WHERE TO WATCH — AND CELEBRATE — THE SUMMER OLYMPICS IN HOUSTON
The Summer Olympics in Paris have kicked off, and as Team U.S.A. gears up to compete and go for the gold, several Houston restaurants and bars are getting in on the excitement. While many local sports bars offer prime viewing opportunities, other Houston restaurants and bars are going all the way with special Olympics-themed food items, happy hour specials, and televisions tuned into the games for their duration.
This article will be updated.
1891 American Eatery & Bar: This Heights restaurant will offer a daily all-day happy hour through August 11, featuring $8 bar bites, $5 draft beers, $12 specialty cocktails, $9 wines, and $14 buckets of beer. 1891 also features weekly specials, including an $11 beer and soft pretzels combo on Monday, $20 Taco Tuesday special with a frozen margarita and street taco, $20 burger deal on Thursdays that comes with a glass of wine or beer on tap, Steak Night on Fridays, and $4 kids meals all weekend. 702 East 11th Street, the Heights, 77008.
a’Bouzy: For every medal a U.S. Olympian receives, this modern French restaurant will pop a bottle at 5 p.m. daily and pour out complimentary toasts of Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte for its diners. This special will be hosted daily through August 11. 2300 Westheimer Road, Rice Village, 77098.
Backstreet Cafe: Hugo Ortega’s River Oaks restaurant will offer La Bonne Chance, a refreshing mixture of champagne, Greenhouse gin, Abricot du Roussillon, and fresh lemon ($14 during normal hours and $9 during happy hour 3 p.m.to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday). 1103 South Shepherd, River Oaks area, 77019.
Cafe Leonelli: Tucked into Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts, this cafe will debut its Olympic Ring Cookie ($4), a citrus sugar cookie decorated with royal icing in the design of the iconic Olympic rings. 5500 Main Street, Museum District, 77004.
Feges BBQ: On Friday, July 26, the Spring Branch location of this essential Houston barbecue joint with broadcast the start of the Olympics on all three projection screens and feature its happy hour specials all day. 8217 Long Point Road, Spring Branch, 77055.
Koffeteria: In honor of the Olympics, Koffeteria owner and pastry chef Vanarin Kuch teams up with Sweetcup Gelato to whip up the Golden Drumstick, a drumstick-shaped salted butter croissant that’s stuffed with gelato. The new dessert will only be available on Saturday, July 27. 1110 Hutchins Street, #102, Downtown, 77003.
Le Jardinier: This Michelin-worthy fine-dining restaurant channels the Olympic spirit into its La Flamme Fatale dessert. The circular flan, encased in crunchy wafers, features a raspberry cream and an image of either a flame or Marianne, the iconic female figure that represents the French Republic. 5500 Main Street, Suite 122, Museum District, 77004.
Little’s Oyster Bar: Pappas’ newest Montrose restaurant will air the Olympics’s opening ceremonies and following key events on its bar televisions starting on Friday, July 26. Cheer on your favorite Olympians as they go for the gold with its Golden martini, a combination of Aviation gin, Dolin Blanc vermouth, Chamomile Licorice Stock, and grapefruit bitters. 3001 South Shepherd Drive, Montrose, 77098.
Post Houston: This Downtown multi-cultural hub kicks off its watch parties on Friday, July 26 with the opening ceremony hosted on its jumbo LED screens in Post Market and the X Atrium. Post Houston will offer a host of family fun, with free face painting, balloon artists, and an Olympic-style podium for Houstonians to use for an Instagrammable memento. The events will run through August 11. 401 Franklin Street, Downtown 77201
Slowpokes: This local coffee shop and breakfast shop will serve American-themed specials at its five locations through August 11, including its red, white, and blue-colored Bomp Pop blue raspberry and hibiscus lemonade ($6), and its American Pie Latte, a combination of caramel apple butter latte topped with whipped cream, and cinnamon with a caramel drizzle ($6.50-$7).