Uptown Tavern

The curse of the corner continues. Uptown is down for the count. Signs are gone and things are locked up tight.
It wasn’t a bad place — for the 4^th (or 5^th?) iteration of a bar at that location. They had plans to renovate the space … and then they vanished!
I suspect the death blows came from having virtually no parking and having the trendier & more upscale World of Beer a mere block away. Ciao, Uptown! It was a brave effort.

Uptown Tavern
No places to park. There are not at the bar but parking and streets is full. No reason to go to this place.

We all need to start a new review string on what is now called Uptown Tavern. Management is virtually screaming this is no longer The Wild Rooster, and is under new management. In an area around a University and W 7^th, this place just doesn’t deliver anything you can’t get elsewhere with a better, hipper crowd if you are looking for that kind of thing.
Uptown Tavern is advertising themselves as a «dive bar», and that is an accurate description. Inside you get a rather ugly black box in front of a stage where the live music starts at 9:30 on weekend evenings. The signs say, «Try our expanding craft beer selection», so that seems to be their focus. Lots of TV’s and neon signs inside, plus some inside/​outside areas catering to smokers.
I stopped in yesterday for lunch with a couple friends, and we all opted for burgers and some potato skins. We were the only folks in the place on Saturday at 1:00 pm. Burgers came out pretty fast, potato skins not delivered until we were almost done. Menu is strictly bar food. The food was surprisingly good. The burgers were great, nice and fresh and hot. Same with the fries. I think they are baking them rather than frying, so the are nice and crisp, not oily or soggy. And at $ 10 for the burger AND fries, it compares favorably to Rodeo Goat and Bottlecap Alley where you pay extra for the fries. The loaded potato skins were also great, nice and fresh.
What Uptown Tavern is missing is some kind of unique identity. They are in classic need of a John Taffer «Bar Rescue». Until then, if you are looking for a few beers in a dive bar without a lot of other patrons right now, this is your spot.

Ambiance is very chill. They renovated the place and it doesn’t smell like smoke anymore. They also added a patio with table games. When we arrived we were a little too late for the band. There is enough parking for a Friday night. If you just want to chill at a bar with not many people this is probably a spot you want to go to.

Waited over an hour for food and the excuse by the manager was other people claimed my food. Shouldn’t they have a system for that? Not organized. POOR SERVICE. Don’t go

I love the Wild Rooster. They have good drink specials on the weekdays, Thursday being my favorite for $ 2 pints. The beer selection is decent, but, hey, as long as Shiner is on tap, the Rooster has my heart. The tacos here are really good, although now I always opt for the veggie tacos, which are really good especially for a bar. Expect it to be smokey and loud, but expect to always listen to good music and have a good time.

Although I am a Dallasite, i LOVE fort worth’s downtown far more than Dallas’. This joint is close to the TCU campus however the crowd isn’t as young as you would expect.
There are two pool tables and live music is usually available. beer prices are reasonable and their bar food is pretty standard. it’s not a fancy place, and not quite a dive. I’d suggest you just check it out for yourself.

I used to enjoy the Wild Rooster. I used to feel welcomed. Not anymore. My, my, how a staff switchout can change everything.
Some coworkers and I decided to get an afterwork drink this week. Since the Rooster is in close proximity, we figured… why not? That used to be one of our spots. Let’s give it another whirl.
We ordered washington apple shots that tasted like they only had cranberry juice in them. My other coworker had an $ 8 drink and handed them a $ 20, only to get $ 5 back. He tried to get the bartender’s attention, but to no avail. At least the other bartender finally took notice and ended up fixing it.
It was little things like this all night that just made the experience awkward.
Such a shame.

Great service. Nice neighborhood group here. Sometimes a little too smoky, but the food is fantastic. Live music Thursday through the weekend.

Used to come here to watch local teams and eat wings (also used to be .50 on game day, but not anymore!) but now they don’t play the audio of the games (or they turn them off during 4^th quarter to play duran duran). Don’t bother. If you just want to be a 7^th street sellout popcollar, this is the place for you!

My group and I walked in on a Tues or Monday night to grab a couple drinks to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Boy did we feel unwelcome. It felt like one of those places where everyone knows everyone and outsiders were unwelcome, hence, us. I was so sure everyone was staring at us like were aliens. The bartender probably checked our IDs multiple times before he served us. Even ordering drinks, there was just a sense of uncertainty in the air. Well, we ordered one round and tipped and left as quickly as we can. The bartender was even bitching about his tip. I hope he reads this and can understand why.

What a diverse crowd this place pulls. Great bar, cool cover bands, and really nice food. You have to try the rooster balls! Very cool spot, but it gets packed.

perfect dive bar! Great people watching, good drinks. Food was ok but i wouldn’t go here for that. Usually some entertaining live music.

