Leon’s Lounge

Leon’s Lounge is our favorite family spot. Their cocktails blow my mind every time we came to this place! I am more like a liqueur drinker, but my husband usually orders the mule or the whiskey, because he is a fan of pretty strong drinks. No matter what you try at Leon’s Lounge, every their drink is a killer one!

Leon’s Lounge closed down for a while but it has now been open under new management for quite a while. This was my first time so I can’t compare to the way things were previously but Leon’s has a lot of old-​school charm. I hear it’s Houston’s oldest bar but I hear the same thing about La Carafe so what gives? One of life’s mysteries but either way you have a lot of history here.
Leon’s has a speakeasy vibe with the dim lighting and comfortable seating. There’s a long bar and then several rooms with couches and sofas. There are black and white portraits on the walls of celebrities from back in the day. They have a craft cocktail menu with 10 or so cocktails going for $ 10 a pop. Good spot to bring a date for the ambiance and making out opportunities!

It pains me to give this place such a low review. This past weekend was my first time back since the reopening. Everything just seemed lackluster. The bartender’s consistently shoddy drinks paired with a pretentious attitude really brought everything down. Someone in my group inquired if they still made the bell pepper cocktail, to which we were informed «new owners, we do things differently now.» Oh ok, you do things differently now but you still kept the same name? I get it… We hung around for 3 rounds then left, everyone having switched to bottled beer the last round. It would have been one thing if the drinks were cheaper, but the bartender made drinks one would expect to be at $ 3 well night, however they were priced as if we were across the street at Mongoose.
Sadly, Leon’s is now just a figment of my memory. Poor bartenders, unfortunately made drinks, and a dead atmosphere. I won’t be coming back here again.

Leon’s Lounge may be the oldest pub in H-​town.
I went on Unilocal to leave a few words about their peppers drinks and that’s all for now. To be honest, I couldn’t have imagined such drink to be delicious and I was a bit hesitant about trying it out, but OMG what a specific and seriously yummy taste it had! Leon’s Lounge has pretty archaic appearance and nice midtown location! I can’t wait to get another pepper drink and hope to try the other positions on the menu out!

We loved it. They don’t see be food so Andrew told us to grab some food from the Vietnamese shop on the corner and bring it back. We literally ate our food and ordered cocktails! Did I mention standard double pours??? I had the whiskey sour and my hubby had the mule. Fantastic and strong! Andrew makes killer drinks! Awesome and we will be back.

good bartenders, great drinks

I’m only giving this place 3 stars because everywhere I read online said they serve food so we went there for food but then were told they had been recently bought by new owners and no longer serve food. The bartender was GREAT! The décor was very trendy and I enjoyed the atmosphere, I just wish they had been able to offer some type of food so I could’ve stayed for more than one drink.

Awesome atmosphere! Such a diverse crowd and it is super easy to strike up engaging conversations with interesting people.
It’s the Oldeat Bar in Houston and a place you Must visit

anyone know when this Houston institution might reopen?

I am so very happy they are back up and running. I had been told from a reliable source that it was not indefinite. I held on to that thread of hope and wove it into a sweater of happiness when they officially re-​opened.
I love the drinks, the food, the staff, the setting, location. Definitely my first stop when day drinking.

Hey guys they’re bringing it back! Under new ownership though. The same group the runs Over the Volcano is a part of this project. Keep hope alive!!! :)

The bar is permanently closed but you can visit their other bar Under The Volcano located at 2349 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77 005 and enjoy some of Leon’s Lounge best signature cocktails over there now!

Still closed :-(It was a great local dive bar with a bit of history and a lot of character, unfortunate it seems like every bar comes and goes.

Came here on a Friday night, cool bar right across the street from Mongoose vs. Cobra. This is an old, narrow bar with a very chill vibe. There is a small seating area inside and a patio area out front. Nice if you want to get away from the loud, obnoxious Gaslamp-​Dogwood-​Shot bar scene on Friday and Saturday nights in midtown. They have a decent list of cocktails and bottles of wine. Not the longest list in the world, but good enough. The bottle I chose was a $ 30 bottle of Pinot Grigio, again good enough for 1 am on my chill night. The bartenders were friendly and talkative. I struck up a conversation with one of them around 2:15 well after the bar was closed and appreciated the hospitality… most places run you out the door as the clock strikes 2!
Keep in mind–
Hidden gem– you can drive right by
Dive bar– old and «rustic»
Patio– wooden platform with some chairs outdoors
Not everyone’s cup of tea– good for a chill type of night

Love this little place on the edge of the hustle and bustle of midtown. Went here after date night for a nightcap. They have both outdoor seating and a long wooden bar area.
Think OLD New Orleans French quarter style and true mixologists using fresh juices and produce in their drinks! It’s awesome. The bartenders can help you pick the right drink for you if you are overwhelmed. Don’t just order your plain old vodka soda here! The bartenders are always really friendly and the bar had a dimlight relaxing vibe. They actually have a tv (sound off) in the bar corner which is great for the friend trying to monitor scores or check the end of the game.
They have food but I have never tried it and will be grabbing some on my next visit over that’s before 11pm

Apparently this is one of the oldest bars in Houston. It is also right across the street from Mongoose versus Cobra, go get a pretzel with pickles. I came here late after Anvil and already had a few. This review is really just a post of the their drink with peppers in it. At first, I was put off by the idea of bell peppers, but my oh my it was delicious. In the state I was in I was completely fine with the archaic appearance of the bar, if I happen to be in midtown and want a pepper drink I will come back, it will probably be the next time I am at Mongoose versus Cobra.

