Pete Mitchell met his wife and business partner Vera Mitchell at the craft beer bar in Dallas. The owner of The Ginger Man also owned a bar called The Volcano in Rice Village, and asked Paul Mitchell to run it. The couple bought the bar from the owner when he moved back to the east coast and transformed it into Under The Volcano in September 1989.

Under the Volcano gets its name from a novel by Malcolm Lowry, which has themes that follow the Mexican holiday Day of The Dead, Pete Mitchell said.
For Pete Mitchell, the deeper significance from the book is the English author's interest in pre-modern Mexican culture and an authentic representation of Mexico. When they opened the bar, The Mitchell’s aimed to avoid stereotypical caricatures of Mexico, instead focusing on a more honest and authentic portrayal, they said.
“It [comes from] a time [when] the English were interested in finding out what real man was like before modernization, and they thought in Mexico they could find that,” Pete Mitchell said.
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere

Through the years, they’ve remained committed to making all of their made-to-order drinks from scratch—following their original recipe as closely as possible and utilizing fresh squeezed juices and produce, he said.
The eclectic cocktail list draws influence from all over South America, Vera Mitchell said. Drinks include a horseradish pomegranate margarita; the Green On Red—made with silver and vanilla rum, red bell pepper, basil and citrus juices; and the Brazilian Caipirinha and a frozen Cuba Libre.

In 2020, the craft cocktail bar expanded its food offerings to include more than just bar snacks, the Mitchell’s said.
They added empanadas that follow Vera Mitchell’s grandmother’s recipes, which they said kept them afloat during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Diving in deeper
Under The Volcano’s design elements—which include a collection of masks and colorfully-painted walls adorned with crucifixes—were chosen to emphasize the diversity of Mexico and characterize the Day of the Dead more authentically—as a vibrant celebration of deceased loved ones, Vera Mitchell said.

- 2349 Bissonnet St., Houston
- www.underthevolcanohouston.com