Kobain

Used to be one of my fav joints, they had the best frozen drinks — kobainsicle? tasted like an alcoholic dreamsicle. It had a big patio area, and when you sat out there it was like you were taken away to a paradise not even in Houston.
However, on our last visit the bartender said it would be their last night, now I believe it’s closed.
Sad to see this place go.

Named after the dead and depressing grunge rocker but with a «K»… so klever… Kobain’s has a nice outside patio, a pool table and an air condition that will bust through even the most padded of bras. It’s so damn cold but in the H-​town heat, it feels like sweet sweet relief.
Don’t drive past it… it’s kind of hard to see outside of the 6 foot tall southern comfort bottle. And definitely get the greek quesadilla. It’s the best fusion food to accompany that icy miller lite. Or your frozen dreamsicle of delight filled with interesting flavors and about 12 shots of alcohol.

4.5 stars
My first time here and my initial thoughts were that I liked the feel of the place, the mid 20’s-30’s crowd, and the heavy pouring coming from the bar. We’re off to a very good start Kobain.
I can sing along and chair dance to a song if I choose to. Yet the music isn’t so loud that I can’t have a conversation with my party. Leather couches, cold A/​C, cool art on the wall, and even a patio for the smokers.
I shall return.

First impressions have a lasting effect on me. This place is cool and we will definitely be coming back for more. Like some of the previous reviews, it had the ski resort feel. A cool place to hang out with a crowd. They had leather couches, long tables, and a large patio. Big groups are welcome!
The drinks were strong and you got your money’s worth. We went on a Friday night, so it wasn’t over-​crowded, just chill. I am all about décor and I loved the paintings on the wall of Kurt Kobain and Johnny Cash. If you are a golden tee player, they have it. There were guys posted up on it all night. Bartenders were friendly too.
I recommend it if you are looking for a new place to have a drink and hang out!

My friend had really been hyping up this place to me for years now and we finally stopped by here on a slow Wednesday night and I was not impressed in the least. Yes, I do realize Wednesday was perhaps not the most optimal time to pop in, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Deal with it!
This place does have a rather large front deck area — complete with a grilling area — I suppose for the fajitas and other drunk-​combating foods. I assume it’s in service on the more festive evenings and weekends? The deck was otherwise pretty barren, save from some loud-​mouthed guys ranting about something ridiculous. Alcohol injected banter? Yes.
The interior of this establish felt like a sports bar, but then there paintings of Kurt Cobain displayed upon the walls. SO CONFUSING. There was an comfy couch and coffee table area, which we settled into.
I glanced around and immediately zoned into the Affliction shirts here and there — my soul then subsequently died. The sparse crowd here was all rather casual — like TOO casual for a bar that seemed like it had potential to be nice. Not even like scenester, emo, everyday casual. Like sloppy casual. Boy do I sound judgey! But trust me. I know things.
Also this — the guy nearest to us on the couch kept passing out, taking mini-​naps — which was a little strange to say the least.
I guess I just didn’t like the «feel» of the place. A rather uninviting-​looking crowd, and the décor just didn’t tickle my fancy. Won’t be rushing back here any time soon!

I just checked this place out last week and was pleasantly surprised. The ambiance was a bit odd with lil wayne playing in a place with pictures of kurt cobain on the wall (although, I believe the night I went was an event for some promotion crew). I definitely noticed the older crowd and felt the ski lodge feel other Unilocalers are mentioning.
It was probably half full on the Friday night I went, but I am not sure if this is typical or low because it was raining earlier that evening. The main thing I think we enjoyed was the couches and other nuances which made Kobain very conducive of talking to your friends. I actually played golden tee for 15 – 30 minutes with a buddy.
I would say this is a good place if you want to have good conversations with your friends or have easier access to a bar so you can get drinks before hitting the overly crowded places.

Ten months ago (almost to the day), I met one of my favorite Unilocalers. Actually, I met a couple of my favorite Unilocalers. Emerson and Tony. Both are (as of tomorrow eve), no longer resident Houston Unilocaler Elites. No, they didn’t do anything scandalous like send hate mail to new reviewers, quite the contrary. They are two of the nicest people I’ve met in this fair city. I mention this to you darling readers, so that you get the idea of how wonderful most of these people writing reviews are; they are genuinely nice, awesome, funny people.
Right, back to Kobain. It’s a nice spacious ski lodge inside, until it fills up with the mildly douch-​tastic people. Then it’s a nice spacious ski lodge filled with you, your good friends, and weird people. There are also TVs. A nice wooden bar. A large table that could seat about twenty. Big, comfy couches that our small group (Dave, MOrgon, Meredith, Mike, Tino, Tony, Emerson, Ahmad, Farrah, Andrea, and I) took over.
The bar doesn’t serve food, however Chatters will deliver.
As Tony and I had never spoken, we had lots to catch up on. That evening I heard about the scooter he used to drive when he was a cool cat during the Mods/​Rockers era in England. I also had all of the working ladies at the bar pointed out to me. (I know, I never noticed such a thing before that evening and was in complete disbelief.) I thought he was just talking crazy until Emerson corroborated his story.

