Best Bars in Garden Oaks and Oak Forest: 9 Patios, Pubs and Pours

The best bars in Garden Oaks and Oak Forest are Wakefield Crowbar for game days, Plonk! Bistro for wine on a shady patio, William Price Distilling for cocktails inside a working distillery, and Catty-Corner Ice House for free pool and cold beer. All nine picks below sit in the two Houston neighborhoods just north of the 610 North Loop, and each one was checked as open on its own official website in November 2026.

Here's the part that surprises even people who live nearby: five of these bars sit on one short stretch of Wakefield Drive, with addresses running from 895 to 970. That means an icehouse, a cocktail bar, a brewery, a sports bar with sand volleyball courts and a distillery, all without moving the car.

How do we define Garden Oaks and Oak Forest?

For this guide, Garden Oaks and Oak Forest (locals call the pair "the GOOF") cover the wedge north of the 610 North Loop and W 34th St, from Yale St west to just past T.C. Jester Blvd, running north a little past W 43rd St.

The Garden Oaks civic association places Garden Oaks just north of the North Loop, between Ella Blvd and Yale St. Oak Forest is the larger grid of postwar subdivisions west of Ella. The drinking streets are Wakefield Dr, W 43rd St, N Shepherd Dr, Oak Forest Dr and Alba Rd. Bars south of the Loop belong to our Heights bar guide.

Two things even locals don't know

• A Garden Oaks distillery is named for a man who bet against Abraham Lincoln. William Price Distilling on Wakefield Drive takes its name from William Price Clary, co-founder Bryan Clary's fourth great-grandfather. According to the distillery, he ran a ferry and liquor store in New Salem, Illinois, reportedly wagered that his cousin could beat Lincoln in a wrestling match, and served under Lincoln in the Black Hawk War of 1832.
• You can drink the neighborhoods. The same distillery makes a 92-proof Garden Oaks Gin and a 115-proof, navy-strength Oak Forest Gin, both named for the neighborhoods around it. Its cold brew coffee liqueur also turns up in frozen drinks at Cottonwood on N Shepherd, so a GOOF spirit ends up in a GOOF bar.

The quick list

• Best sports bar: Wakefield Crowbar, with 45 TVs and three sand volleyball courts.
• Best wine bar: Plonk! Bistro and Wine Cellar on W 43rd St.
• Best cocktails: William Price Distilling, inside the stills.
• Best dive and icehouse: Catty-Corner Ice House, with free pool.
• Best beer list: Cottonwood, with 31 taps.
• Best brewery taproom: Great Heights Brewing, with dogs and kids welcome.
• Best happy hour oysters: Lazy Lane and Millie's.
• Best patio with the dog: d'Alba, where the entire patio is dog-friendly.

How we chose

We picked bars, plus restaurants with a real bar program, inside our boundary that post current hours on their official website as of November 2026. Each needed a clear reason to go: a patio, a deep tap list, a happy hour worth planning around, games or a great story.

We left out places we couldn't confirm on an official site, and bars that have closed. Hours and specials change often, so treat every time and price below as "typically" and check the bar's own site before you go.

The Wakefield Drive cluster

Catty-Corner Ice House

Oak Forest, 895 Wakefield Dr · icehouse · open daily

Catty-Corner Ice House calls itself a laid-back neighborhood bar and classic icehouse in Houston's Oak Forest neighborhood, and it lives up to that. Pool is free on any of its three tables. There are darts, horseshoes, Golden Tee and other arcade games, a jukebox, sports on the big screen and a covered patio. It typically opens at 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon on Sunday, and stays open until 2 a.m.

Order: a cold beer, then claim a pool table. More spots like it are in our Houston icehouses guide.

Lazy Lane

Garden Oaks, 923 Wakefield Dr · restaurant and cocktail bar · closed Mondays

Lazy Lane on Wakefield Drive pairs a craft cocktail program built on fresh ingredients and house infusions with a serious wine list and a patio. The reason to time your visit is happy hour, typically 2 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 3 to 5:30 p.m. on weekends, when the site lists $9 cocktails, $9 wines by the glass and $1 oysters.

Order: a spritz on the patio and a dozen oysters. It's also one of our Garden Oaks brunch picks.

Great Heights Brewing Company

Oak Forest, 938 Wakefield Dr · brewery taproom · open daily

Great Heights Brewing opened in August 2017, right in the middle of Hurricane Harvey, according to the brewery. It brews "cleanly-fermented" ales on a 15-barrel brewhouse, pours wine and cider by the glass (no liquor), and typically opens 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. It serves pizza, often has a food truck, and lets you bring your own food.

Families and dogs: both welcome, with dogs on the patio, where there's cornhole. Compare it with the rest of our best breweries in Houston.

Wakefield Crowbar

Oak Forest, 954 Wakefield Dr · sports bar · open daily

Wakefield Crowbar is the neighborhood's game-day headquarters: 45 TVs indoors and out, a 24-foot TV wall in the sports bar and a 16-foot screen in the main bar. Outside there are three sand volleyball courts, cornhole and a huge patio. The full bar pours premium cocktails and more than 30 draft beers.

Families: Crowbar says it's kid-friendly every day until 10 p.m., with a kids play area; it's 21 and up after that. It typically stays open until 2 a.m. Thursday to Saturday. See how it stacks up in our best sports bars in Houston.

