Calhoun’s Rooftop Bar & Grill

They added on automatic 20% gratuity when I went recently. AUTOMATIC 20% the service was trash. The drinks were watered down. I won’t come back again.

So it is a good place to go for a beer after work or decompress after exams… It is a horrible place to party…
First of all, the inside is loud as hell, with pseudo-​DJ clubbing music, large screen TVs with sport… go figure. Are you a bar and grill or are you a club? this place has some identity issues
The food is a blah. the outside patio is hot like hell. This is like in the pm after work.
Our group has 20+ people, we reserved a week ahead, and some decided to leave after waiting so long for food. We were helped by a single waiter and he is dizzy under the heat… Poor guy.
Don’t be fool either, this place does not get subsidized from the UH campus so forget about poor college beer budget! It is full priced!

Calhoun’s is good for a quick beer or two and something basic to eat for lunch while on campus at UH or after school for more of the same.
The staff is friendly. The beer is cold. They have daily drink specials. And the food is good enough, but the menu is limited.
The outdoor area is a great place to relax with friends, heat and weather permitting.
If you’re at UH, check it out!

So I’m usually not a mean reviewer, I try to highlight what I like and offer suggestions for improvement. My first suggestion, and probably my most important suggestion is that there needs to be better management and customer service. I’m not sure where they get their employees from, but it would be a great bump to this bar’s reputation if the patrons were to receive consistently good-​excellent service. Additionally, it’s a Friday… why do you only have 1 person (and later an additional server) serving the place?
My first experience here was about a year ago. I was sitting at the bar waiting with my colleague for an order that was called in. As when I visit every place, I checked it out. Decent space, limited indoor seating, larger outdoor patio area. Decent music. A few waitresses were visibly running around taking/​delivering orders. As I gazed on to the happenings st the bar, one waitress returned with an order (it had extra trimmings in it) REMOVED the trimmings with her HANDS, and then took the same order back to the patron. Yikes! We cringed inwardly as another waitress approached with my colleague’s order.
Within the past month, I’ve become a fan of their honey BBQ wings. I usually get mine extra crispy, with blue cheese. I would typically call ahead, and get it to go. No mess, no fuss.
Today, however, we decided to take a colleague out for lunch and Calhoun’s seemed like the obvious choice. When we got there, my coworker asked the wait time and the response was, «20−25 minutes, we are very busy.» I looked around the bar and saw about 5 people sitting on the inside, and a table of 8 – 10 persons outside. Okay…
We sat ourselves outside and waited for him to take our order. After a few minutes he showed up and took our orders. One coworker (there were only three of us in the group) asked for Dr. Pepper to drink, along with one everything BLT sandwich. «What type of fries do you want with that?» He asked. «What are my options?» She responded. «Tater tots, fries, sweet potato fries…» «Sweet potato fries» she excitedly quipped. And he nodded and took the other two orders (honey BBQ and BBQ chicken wings, no sides) and left. 10 minutes later, no drink. My colleague had to go inside and ask for her drink. She came outside with it, tasted it, and realized that it was flat. She took it in and returned with water. When our orders came, she received tater tots instead of sweet potato fries. I received ranch sauce, and realized they never asked the type of sauce I wanted, they just assumed I wanted blue cheese. After about 7 minutes, I got up and went inside and waited at the bar to get their attention. They kept on working like I wasn’t even there. One of them even walked past me. I had to get their attention and ask again for blue cheese. I waited for a bit, received my blue cheese and went back outside. Once back at our table, we unwrapped the utensils, and the forks were dirty. It was one disappointing thing after the other. We didn’t have napkins, so of course, I went inside and grabbed some napkins. At this point, I was over this experience.
We were surprised when he approached and asked how everything was… our table was surprisingly quiet.
We asked for our bill, and went inside to pay. After waiting about three minutes, our waiter looked over and asked if the other guy behind the bar was going to handle our bill. I assumed he asked because that guy was at the register. I responded «I guess…» because we were back to the game where they pretended we weren’t standing at the bar, waiting for their attention. We paid and left. SMH.
The experience was bad, but my wings were good. I think I am going to continue calling in and collecting my wings, while praying that none of the workers feel the need to remove any extra trimmings with their hands lol.
Calhoun’s, please get it together. You are serving the UH faculty, staff, students and the Third Ward community, not to mention visitors to the area. You have the potential to do better, I always recommend your wings to people, but now… I’ll have to recommend that they get it to go just to save face.

I’ve been going to Calhoun’s literally since the day they opened. The food is ALWAYS delicious. However, the staff has increasingly become inattentive.
For example, my waitress took my «build-​a-​burger» completely wrong. I knew the burger would be good despite it coming out with nothing I ordered on it so I didn’t say anything. (My burger was still amazing but still irritating)
Moreover, my waitress took my friend and I’s credit card for 15 minutes. It wasn’t until we walked inside from the outdoor patio to ask her for the cards where she responded «I got slammed with orders» while our two credit cards sat there on the counter in plain view.
Good drinks. Good food. Good fun. Poor service.

