Lowdown on Leon's Lounge

Before Midtown became a buzz word and velvet ropes infiltrated the area, Leon's Lounge was serving beer and booze in the soft glow of chandeliers. In fact, word on the street is that it's 1953 establishment date makes it one of the oldest watering holes in town, second to La Carafe.

The location can't be beat for convenience. Situated just outside of downtown at McGowen and Main Street, Leon's is spitting distance from the McGowen METRORail stop making it a convenient happy hour location for the CBD work crowd who prefer something more relaxed than the Market Square hustle-and-bustle. The mid-block locale is also walking distance from many Midtown apartments.

The crusty-chic interior is portioned into three main areas for your carousing pleasure. The back room features a piano and auxiliary bar area that's perfect for semi-private get togethers like Houstonist staff meetings. In fact, you can reserve the piano room for free-ninety-nine and import your own piano player, like Little Joe Washington. The pool room runs parallel to the bar and features a pool table (duh) and a bunch of stuffed animals - think dead ducks and not teddy bears. And of course there's the main bar featuring shuffle board, the chandeliers, older-than-dirt regulars and a stacked jukebox.

In typical old dive bar fashion, Leon's jukebox features lots of old school standards and a some newer favorites. Two bucks get you eight songs, but beware of the arrow buttons. Excessive pounding will result in the catalog getting stuck and your selections will be limited until the bartender resets the thing.

Typical staples, spirits and suds, are situated behind the bar besides the bartender. There's nothing special about the beer selection except the price of long necks. Lone Stars run $1.75 during happy time for which you get the nifty pictogram puzzle under the cap and 12 ounces of liquidy goodness. The hard liquor front spans the dive bar alcohol spectrum and includes an upper shelf option or two. The Macallan is in the house, but Woodford Reserve is not. Of course you can always treat yourself to some black Jack to get the job done.

Leon's Lounge
1006 McGowen St
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 659-3052