Best Patios in Rice Village, Houston: 9 Restaurants and Bars Outside

The best patio restaurants and bars in Rice Village, Houston, are Upstairs at Hungry's for a second-floor terrace in the oak trees, Black Walnut for a covered, heated patio, and Sixty Vines for a greenhouse patio with 60 wines on tap. For a drink outside after dark, Under the Volcano on Bissonnet Street has two tropical patios, and Little Woodrow's on Morningside Drive is a backyard bar with yard games. All nine picks below sit inside Rice Village and were checked as open on their own official websites in November 2026.

The line to steal: the best shade in Rice Village is upstairs. Upstairs at Hungry's describes its terrace as nestled among the treetops of Rice Boulevard, so you eat under the same oaks you usually walk beneath.

Where does Rice Village start and stop?

For this guide, Rice Village is the shopping and dining district bounded by University Boulevard on the north, Bissonnet Street on the south, Kirby Drive on the west and Greenbriar Drive on the east. That is the same boundary we use in our Rice Village bars guide. It covers Morningside Drive, Rice Boulevard, Times Boulevard, Dunstan Road and Amherst Street, and it leaves out West University Place homes to the west and the Rice University campus to the north. The district's own site says Rice Village has been growing since 1938.

The quick list

• Best shade from trees: Upstairs at Hungry's, a terrace in the oak canopy over Rice Boulevard.
• Best covered patio: Black Walnut, whose patio is covered and heated.
• Best wine patio: Sixty Vines, with a greenhouse patio at University and Kirby.
• Best patio with a story: Under the Volcano, a 1989 bar in a yellow house with two tropical patios.
• Best backyard bar: Little Woodrow's, with yard games and lawn chairs. Strictly 21 and up.
• Best low-key patio: The Owl Bar on Dunstan Road, with free popcorn and happy hour every day.
• Best burger outside: Hopdoddy, with a patio overlooking Morningside Plaza.
• Best long-running Italian: D'Amico's Italian Market Cafe, on Morningside Drive since 1996.
• Best seafood dinner: Navy Blue on Times Boulevard.

How we chose

We picked places where the outdoor seating is part of the reason to go. Each pick had to sit inside the boundary above and show current hours on its own official website when we checked in November 2026. Each also needed outdoor seating confirmed on its own site or, for two picks, in the official Rice Village district directory at rice-village.com.

About dogs: none of these nine venues publishes a dog policy on its official site, so we don't label any of them dog-friendly. If you're bringing a dog, call ahead and ask before you sit down, or use our citywide dog-friendly patios guide, which only lists places with a published policy.

Hours change, so treat every schedule below as "typically" and check the official site before you go.

Which Rice Village patios have shade?

Three Rice Village patios publish some kind of cover: Black Walnut's patio is covered and heated, Sixty Vines' patio is a greenhouse, and the Upstairs at Hungry's terrace sits among the oak treetops. In Houston's warm months, mornings and evenings are the comfortable patio hours.

Shaded and covered patios

Upstairs at Hungry's

2356 Rice Blvd, 2nd floor · bar and lounge above Hungry's · terrace in the treetops

Upstairs Bar & Lounge is the bar on the second floor of Hungry's in Rice Village, and its expansive outdoor terrace is what the bar calls its crown jewel. The bar says the terrace is perched in the oak trees lining Rice Boulevard and is pleasant for year-round use.

What to order: the cast-iron wings, the bar's signature, or a Hot Honey Pepperoni wood-fired pizza.

Good to know: happy hour typically runs from 3 to 6 p.m. (the bar lists it both as daily and as weekdays, so check). Brunch on the Balcony runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is 21 and up. Upstairs typically opens at 3 p.m. on weekdays and at 10 a.m. on weekends.

Black Walnut

5510 Morningside Dr, Suite 150 · all-day cafe · covered, heated patio

Black Walnut in Rice Village is an all-day cafe whose own site lists a covered, heated patio.

