City: Houston, TX

Category: Nightlife

Telephone: (713) 523-1622

Address: 1424 Westheimer Rd.

Insider Pick:

Description: Sure, you’ve had cocktails, but odds are you’ve never had any quite like the ones at Anvil. Local flavors and ingredients are featured in just about every drink here, along with housemade bitters, sodas, liquers, and infusions. The result are strong, precisely mixed drinks like Pliny’s Tonic (gin, lime, cucumber, mint, and habenero tincture), Sweet Potato Milk Punch (applejack, sweet potato, whole milk, and cream), and Smoke & Mirrors (rye, fernet, branca, cacao, lemon, black peppercorn, and egg white). Sure, at $8–$12 a drink, cocktails here can be a bit pricey, but most people who visit this hip, yet handsome bar agree they’re worth it. Ditto for the James Beard Award Foundation, which named Anvil owner and self-­proclaimed cocktail freak Bobby Heugel a semifinalist in 2011. Anvil is open daily from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.