Guava Lamp

I love this place I always feel at home and people do actually know your name! What is my name… Oh well at least they know who I am… lol

Wow! The Guava has become my OFFICIAL spot! The staff are great! Especially, Jacob (bartender), whom I must say, is a master as his craft, to say the least! He’s always welcoming and creates drinks that look like they came «straight» from Pinterest! But his music playlist is what keeps me returning; 80s hits, 90s hits, today’s, and so much more! It’s refreshing to find an ‘after work’ hot spot to kick back, enjoy a drink, along with great music and atmosphere!

Great local bar with excellent service. Music videos are on point and the staff is friendly and always at your service. I have frequented this bar for over 15 years and just can’t keep coming back. Well done Guava Lamp.

Favorite happy hour spot! Parking can be a bit of a challenge but service and bartenders are amongst the best in service you’ll find. Full bar and specialty «martini» menu available but purists can still get a good vodka or gin martini. Jacob is awesome.

Great place to actually SIT and enjoy drinks with friends. Great Hh prices and friendly staff.

Have always loved this place! Near my apartment so a great place for a quick drink and also fun for a night out. Love the happy hours and themed nights. Great music and the bartenders are always super nice.

Stopped by Guava Lamp on a Friday afternoon to sip while traffic died down. It really wasn’t what I expected.
Ambience: a very chic room with lots of space and comfy seating. A pretty large L shaped bar. The bartender, Keith, was super quick and really knew what he was doing. Said he had been bartending for 20 years. The music was good for what it’s worth. Some oldies, some newies, pop, rock, rap. Healthy mix of mainstream. The crowd was the same, THANK GOD. Most gay friendly bars aren’t as diverse as the crowd here. All races and ages were spotted while I was there.
Drinks: Strong, tasty, and affordable. And that’s really all that needs to be said.
P. s. no smoking on the inside (yaaassss) and a small patio for those who care to partake in a ciggy.

Went on a Tuesday for two reasons. 1. Unilocal reviews said this place was great & 2. Bingo.
I was not disappointed on either account. Bingo starts anytime after 9 (started at 9:45 for me), and was filled with the usual specter of delightful drag humor and sex toy prizes.
They have a decent craft beer menu, nothing on draft though. The crowd was small, about 10, which isn’t bad for a Tuesday night.
They don’t serve food, but you can get food delivered there, or just walk around the corner of the strip mall and grab a pizza from there.

Tuesday night Bingo with Lady Shamu is so much fun. The drinks are a decent price. One of the bartenders could be a lot nicer. I was trying to close a tab and he asked me which register it was on, like I care, and made me wait for 15 minutes to talk to the other bartender the opened the tab. Then he could not find my card because it was in the first bartenders register! UGH! SMH!!!
Dude, you job and business lives off customers. I still give 5 stars because everyone else is amazing and the place is fun to hang out at.

This has become a regular place for happy hour after work. Love the big booths and the excellent specials… especially $ 5 martinis on Weds. Drinks are alway nice and strong.

I had lots of fun tonight playing Drag Bingo with Lady Shamu! Drinks weren’t too expensive and well made. The people are fun and the crowd is energetic. I can’t wait to come back

After failing to find single ladies at a previous club for my single ladies new to Houston clubbing, we transitioned to Guava Lamp. Surprisingly there was an interesting mix of gay men, straight men, straight women, but lacking in gay women so early in the night. That was a let down for the singles but overall this was a fun club.
A wonderful plus about this club is that the music is good to dance to, the drinks are strong, and the bartenders don’t ignore women like they do at other Gay Bars. I met many nice people! Everyone I talked to that night were super friendly and we even hung out with a newly friended group for the rest of the night.
If the music is too much for you, you can mingle on the patio as long as you get there early enough to claim a spot. Overall this was a good experience even if the night’s mission was not a success.