This place gets four starts because it’s the only place on campus where you can get some dancing done (normally only Thursday’s, college night). It’s also a great place to relax with friends after class/​meetings/​whatever. They have decent food, it’s not bad but not something you would go out of your way for. The inside area has booths and and two long tables in the middle. It’s pretty tight but you can always go to the outdoor section where most of the action happens. There is wooden section in the back for groups and multiple tables though out the rest of the place. In the evenings, it gets cleared for dancing. They also have drink specials everyday of the week. The only downside is that their drinks and shots tend to be very watered down. So I prefer to pregame.
It has a great ambiance on Thursday nights. They have a «live» DJ which tends to get better after a few drinks. They also host multiple organization/​fraternity events that get the place packed. On certain Wednesday’s they have salsa night if you’re interest in Latin music
TLDR; Decent food. Chill place. Only gets turnt on Thursday’s

This is probably the best place to go on campus as far as bars on campus go. It’s a pretty big space and it gets pretty live on Thursdays. It’s filled with that college life so you can’t really go wrong by going here. I’ve had their tacos here and they are pretty good. I have heard others say the food is pretty good here as well. There is usually a dj putting in some serious work haha. I don’t come here that often anymore because I graduated but it’s definitely good times when I do come.

The food isn’t bad, it takes its time to get out even if the place isn’t too busy. The wait staff is very nice and attentive, I’ve been when it’s not busy with one friend, as well as when there were several large groups including my own outside on the rooftop.
The area inside can get cramped pretty quickly, luckily there are two windows to try to get the bartender’s attention. The view is really nice from the rooftop and they had plenty of space for outdoor seating, from booths to tables. Even a small stage for live music or just group events that require a soapbox.
The wings are good, the «Irish Nachos» are a new favorite of mine from them. They load it up with small pieces of beef (not ground) and cheese on the bottom. Instead of nachos they have tater tots, so it’s pretty much a smörgåsbord of self-​hatred.
Drink selection is good and they actually carry «Not Your Father’s Root Beer» alcoholic root beer.

I was really looking forward to going here when I found out we could get a burger on campus. Location, and service were both great.
The food had very mixed reviews. Some of the food was amazing and some was underwhelming. We had the Irish nachos and they were medicore.
Just a basket of tater tots which didn’t taste fresh covered in varied ingredients. They didn’t clean the jalapeños they put into this dish well at all so they were very spicy. I know some people love jalapeños with seeds still inside and barely washed but just serving it to everyone isn’t a smart move. Also there was very little cheese on the nachos. You think as they are called nachos there could have been more cheese.
We also got the Hangover Burger. First off the fries were some of the best fries I have ever had. For real those fries are the reason the review is getting 4 stars. The actual burger was a hit and a miss. Granted it could be my fault because I ordered the burger medium. I generally only do this at restaurants I don’t know too well. Even then my burger was cooked well beyond medium, I will try to make time and try one with less of a cook to see how it is. The actual burger came on sourdough bread and had an egg fried hard on it. The meat was just very bland. It tasted of nothing but the charred cook it had. With a patty that thin it can’t cook near as long as they cooked it before it looses ever ounce of flavor. So if they did season it before cooking there was no way to tell. Honestly I’ll try again and if a different burger is better this could easily become a 5 star review.

I can’t decide whether I wanted to give this place 3 or 4 stars but I’ll go with 3 because their service isn’t very consistent. I came here a few weeks ago with a large party of 10+ people and the service was lacking. By the end of the meal, our server gave all of us complimentary shots for the lack of service.
This place is probably one of the best investments that UH has ever made. Love the atmosphere, the drinks, but most of all, the food. I’ve tried the burgers, fries, flatbreads, tater tots, and… the street tacos. Everything is good but DO NOT ORDER THE STREET TACOS. It’s the worse I’ve ever had. I might as well be eating Taco Bell, except the tacos were worse than Taco Bell. More specifically, I had the beef Fajita tacos with flour tortilla. The beef was dry and hard; it wasn’t even loaded. The flour tortilla was also thick and cold. The bake sales at Bauer do a better job with tacos than this place. Take some tips from the organizations that sell tacos at their Bake Sales! (hint hint ABSA)
Honestly I recommend everything else but the street tacos because it’s worth trying.

I live across the street so I go here quite often. First off, the bartenders at Calhoun’s are great. I normally sit at the bar they are super attentive. They have always helped me and made sure my order came out perfectly. The drink specials are good, especially compared to Pink’s. The atmosphere is fun, they have a large outdoor patio with some different games. The inside is pretty small, so I’m not really sure what happens when it rains.
The food at Calhoun’s is good, my favorite thing is the Cougar Club flatbread. It’s light but filling. The fried pickles are great, I really like whatever spices they put in the breading. The only caveat is that it is a little overpriced.
Overall this is a great campus bar with good service and food. They have daily drink specials and you’re sure to have a good time.

