Midtown’s New Pickleball and Drinks Haven Makes the Games More Luxe — Inside The Solarium and Its Pitching Tie

If you’re one of the 50 million Americans who picked up a pickleball paddle this year, you might have noticed you have a lot of company on the courts. One of the fastest growing sports in the country over the last three years, participation has risen by 311 percent according to the Sport and Fitness Industry Association’s Topline Participation Report for 2025. Getting in on the game in Houston are Rex Hospitality, the founders of the local Maven Coffee + Cocktails and Maven at Sawyer Yards (which includes Astros comeback pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.), and The Kirby Group, which teamed together to collaborate on Solarium and The Courts, which is now open at the former Holman Draft Hall in Midtown.

Built with four outdoor pickleball courts and two padel courts, the aptly named Solarium is a 9,000-square-foot multi-level playground with a restaurant and bar built within its soaring glass walls. Outside, you will find The Courts, as well as five bays crafted from repurposed shipping containers, each offering a private, glass-front space to watch a match in air-conditioned comfort. An extension of Solarium’s indoor lounge, you can rent a bay for a private event, party, or play date, with each offering dedicated food and beverage service.

Just adjacent to The Courts is the pro shop offering equipment sales and rentals, merch and takeaway coffee and snacks during the morning hours. It’s also the spot players head to check in for their court reservation, which can be made online or in person.

Between games? The overhead walkway gives spectators and players alike a bird’s-eye view of all the play court side.

“Solarium is more than your standard recreational sports facility – it’s a place where sport, social connection and luxury seamlessly come together,” Rex Hospitality president Nina Quincy says. “We’ve taken a familiar recreational experience and transformed it with high-end hospitality, thoughtful design and an atmosphere that feels both vibrant and sophisticated.”

For those who, like myself, played paddle tennis in the winter growing up on the East Coast, padel tennis might be a new to you too. These are two distinctly different racquet sports. Paddle tennis is an American invention from the 1920s played on a raised, fenced-in court. Padel, which originated in Mexico and is growing in popularity across Spain and Latin America (and on these shores now) is played on an enclosed court that’s smaller than a pickleball court. Betting on its growing appeal, Solarium has installed those two Padel courts on the premises.

The Solarium Food & Drinks

The bar area is where one can lounge on cozy sofas or take a seat at a communal table and huddle with other players over a cherry pop spritz made with citrus-scented vodka, cherry aperitivo, lime and tart cherries with a topper of sparkling cava. Or try the signature solar Pimm’s, a refreshing cocktail made with gin, Pimm’s No. 1, Suze, lemon, ginger and cucumber. Each costs $16. Of course, tinctures made sans alcohol are also available.

Inspired by the casual country club food served after a match, the all-day menu at Solarium features starters that include ground beef stuffed empanadas made in house ($15), shareable nachos ($12) and naturally fried pickles ($12) with ranch dressing. For a healthful bite, the two-bite Baja tacos are composed of grilled mahi-mahi, fresh coleslaw and green salsa rolled up in a corn tortilla. The endive salad ($15) is tossed with goat cheese, orange segments, toasted almonds in a roasted garlic vinaigrette. Hearty sandwiches include the double fault melt ($18) the chefs’ take on a patty melt, a BLTA, a classic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with the addition of avocado, and the drop shot dip, a French dip sandwich with peppers and provolone served with au jus on a split baguette ($20).

Swing by for weekend brunch and you’ll find Belgium waffles with hot honey ($12), egg dish shakshuka ($16) and shrimp and grits ($18) gracing the menu along with brunch-style cocktails of all sorts.

Court pricing varies daily, with pickleball courts ranging from $10 to $30 and padel courts running from $20 to $40. The courts open daily at 9 a.m. The restaurant opens at 11 am Mondays through Fridays and at 10 am for weekend brunch. Solarium’s hours of operation are Mondays through Thursdays from 11 am to 10 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 11 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 8 pm.