Fun place. Staff is nice. Manager was very generous to me and my parter the time they accidentally gave away his debit card to someone else lol. Good times

I’ve been going to Guava Lamp for many years and have always had good service and enjoyed the latest music, entertaining drag performances, and fun karaōke. It’s our neighborhood bar and the staff is always fast and friendly.
I’m writing my because the owner, Woody, recently went above and beyond to help me organize a birthday party with around 50 guests. He reserved part of the bar for our group, found us an amazing performer, and provided us with exceptional service throughout the evening. All of our friends, LGBT and non-​LGBT, had a fantastic evening, and the birthday boy did as well!
Many thanks to Woody and the staff for making our evening memorable and fun!

Well, I don’t know if I’d recommend it for straits anymore, even at 2PM on a Sunday — the customers last time I was there were pretty tacky. No, let me not be homosexist — I don’t know if I’d recommend it anymore for *any* non-​tacky people.
More four-​letter words and somewhat graphic sexual discussions (loud) than I cared to hear in a public place. I was not shocked, just aesthetically displeased. I don’t know if they were actually trying to shock the single middle-​aged (OK, old) lady at the bar, or were just naturally tacky. If the former, they didn’t know who they were trying to shock — I spent nine years in the Navy and was the first female at every job I held after that.
There have been customer-​type people there previously when I’ve had a drink before a Sunday matinée at Stages, but not tacky ones. Hopefully this was a fluke, because I really like my drink before the show.
(BTW, this review is for a while ago — I just decided to/​got around to writing it.)

Waited for over an hour for them to start karaōke. Great gay bar, great pick up bar NOT a great karaōke bar. I’ll say it again in case you didn’t hear me… DO NOT GO FOR KARAOKE… Go for a good drink and nice bar staff

I was completely satisfied by Guava Lamp until I got insulted and grilled by a member of the bar staff via Grindr.
He actually had the audacity to tell me I should tip more and that he has «college to pay for». Sorry but I’m going to tip by the service, not who’s charity or college fund.

intimate, chill spot to meet up & hang out.
bartenders are efficient & make strong drinks
drag shows are VERY entertaining — they perform karoake & interact with the crowd really well
they play good dance music — it’s a very good mix with 80s & current hits.
however, this is not a dance club. some people are dancing, while others are just chilling.
quick tip — it’s on a corner of a mallstrip, so it’s a little tricky to find!

I went here with a friend for his birthday. I was VERY surprised at how nice the place was. Very chic and clean. Lots of seating. Bar area was a bit crowded. Parking was abundant and close.

Went here for Karaōke Wednesday.
Hilariously fun.
The bar cannot always ‘handle’ the amount of people coming in. They had one major bartender and a couple bar backs. I think that number may need to be switched because, although the bartender was FABULOUSLY ON POINT, she was overwhelmed.
Lots of great music to choose from. Everything from Lorde to Eminem to Pet Shop Boys. Great.
Don’t be fooled by the strange strip mall location… it’s a cute place.

Good olé Guava Lamp, like the clientele it appeals to, has been through a lot over the years. Yet some things remain the same. If you’re new in town this is probably the easiest place to make friends. A lot of folks start their night here as a meet-​up/​get buzzed station before they move on to the more dance-​pants bars. There is a core group of friendly people who know each other well.
Find «the mayor» (his real name is Ric) and you’ll not only get a good conversation but he might introduce you to the steady stream of gay boys who come to say hi and chat with him as he holds court on his barstool.
Karaōke, drag shows, and VJ’s abound and the biggest night by far is Wednesday.
I gave it only three stars because lately the music has gotten a little too loud, the fog machine is used a little too much, and they are starting to follow the «gotta-​get-​a-​gimmick» trend that is infecting gay night spots. Still it has the least attitude of any of the main stream gay bars.

Rung in the new year here and had a great time. Good crowd, and free champagne toast at midnight. Made sure we had a good time.

