Another Bar On Washington Ave.

[jc281]

Went to Taps last night. They have a GREAT selection of draft beer. Place is pretty laid back and had a good vibe. What I did not have a good vibe about was the $9 shots!! Bronx bar had thier soft opening last night.

good selection but thats where it ends. place is designed terribly. its laughable some of the design cues they used. random enclosure that doesnt utilize all the back patio. random enclosure that makes those waiting for the bar squeezed in unnecessarily tight. very random, our group all said they wouldnt go back

[cosmic08]

good selection but thats where it ends. place is designed terribly. its laughable some of the design cues they used. random enclosure that doesnt utilize all the back patio. random enclosure that makes those waiting for the bar squeezed in unnecessarily tight. very random, our group all said they wouldnt go back

Yep, they have the same design flaws at the other 2 Bronx Bars - tight spots and less than 500 ft of space. 20 people inside = crowded and can't move.

Edit - Oops, I thought you were talking about Bronx...sorry =)

[Yankee_in_TX]

I can TOTALLY vouch for that being TRUE. I had my 25th b-day party there and my invite list included all races. I literally had to embarrass the heck out of the door douche to let my black friends in. I basically called him a racist in front of the crowd, got the manager out there and called him a racist, and then he let them in (all 2 of them). I really didn't want to stay there after all that, but it was already 1:00 a.m. and I was too drunk to round up my gang and move.

No need to vouch. Ask any Houston club owner or door guy you know off the record. As long as they're hot, they're keeping out ugly people, people poorly dressed, and people who aren't white.

As for Nox, I posted a review of it in this thread some where... Including my report of the Hispanic Snoop Dogg guy's grand entrace and making out with two ho's at once for the whole club to see. Guys to girls were about 4 to 1.

[margokorin]

Went to Bronx last night. Stupid lay out. The upstairs porch has no bathroom or access to the inside. Cant wait to hear about the dumb girl who falls head first down those stairs. The inside is about 600 sq feet and has only one bathroom for men and one for women. Its a cool old building and they managed to leave it some of its dignity. I will give it this, they had a really good DJ on a tuesday night which was a plesant surprise. Douche factor was low, but that was only because there were like 10 people there.

[margokorin]

On an unrelated note, I am leaving the washington area this month and headed north to oak forest. VERY excited. Apparently I am becoming too middle aged for the corridor.

[LTAWACS]

On an unrelated note, I am leaving the washington area this month and headed north to oak forest. VERY excited. Apparently I am becoming too middle aged for the corridor.

I dont know where that is but it sounds really far. Congrats though. Perhaps something akin to the bronx bar will open up close to you?

[PureAuteur]

Oak Forest is just a few miles north along T.C. Jester Blvd. You can get to Washington Ave. in less than 10 minutes. That's a really good choice! So is this new Bronx Bar like the one in Rice Village? Is it larger or smaller in square feet? I'll probably check it out this weekend. There's still like 5 bars on Washington I need to visit. (They keep popping up so fast, I can't keep up!)

On a side note, does anyone know of a place that makes a good mojito drink besides Block 21, which I already know has the best in town.

[kylejack]

On a side note, does anyone know of a place that makes a good mojito drink besides Block 21, which I already know has the best in town.

Not in the Heights, but The Flat's mojito is award-winning.

[margokorin]

I think the new bronx is actually smaller in square feet than the village location. The parking lot has about 10 spaces.

[ricco67]

I think the new bronx is actually smaller in square feet than the village location. The parking lot has about 10 spaces.

I don't think that's going to matter.

They could mooch off of Citizen's Valet or simply get walking traffic from the other bars. It's in a good position I think.

[Htowngirl]

Looks like "Canvas" at 5002 Washington is actually going to be "Rebel's Honky Tonk." They have a sign out front that says so, and I also found this. It's apparently from the same people as Saint Dane's in Midtown.

We peeked inside last night... there is a GIANT mural of a bunch of country people on the wall. It looks like they still have some work to do, but it'll probably be open in a month-ish.

Also, this week, it looks like they are leveling the lot at Durham and Center Street - maybe for more parking? It still has a for sale sign, though.