What to order: the Lobster Benedict at weekend brunch, or the Chipotle Pepper Pasta with Shrimp at dinner.

Good to know: Black Walnut typically opens at 7 a.m. every day and closes at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday until 4 p.m. On weekdays it runs two happy hours: an early-bird one from 7 to 9:30 a.m. and an afternoon one from 3 to 6:30 p.m.

Sixty Vines

2540 University Blvd · wine bar and restaurant · greenhouse patio

Sixty Vines sits where University Boulevard meets Kirby Drive, in a two-story building with what the restaurant calls a greenhouse patio built for wine-garden dining. It pours 60 wines on tap.

Insider tip: the tap system is the point. Sixty Vines says each keg holds the equivalent of 26 bottles and is reused up to 60 times, saving 1,560 bottles, corks and labels from landfills over its life.

What to order: Truffled Vineyard Fries and Bacon-Wrapped Dates with a flight, or a wood-fired pizza.

Good to know: typical hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday, with weekend brunch until 3 p.m. Weekday happy hour (3 to 6 p.m.) is served in the bar and lounge, not on the patio.

Patio bars

Under the Volcano

2349 Bissonnet St · cocktail bar · two tropical patios

Under the Volcano is a Day of the Dead-themed neighborhood bar that opened in 1989. The bar says its funky yellow house was an icehouse in the 1940s, then Munchies Café, before it became Under the Volcano. It is named after Malcolm Lowry's 1947 novel.

What to order: a Strawberry Basil Margarita or a Paloma, with empanadas or guacamole made to order.

Good to know: typically open from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Parking tip: the bar lists extra evening parking at Alison Jon (2401 Morningside Dr) and in the strip center at 2342 Bissonnet St (look for the Murder by the Book sign), Monday through Saturday after 6 p.m. and all day Sunday.

Little Woodrow's Rice Village

5611 Morningside Dr · backyard bar · patio bar, yard games and lawn chairs

Little Woodrow's calls itself your local backyard bar, and the Rice Village location calls itself game-day headquarters for Rice Athletics. The location lists a patio bar, outdoor furniture, yard games and more than 15 HD TVs.

What to order: a Frozen Woody, the chain's signature frozen drink, or a Woody's Ranch Water.

Good to know: it's strictly 21 and up at all times and typically open until 2 a.m. Happy hour typically runs Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m.

The Owl Bar

2424 Dunstan Rd, Suite 150 · neighborhood bar · patio

The Owl Bar has moved twice: since 2010, the bar says, it has called Kirby Drive, then West Alabama Street, and now Dunstan in Rice Village home. It invites you to sip some wine on its patio, and inside there are darts, shuffleboard and a free jukebox.

What to order: a local or German beer on tap and a fresh pizza. The popcorn is complimentary.

Good to know: happy hour runs every day. The bar typically opens at 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon on weekends, and stays open until 2 a.m. Thursday is trivia night.

Patios for lunch and dinner

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

5510 Morningside Dr, Suite 100 · burgers · patio overlooking Morningside Plaza

Hopdoddy Burger Bar in Rice Village has patio seating overlooking Morningside Plaza, the courtyard it shares with Black Walnut and D'Amico's. The chain started in Austin in 2010 and hand-cuts its fries.

What to order: the Wagyu Smash or the Ahi Tuna burger, plus the crispy brussels sprout leaves Hopdoddy itself calls a sleeper hit.

Good to know: typically 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Happy hour, with half-off cocktails, beer and wine, typically runs Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m.

D'Amico's Italian Market Cafe

5510 Morningside Dr, Suite 140 · Italian cafe and market · patio seating

D'Amico's Italian Market Cafe has served Rice Village from 5510 Morningside Drive since August 7, 1996, by its own timeline. Before that, the family ran a pasta and clam bar on Times Boulevard from 1983 to 1993. The Rice Village district directory lists patio seating.

