Spending a few weekdays in Galveston in May. Its been 10 plus years since we've been there. Looking for recommendations for bar or hot spots to hang out at during the day, nice restaurants for the evening, and any fun touristy things do to.
Krazykat said:
Has anyone tried the Pineapple Parlor? They bill it as a Tiki bar speakeasy.
HollywoodBQ said:
I moved to Galveston from Los Angeles 11 months ago and finally bought a house 6 weeks ago (I would need Han Solo kind of money to ever move again) so here's what I've discovered during the past year:
- Favorite bar to just hang out and watch the Gulf while enjoying the breeze - Float
- Favorite bar to hang out and drink nice beers and watch A&M games, NHL Stanley Cup Finals, etc. - Beerfoot
- Favorite bars to hang out with alcoholics - Lucky Lounge, Bar 43
- Bar to hang out with local day drinking "professional alcoholics" - Brewchachos (they all know each other there)
- Nice bar to drink upscale drinks in a great setting and watch the Gulf - Lucine Hotel's rooftop deck
- Nice sushi, Teriyaki steak, etc. - Sky Bar
- Nice white tablecloth restaurant with drinks that are reasonably priced - Willie G's
- Best bar for watching multiple sporting events simultaneously, especially soccer right now - Brick House Tavern. Bonus - they have beer towers. They're not the full 3L (100oz) towers you find in Asia but they're 88oz and the prices are very reasonable. If you're going to have 3 beers, you might as well get a 1/2 tower.
- Best Margaritas on the Island are at Salsa but the food is not great.
- Nice secret spot for Italian is Gonzalo's next to UTMB.
- Hidden spot for enjoying the sunset is the Marina Bar & Grill
- Cowboy bar with too much gaiety for my tastes - Buckshot Saloon (bartenders are great there, it's the male+male dancing that's awkward - and I've been to The Castro before)
- Local Brewery with really nice management and good beers - Naked Iguana
- Local Brewery with really good beers with more of a biergarten feel - Galveston Island Brewery
- Local Burger place that is fantastic - MAC-IES
- Favorite Pizza place depends on your current location and time available - Papa's for quick and reliable, Mama Teresa's Flying Pizza for the best pizza and a show when they're spinning dough (will probably have to wait for to get seated), Mario's Seawall for a nice view.
- Local Coffee/Beer bar - Proletariat
- Best BBQ on the Island in my opinion is Leon's. Old man was an Army Cook, Vietnam Vet and it's a family operation. Koops gets a lot of critical acclaim but it was just too hipster for my tastes and Queens had terrible service the one time I went there - took almost an hour to get freaking BBQ and I had my 3 y/o grandson with me so speed of service was a problem. Leon's has been great every time I've been there although my daughter and I did catch a few side eye stares from customers when we went there on Juneteenth (ironic given all the media hype about the need to support Black Owned businesses).
- Interesting wildcard location - Pirate Island Bar And Grill. When I've been in there, I've met interesting folks at the bar and the Vietnamese owner is a riot. They also serve Pho which I've heard is really good but I haven't tried it yet. They have a rooftop deck which would be awesome but it doesn't look like they have enough business to support it.
It seems things are different at Bucks than during my time at TAMUG.HollywoodBQ said:
Cowboy bar with too much gaiety for my tastes - Buckshot Saloon (bartenders are great there, it's the male+male dancing that's awkward