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Where To Eat During Mercury Retrograde According To Your Zodiac Sign

The best restaurants to eat at during Mercury Retrograde.
Where To Eat During Mercury Retrograde According To Your Zodiac Sign image

photo credit: Jenn Duncan

Mercury retrograde is always a big deal, cosmically speaking. Three to four times a year, Mercury appears to move backwards in the sky—or “stations retrograde”—and things just get totally out of whack, so expect embarrassing typos in your email, difficulties expressing yourself, and some serious hiccups in your travel plans. Lucky for you, we consulted the cosmos, and pulled the transit charts to help you sail through this retrograde with ease, in the only way we know how: with some restaurant and bar recommendations. Like a dreamy bistro that can easily impress the most finicky of Scorpios, and a bar that would get even a serious Capricorn to let their hair down. Here are the best places to go during Mercury retrograde, according to your sun sign.

THE SIGNS & SPOTS


ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19)

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Take some time for yourself, Aries, and get some much needed R&R. You should make it a priority to go to a restaurant that is truly luxurious. Consider a place like the Korean Steakhouse Karne in the Heights, where the royal treatment (and prime cuts of meat) make the menu. Karne looks like where the Real Housewives of Houston go to lunch, and it will likely require your best heels or finest blazer. For a little bit of everything, get the $60 per person “karnivore platter,” which comes with five different cuts of meat and plenty of banchan. Have marinated ribeye flipped for you as you sip a golden cocktail and take a load off from being the firecracker of the zodiac.


TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20) 

Taurus, this Mercury retrograde season is all about you. Go to a place where you can be your truest self—relaxed, a little bougie, and ideally surrounded by plants. At Ostia, a casual-yet-stylish Italian restaurant in Montrose, there’s an entire greenhouse dining room perfect for unabashed lavishing. Feel like an expertly tended tropical plant that's fed only the finest things, like chicken liver pâté, or housemade bucatini pasta with guanciale. On nice days, Ostia opens the fully-paned doors, not only letting in even more sun, but the gaze of passersby who are likely stunned by the room’s—or possibly your—beauty.


GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20)

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Everyone needs a little solitude, even you Gemini. Your best bet for this retrograde is to retreat back into your mind and spend time somewhere fanciful and a little dreamlike. Luckily, everything at State Of Grace, a fancy Southern restaurant in River Oaks, is over the top, almost Antebellum-adjacent. In true fantastical Southern fashion, the restaurant has cavernously-high ceilings, framed and mounted antlers, moody blue walls and copper accents, and massive drapery. Like the decor, the food is over the top: stacked seafood towers dripping with oysters and crab, fresh pasta mounted with octopus, and decadent sliced duck breast perfect for mulling over with a brandy or bourbon. This is the perfect place to get inspired to make your dreams into a reality.


CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22)

Channel your inner social butterfly for this retrograde season, Cancers. Tap into your social circle and catch up with the pals you haven’t seen since the last Mercury retrograde. At Mala Sichuan, a Sichuanese restaurant with locations in Chinatown and across the city, there’s plenty of space and lazy-susan-equipped tables for even the biggest group of peppercorn pleasure seekers. Share bowls of mouth-numbing water-boiled fish in a spicy broth, or plates of tangy green beans sauteed with ground pork and bamboo. Order a few bottles of riesling to mellow the spice, and offer the last red oil dumpling to your bestie.


LEO (JULY 23-AUGUST 22)

Practice your firm handshakes and elevator pitches, Leo, because this retrograde is all about the business of you. It’s time to reassess your professional goals and get the ball rolling on the projects you’ve been procrastinating on. Take your next business meeting to Pappas Bros., a classic steakhouse in the Galleria area with dry-aged steak and cellar-aged wine. Plus, the effect of dim lighting, crisp white tablecloths, and servers taking every swipe of the stainless steel table crumber seriously just makes the already incredible steak taste even better—especially if you’re looking to make a great impression at your power lunch.


VIRGO (AUGUST 23-SEPTEMBER 22)

As a Virgo, you’re typically mild-mannered and you keep your circle small. And we support that. However, this Mercury retrograde transit is asking you to explore beyond your comfort zone. So take a walk on the wild side, and hit up a place that inspires you to be bold and outspoken. A spot like Kamp in the Galleria neighborhood. This Cajun-Creole clubstaurant spot has all of the fun of an adult summer camp, if that summer camp included seafood boils on a sprawling patio, apple pie flavored shots, or a plate of oxtails that you enjoy through a cloud of blueberry hookah smoke. Come here at night to cut a rug while dodging flaming bottles of Don Julio 1942, or stop in for brunch complete with a DJ and giant mimosas made with five bottles of champagne.


LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23-OCTOBER 22) 

Libra, during this Mercury transit, the ones you love will be reaching out to take care of you, and you should welcome the pampering with open arms. Kick your feet up with your sweeties at Hugo’s, the upscale yet casual Mexican restaurant in Montrose that always feels special, without ever trying too hard. The details at Hugo’s matter, including little things like margaritas that get shaken tableside, or having a coat rack brought out for your handbag. It’s like the folks at Hugo’s are also itching to make you feel special. Eat sensational traditional Mexican dishes like a tender slow-roasted lamb barbacoa, or a crispy duck served with a fiery poblano mole, and remind yourself how good it feels to get the royal treatment.


SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23- NOVEMBER 21)

For this Mercury retrograde you, Scorpio, need to be wined and dined (or do the wining and dining). Mercury is transiting your house of long-term partnerships, which makes now the perfect time to spend some quality time with your boo or your bestie. The best place to do this? Nancy’s Hustle, a dreamy and intimate American bistro-y spot in EaDo that makes for a perfect, sexy date night. Just about all of Houston feels the same, so be sure to make reservations ahead of time unless you don’t mind eating at the bar. At Nancy’s, the servers seem to anticipate your every need, so you can stay in your bubble and focus on what really matters: the cheeseburger (and your date, too). Dig into a lamb tartare, sip a perfectly mixed cocktail, and get cozy with the person that has seen you through it all.


SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22-DECEMBER 21)

Sagittarius, during this Mercury retrograde you need to adopt some new routines to help your day run smoother. It's in your nature to want to explore the world, but sometimes you need to take a break and focus on taking care of yourself. Get the jump on some healthy new habits at Vibrant, a Montrose restaurant that serves healthy-ish food focused on using holistic ingredients. A meal at Vibrant feels a bit like a wellness retreat, which is fitting because most people here are either wearing neon lululemon yoga sets or flowy wide-leg linen pants. Swing by after a pilates session for a spicy sweet potato hash or a sorghum blueberry waffles with a tart elderberry syrup, and remind yourself that, yes, even daily routines can be exciting.


CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22-JANUARY 19)

As the official CEO of the zodiac, Capricorn, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mercury retrograde is begging you to have a little fun. Try letting your hair down at the dive-y bar Trash Panda Drinking Club in Northside Village. The inside is tiny, painted black, and barely lit, outside of a few red lights hanging over the bar and neon signs inviting you to “eat trash, be free.” While we wouldn’t describe crispy glazed brussels sprouts and quessabirria tacos with eye-watering jalepeño crema sauce as “trash,” we admit that we have shoveled these dishes in a way that would make local raccoons proud. Take yourself a little less seriously for the next few weeks, be a little goofy, and let it all hang loose.


AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20-FEBRUARY 18)

Home is where the heart is, and it’s also where you should be, Aquarius, for this Mercury retrograde transit. If you refuse to be confined to your apartment, consider, at least, spending time with your family (born or chosen) and having a cozy meal. Enter Lucille’s: a restaurant serving Southern comfort food in the Museum District with a multi-story dining room that feels like the inside of someone’s home. You might even find yourself admiring family photos decorating a mantel in between bites of mac and cheese. Swing by with your clan, maximize your much needed quality time, and tear into some fried chicken like you’re sitting on the couch at home.


PISCES (FEBRUARY 19-MARCH 20) 

Pisces, it’s time to spend time reconnecting with your childhood self. This Mercury retrograde, you should catch up with your friends, siblings, or someone you’ve known since you were a kid. The best place to do that is at Gatlin’s BBQ, a counter-service spot in Garden Oaks known for juicy barbecue, Southern-style sides, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like you stumbled into a kind neighbor's cookout. There can be a bit of a line to get to the counter, but that gives you and your friends time to strategize your three-meat plate (just be sure the brisket makes the cut). Between the trays full of smoked meat and the loyal, chatty regulars, Gatlin’s BBQ feels like a fun cafeteria, and it’s exactly where you should take a walk down memory lane with friends.

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