Halcyon

Halcyon is a Warehouse District all-day cafe that opened in 2002 before the term “all-day cafe” even existed. It’s like a Swiss army knife: A calm coffee shop by day where you can get work done or have a meeting with good espresso drinks (the beans are from Katz Coffee in Houston). It’s a cafe with breakfast like tacos and bagels, and then food options like panini sandwiches, salads, and even a dessert of tabletop s’mores. And it’s a bar that’s open until 2am every night. They also unironically serve a chocolate espresso martini, and there’s a good Happy Hour (and a reverse Happy Hour from midnight to close most nights). Sometimes you go to a bar for trivia, stand-up comedy, or a DJ, and other times you absolutely do not want such things, so check their website for the schedule.

Halcyon operates with a theme of “let’s satisfy all the legal vices,” so in addition to caffeine and alcohol, they’re also on the nicotine beat: they sell cigarettes and cigars out of a humidor. There’s a smallish patio out front and to the side where you can hang out and smoke these cigars. It’s kind of divey in a way that a coffee shop/bar combo that opened in 2002 would be – it’s got a lived-in feel – but you notice it less at night. The area around Epoch can be very clubby, and late at night, people will often drunkenly tumble in there to get something to eat, especially the tabletop s’mores.