[Yankee_in_TX]

Not in the Heights, but The Flat's mojito is award-winning.

We lived 2 blocks away for 4 years and never went there. Always cursed the patrons in the street at night on that curve

Bosa (now gone) near Main and Capital used to have awesome ones, had a happy hour for them, too. Served with a stick of sugar cane.

[names]

Not in the Heights, but The Flat's mojito is award-winning.

Owned by the same folks that run Blck21.

BTW the bronx bar resident dj is DJ Bizz.

[kylejack]

Owned by the same folks that run Blck21.

BTW the bronx bar resident dj is DJ Bizz.

Yeah, I'm friendly with Ziggy.

[SilverJK]

Block21 has tasty frozen mojitos.

I miss the Bosa happy hour too. = [

[HoustonOrange]

good selection but thats where it ends. place is designed terribly. its laughable some of the design cues they used. random enclosure that doesnt utilize all the back patio. random enclosure that makes those waiting for the bar squeezed in unnecessarily tight. very random, our group all said they wouldnt go back

Not sure which bar your referring to - but if it's Taps - I couldn' t disagree more. They still have some finishing up to do on the patio, etc., but it's an open concept and very casual. My kind of place. Oh yeah - close to 100 beers on tap. That goes along way iun my book!

On another note - I don't get how some of these places like Reign, Ei8ht, Citizens, etc. manage to stay open. I went to Ei8ht once on a Saturday night. Got there at 9:30 and we were literally the first ones in the door. If these places only do business from like 10pm -2am, 3-4 nights a week - I don't see how they make ends meet.

[heights_yankee]

It should be, given the cycle I mentioned. It will be a hot place to go for a few more months, but then once it is no longer the "it" place on Washington, Reign will have to find a way to stay profitable with all the other options along the corridor now. Maybe they understand the business and have no intention of being a long term neighborhood lounge. Maybe they just want to make a lot of money while they can and then pack up and leave. If they were smart, they'd invest in the long term, because while you can say that this area falls under the migrating club scene category, it is also a recently gentrified area that is going to continue to establish itself over the years with a relatively young demographic.

if they built that uglyass building, only to pack it after their trendiness wears down, they should be bitchslapped. just sayin'

the flat is an excellent lounge. my 36 year old self can go there and actually enjoy it.

[ToolMan]

I agree Taps layout is a pretty good setup - lot's of space. My only complaint is the parking.

[tmariar]

Sorry if I missed someone else posting this above but it looks like what may be going in to the old Casas location (2811 Washington Ave.) is something called Affection Boutique. There are recent building permits for it for that address, but then there is also a recent building permit issued for "Washington Bar & Grill" at that same address. Strange.

Took this yesterday, it's right across the street from the Shell on Washington... Mannequins with dresses in the windows...? A new resale shop? Another Dean's Credit Clothing? There were more dresses hanging (randomly, not on racks, that I could tell) inside. Looked like they were adding a little bricked patio with palm trees on the side too.

Anyone know what it is?

[Yankee_in_TX]

I agree Taps layout is a pretty good setup - lot's of space. My only complaint is the parking.

Ehhh - beer selection is good. The bartender we had was nice enough, but knew nothing about beer. My wife was a little offended when trying to decide, two different bartenders brought her fruity crap (framboise was one, I forget the other).

Their only food is stuff they microwave.

The shuffle board table is VERY nice. They have cornhole and bocci out back. Bad surface for playing bocci and need to put up proper side and end walls.

I can easily see how parking (as with any Washington bar) could be a HUGE issue.

[ToolMan]

Yeah, it's looking like they are still working on the place and need to work some stuff out. I think they will serve real food after they get settled in.

[roadrunner]

I went to Taps and Sawyer Park this weekend.

Taps is alright....very much an A&M bar. It will definitely do well. I actually really liked Sawyer Park even though I know it's not a haifer place. It's a very unique bar in Houston....reminded me of a sports bar I went to in San Diego. I think this is a great addition to Houston, especially lower Washington. This place will be awesome during football season.

[kylejack]

LOL, rather than responding to the Press journalist's request for interview Bronx Bar chose to just post a comment on the story.

