Bet you didn’t know the UK was just a few miles away. Upper Kirby really leans into the whole UK thing, with red phone booths sprinkled throughout the district and very English-style signs.
Upper Kirby and Greenway can basically be used interchangeably. While Greenway Plaza is completely in Upper Kirby, I probably wouldn’t call something off Kirby and Richmond “Greenway.” So, for that reason, this guide will be simply called Greenway Plaza.
We’re defining Upper Kirby as North of 59, South of Westheimer, East of 610 and West of Shepherd.
Nearby: River Oaks, Montrose, Galleria Area and Rice Village.
Where you need to go
- Best park: Levy Park — ping pong, food trucks, free events and more
- Best spin: SoulCycle
- Best yoga (and spin!): Revolution Studios
- Best pilates: PosturFit
- Best nails: Leon Nails
- Best spa: Milk + Honey
- Best shopping: Highland Village
- Best healthy eats: Local Foods
- Best smoothie: Bebidas
- Best coffee: Cavo
- Best Tex-Mex: Chuy’s
- Best tacos: Fusion Eats
- Best queso: El Tiempo
- Best Indian: Pondicheri
- Best burger: Queen Vic
- Best pasta: Mia Bella
- Best picture-worthy brunch: Tiny Boxwood’s
- Best boozy brunch: a’Bouzy
- Best brunch: Hobbit Cafe
- Best pizza: Bollo
- Best oysters: State of Grace
- Best souffle: Tony’s
- Best cajun: BB’s Cafe
- Best sushi: Too many! Oishii, Ra and Aka Sushi are all great.
- Best place to take your parents to dinner: Eddie V’s
- Best dessert: Petite Sweets
- Best Thursday night dancing: Armando’s
- Best margarita: Pico’s
- Best neighborhood bar: The Owl Bar
- Best patio: Kirby Ice House
- Best late night food: House of Pies
- Best Place to Donate Sports Equipment: Gloves for Good
- Best Fusion Food: Fusion Taco
What you need to know
I lived in Upper Kirby for three years — one in college and then two years after moving back to Houston. I absolutely loved the area. While it’s usually a bit more pricey for an apartment, most are garden style and very homey! I didn’t want the hustle and bustle of Midtown or Downtown, but I wanted to be able to walk around and do things in my neighborhood.
It’s been a few years, but UK still has that homey urban life thing down. The area doesn’t have too many traffic problems, but parking can be a bit of a struggle in some areas. Although I thought it’d be a walkable area, I ended up not walking anywhere basically ever.
UK spans a sizable sliver of Houston’s lifeline, Westheimer, so it’s a pretty central location while still being close to (in my opinion) the best highway in town: 59.