I feel that this place usually has an over 30 crowd. I’ve been going for over a year now, mostly because i like chill places and the bar tenders are cool.
Its super easy to find, right behind Chatters restaurant (litterally attached). Parking can be annoying if you choose the street, otherwise you can valet at chatters.
Huge patio, comfy couches inside.
I recommend if you aren’t feeling the dance scene, or if you just want a place to start drinking early.

The first time I went to Kobain was in 2006, during my «partying» days. It had just opened up and was being deemed the hot, new incognito hangout. Back then, it had no patio to speak of, and everyone that went were the same exact people you saw in the industry parties Mon-​Weds. So when one of my friends suggested we take our little party from Aka to Kobain to continue our pseudo-​Sunday Funday, I was a little apprehensive.
First off, I’ve always hated finding this place. I cannot navigate this Waugh area for the life of me. Thankfully, I was following someone and after a few twists and turns through the Wash area, we got there safely and with plenty of street parking left.
I was actually impressed at how much this place had improved in the last 3 years! I love the patio (well, I love ANY patio), and we enjoyed our beers/​shots/​cocktails out there for the remainder of the night. As everyone already mentioned, the inside remains cozy with big couches and large TV screens. The bathrooms were fairly clean, and the full length mirror was a nice plus on your way out (we’re girls, it matters). Our drinks were easy to order, the bartender Dan was pretty attentive to our needs.
The crowd was easy on the eyes, and it emptied by the end of our night. We heard a few people leaving to go to Pravada and Esco, so I’m sure they were just using Kobain to pre-​game. Now that I’ve seen the patio, I wouldn’t mind coming back here to hang out… Sunday or any other day of the week.

This is one of my favorite places in Houston to hang out. The parking I admit can be difficult sometimes but I dont mind it. Some nights there is valet so that helps.
Unlike other pretentious places in Houston, Kobain is really chill. The door guy, bartenders and even bussers are all pretty friendly. The busser offered to help us turn on the heat lamps. Also, the drinks aren’t too expensive… around $ 6 or $ 7 for most liquor. The place is usually pretty packed so prepare to be cramped if you’re rolling 20 deep.
The patio is awesome. I love patios! The atmosphere is usually really fun. The crowd is really friendly and very good-​looking. Eye candy available for both guys and girls, and the girls are pretty nice and talkative here. People are all well-​dressed here too however, unlike other places along Washington, they won’t turn you away because you’re not _​_​_​.
All in all, come out. Have fun and enjoy yourself.

I meet up with some friends here for a late evening drink. I had to circle the block twice just to find it — it does not have any signage out front to identify the place and just a small sign for valet.
I was lucky enough to snag a street spot just south of the bar, but you can certainly see parking is at a premium. The outside patio was quite large and filled with metal chairs and tables huddled around several heaters. The outside bar served only beer and bottom shelf liquor. The interior of the bar was furnished with plush couches, plasma TVs and attempts at modern art. The bar is the main focus of the room and its three sides were constantly filled with patrons demanding attention.
The drinks were okay, but my server was focused on providing her friends with free shirts instead of my drink — I had to send back a gin a tonic that was clearly made with vodka.
The only thing that really struck me about the place were the plasma screens playing National Treasure 2. Me enjoying a gin & tonic while watching Nicholas Cage in a Disney movie is not my ideal Saturday night out.

Thanks be to God for Facebook! Via that lovely internet social networking website, some school chums of mine put together a lovely reunion that took place last evening.
I arrived at 7:00pm to find the place pretty much deserted. I thought I saw some tumbleweeds skittering past… But my pals showed up soon thereafter and by 9:00pm, the place was well-​packed.
The aesthetics were lovely. Rather than being in some seedy joint, I felt I was in someone’s home. What a pity the music was so loud I felt half-​deaf when walking out of place for a breather.
The place is arranged such that there is a entrance way marked by two railings that force the crowd up to the bar and then sideways. This makes for problems navigating through the throngs of people who came to this seemingly-​popular night spot. The furniture was very comfortable, but a little too big for the room which was really about two-​thirds the size it needed to be to accommodate a good crowd and still keep the intimate setting, which Kobain achieves very well.
Parties of more than 20 people on a Saturday evening will find the place a bit cramped, but any day of the week you will find excellent service and good food — I nibbled on sandwiches, cheeze cubes, strawberries, celery, brie (yum), and had a couple of soft drinks and water.
The front patio, though, offsets the crowd aspect and on a warmer day than we had is a charming spot for hanging out with friends. What a pity the bad floor plan and too-​loud music spoiled the evening just a tad.