I love the idea of the rooftop atmosphere. The whole concept of being outdoors in on top of the roof was executed really well. The pricing on alcohol was pretty average if I must say so myself. For Friday night it wasn’t as packed as I assumed it would be. I guess first round of tests had something to do with it. The bartender told me that on certain nights they have live bands perform, So I will definitely be coming back to catch a live show. As far as atmosphere goes, I love their execute their execution. It is a very good place to come to after a long day on campus.

Love the atmosphere especially after a UH game. The patio is great, and they have a burger called the batman that sooo good.
It’s a good place to party after a UH victory but besides that the drinks are watered down and the wings are not great.

Good food, good service, and big portions! The only bad thing would be that the food/​drinks take a little long to come but it’s not that big of a deal. If you’re looking to go somewhere for a quick bite, it’d probably be best to go somewhere else cause the usual amount of time I spend here is an hour and a half. Oh, and they have margarita pitchers for only $ 5 on Mondays! Yum.

It was our first time here. The servers were amazing and nice. The food was eh. I ordered the chicken strip basket and my friend ordered the beef quesadillas. The chicken strips were dry and a little on the burnt side and my friend ate everything BUT the tortillas.
Shots were about $ 8−9/shot. And they charge $ 3 for each chaser!

Hit or miss on every level. There have been days when I’ll come here and get fast service and great food, and days (like today) when I’ll have to wait 40 minutes for a salad. It’ll probably be a good salad, but nothing is worth this kind of wait at a bar.
Poor kitchen management when it gets busy, so if you’re really hungry or want something in a reasonable amount of time, don’t press your luck.

I love Calhoun so much! The staff is amazing and each one has an awesome bold personality and managers are ALWAYS nice enough to help anyone and I personally love them ESP Todd, Ben, Kayla, and maddie!
As a previous server I loved working here but people should be understanding that if service seems slow it’s not their faults cause dealing with college kids who move around and change their orders or even worst do not tip very well at all can be difficult to work around especially on college nights (Thursday) so please be understanding of what it’s like to work at a college bar!
The atmosphere and environment def is the most happening and popping place on campus and is a great place for those who dorm or need a fun place to socialize and hang. Who else has a rooftop patio bar on their campus? They always have a blast on college nights with an awesome DJ and give out great drink specials so no complaining in that!
Food is honestly better than any other place on campus if you’re craving delicious fulfilling food ESP the Tri-​Slamma Jamma burger or huge Chicken Wings. Also try the Philly cheesesteak eggrolls which are amazing and flatbreads are great too! It’s also helpful for a great hangover LOL
Overall I love Calhoun Rooftop and I def miss working here because everything about this place is AWESOME! you’re honestly not gonna find something like this on any other campuses around.

Cheesy Burgers! That’s all I can tell you. Tri-​Slamma Jamma was delicious but I loved the cheesy addition. Fries need some work if you care for them ha ha. Eggrolls where a good appetizer as well — they come with buffalo dipping sauce.
Drinks: I wanted to try the mini pitcher margaritas mainly because of the variety of flavors. Apple tasted like regular lime margarita however, the raspberry was the best choice if you don’t want the typical flavors.
I’m not sure how the patio, night life is here. hopefully this will get updated in warmer weather.
Oh and parking is minimal -.-

My initial reaction to Calhoun’s Rooftop being on campus: OMG how awesome! a brand new bar on campus and it’s a rooftop one at that!
Just as anyone else who is a student at UH, I was pretty ecstatic about the opening of Calhoun’s. So during the 2^nd week of opening, my friends and I decided to check it out. The actual bar is on the second floor of the building and so you would have to either take the stairs or elevator. The décor is a bit dark and somewhat dingy… Personally, I didn’t like it. But who cares, right? We are here for the rooftop! It was warm, sunny afternoon, a perfect day to grab a drink and enjoy the breeze. We ordered a few drinks as well as something to eat. I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich. The sandwich was pretty good and the side of fries were just ok. I feel like their beer selection is rather limited.
One thing that I absolutely dislike about this place is the horrible service. The bartenders and waitresses are just like statues… They stand absolutely still and do not pay any attention to their customers. On several occasion, I’ve been borderline upset at the service. They take forever to take your orders. I’m not sure if they only have one cook but the food takes incredibly long to arrive (~40−50 min wait)! One of my friends ordered the flatbread with chicken and it came out with beef instead. He had to wait another 20 minutes on his food. Although the food is good, I don’t it’s worth this wait.
Reaction after experience: take away the fact it’s a rooftop… It’s not as appealing to me. The bad service and somewhat good food is just not enough for me. I will of course revisit since it’s on campus and in hopes they’ll fix the service problems.

The bar food here is pretty good! I suggest the wings, flatbread, and chicken Caesar salad. The Den is still the go to place if you want a tall cold beer because they have more drafts on hand while Rooftop is more mixed drinks. Wednesday’s are happy hour all day and some Monday’s they have karaōke now! A good late night place for big groups.
Ask for the two Asians Christine or Jennifer, they’re sweet