56
Phone: 713-804-1800
Chef Robert Del Grande, a James beard award-winning chef, manages the Annie café and bar. It has a new American steakhouse menu with Texas seafood, beef, and southwestern flavors.
Stop by for a taste of their roasted shrimp with creamy avocado and crispy fontina flautas. In addition, the place is known to make one of the best decadent Texas Wagyu burgers available for the first twenty customers.
8. Hungry’s
Address: 2356 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005
Phone: 713-523-8652
Hungry’s has two locations in Houston; rice village and memorial. It has been serving fresh farm new American food for 45 years. The branch in the rice village has a modern two-story tree house with an outdoor patio and balcony with mighty oak trees.
If you are in the mood for a nutritious meal, try their falafel bowl with beet hummus, turmeric roasted veggie quinoa, falafel balls, and fresh pita.
9. B.B. Lemon
Address: 1809 Washington Ave, Houston, TX 77007
Phone: 713-554-1809
Lemon is a friendly and elegant bar and eatery founded by Benjamin berg in the Washington corridor. Their dining room will impress you with the charming urban chic setting, leather booths, and checkered tablecloths.
Their menu comprises of crafted cocktails, beers, wine, and an extensive menu of elevated bar fare from around the world. Try out their delicious Reuben with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and corned beef.
10. Bludorn
Address: 807 Taft St, Houston, TX 77019
Phone: 713-999-0146
Bludorn is a French-inspired American bar and restaurant managed by Chef Aaron bludorn. Bludorn’s dining area has an attractive wood finish with European décor. It also has a lovely romantic back patio surrounded by lush shrubbery with circular tree lights.
Their house menu features seafood entrees, steak, pork, and poultry. You should not leave without tasting their grouper entrée, blackened with spiced filet, black garlic, green papaya, Thai basil, and tamarind.
11. Postino Uptown Park
Address: 1151 Uptown Park Blvd, Suite 12, Houston, TX 77056
Phone: 713-574-8337
Postino uptown park’s patio is more like a party hole where come evening or daytime, people interact with nearby tables as they chat and hang out together. This is an ideal spot for late-night hangouts with friends or romantic date nights. Everything in this place is meant for sharing, from their music upbeat to the outdoor and indoor bar.
12. Casa Nomad
Address: 600 N Shepherd, Suite 499, Houston, TX 77007
Phone: 832-5381056
This is a coastal-themed Mexican restaurant with food and drinks inspired by Tulum. The space has a cozy covered patio designed with a tropical-style deck, rope canopy, lush tropical vegetation, and sky-blue tile-adorned walls. Dive in for their Boho chic setting, completed with beachy jungle disco music as you grab some blue crab bites or artisan mescal.
13. Gratify
Address: 5212 Morningside Dr, Houston, TX 77005
Phone: 713-524-7865
This swanky spot is located in the rice village. Recently, this restaurant auditioned to become your open-air brunch spot where you can drop in for dinner, lunch, or happy hour. The place is designed to channel Europe and baroque accents with a bold color scheme.
Also, the luxe vibe expands towards the broad outdoor space that will leave you feeling like you stepped into a countryside villa. Only that, this one will have things like charred octopus salsa Verde, bloody marys decked out with house-made chicharron, and a bomb wagyu burger.
14. La Lucha
Address: 1801 N Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77008
Phone: 713-955-4765
Nothing tastes better than a plate of gulf oyster with honey sambal drizzled fried chicken from La Lucha. Leave alone the food; imagine eating your delicious meal under the shade of a towering live oak with the cool breeze from outside coming your way. This place has a large, enclosed, casual outside setting with picnic tables and lanterns.
15. Tiny Champions
Address: 2617 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77003, United States
Phone: 713-485-5329
This is the sister restaurant to Nancy’s hustles. It has a spacious backyard patio where you can enjoy delicious meals prepared by Chef Jason Vaughn. The menu ranges from homemade plates of pasta, fermented vegetables, leavened pizza, and cocktails to a great wine selection.
Leave with a taste of their mushroom salad made from shaved parmesan and thinly chopped criminis tossed with olive oil. Also, their brined fried chicken comes with Fresno chills, a sauce of spicy honey, and fresh herbs.
16. The Toasted Coconut
Address: 1617 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX 77006
Phone: 713-485-4775
The toasted coconut is a tiki-style haunt vacation escape in Houston where you get to relax as you drown in flaming cocktails under the star-lit palapa. You will not get enough of this place, especially the cascading waterfall, bamboo features, and their leveled-up Sarah Troxwell’s epic cocktail.
You should try the frozen banana daiquiri cocktail as you pair it with Baja mussels, fish, and shrimp curry noodles. All this will give you a chill island vibe.
17. Brenner’s on the Bayou
Address: 1 Birdsall St, Houston, TX 77007
Phone: 713-868-4444
This manicured ground alongside the wooded part of buffalo bayou is a perfect wedding-worthy patio in Houston. In addition, this should be your destination if you are in search of a place for your private party since it has an attractive gazebo dubbed blue bar, a casual lower deck, and an upstairs loft for such events.
Not forgetting your date nights, you can try out their romantic dessert of souffle flavored with grand Marnier, Godiva chocolate, and Chambord.
Conclusion
Take advantage of Houston’s warm weather and beautiful scenery of lush green trees as you enjoy a delicious meal from the listed outdoor restaurants. These restaurants and bars have a fancy patio, veranda, or rooftop to accommodate you and your family for breakfast, coffee dates, lunch, or dinner.