Harold’s Tap Room making a scene in the Heights.
“My daddy taught me at an early age that if something isn’t going right, you have to make some new decisions,” Harold’s owner Alli Jarrett said. “If you don’t embrace change, it’ll run over you.”
And Jarrett was not about to get run over. When the grocery/ market portion of her Harold’s compound in the Heights (including Harold’s restaurant and Alli’s Pizzeria) wasn’t doing good business, she decided to ditch it and put in a bar.
The long, shotgun-style Harold’s Tap Room now functions as a place to grab a drink before dining at Harold’s upstairs. The reimagined 1,300-square-foot space also is a destination; it’s the only stand-alone bar on the pedestrian-friendly stretch of 19th Street.
The Tap Room features its own menu from Harold’s chef Antoine Ware and an infused-spirits cocktail list created by bar manager Lauren Muse. The place’s eight tap wines — Trefethen Chardonnay, Duchman Family Wines Trebbiano, Frogs Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, an Italian Barbera and an Austrian Rosé among them — can be ordered by the glass, half bottle or full bottle. The eight beers on draft are almost all from Houston breweries.
Muse’s lineup of proprietary drinks include the Southern Roots (orange- and vanillainfused whiskey, sweet cream, Herbsaint and root beer); Not So Old Fashioned (peach-infused bourbon, muddled lemon rind, peach bitters, Angostura bitters and a splash of soda); and Summerthyme Sangria (house-made red sangria, thyme, raspberry and mint infused vodka, ginger ale and lemon-lime soda).
Tap Room dishes pair well with the bar program, Ware said. He offers an indulgent plate of sliced country ham paired with house-made biscuits, pimento cheese and Steen’s cane syrup. The charcuterie and cheese spread is a composition of Houston Dairymaids cheeses, cured meats, foie gras, pickled vegetables, mustard and bread. There’s a “Big Ass” Meatball wading in a pool of spicy marinara with crisped bread slices on the side; wings glossed in a sweet and spicy sauce (Valentina hot sauce and local honey); a Greek salad; and, of course, Alli’s pizzas. And for those with “redneck” cravings: sliders of fried bologna and American cheese with yellow mustard on Hawaiian buns.
Jarrett made sure to weave some Harold’s history — the space was a former clothing
store founded by Harold Wiesenthal — into the bar, too. The bar top and tables are covered in a fabric that has been coated in resin.
“Harold liked nice threads,” Jarrett said.