This Houston Brewery’s New Restaurant Has Pizza, Beer, and a Top-Notch Chocolate Cake

Spring Branch’s Pizza and Pints promises mozzarella sticks with lengthy cheese pulls, exclusive and experimental Karbach beers, and plenty of pies

After years in the making, one of Houston’s largest breweries has finally launched its new pizzeria and beer hall.

Karbach Brewing Company’s new counter-service restaurant Pizza & Pints quietly opened in July adjacent to its brewery in Spring Branch, offering a fun lineup of beer, pizza, appetizers, and desserts. The restaurant, which will host its grand opening starting on Thursday, August 29, blends retro decor with a more modern service style: Diners place their order for food or merch on digital screen kiosks, and get a text when their order is ready. Just behind the counter, partially fermented pizza dough is loaded with requested toppings and then slid into the gas-assisted wood-fired oven, which burns Post Oak logs at a temperature of 1,100 degrees, according to Christopher Meyer, Karbach’s general manager and vice president of regional craft.

Karbach Brewing Co.

The result is what Meyer calls a new-age Neapolitan pizza, with a springy, textured dough that makes the pizza easy to fold. Though the pepperoni pizza laced with Mike’s hot honey is already a crowd favorite, the Big Tex most successfully bridges the world of Texas cuisine and beer. Smothered with a base of tangy barbecue sauce made with Karbach’s Love Street Kolsch-style lager, the pizza is loaded with a cheesy blend of mozzarella, parmesan, and sharp cheddar before it’s topped with brisket smoked just outside the brewery, then garnished with pickled red onions, and cilantro. The Tex-Mex inspired al pastor pizza — a very Houston but possibly polarizing pie thanks to its chunks of pineapple — is also a hit, with a sweet and savory combination of a salsa verde base, cheese, and pork, and a garnish of cotija cheese, diced red onions, and cilantro.

Diners can also venture beyond pizza. The menu features a simple Caesar topped with sundried tomatoes; an antipasto salad with leafy greens hidden under a hefty spread of artichoke, cheeses, salami, banana peppers, and olives; crispy mozzarella sticks with picture-worthy cheese pulls; a Nutella pastry pizza topped with fresh fruit; and Pizza & Pint’s sleeper hit — the chocolate cake. Head chef Edward Hoyos makes just one of these moist, multi-layered decadent, yet airy cakes each day, meaning only a total of eight slices are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis — a strategy that ensures diners are enjoying the cake at its optimal freshness, he says. “When the cake is gone, it’s gone,” he says.

Hoyos comes to the brewery with an extensive baking background: he previously owned and operated a bakery where he made tortillas, Mexican pastries, and desserts fresh, which transfers well to a pizzeria where dough is king. Hoyos also served as the kitchen manager for Austin-based restaurant Chi’Lantro BBQ, overseeing its participation in some of the state’s largest annual festivals, including Austin City Limits and South by Southwest.

Karbach Brewing Co.

On tap, the restaurant features a slew of beers, including classics like Love Street and Hopadillo, Karbach’s Texas IPA, plus the restaurant’s exclusive Pizza & Pints pilsner that won’t be found at Karbach next door. The straightforward sip combines classic old-school malt with hops for a hint of fruitiness, Meyer says. Named in acronym form after a bargoer’s hilarious review (“fucking unbelievable nectar”), Karbach’s experimental F.U.N. beer series will also be on tap, allowing bargoers to provide feedback on newly created beers, like its mango sour, that might be featured on shelves or in the brewery in the future.

Karbach Brewing Co.

Pizza & Pints is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.