Ah East Downtown, belovedly known to all Houstonians as EaDo. (We get cool kid cred when we abbreviate things.) The neighborhood has a rich history, is conveniently located next to Downtown and hosts sport fan pilgrimages every weekend. We’ll be defining it as north of 45, east of 59 (and thereby Downtown Houston) and west of the diagonal rail road tracks.
Where you need to go
- Best Hipster Café: Tout Suite
- Best Murals: Heart Wall along Leeland — although there’s a million along nearby buildings
- Best Brunch: Andes Cafe
- Best Cheap Brews: Lucky’s Pub — $2 Ziggenbock!
- Best Patio: Truck Yard
- Best Poké: Seaside Poké
- Best Tacos: Brother’s Tacos — seems sketchy, but the line is always out the door!
- Best Vietnamese: Kim Son
- Best Edgy Yoga: East Side Vibes — on top of a furniture warehouse
- Best Dive Bar: Moon Tower Inn — exotic meats and craft brews
- Best Dynamo Pregame Spot: King’s Court Bar & Kitchen — El Batallon (spirited Dynamo supporters) parties here and has a parade before each game
- Best Astros Pregame Spot: Little Woodrows
- Best Laid Back Coffee: AHH, Coffee!
- Best Chill Bar: Neil’s Bahr — science friends, see the pun? Go here to play Mario Kart and board games
- Best Concert Venue: Warehouse Live
- Best Brewery: 8th Wonder
- Best Thai: Kanowman Thai
- Best Patio Bar: Around the Corner — great views of Downtown! Get the white queso
- Best TexMex: The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation — be prepared for long waits on weekends
- Best Furniture Spot: Living Designs Furniture
- Best DIY Studio: Sugar & Cloth
- Best Happy Hour: Chapman & Kirby
- Best Pool: El Segundo Swim Club
- Best Dangerously Good Drinks: Rodeo Goat
What you need to know
EaDo is home to the BBVA Compass stadium and thus has a pretty hopping bar scene whenever a Dynamo or a Dash game is going on. It’s also just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Minute Maid Park so a great place to pre/post game for the Astros as well. The METRO Rail connects Downtown with the stadiums and deeper parts of EaDo.
Like most of Houston, EaDo has pockets of many types of communities. There’s a large Mexican presence along Navigation, and what’s left of Chinatown (it’s more or less been relocated to Bellaire) is along 45. Between the industrial warehouses, townhouse communities pop up on every corner. Outside of the apartments next to the sports stadiums, there’s not a lot of complexes around. People mostly buy (or rent) townhouses with the hopes that the industrial area will be gentrify and home values will go up–likely as a number of coffee shops, parks, and poke restaurants have recently emerged. Lots of people live here who work Downtown or in the Med Center. The neighborhood also provides easy access to most major highways.
EaDo has some of the most fabulous and concentrated street art in the city. Thanks to HUE Mural Fest, there’s been loads of incredible murals that have emerged on this side of town in recent years. We’ve taken quite a few pictures with them over the years (here’s some of our favorites), but the scene is always changing. Park your car near Leeland and St. Emmanuel and start exploring.
Lucky’s Pub regularly partners with 94.5 The BUZZ Radio Station for crazy events. Catch them tapping a keg on St. Patrick’s Day at 7am or having a BLT (Black Tie, Lingerie, Toga) party for New Years. Little Woodrow’s across the street also hosts weekly crawfish races. East End Street Market is very active in the community and hosts all sorts of events, art fairs, and farmer’s markets on Sundays. 8th Wonder also regularly hosts Yoga & Hops as well as fun concerts.