The Bronx Group says: The Bronx Bar Group was very concerned to hear about the allegations made against our establishment. We take all allegations made against us with the utmost seriousness and attention. These allegations have been promptly and thoroughly investigated and lack merit and substance.

We would like to notify the public that these allegations made against us are baseless and unfounded. The Bronx Bar Group opens its doors to all customers and in fact is a minority owned company.

The Bronx Bar has been serving its customers proud in the Rice Village for over 11 years and has never had any previous complaints made against our establishment. We pride ourselves on having a diverse crowd of race, ethnicity and culture and encourage anyone to visit.

Sincerely,

The Bronx Bar Group

Somebody sick Quannell X on these guys, hahaha

[HoustonOrange]

I went to Taps and Sawyer Park this weekend.

Taps is alright....very much an A&M bar. It will definitely do well. I actually really liked Sawyer Park even though I know it's not a haifer place. It's a very unique bar in Houston....reminded me of a sports bar I went to in San Diego. I think this is a great addition to Houston, especially lower Washington. This place will be awesome during football season.

Yep, the bartenders at Taps aren't what they are at The Flying Saucer. They need to get up to speed on their beer knowledge. Also need to lower the prices! $6 for a pint of Harp??

Agree about Sawyer Park. Decent beer selection, good atmosphere and vibe. Also stopped in at The Usual this weekend. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

[cosmic08]

LOL, rather than responding to the Press journalist's request for interview Bronx Bar chose to just post a comment on the story.

Somebody sick Quannell X on these guys, hahaha

Haha! Or Wayne Dolcefino! I remember Drake being bashed for the same reason. If you pull up Drake on Yelp I would say 70% of the comments are about racism.

[kylejack]

Haha somebody posted a parody comment

The Bronx Group says: The Bronx Bar Group was very concerned to hear about the allegations made against our establishment.

Understand that our fine establishment provides a very targeted entertainment experience. We are proud to broadcast edgy African-American music, without scary African-Americans.

Think of it like going to see a horror movie at your local cinema. We all like to watch the slasher butcher the girl in the shower. But that doesn't mean we want real homicidal maniacs in the theater stabbing us, do we?

The Bronx Bar has been serving the diverse Rice University community for 11 years, and during that time we have never once received a complaint from a white douchebag. Thank you for your support.

The Bronx Group says: The post made at 10:00pm was not made by us. Please remove it or find out whos name to put on it.

We are still looking into the matter.

Thank you.

[Ross]

Yep, the bartenders at Taps aren't what they are at The Flying Saucer. They need to get up to speed on their beer knowledge. Also need to lower the prices! $6 for a pint of Harp??

Agree about Sawyer Park. Decent beer selection, good atmosphere and vibe. Also stopped in at The Usual this weekend. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

$6 for a pint of Harp? That's a crap beer. They used to have cheesy commercials in the UK with a theme that Harp stands for the Harmony and Recreation Party. There are some great beers in the UK. Harp isn't one of them.

[swtsig]

Yep, the bartenders at Taps aren't what they are at The Flying Saucer. They need to get up to speed on their beer knowledge. Also need to lower the prices! $6 for a pint of Harp??

Agree about Sawyer Park. Decent beer selection, good atmosphere and vibe. Also stopped in at The Usual this weekend. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

while the selection at taps was decent, the bartenders definitely lacked the requisite knowledge a place calling itself "Taps House of Beers" demands. i asked for a summerfest and the girl just looked at me like i was speaking chinese.

[kylejack]

Taps has 93 beers on tap according to their Twitter.

Here's a list: http://www.tapshouseofbeers.com/our-beers

[emirate25]

I've read it somewhere on this forum, but I will agree that maybe Shepherd from 11th on to 610N can also be a good option for the next avenue of trendy lounges bars like on Washington? As of now, there are used car sales lots like there were in Washington. You have three neighborhoods surrounding this area...Timbergrove, Shady Acres and Heights.

My second but long shot option as the next "it" place is on the northside Main from UH Downtown all the way to I -45. You have some new development creeping through this area at a very slowly pace since early 2000