When Farrah A took me here for happy hour she described it as looking like a ski lodge. And that’s exactly what it looks like! A ski lodge in Houston? I like it!
And there’s more good besides the cool ski lodge atmosphere…
The service was great. The bartender served me and the other Unilocalers fast and with a smile! And we also enjoyed 2 delicious cheese plates and fruit… we had a big dinner at Voice waiting for us after, but that didn’t stop me from indulging on cheese. Always love the cheese…
They seem to have some pretty good happy hour specials, which many people seemed to be taking advantage of. It was a beautiful cool night (well, cool by houston standards) so many people were sipping their drinks out on the front patio.

The actual bar itself is nice. 4 plasma t.v.‘s set apart from each other by 2 faux fireplaces. Comfy leather seating areas and a really cute brunette bartender all add up for a really good time. The girl/​guy ratio of this place is awesome, as there were plenty of ladies to watch as I tried to maintain my convo.
I wasn’t wowed. I wasn’t disappointed either. This place actually falls in the middle. This place has the makings of a good time, but it didn’t feel like some place I could really cut loose and have a great time. It’s definitely a «be seen» kinda bar.
The highlight of the evening there, as my buddy Anthony pointed out in his review, was being oggled by these 2 «working girls». That’s when you know you’ve arrived, when 2 young «working girls» think you have enough $$ in your pocket for relations with them AND enough to drink. Nice…

It’s OK but nothing too special that I could see. I am glad I went on a Unilocal event otherwise I would not have given the extra star. Maybe Wednesday is the wrong night to go here. Will go again another night and see if it gets better.
The only thing of note here was there were two working girls ‘pinging’ us from the table next door but we left before any torpedoes were launched. Yeah. I know. WTF were they doing there? Only a bus hop to downtown. Maybe they got off a stop too early?

It can be a nice place to go after work for a drink while you sit outside but I have also been here way too many times when the douchbag and coke head crowd is in full swing.
Drinks are way to expensive but that patio is a real nice place to be when the weather is good.

My first visit to Kobain was back in ’06 when it first opened. Bellinis and «Italian Margaritas» were the highlight of my Sunday afternoon, but nothing too special to bring me back … until early 2008.
The clientele certainly changed. It was a lot more fratty, but some eye candy worth checking out.
So me and my gf swung by there again last night after the Heights White Linen Night hoping to down a few Bellinis and enjoy the warm summer breeze on the patio. At 10pm, the place already had a decent crowd, door guys were sweet, as our adorable bartender was too.
As two gals sitting alone at the bar, we quickly attracted a group of drunk guys who bought a few round of shots. Annoying? Yes, but harmless.
The place doesn’t exactly exude «rock bar» as the name intends it to be – nor does the music play list. (They did play Muse last night. Kudos to that.) But if you’re up for a ski lodge-​like setting and enough elbow room to round up a group of friends for drinks (and greasy bites from the adjacent Chatter’s), this place is a cool option.

I’ve been to Kobain a few times since it opened. I have always felt the clientele not my cup of tea, but this last time I went with a great group of friends and it didn’t matter. Our group took four tables outside on this cool April evening. The service was attentive and the bartenders were easy to get my adult beverages from. On this night I noticed a bar out on the patio, which I’m sure made things convenient for the patio patrons
I think next time someone suggest Kobain, I won’t try to drag them to some other bar. I will go along for the ride and enjoy it.

When anthropologists need to see douchebags and skanks in their natural environment, they should simply stop by Kobain. My heart sinks knowing that Courtney Love’s legal team hasn’t stopped by yet as well.
It’s almost as if you’re at an amusement park and you’re offered a visit to the Night at the Roxbury ride. The only substance in that place is whatever is spilled on the bathroom floors. The on-​velvet pictures of Kurt and Vedder on the walls are like watching a nuclear bomb personified to anyone who has any interest in those artists.
A disgrace.

The outside patio is huge with lots of tables and chairs which will be great since the weather is starting to be nice. Big arm chairs and couches with a stone fireplace gives it log cabin charm paired with rock and roll music. Lately it has become more popular Thurs-​Sat.
Majority of bar goers at this venue are stocky meat heads– I saw one puke in one of the couches– don’t ever sit in the one that’s on the far left!