Love this place.
Older more upscale crowd– definitely not loud college kids here.
The interior is very eclectic and unique… halfway feels like you are inside an old Victorian home.
Drinks are fabulous– best Pimm’s Cup I’ve ever had!

I soo wanted to like this place after reading the reviews about it’s nostalgia, great drinks and atmosphere. My dear friend and fellow elite Unilocaler @FreeL. had nothing but nice things to say about this place and we are usually on one accord when it comes to bars and our fondness of certain places, but I would have to agree with Unilocaler Olivia K. that his place is weak as hell and I can think of so many other places to spend my Saturday night.
SERVICE
Upon entering the bar, all we could hear were these loud, obnoxious cougars at the bar and their young «meat». Sloppy drunk and too wasted for it only to be a little after 8. But It’s a bar and this is what happens at bars right?
So my husband and brother in law pull up to the bar. The waitress comes over and says Hi, what will you have? hmmm. We don’t know. I mean we could order what we normally do but this being one of the oldest bars in Houston, I am certain you have «specialties» or things your prefer, so how about you share that? So I ask what she recommends, she rattles off two names on the menu and so we order that.
The drinks are tasty. We also order the empanadas which were ok (like 1 star). A little longer in the oven might have been nice.
As we sit there, we notice that even though there are only a couple patrons at the bar it is taking FOREVER for someone to acknowledge that we are at the bar. My brother ordered a bottle beer that he had to ask for 3 times. And all you have to do is grab a beer, open it and hand it over.
But again, it’s a bar, so I am attempting to keep calm and enjoy this as an experience.
So as the place gets more and more crowded we noticed that if you weren’t sloppy drunk or willing to yell and cop an attitude with the server you more than likely would have to wait a while for even some eye contact. It took 7 minutes for someone to come over to us so we could close out our tab and get the hell out of there.
I won’t mention that the bartender was muddling something and squirted the juice all over my face, hands, jeans and glasses BUT I chose to sit at the bar and understand that those things may happen sometimes. Although I have been to and sat at SEVERAL bars and this hasn’t happened.
I think the most upsetting part about it all was that the bartender offered my husband a shot to «make it better». Like he was the one smelling like a margarita, with juiced up glasses and jeans. I was done at that point and closed out my tab and bounced!
I won’t return, as there are several other places that I could rattle off that are 10 times and 3 stars better than this joint.

If I lived in Midtown or downtown THIS would be my hangout bar. It’s a dark and mysterious drinking den. A narrow tavern with a penchant for old vinyl records on the speakers and heafty drinks. If we could still smoke in Houston bars in this place it would be impossible to see past your nose… you know it had that kind of atmosphere in its heyday.
I watched the bartender mix what I thought was gonna be a certain liver killer for another patron. When I asked her what curious concoction she was making she said «just a margarita». Honey! If you put that many ingredients and that much love into «just a margarita» I am sold on your mixology skills. I want you to make every drink I ever drink from now until the end of time.
My pour of Jack with three little ice cubes was a nice one and for $ 5.50 it was perfect. Their Scotch selections were a pleasant surprise for a bar with such limited bottle space. The beer selection also was decent for a smaller bar area. I think I may try some of their classic cocktails when we go back again. And we will go back again.
Unlike so many of the bars I want to go to more often — ie: Anvil and Poison Girl. –this one opens at 2 instead of later in the day. I am an afternoon day off drinker and don’t want to fight 5 or 6 pm traffic to get home after a couple pops.
They have steak night and empanada night and happy hour specials. The noise level was perfect. We could talk, hear the music, order our drinks without yelling and leave without ringing ears.
I wish now we had ventured further into the place and into the back where they have overstuffed lounge chairs and cozier seating. But we were at the last of our pub crawl destinations and wanted to top off our day with a nice strong bourbon and then head home.
Why not a 5 star review since I loved it so? The bathroom was smaller than an airplane potty and the highball glasses were square and bothersome and hard to sip from. But those are piddly things that I shouldn’t mark off for… but a one holer ladies room is important to note.

Love this place!
Unlike most places in the Midtown area, the people in this bar were actually friendly, laid back, and not pretentious. The bartenders were nice enough, even though there was one that was kind of like whatever. She was wearing a tank top that said, «Fuck you, Houston IS awesome» and I thought that the tank top was great and so I complimented her on that. Her attitude was like, «leave me alone!» Gee woman, I wasn’t trying to hit on you. You’re not my type! But other than that, everything else was cool.
I enjoyed watching the bartenders make drinks with the mints and cucumbers and lemons and what not. Very entertaining. Within five minutes of entering the bar, people started chatting me and my friend up and we actually made a new friend that night and went to Byzantio to smoke some hookah after. Pretty cool.
This place is located off of McGowen and Main Street so there’s plenty of parking on the streets nearby. I parked about a block away on a Saturday night and it took me about two minutes walking from my car to the bar. Drinks are reasonably priced.
I’ll be back!