Best Brunch in River Oaks, Houston: 9 Weekend Spots by Start Time
Date Published
The best brunch in River Oaks, Houston runs along two strips: Westheimer Road between Shepherd Drive and Loop 610, and River Oaks District at 4444 Westheimer. Our top picks are State of Grace for a Gulf Coast brunch, Brasserie 19 for a polished French one, a'Bouzy for Champagne by the bottle, and Little Hen for an English-style breakfast that starts at 8am.
Here's the hook worth sending to the group chat: brunch in River Oaks runs on two clocks. Little Hen in River Oaks District pours its first coffee at 8am, every day. MAD, a few doors away, doesn't start its weekend brunch until noon. Between them, you can eat crawfish Benedict, a Spanish paella, Italian pastry baskets and birria hash without crossing Loop 610.
This guide sorts nine places by the kind of morning you want, and every one was confirmed open, with brunch on its menu, on its own official website.
Where does River Oaks start and stop?
For this guide, River Oaks means the area between Buffalo Bayou to the north, Shepherd Drive to the east and Loop 610 to the west, down to and including both sides of Westheimer Road. The deed-restricted residential streets of River Oaks itself have no restaurants, so we count the commercial edges people mean when they say they're going to River Oaks for brunch: the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray at Shepherd, both sides of Westheimer, and River Oaks District near Loop 610.
One honest caveat: Escalante's calls its Westheimer location Highland Village, and River Oaks District sits on the south side of Westheimer. We count both because they front Westheimer, which is where Houstonians head when they say River Oaks brunch. Brunch spots just over the line are in our Upper Kirby restaurant guide, our Galleria and Uptown brunch guide and our Montrose brunch guide. For the wider neighborhood, start with our River Oaks area guide.
The quick list
- For a Gulf Coast brunch with a seafood tower: State of Grace.
- For French brunch in a white dining room: Brasserie 19.
- For Champagne at brunch: a'Bouzy, which sells mimosas by the bottle.
- For a crowd with mixed tastes and kids: Relish.
- For Tex-Mex brunch and a pitcher of mimosas: Escalante's.
- For early risers and afternoon tea: Little Hen in River Oaks District.
- For an Italian brunch with a dress code: Bari Ristorante.
- For a late Spanish brunch: MAD.
- For live music and a raw bar: Loch Bar.
How we chose
We looked for restaurants that serve a real weekend brunch menu, not just lunch with an egg on it, inside our River Oaks boundaries. Each pick had to show current hours and a current brunch menu on its official website (or, for one pick, on River Oaks District's own directory) as of October 2026. We favoured range: a seafood plateau, a French brasserie, Tex-Mex, an English tea room, Italian, Spanish and a raw bar.
We left out places whose official sites no longer list brunch. Armandos on Westheimer, for example, now opens at 4pm. Menus here change seasonally, and brunch hours shift on holidays, so treat every time below as typical and check the restaurant's site before you go.
Westheimer and West Gray
Five of the nine picks sit on Westheimer Road or West Gray Street, east of River Oaks District, each a few minutes from the next.
State of Grace
River Oaks, 3258 Westheimer Rd · Gulf Coast and South Texas · brunch Saturday and Sunday · reservations on OpenTable
State of Grace, the Ford Fry restaurant on Westheimer, serves brunch typically 10am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. The brunch menu leans into the Gulf: Gulf crab hushpuppies with cane syrup butter, a crawfish Benedict styled after étouffée on fried green tomato, and an eggs en cocotte dish in the style of shakshuka. Start with the buttermilk biscuits and seasonal jam.
Insider tip: the restaurant's About page shows a photo of the Lamar-River Oaks Shopping Center in 1950, a reminder that this corner of River Oaks has been a neighborhood shopping street since at least 1950. If you're celebrating, the seafood plateaus (a petite and a grand, the grand with caviar) are on the brunch menu too.
Best for: parents in town and a long Sunday table.
