Marlow

Overlooking Waller Creek on a relatively quiet stretch of Downtown, the neighborhood-style bar Marlow should definitely be the first stop the next time that you have friends in town who “want to see what Dirty Sixth Street is like.” The theme here skews retro, with leather chairs and velvet pillows strewn around a cactus-filled interior, while exposed rafters and brick walls add an industrial feel to it all. The cocktails are mostly inventive riffs on classics—like pandan painkillers or a split-spirit, citrus tea-infused martini—with excellent presentation that feels deserving of Downtown cocktail bar pricing. Start the night here, and maybe you’ll “accidentally” forget all about those plans you made to find flaming Dr. Pepper shots just a few blocks over. 

photo credit: Nicolai McCrary