Oh the trouble you’ve helped me get into. I love you all the more for it.
Guava is typically our first stop when it comes to our boozy weekend trips for several reasons. First off, the crowd and vibe is a bit more chill here. We can come here for a drink or two, have some nice (coherent) conversations and then be on our way to louder establishments where our conversations tend to make less sense the more we drink, trust me-​it works out better for everyone this way. Bartenders here know how to pour and are super friendly, I’ve never had attitude from any of the staff of this place. I also appreciate how clean this place is. I’ve never come to find this place dirty in any way, even at its busiest times. They’ve a small patio area that I will go to with my friends when I’m in the mood to secondhand smoke. I just really like this place. And if we go elsewhere and we are just not feeling it, we often end up back at Guava.
Long story short, when I’m in Houston and out drinking with the boys, a trip here is guaranteed (at least once).

Fine place to chill. Check out the Karaōke nights on Wednesday nights. Can’t guarantee the singers will be good, but it’s entertainment nonetheless (well, depends on how you define entertainment I guess).

Twin brother drag queens. Done!
At first I gave Kara Dion hell on Twitter for being so old and performing Lady Gaga. Then I got to know her (as well as one can from holding a dollar out to tip) and I retracted my claws.
They’ve had some sort of makeover since my last visit. A new, rounded bar. It seems brighter while still retaining the beauty that bar lighting provides. The same guy that does karaōke is now hosting the new Friday night drag show too.
It still cracks me up when I go outside to the smoking section. It’s just a little wider than a sidewalk and fenced in… it feels like a dog pound. Glad I don’t smoke and wish I didn’t have to follow my friends out there.

I had heard of this place before but had no idea where it was. So useful information for others not knowing where it is: go north on Waugh from Westheimer. Pass Rudyards (on the left) and pass Pei Wei (on the right) then cross West Dallas and the new Whole Foods and you should be in the left lane — then when you see a two story strip mall with a Subway facing Waugh that is your strip mall. Guava is around back like facing south, it is not on the Subway part of the strip mall fronting Waugh. If you go past Allen Parkway you have gone way too far so make a u-​turn and try again. The Subway is the easiest indicator of being in the right place.
It is a nice, clean, dimly lit, and well-​decorated bar. My first impression (in the good way) is that it looks like one of those nice, well-​kept bars at a fancy hotel on the beach on a Caribbean island. Also to repeat myself: it is clean. And there are no odd smells in the air.
I’m not certain how many bartenders they have but both we dealt with were very nice people (one guy, one girl) and had quick service. I only had beer, to fit nearly within the penumbra of «Beer O’Clock» but they have a large selection of fancy liquor bottles and their menu had a lot of mixed drink ideas. It is also seems like the place that will make you whatever you want if it is not on the menu too — which is always a cool «Cheers» kind of atmosphere.
There are many televisions set up around the place so pretty much any angle you are viewing from you can see it. The music videos were entertaining to watch, especially Kreayshawn’s «Gucci Gucci» which … I had to ask my friend if that was a joke from MadTV or was it actually real.
The focal point of this review is the pool table. They have a pool table! And with all the balls! And the sticks still have the felt tip on it! I think Guava needs to give lessons to a lot of other bars in town with pool tables on how to do it this right, and this full of win. It is $ 1 per play. If you don’t carry quarters go exchange a dollar bill with the bartender — they don’t mind.
I was here around 8pm on a Tuesday and it was not too crowded. There was still parking available outside and there were only a handful of other people inside that were all at the bar. This place is fairly big and well laid out but I imagine at a peak time it gets a bit cramped. There is a smoker’s patio out the door by the pool table so maybe that is where the cool kids hang out when it gets busy.
My one and only complaint: the cigarette disposal machine is right there on top of the table. When a guy is taking five minutes to decide what his brand is for the night he kind of gets in the way. That’s not a fat joke either — the guy that spent five minutes mulling over his cigarette decision in the middle of our second game was skinny but he was still in the way.

I like this bar.
It’s fancy enough to not be a dive bar.
It’s a popular local hangout for karaōke. Some songs will get everyone to sing.
It’s not flashy nor chi-​chi — but still exudes a laidback upscale vibe.
There’s a tiny alley-​sized patio outside for the smokers so there’s something for everyone.
For the friendly folks, not for those looking to cause a scene by being seen. Great bar — will be back!