Brasserie 19
River Oaks Shopping Center, 1962 West Gray · French brasserie · brunch Saturday and Sunday
Brasserie 19, from founder Charles Clark, serves brunch typically 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Order the Challah French Toast or the Market Quiche, or go big with the Seafood Croissant. There's a classic Eggs Benedict and a house Bloody Mary.
Insider tip: valet is $10, but the restaurant says free parking is available in The Driscoll at River Oaks garage. There's a patio when the weather cooperates.
Best for: a polished brunch that still feels like the neighborhood.
a'Bouzy
River Oaks, 2300 Westheimer Rd · American with a Champagne bar · brunch Saturday and Sunday
a'Bouzy (say it ah-boozy) is named after the village of Bouzy in France's Champagne region, and it acts like it: the wine list runs past 1,000 labels and brunch mimosas come by the glass or by the bottle. Brunch is typically 10am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. The menu mixes French and Texan, from a French Omelette & Burrata Caprese Salad plate to Chupa's Beef Fajita Breakfast Quesadilla, Corned Beef Brisket Hash and Mini Kolaches.
Dogs and parking: the patio is dog-friendly and first-come, first-served. Weekend valet is $6 from 10am to 5pm, with self-parking on Dickey Street and San Saba Street. The dress code is business casual.
Best for: birthdays and anyone who thinks brunch needs a cork.
Relish Restaurant & Bar
River Oaks, 2810 Westheimer Rd · American with Mediterranean touches · brunch weekends from 10am
Relish lists brunch from 10am to 3pm, with the River Oaks restaurant opening at 10am on Saturday and Sunday. The fall brunch menu is a crowd-pleaser: homemade herb biscuits with mixed berry jam, deviled eggs topped with crispy fried chicken and a maple drizzle, Italian baked eggs in pomodoro sauce, and chicken and waffles. For the table, a carafe of orange juice comes with a bottle of Prosecco.
Best for: families and mixed groups. Relish posts a separate kids menu on its site.
Escalante's Fine Tex-Mex & Tequila
Highland Village, 4053 Westheimer Rd · Tex-Mex · weekend brunch Saturday and Sunday
Escalante's serves weekend brunch typically 10am to 3pm. The first Escalante's opened in Houston in 1993, built on the family recipes of its namesake, Barbara Escalante, and the flour and corn tortillas are still made by hand to order. Order the Birria Hash, slow-cooked beef birria with two eggs and mole negro, or the Chilaquiles. Mimosas come by the glass or the pitcher, and the Paloma Mimosa swaps orange juice for grapefruit and tequila.
Best for: a casual Tex-Mex brunch after a Saturday errand run.
River Oaks District
River Oaks District, the open-air shopping street at 4444 Westheimer, has the area's densest cluster of brunch, and you can park once and walk between them. Shopping and parking details are in our River Oaks District guide.
Little Hen
River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer Rd, Suite H110 · English-inspired breakfast and brunch · open daily · reservations on Resy
Little Hen is the early bird: typically 8am to 3pm on weekdays and 8am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. The signature is the Rose Petal Pancakes, served with rose water infused maple syrup, and the name is a registered trademark (look for the ® on the menu). Savoury fans should try the Truffled Huevos Rotos or the Bourbon Batter French toast with bacon and caramelized pear.
Insider tip: on weekends, Little Hen switches to afternoon tea only from 4pm to 6pm, with mini sandwiches, scones and macarons. It's a cashless restaurant, so bring a card.
Best for: early risers, pastel-loving photographers and a mother-daughter morning.
Bari Ristorante
River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer Rd, Suite A-125 · Italian · brunch Saturday and Sunday
Bari serves its Colazione brunch typically 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, according to River Oaks District's directory. Start with the Cesto di Pasticceria, a basket of four pastries including an almond croissant filled with pastry cream, then order the Bari Hash with braised short ribs or the Prosciutto Benedict. If you're splurging, the Torre Bari seafood tower comes with Maine lobster.
Best for: an Italian brunch that feels like a lunch in Milan.
