Uptown 23rd is filled with variety. Within its boundaries are some of the City’s most vibrant spots and home to SO MANY great places to eat, quirky boutiques and antique shops.
Where to eat
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and in Uptown 23rd choosing your breakfast may also be one of the toughest decisions of the day. Hunny Bunny Biscuit Company offers scratch-made biscuits and gravy (including excellent vegetarian mushroom gravy), breakfast sandwiches, plates and bowls; Toast & Coffee brings fresh pastries, gourmet toasts like Uptown Benedict, Cinnamon Brulee and Avocado Smash; Hurts Donut Company’s 70+ varieties of donuts include the Andes Mint, a Fruity Pebbles-topped masterpiece, Jalapeno Kolache and at least 67 more.
For lunch or dinner, we love Chick N Beer for, well, chicken wings and beer (but also for the fried cauliflower vegetarian ‘wings’) and Cheever’s Café for its beautifully elevated American classics. Boom Town Creamery’s yummy ice creams are handmade in small batches. We love the Chocolate Tornado (dark chocolate ice cream with brownies, fudge swirl and chocolate chips). They’ve got vegan and gluten-free choices, too. We crave Pizzeria Gusto for its Neapolitan-style pizza and gorgeous salads or Big Truck Tacos for creative takes on tacos, quesadillas and more.
What to drink
For cleverly named (and just plain delish) cocktails including The Manhattan Project (Luxardo, Cointreau and Union Horse unaged whiskey), try The Bunker Club. For a lively outdoor cocktail scene (with heated tents in cooler months), the super-hip place to see and be seen is The Pump.
For super-delish bar eats like queso fries, a marinated cauliflower sandwich or the panko-breaded chicken katsu sandwich plus inventive seasonal cocktails, a solid beer and wine selection and a vintage-cool vibe, your best choice is Ponyboy.
Where to shop
Craig’s Curious Emporium is an enormous, bohemian treasure trove of eclectic and exclusive gifts you won’t find anywhere else including a massive inventory of books, metaphysical supplies, crystals, clothing, tarot decks and quirky trinkets.
The Art Hall organizes curated group exhibitions and special events in its 23rd Street space, located in The Rise building and maintains an online marketplace featuring the work of participating Art Hall artists. The Art Hall focuses on showing artists of all media and backgrounds who live and work in Oklahoma and maintain an occasional guest artist program.
Things to Do
If you’ve been hankering for art of a different variety – as in personal body art – make your tattoo or piercing dreams come true at Atomic Lotus Tattoo or 23rd Street Body Piercing.
Tower Theatre adds live music options to the Uptown mix. This intimate venue hosts touring artists and local musicians all year round.
If you’re a fan of opera, dance or theatre, take in a performance at Oklahoma City University. The university’s internationally acclaimed schools of dance, music and theatre stage Broadway-quality musicals, seasonal performances and operas throughout the year.
Bring your group (up to 7 players) to The Escape OKC, where you’ll be “locked” in a room for one hour. Inside the room are clues to find and puzzles to solve. It’ll take quick thinking and a lot of teamwork. Objective: Beat the game before time runs out!
