(713) 520-6896

403 W Gray St (Taft Street)
Houston, TX 77019 29.75343 -95.3867

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Neighborhoods: Neartown/ Montrose, Central

BYZANTIOHOUSTON.COM

Hours:

Daily 10am-2am

Last updated 3.13.12

Category:

Restaurants, Singles Bars, Lounges, Bars & Pubs, Neighborhood Bars

Payment Methods:

American Express, Discover, Visa, MasterCard

Bar & Pub Special Features:

Bar Menu, Happy Hour

Restaurant Special Features:

Family-Friendly Dining, Romantic Dining, Outdoor Dining

Cuisine:

Greek, Mediterranean

Bar & Club Special Features:

DJ, Specialty Cocktails, Outdoor Seating, After Work, Smoking Permitted, Live Music

Smoking Permitted:

Yes

Editor's Tips

What People Are Saying About Byzantio

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

In Short – Inside this converted brick bungalow awaits a party scene reminiscent of the Greek isles. The impressive interior boasts a large mosaic bar, stucco moldings, hardwood floors and an earthy color scheme. A full menu of authentic Greek fare, coffee drinks and bar bites (including appetizers, salads, pizzas and sandwiches) is served until 2am. Patrons run the gamut from business lunchers to serious clubbers. In-house DJs spin on weekends while Thursdays pack in the crowds for belly dancers. Free Wi-Fi. –

Editor's Tips

Save Money:
Happy hour on Mondays through Thursdays runs from 4pm to 10pm. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays have happy hour from noon until 8pm.
What to Drink:
When in Rome ... or Greece rather ... try one of the house specialty drinks that feature Greek ouzo. The Ouzotini contains ouzo, vodka, lime juice and peach schnapps while the Ouzotanic keeps it simple with ouzo, tonic and lime juice.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. “I've had my birthday gathering here for two years in a row and love the atmosphere.”
  2. “Great ambience”
  3. “the ambience is pleasant!”
  4. “Nice and relaxing coffeehouse by day, fun and exciting bar at night.”
  5. “There was no cover, plenty of free parking around, and drink prices were very reasonable.”
  6. “love Niko Nikos but THE BIZ is more cozy and and different.”
  7. “Wonderful location”
  8. “a small, quaint greek coffeehouse providing that cozy aura for a chill nite”
  9. “have been djing there for two years and if you want great drinks, a fun time, and wanna experience the taste of the Greek islands come on a Thursday for the Belly Dance show and bar dancing and Sat nights for our GREEK HOUSE PARTY>>”
  10. “Great food, fun place!”
  11. “have never been there at night, but this is a great happy hour place where you can come get affordable drinks and small plates that are excellent- the prices and sizes allow you to try many things, which is always fun!”
drinks
94.6399974822998% positive
  1. “It's more easy going if you want a place to have a drink, have interesting conversation, and eat food that is better then your traditional bar food (and better then some restaurants).”
  2. “have been Byzantio's plenty of times and the service is always mediocre at best, but it is the closest place to me with decent food, hookah and drinks.”
  3. “Daily drink specials are great.”
  4. “There was no cover, plenty of free parking around, and drink prices were very reasonable.”
  5. “Excellent food, great wine and of course they have the hookah pipes.”
  6. “have been djing there for two years and if you want great drinks, a fun time, and wanna experience the taste of the Greek islands come on a Thursday for the Belly Dance show and bar dancing and Sat nights for our GREEK HOUSE PARTY>>”
  7. “With a full bar that has a variety of options including non-alcoholic drinks, you can find something you enjoy hands down.”
  8. “Nice and relaxing coffeehouse by day, fun and exciting bar at night.”
  9. “From the people who work there, to the coffee, to the souvlaki, Byzantio is simply great!”
  10. “have never been there at night, but this is a great happy hour place where you can come get affordable drinks and small plates that are excellent- the prices and sizes allow you to try many things, which is always fun!”
  11. “You should order your food at the bar and they'll bring it out to you.”
  12. “Great coffee w' free Wi-Fi for me to do all my office work and not having to be in the office.”
  13. “Great food, drink, service and staff.”
  14. “frequent Byzantio approximately 4 times a week for coffee, cocktails, food or just a great place to do work on my laptop.”
food quality
91.07000350952148% positive
  1. “have been Byzantio's plenty of times and the service is always mediocre at best, but it is the closest place to me with decent food, hookah and drinks.”
  2. “frequent Byzantio approximately 4 times a week for coffee, cocktails, food or just a great place to do work on my laptop.”
  3. “Way too loud, food is disgusting - nothing Greek or authentic about it - extremely overpriced.”
  4. “It's more easy going if you want a place to have a drink, have interesting conversation, and eat food that is better then your traditional bar food (and better then some restaurants).”
  5. “Great food, drink, service and staff.”
  6. “the food is decent”
  7. “You should order your food at the bar and they'll bring it out to you.”
  8. “Great food, fun place!”
  9. “The menu is full of delicious one of a kind recipes, even though its only salads, sandwiches and appetizers, they are very tasty and homemade.”
  10. “The souvlaki is excellent, so are the gyros (both the regular and the chicken), and I'm a fan of the Greek salad as well (yum).”
  11. “Excellent food, great wine and of course they have the hookah pipes.”
  12. “Love the yummy "toast" actually a Greek grilled cheese- and the tasty Greek meze.”
  13. “great food , I had a gyro sandwich and Greek salad and I must say the homemade house dressing is the best I have had yet!”
  14. “The gyro sandwich is awesome!”
menu variety
50.0% positive
  1. “With a full bar that has a variety of options including non-alcoholic drinks, you can find something you enjoy hands down.”
  2. “The menu is full of delicious one of a kind recipes, even though its only salads, sandwiches and appetizers, they are very tasty and homemade.”
overall
91.66999816894531% positive
  1. “frequent Byzantio approximately 4 times a week for coffee, cocktails, food or just a great place to do work on my laptop.”
  2. “have never been there at night, but this is a great happy hour place where you can come get affordable drinks and small plates that are excellent- the prices and sizes allow you to try many things, which is always fun!”
  3. “have been Byzantio's plenty of times and the service is always mediocre at best, but it is the closest place to me with decent food, hookah and drinks.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “have loved everything I have tried here, and can't wait to return when the weather is nicer to sit outside !”
service
82.1399974822998% positive
  1. “Everyone is very friendly, and after the first visit they will remember your name, what a treat!”
  2. “Great food, drink, service and staff.”
  3. “The bartenders are awesome!”
  4. “Save your money and go to a place where the servers are decent!”
  5. “From the people who work there, to the coffee, to the souvlaki, Byzantio is simply great!”
  6. “Second, our poor waiter was new and not being attended by someone to make sure he was doing everything correctly.”
  7. “have been Byzantio's plenty of times and the service is always mediocre at best, but it is the closest place to me with decent food, hookah and drinks.”
value
87.5% positive
  1. “Way too loud, food is disgusting - nothing Greek or authentic about it - extremely overpriced.”
  2. “have never been there at night, but this is a great happy hour place where you can come get affordable drinks and small plates that are excellent- the prices and sizes allow you to try many things, which is always fun!”
  3. “Save your money and go to a place where the servers are decent!”
  4. “There was no cover, plenty of free parking around, and drink prices were very reasonable.”
wait time
50.0% positive
  1. “An earlier review of mine hinted at a recent bad experience, but hopefully that was just an off night, as this place has long been a favorite, especially on quieter nights (it can get very busy on belly dancer nights).”
4 Star Rating: Recommended

