Griff's has outlasted nearly everything around it. The Montrose pub bills itself as the oldest surviving sports bar in Houston, and after a fire in 2015 forced a full rebuild, it came back to the same corner on Roseland Street and kept the regulars.
Visit Houston backs the claim, calling Griff's the oldest sports bar in the city and the host of the largest St. Patrick's Day festival in Texas. That festival is the calendar's loudest day here, but the room earns its keep the other 364.
The room
Griff's is a two-level Irish pub with a tight wood-and-brick interior and a large open patio stacked up the back. Harlow grades a bar on the bad seats, and Griff's passes because the screens are spread across both floors and the patio, so a late arrival on a Texans Sunday can still find a TV without standing in a doorway. The inside fills first and gets loud; the patio is where the overflow watches, beer in hand, under the fans.
What to order
This is a beer-and-shot pub, not a cocktail room, so drink to that. A cold domestic or a Guinness pour fits the $$ pricing, and the kitchen runs the standard pub plates for soaking up a long afternoon. On match days the bar moves pitchers fast, which is the honest order for a table of four. Do not come expecting a craft program; come for a reliable pint and a screen.
The crowd and best time to go
Griff's opens at 11am every day and runs to 2am, so the door is open for early kickoffs and late nights alike. The crowd skews loyal and local, heavy on Texans and Astros fans, with a college-football contingent on Saturdays. The best window is a weekend afternoon game when the patio is full but not jammed; the worst is St. Patrick's Day unless a street party is exactly what you want.
Who it is for
This one is for the fan who wants an unfussy neighbourhood pub that has been doing the job for decades. It rewards groups, patio drinkers and anyone who values a bar that opens early and stays open late. Skip it if you want a polished, climate-controlled megabar with a stadium screen; Griff's is older, scrappier and prouder of it.
The verdict
Longevity is the story at Griff's, and longevity in the bar business is never an accident. The pub survived a fire, rebuilt, and held its corner of Montrose while flashier rooms opened and closed nearby. The screens are everywhere, the patio is the move, and the pricing stays honest at the $$ level. For a no-nonsense Houston sports pub with history on the wall, it is an easy recommendation. Compare it against the wider field in our guide to the best sports bars in Houston, and for a beer-garden alternative nearby try Social Beer Garden HTX.
For more on where Houston watches the game, see our pillar on the best bars for watching the game in Houston, and the full Houston bar guide maps the rest of the city.
Sources: Visit Houston listing (visithoustontexas.com, 2026); Griff's Irish Pub official site (griffsirishpub.com); Yelp reviews (172, updated June 2026).