I know this joint is a watering hole. In fact, it is not very food-​friendly in terms of dining. But, I do understand that after a few tall ones, it does not really matter where or how you eat. In fact, you may even prefer standing and eating when intoxicated. Nonetheless, I dropped into this tucked-​away bar for some lunch.
The menu is simple, but it does provide some unique offerings in terms of greasy grub. Everything has the word rooster in it, but not everything is rooster, or even chicken, for that matter. I suggest the rooster balls. Seriously. They are something different.
The circular objects contain mashed potato, bacon, jalapeño, Cheddar, and chives, essentially a loaded spud. All of this is mashed up together, balled up, and deep fried. What comes out is a nice, crusted sphere of fatty goodness.
Aside from the nontesticular balls, the wings are OK, and the housemade chips are pretty solid. Nothing fancy, but certainly good bar fare.
Although WR is tucked away in a little strip mall a bit down the way from all of the other pubs and the like, I would make your way over for a drink and a bite. There is plenty to try here, and I would recommend it if you are looking for a way to munch and imbibe after work.

Overall the venue is okay. It’s usually no cover and drinks are pretty cheap. It tends to get a bit crowded, which makes it hard to enjoy the band.

Got to admit, brisket taco ROCKS! Good beer, cheap, tunes, scenery. All the makins’ of a great down low. Might live TO CLOSE to this place for my own health!

This review is based solely on one thing. THE WINGS. Sometimes my business partner and I start going bonkers in our office and need a place to go for lunch or happy hour where we can talk and eat. I keep meaning to order something else but I get the wings EVERY TIME. Invariably he will order their crazy good brisket tacos but he still eats some of my wings.
Understand, I’m not a wing ordering chick. I wear suits and dresses to work. Things that don’t lend themselves to going fist deep into bone in wings with extra «what-​ever-​the-​name-​of-​that-​addictive-​sauce-​they-​put-​in-​the-​big-​bottles» name is. I have a Tide to Go pen that I should just write their name on. But it’s worth it. Check it out.

Worst bar. Worst everything. Avoid like the plague.

I really don’t want to write a review of this place. Selfish, I know, but I don’t want anyone else to find this spot.
Why my tight lips? Well, it reminds me of other places that were cool joints to hang out at before everyone else discovered them. Adairs circa 1998 or Freds circa 2005.
Dive-​a-​licious.
I couldn’t describe the average patron because there wasn’t one. But here are folks I saw in multiples — Men in trucker caps (the real kind, not the Urban Outfitters interpretation) with Unibomber facial hair. Cougars in skinny jeans and sequined tops. Young gals in t-​shirts with neck tattoos and Snookie-​hairdos. Aging frat boys in pearl snap shirts drinking cans of PBR. A pack of lesbians (not of the lipstick variety). A 50-​ish couple who looked like they had come from one of the nicer local restaurants sipping red wine out of cheap barware.
Total mish-​mosh.
How is it that we stumbled upon this place? Well, one of my best friends called and said he wanted to meet for a drink — NOW. Oh, and he had not showered since the day before and didn’t plan to (that eliminated most downtown, W 7^th, or westside bars). I wanted food (that knocked out a lot of our other dive favorites). That narrowed our options… and Freds was crowded.
The Wild Rooster it was. Neither of us had been in the place but it had been mentioned to me by such an eclectic mix of friends that I knew there might be something for everyone. I was right.
Service is almost nonexistent. We never saw a waitress (although there is a girl who comes through and collects bottles off the tables — but only occasionally — we had several pile up before she appeared). and service at the bar was tough. My friend had no trouble — I think he looked properly scummy. I couldn’t get the bartender to notice me when it was my round. In fact, some patrons got second rounds before he took my order almost 10 minutes later — and that only because the girl next to me said «she’s been here a LONG time» when he asked for her second round. One star off for that… not cool.
I decided to try the shrimp tacos… (let’s face it, who can resist something that comes with a side of «cock sauce»… I kid you not) and the chips/​salsa basket. Tacos were some of the best I’ve had outside of a roadside taqueria. Double layer of fresh corn tortillas, plump gulf shrimp, pico de gallo… heaven. Two sauces on the side — I’m not sure which was the «cock sauce» — one was closer to BBQ sauce and a bit too sweet for my liking and the other was a spicier red sauce closer to what I’m used to getting alongside my tacos. The chips were some commercial variety but the salsa was definitely fresh (hot, tangy, and spicy all at once).
There is a full bar and drink prices seemed low, but my brain may be scarred from the highway robbery prices at some of the fancy bars on the other side of the intersection. Many of the patrons were drinking canned Tecate and PBR which may have been the special. I was thrilled that Strongbow was one of the prime offerings and ventured no further.
Smoking is allowed — possibly encouraged — definitely not the place to go with freshly washed hair or clothes that you don’t want to have thoroughly cleaned immediately after leaving. I’m still smelling smoke today.
Entertainment — besides that of the prime people watching — was a live band who sounded a bit like Asleep at the Wheel.
The whole place reminded me of college and I will definitely return again on nights that I’m not feeling uppity or at all concerned with appearances!

We tried out Wild Rooster last week. Service (when we had a waitress) was good. Food was good. Drinks reasonable. Then the waitress left, the bartenders ignored and it wasn’t so good anymore.
Went back last night for Happy Hour. Menu has been slashed (and it was one of the reasons I went back). No waitress. Bartenders ignored for over 5 minutes. Standing right in front of me talking to a buddy. When one did acknowledge me, he was very good. Food last night was just ok.
I don’t think we will be back.