A Weekend in Bellaire

Bellaire is easy to cover and hard to leave hungry, so this itinerary is built around meals with things to do in between. Hours are as each place lists them, so confirm the ones that matter before you commit a whole afternoon.

Friday night, if you arrive early

Two evening options fall on a Friday. On the first Friday of each month, Party at the Pavilion fills the Great Lawn at Bellaire Town Square, 7008 S. Rice Ave, with live music, and the city's page tells guests to bring coolers and picnic blankets. The conservancy that runs the showpiece park lists a Friday Night Live Music series at its cafe on its events calendar, and Paul's Wine Pix, 5424 Bissonnet St, a wine bar, lists hours until 10:30 p.m. on Friday. None of this is required. The weekend works fine if you start on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning

Start at Betsy's, 4400 Bellaire Blvd, the cafe at Evelyn's Park, which shares the address. Its site lists homemade breakfast tacos, smoothies and coffee in the morning and shared plates, sandwiches, burgers and salad bowls later, and it lists a 9 a.m. Saturday opening. Afterward, walk the park itself, which sits on the old Teas Nursery site and has its own guide at Evelyn's Park.

By late morning, make the short hop to the Nature Discovery Center, 7112 Newcastle St, which shares Russ Pitman Park. The Discovery Rooms post Saturday hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the park's page names a pocket prairie, a cypress pond, a Sensory Garden and an aviary. It is a good stop with children and a pleasant one without them.

Saturday afternoon and evening

Lunch is at Cafe Piquet, 5757 Bissonnet St. The restaurant calls itself a neighborhood, family restaurant with indoor seating and a spacious outdoor patio, and its menu names picadillo, ropa vieja, pernil asado, empanadas, an El Cubano sandwich and Cuban coffee. It lists Saturday hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Bellaire is easy to cover and hard to leave hungry, so this itinerary is built around meals with things to do in between.

Spend the afternoon on foot. Paseo Park, 5000 Bellaire Blvd, is an improved-surface trail along Bellaire Boulevard, and Magpies Gifts, at the same address, is a gift shop whose site lists jewelry, clothing and home decor. It is the easy half-hour between a meal and the next one. If the weather turns, swap the walk for something from the rainy-day guide, and if you are traveling with children, the guide to things to do with kids fills the gaps.

Dinner is at Costa Brava Bistro, 5107 Bellaire Blvd. The site describes Spanish and French cooking in an old-world room, and it names paella, grilled octopus, jamón ibérico and black seafood rice. It lists Saturday dinner only, from 5 to 9 p.m., and the restaurant takes reservations by phone.

Sunday morning

The Toasted Yolk Cafe, 5103 Bellaire Blvd, serves breakfast, brunch and lunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, according to its own page, and it says everything is made from scratch daily. It is a good place to sit down with a long newspaper and a longer coffee.

Then choose between two middays. On select Sundays the Bellaire Open Air market takes over Evelyn's Park from noon to 4 p.m., and the conservancy's events page has the dates. On the others, drive west along Bellaire Boulevard, through the Asiatown stretch, to HK Dim Sum, 9889 Bellaire Blvd, which lists Sunday hours from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Its ordering site lists more than 25 steamed dim sum items, among them shrimp dumplings and sticky rice in lotus leaf, as well as congee and cheung fun.

Sunday afternoon and evening

McHugh Tea Room & Gifts, 5305 Bissonnet St, offers traditional afternoon tea by reservation, along with lunch and themed teas, and it lists Sunday hours from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Book it before the weekend, since the tea room says reservations are required.

For dinner, Enoteca Rossa, 4566 Bissonnet St, is an Italian restaurant whose site promises handmade pasta, wood-fired pizzas, risottos, seafood and meat, with a wine bar. It lists itself open until 9 p.m. on Sunday. Gelato Rossa, 4564 Bissonnet St, has the neighboring address and serves gelato and sorbetto, with flavors such as Sicilian Pistachio and Sea Salt Caramel, plus coffee drinks and fresh zeppole, and it lists Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

If it is October 17 and 18

That weekend has more than the usual. Evelyn's Park Conservancy holds its 90s in the Park gala on Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 6:30 to 11 p.m., a ticketed evening of dinner, dancing, drinks and an auction. The Nature Discovery Center's Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival runs October 17 and 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission and Activity Wristbands for the games.

Before you go

- Check each place's hours the week before, since each place lists its own hours and owners change them. - Book Costa Brava Bistro and McHugh Tea Room & Gifts ahead, because one takes reservations by phone and the other requires them for tea. - Leave the dog at home for Evelyn's Park, where the conservancy says no dogs are allowed under city ordinance. - Ask at Betsy's about the evening live music, since the conservancy's calendar has listed Thursday and Friday sets there. - Plan the drive to HK Dim Sum separately, because it sits farther out along Bellaire Boulevard than the rest.

Sources

- Evelyn's Park Conservancy, Park Information: https://evelynspark.org/park-information - Evelyn's Park Conservancy, Events: https://evelynspark.org/events - Evelyn's Park Conservancy, 90s in the Park: https://evelynspark.org/90sinthepark - Betsy's at Evelyn's Park: https://betsysbellaire.com - Nature Discovery Center, Visit: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/visit/ - Nature Discovery Center, Russ Pitman Park: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/russ-pitman-park - Nature Discovery Center, Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival: https://naturediscoverycenter.org/pumpkin-patch/ - City of Bellaire, Park Information: https://bellairetx.gov/737/Park-Information - Cafe Piquet: https://cafepiquet.net - Magpies Gifts: https://www.magpiesgifts.com - Costa Brava Bistro: https://www.costabravabistro.com - The Toasted Yolk Cafe, Bellaire: https://www.thetoastedyolk.com/locations/bellaire-tx - HK Dim Sum: https://hkdimsum.kwickmenu.com/ - McHugh Tea Room & Gifts: https://mchughtea.com - Enoteca Rossa: https://enotecarossa.com - Gelato Rossa: https://gelato-rossa.com

En español

Un fin de semana en Bellaire se organiza alrededor de las comidas. El sábado: desayuno en Betsy's (4400 Bellaire Blvd), el café de Evelyn's Park; la mañana en el Nature Discovery Center (7112 Newcastle St); almuerzo cubano en Cafe Piquet (5757 Bissonnet St); un paseo por Paseo Park; y cena española en Costa Brava Bistro (5107 Bellaire Blvd). El domingo: desayuno en The Toasted Yolk Cafe, dim sum en HK Dim Sum o el mercado Bellaire Open Air en Evelyn's Park en domingos seleccionados, té de la tarde en McHugh Tea Room & Gifts, y cena italiana en Enoteca Rossa con helado en Gelato Rossa. El 17 y 18 de octubre hay además una gala en Evelyn's Park y un festival de calabazas. Confirme los horarios antes de ir.