William Price Distilling Company

Garden Oaks, 970 Wakefield Dr · distillery cocktail bar · open daily

William Price Distilling runs a tasting room and cocktail bar inside its working distillery, and you can walk in any time it's open or reserve a free table. Happy hour typically runs 3 to 6 p.m.: Monday and Tuesday bring 99-cent espresso martinis (limit one per guest), and Wednesday to Friday bring $8 cocktails.

Do: come Wednesday for free bingo from 7 to 9 p.m., or book a behind-the-scenes tour with a four-spirit tasting. A taco truck parks outside several days a week, and Wednesday and Friday are steak nights. There's even a free indoor bounce house for kids when available. Coffee-cocktail fans should also see our best espresso martinis in Houston.

Elsewhere in the GOOF

Plonk! Bistro and Wine Cellar

Oak Forest, 1214 W 43rd St · wine bar · open daily from 4 p.m.

Plonk! is a longtime neighborhood favorite on W 43rd St, and it describes itself as "first and foremost" a wine bar, with craft beer on tap and a full kitchen. The draw is the multi-tiered, dog-friendly patio out back. Happy hour typically runs 4 to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, with half price on the Taste + Share boards and special pricing on wine by the glass and beer.

Order: a glass of red and a cheese or charcuterie board. More wine picks are in our best wine bars in Houston.

Cottonwood

Garden Oaks, 3422 N Shepherd Dr · beer bar and kitchen · no Monday hours posted

Cottonwood on N Shepherd Dr pours 31 taps of local and not-so-local craft beer, plus a list of Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel releases. Frozens include a blood orange margarita and the Cold Snap, made with William Price coffee liqueur from down the road. It typically opens in the late afternoon Tuesday to Friday and at 11 a.m. on weekends, with Sunday brunch.

Order: something barrel-aged from the Bishop's Barrel list.

Millie's

Oak Forest, 3542 Oak Forest Dr · coastal restaurant and bar · open daily

Millie's says it pays homage to the coastal charthouses of the past, and Monday is the day to go: happy hour drinks run all day, plus a deal on a dozen oysters. On other weekdays drink specials typically run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., including rotating draft beer, wines and house cocktails like Millie's Old Fashioned. Thursday is steak night, and there are two patios.

Order: Millie's Margarita and oysters on a Monday.

d'Alba

Garden Oaks, Alba Rd · restaurant and patio bar · open daily

d'Alba serves modern American food in the Garden Oaks neighborhood, and its entire patio is dog-friendly. Happy hour typically runs 2 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, when every drink on its happy hour list costs $5, including the alba red mule, made with Deep Eddy Ruby Red and hibiscus ginger beer.

Bring: the dog. More ideas are in our dog-friendly patios guide.

Save this: the Wakefield Drive crawl

Five bars, one short stretch of Wakefield Drive, no driving between stops. Plan a rideshare home.

1. 3 p.m., William Price Distilling (970): start with a happy hour cocktail, or a 99-cent espresso martini on Monday or Tuesday.
2. Wakefield Crowbar (954): catch the game on the 24-foot TV wall or watch the volleyball.
3. Great Heights Brewing (938): a pint of house ale on the patio.
4. Lazy Lane (923): $1 oysters before happy hour ends at 5:30 p.m. (Tuesday to Sunday).
5. Catty-Corner Ice House (895): finish with free pool and the jukebox.

Before you go: a quick checklist

• Check hours on each bar's own site the day you go. Lazy Lane is closed Mondays, and Cottonwood posts no Monday hours.
• Bringing the dog? d'Alba, Plonk! and Great Heights welcome dogs on their patios.
• Bringing kids? Great Heights, Crowbar (until 10 p.m.) and William Price welcome families.
• Want oysters? Millie's on Monday and Lazy Lane at happy hour.
• Never drink and drive. Book a rideshare or pick a designated driver.

More bars nearby

Heading south of the Loop? Try our Heights happy hours and the citywide best bars in Houston.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best sports bar in Garden Oaks and Oak Forest?

Wakefield Crowbar at 954 Wakefield Dr is the neighborhood's main sports bar, with 45 TVs, a 24-foot TV wall and three sand volleyball courts.

Are there dog-friendly bars in Garden Oaks and Oak Forest?

Yes. d'Alba says its entire patio is dog-friendly, Plonk! Bistro has a dog-friendly patio, and Great Heights Brewing allows dogs on its patio.

Can you bring kids to bars in Oak Forest?

Some welcome families. Wakefield Crowbar is kid-friendly until 10 p.m., Great Heights Brewing welcomes kids, and William Price Distilling has a free indoor bounce house when available.

Does William Price Distilling have a bar open to the public?

Yes. William Price Distilling at 970 Wakefield Dr runs a tasting room and cocktail bar inside its working distillery, and walk-ins are welcome during open hours. Tours with a four-spirit tasting are booked separately.

Where is the best happy hour in Garden Oaks?

Lazy Lane on Wakefield Drive lists $1 oysters and $9 cocktails at happy hour, and Millie's on Oak Forest Drive runs happy hour drinks all day Monday. Check each site for current times.

Is there an icehouse in Oak Forest?

Yes. Catty-Corner Ice House at 895 Wakefield Dr is a classic icehouse with free pool on three tables, darts, horseshoes and a covered patio.