08/14/11

So this is where all the friendly people hide!

by demiblonde

Went with some friends last week for Hookah pipes & Belly Dancers ,It was the most pleasant experience I have encountered in a long time, the food, service, people, everything was great! I can't believe I had never been there before! I've told everybody I come in contact with they need to go!

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

04/26/11

Love The Slidders!

by GWWhite

I have been eating here for about 3 years. They are close to my office and make great Greek dishes. Recently sliders have shown up on the menu and they are awesome! Great hummus too. This is a relaxed fun place where people tend to hang out and talk, so do not show up with a "15 minutes or it's free" attitude.

1 Star Rating: Poor

03/19/11

Lazy, ignorant waitress & Lying Bartender

by PixelWrangler

Sucks for the following reasons:

We took our own seats and waited patiently for 20 minutes before having to flag down our waitress (i use the term "waitress" very loosely, a trained monkey would have paid more attention) After taking our drink and food order, our waitress wanders off and starts bringing our drinks out one at a time. Our food actually came out in a semi-timely manner., MINUS one plate.

Thinking our waitress would be back any minute with the forgotten plate we waited and waited....and waited. After several minutes of puzzled looks by us, she decided to come back to the table and see if we needed something. Our response was: YES, the plate you forgot for the person you do not see eating. She obviously had forgotten to put in the order. So she brings a salad and says the plate will be right out, another 20 minutes later we have to track the waitress down in the restaurant and ask her where the forgotten plate is. It was brought to the table about 5 minutes after that.

There were 4 people in our party, they added 18% gratuity to the bill and we were told it was policy to do so for parties of 4 or more by the bartender. When we insisted to have it taken off because of the absolutely horrible service, we were met with much resistance. We were then surrendered to the manager who then tells us they are short handed and the girl is new. She also shared with us that the gratuity should NOT have been added, that they only do with with parties of 6 or more.

The bartender insisted (not 3 minutes before) they do it with parties of 4 or more, so he lied 3 times to us.

The food wasn't bad, which is a shame because the service was so terrible I will NEVER be going back there.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

08/05/10

Great Place for Food and Drinks

by tes8612

I love this place. Their greek pizza is excellent and I love their long happy hours! It is a great place to go to relax on the patio with friends or even to get some work done with their free wi-fi.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

07/01/10

One of my favorite bars!

by KittyTorrington

I've read the bad reviews and have NEVER experienced any of their issues!

Byzantio has always been a GREAT spot for grabbing a bite after work and enjoying their long and well priced happy hour drinks.

The food is well-above normal bar food... the Mediterranean Chicken is amazing, and I swear I'm addicted to their fries!

Plenty of parking, and plenty of both indoor and outdoor seating so its great for groups and parties. I love introducing friends to this place as its always receives positive responses. The atmosphere is warm and laid back and the bartenders have always been friendly.

  • Pros: great food, cheap drinks, cozy atmosphere
  • Cons: none

The Details on Byzantio

Place Categories:

  • great food
  • great happy hour place
  • great affordable drinks
  • fantastic service
  • nice coffeehouse
  • affordable small plates
  • great ambience
  • tasty meze
  • great greek
  • best belly dancing entertainment
  • awesome gyro sandwich
  • decent hookah
  • very friendly everyone
  • poor waiter
  • best slovakia
  • great staff
  • great coffee w
  • interesting conversation
  • awesome bartenders
  • wonderful location
  • great mediterranean music
  • love atmosphere
  • enjoy hands
  • dry bruger
  • great wine

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