MAD
River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer Rd, Suite C180 · Spanish · lunch and brunch Friday to Sunday
MAD comes from the team behind BCN Taste & Tradition, and its brunch is the latest start in the neighborhood: typically noon to 2:30pm, Friday through Sunday. Its tagline, "De Madrid al cielo" (from Madrid to heaven), borrows an old Madrid saying. Its two-course prix fixe brunch has a build-your-own scalloped potatoes and eggs skillet, Steak and Eggs with abuela's sauce, and a Paella Valencia. Save room for the Basque cheesecake.
Best for: late risers and anyone who wants paella before 3pm.
Loch Bar
River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer Rd, Suite G110 · seafood tavern · brunch Saturday and Sunday
Loch Bar is a seafood tavern with a big raw bar and what it calls one of Texas' most substantial whiskey lists, and it serves brunch typically 11am to 3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Order the Crab Cake Benedict with Old Bay hollandaise, or The Loch French Toast with matcha crème anglaise. The Chicken-n-Waffles can be swapped to lobster tail. The Bad Blood, a Tito's Bloody Mary, comes garnished with cocktail shrimp and bacon.
Know before you go: Loch Bar says it has live music seven days a week, and its menu notes a 3% facility fee added to each check.
Best for: brunch that slides into an afternoon.
Save this: the River Oaks brunch start-time cheat sheet
River Oaks brunch hours vary more than most neighborhoods, so here's when each kitchen typically starts. Screenshot it.
- 8am: Little Hen (every day)
- 10am: State of Grace, a'Bouzy, Relish, Escalante's (Saturday and Sunday)
- 11am: Brasserie 19, Bari, Loch Bar (Saturday and Sunday)
- Noon: MAD (Friday to Sunday, until 2:30pm)
Save this: a one-valet River Oaks District brunch route
- Park once. Little Hen, Bari, MAD and Loch Bar all share the 4444 Westheimer address, so you can walk between them.
- Brunch at 11am at Bari or Loch Bar, or at 8am at Little Hen if you're an early riser.
- Walk it off along the district's shops and art.
- Finish with afternoon tea at Little Hen between 4pm and 6pm on a Saturday or Sunday (book ahead on Resy).
Tips for brunch in River Oaks
Book ahead for weekend brunch at State of Grace (OpenTable) and Little Hen (Resy), which both take online reservations. Check the dress code at a'Bouzy, which asks for business casual. Bring a card for Little Hen, which is a cashless house.
None of these restaurants advertises bottomless mimosas on its official site. If that's the plan, see our bottomless brunch guide. For dinner in the same neighborhood, see our River Oaks restaurant guide, and for an afternoon after brunch, things to do in River Oaks. Our citywide brunch guide covers the rest of Houston.
Last verified: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best brunch in River Oaks, Houston?
It depends on the occasion. State of Grace (3258 Westheimer) and Brasserie 19 (1962 West Gray) are the polished weekend picks, a'Bouzy is the Champagne brunch, and Little Hen in River Oaks District is best for early risers.
Which River Oaks restaurant serves brunch earliest?
Little Hen in River Oaks District opens at 8am every day, according to its website. State of Grace, a'Bouzy, Relish and Escalante's typically start weekend brunch at 10am.
Where can I get a late brunch in River Oaks?
MAD in River Oaks District typically serves brunch from noon to 2:30pm, Friday through Sunday. Brasserie 19, Bari and Loch Bar serve until about 3pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Are there bottomless mimosas in River Oaks?
None of the restaurants in this guide advertises bottomless mimosas on its official website. a'Bouzy sells mimosas by the bottle, Relish offers a carafe of orange juice with a bottle of Prosecco, and Escalante's sells mimosas by the pitcher.
Which River Oaks brunch spots are dog-friendly?
a'Bouzy at 2300 Westheimer Road says its patio is dog-friendly and seated first-come, first-served. For other restaurants, check the official site before bringing a dog.
Where can I have afternoon tea in River Oaks?
Little Hen in River Oaks District serves afternoon tea with mini sandwiches, scones and macarons, and on weekends it offers tea-only service from 4pm to 6pm. Reservations are on Resy.