What to order: the Crawfish Ravioli in a creama rosa sauce, the extra-thin Nash Pizza, or the Marilyn Salad, a large Caesar topped with fried calamari.

Good to know: typically 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Navy Blue

2445 Times Blvd · Gulf Coast seafood · patio seating

Navy Blue is chef Aaron Bludorn's modern American seafood restaurant, built as a tribute to the Texas Gulf Coast. The Rice Village district directory lists patio seating, and valet parking is available.

What to order: come on Monday for Seafood Paella Mondays.

Good to know: lunch is typically served weekdays from 11:30 a.m., dinner nightly, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ask for a patio table when you book.

Save this: three Rice Village patio routes

The shady Sunday (late morning to afternoon)

1. Brunch on the covered patio at Black Walnut on Morningside Drive.
2. Walk the shops, then climb to the terrace at Upstairs at Hungry's for a drink in the oaks.
3. Finish with a glass outside at Sixty Vines at University and Kirby.

The Morningside Plaza hop (lunch or early dinner)

1. Burgers and brussels sprout leaves on the Hopdoddy patio.
2. Or split a Nash Pizza at D'Amico's next door, a Rice Village fixture since 1996.
3. Walk a block to Little Woodrow's for a Frozen Woody in the backyard (21 and up).

The after-dark loop (evening)

1. Seafood dinner at Navy Blue on Times Boulevard.
2. A margarita on a tropical patio at Under the Volcano on Bissonnet.
3. A nightcap and free popcorn at The Owl Bar on Dunstan.

More evening ideas: our Rice Village date night guide.

Before you go: a Rice Village patio checklist

• Check hours on the venue's own site the day you go.
• Want shade? Pick Black Walnut (covered), Sixty Vines (greenhouse) or Upstairs at Hungry's (under the oaks).
• Parking: the district offers two hours of free parking in the Rice Village Main Garage and rooftop lot, both entered from Kelvin Drive. Surface lots are paid through ParkMobile.
• Bringing a dog? None of these venues publishes a dog policy, so call first.
• Bringing anyone under 21? Skip Little Woodrow's and Brunch on the Balcony at Upstairs; both are 21 and up.

Is Rice Village walkable?

Yes. Every pick on this list sits within the few blocks between University Boulevard and Bissonnet Street, so once you park you can walk the whole route. Our Rice Village and West U area guide and things to do in Rice Village cover what else is nearby.

More in Rice Village and beyond

For weekend mornings, see brunch in Rice Village. For more outdoor tables across the city, try our patio dining guide or the best patios in Montrose, a short drive northeast.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best patio restaurants and bars in Rice Village?

Upstairs at Hungry's (treetop terrace), Black Walnut (covered, heated patio) and Sixty Vines (greenhouse patio) are the standouts. For drinks, Under the Volcano has two tropical patios and Little Woodrow's is a backyard bar.

Which Rice Village patios are covered or shaded?

Black Walnut at 5510 Morningside Dr has a covered, heated patio, Sixty Vines at 2540 University Blvd has a greenhouse patio, and the Upstairs at Hungry's terrace at 2356 Rice Blvd sits among oak treetops. No other pick in this guide publishes shade details.

Are Rice Village patios dog-friendly?

None of the nine patios in this guide publishes a dog policy on its official website, so call the restaurant before bringing a dog. Houston.com's dog-friendly patios guide lists places with published dog policies.

Where do you park in Rice Village?

The Rice Village district offers two hours of free parking in the Rice Village Main Garage and rooftop lot, both with entrances on Kelvin Drive. Surface lots are paid through ParkMobile.

How old is Under the Volcano in Rice Village?

Under the Volcano at 2349 Bissonnet St opened in 1989. The bar says its yellow house was an icehouse in the 1940s and then Munchies Café.

Are Rice Village patio bars open to under-21s?

Not all of them. Little Woodrow's Rice Village is strictly 21 and up at all times, and Brunch on the Balcony at Upstairs at Hungry's is 21 and up.