Located in the Historic District of Downtown Houston, Hearsay Gastro Lounge is a must for foodies and history nerds. Built in 1860, the Foley building has been everything from a bakery to a grocery store to ammunition storage for the Civil War. The building has been flooded and rebuilt and burned down multiple times and you can even see the burn marks on the bricks and rafters inside.

You know you’re a brunch hot spot when the wait is 2+ hours before your doors even open. People without a reservation are allocated to the barstools and forced to fight Hunger Game style for seats. Now, while there’s plenty of seating at the bar–20 bar stools or so–everything is gone by 11:15am. So get there early to get a spot, or just plan ahead and make a reservation like the rest of Houston.

The brunch menu has all your classic items–omelettes, egg benedicts, bottomless mimosas. While sitting at the bar trying to call dibs on the quickly disappearing bar stools for our late friends, we got the bottomless mimosas to take the edge off. YASSSS. We also bidded the time with to a hefty serving of the parm fries. YUM.

Once the whole crew arrived, we squeezed in extra chairs into the bar and ordered. I got the the breakfast tacos with potato, havarti cheese, house salsa, and a light arugula salad. Yes please. Other’s in the group got various versions of the Brunch Burger topped with a fried egg, aged cheddar, chipotle aioli  with a side of house fries. Delicious. 

Hearsay would be a delightful place to take the rents or out of town family. It’s historic and touristy and the menu is good enough to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. Also there’s live music! If I were to go again, I would def make a reservation for one of the two tables on the patio. Because lawd knows brunch only gets better with a patio and some quality people watching.