Mugsy’s

Nice happy hour and the pulled pork Mac and cheese was yummy. Service was attentive without being obtrusive.

Friendly staff. Good food. Cold beer. I’m not sure how it took me so long to find Mugsy’s but now that I have, I will return very soon.

I dig Musgy’s because of:
#1 Happy Hour all day on Sunday
#2 Cool bartender that makes good Bloody Mary’s
#3 It’s never too crowed
#4 Descent patios
#5 Everytime I go, there is the same group of people hanging out on the back patio, playing games having a good olé time and dang it, one of these days I’m gunna ask them if I can join.
Musgy’s is a low key place that is always open and gives good service. As for the food, its average and good. Nice bathrooms! Parking can be akward due to tight and oddly laid out parking lot. If you have a big truck, I recommend you park on the street or by Hobbit.

I cannot claim to know & love this place. Since moving back to Houston I have been a few times to meet friends. The drinks are stiff and very reasonable. The ambience is pretty generic. The patio is spacious.
I have never seen it packed (but that is not a bad thing).
I have not tried the food (yet).

Mugsy’s is a decent dive but it’s a terrible place to watch a game. The food is decent and they gave something for everyone. I’m partial to the spinach salad with walnuts and strawberries.
Back to the main reason I come here. It’s the official college football game watch location for my team. If there’s one thing that annoys me more than anything else about a sports bar, it’s a standard definition signal displayed on large HD screens. AAARGH! In a 21^st century world Mugsy’s is stretchovision city stuck in a time warp. Who cares about atmosphere if you can’t even watch the game right?

Saturday night alumni game watch party at Mugsy’s. It was my fist time watching with this group so I paid cash for my beer — just in case I wanted to sneak out and make a quick getaway. Luckily, my fellow game watchers turned out to be cool so I ordered some pulled pork slides, another beer, opened a tab, and settled in to watch the Canes humiliate themselves. (Hey Golden, don’t forget to send the game evite to the defense next time!)
But I digress. The bartender was friendly and even though he was chatting with the regulars, gave me the slight nod like, «hey girl, I see you over there. Hang on 1 sec while I wrap up my convo and I’ll be right there.»
The atmosphere in the back room at mugsy’s is fine, a little supply closet-​like for my personal taste but they have 2 TVs and great sound so I’m not complaining. Another pro, my blonde bombshell beer on tap which was delicious. The negatives? The sliders were terrible. I’m not sure what happened there but it was like flavorless mush on a bun. One of the other girls had warned me the food here is bad and I should have listened. Also, there are no nachos on the menu. That is an outrage.
At the end of the night, I closed out my tab and had been charged for the first beer I paid cash for. The bartender was busy and with the group discount it was just a few bucks so I left a lower tip and let it go. But check your bill carefully.
I did see a sign for $ 2 mimosas on the weekends so I’m thinking that might be a worthwhile adventure to check out.

Hmmm… its a different spot, that’s for sure. I like it, yet I sort of feel I should use hand sanitizer. Had brunch here. Nice staff. GM was there and GM jumped in to help our crew. For there being so few people in the place for «brunch» I was surprised the waitress/​bar tender was on slow mo in getting anything to us.
The music was the highlight. It was virtually a karaōke sing a long at our table due to the sensational tunes.
TVs all around.
Booths, tables, bar stools, outdoor seating, motorcycle parking in back. (I never saw the hot biker I was hoping to meet. pout pout)…
Its a different vibe but a good one.
Hmmmm,.I’m realizing I liked it more than my starting paragraph boasts.
Its Wednesday… I’m grouchy. Its me… :)
Do try brunch… don’t be in a rush.
Bring your hair brush so you can stand up and sing into it.
Trying a happy hour this Friday so we shall see.
Hot biker pending. Grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Cheers.

The strawberry basil lemonade cocktail was tasty. They also had a decent amount of happy hour specials… we opted for the artichoke dip and another side pretzels, both which were decent Parking could be a pain during peak hours since it shares space with The Hobbit Café. The main problem my group had was that there was only one bartender. Also said person argued with my friend about a drink on their tab that wasn’t theirs. They ended up just paying for it whether than arguing more about it.

This is my place for good drinks. It’s a hole in the wall with customers who are usuals. I came here because my girlfriend knew the bartender. Whenever we come in, the bartender would make my drink. Great place.

Wow. Came here to try something new, and I’m so glad I did! My crew and I showed up a little after six on a Thursday, which left us plenty of time to enjoy their HH specials. Good Texas spirits for under five bucks, and beers for two and three? Yes, please!
This place wasn’t crowded at all when we went, which was nice. There are patios out front and in the back, and lots of tables and booths inside. Crystal took care of us at the bar and gave good recs for drinks and food. Parking is a little limited directly in front, but the lot behind borders Hobbit Café, and there’s plenty of space there.
Their beer selection is good-​sized and weighted heavily in favor of Texas ones — Shiner of every variety, Bombshell Blonde, Rahr, Bootlegger Brown, Lone Star, to name a few. Then there’s the frozen drinks: Juice Box (exactly like how it sounds) and the John Daly (a frozen Arnold Palmer with sweet tea vodka). Yum! They’re on special on Wednesdays, so maybe I’ll have to come back next week.
Now let’s talk food. I had the pulled pork sliders and snacked on some duck fat popcorn. The sliders were heavily sauced shredded pork and crunchy slaw on perfect pillows of toasted bread. SO good. The popcorn was good, but just tasted like. Popcorn. I get that duck fat makes for crispier fries and is good at high temps, but I’m not sure I understand the purpose of using it for popcorn. Either way, it was good. Friends had Reubens and quesadillas, all of which got rave reviews.
The attitude here is really chill, and the service, food, and drink are great. I can’t wait to go back.

We just stopped in for a quick happy hour with GF’s friends while in Houston. We sat out on the front patio on a busy noisy street with the GF’s little dog. There is a smaller patio area in the back but I am not sure if dogs were allowed there, and there were no seats available back there. A TV was hanging from the rafters that had spots on the screen because it had been water damaged. It made it very distracting to watch. There was no service on the patio and we had to go inside for our drinks. We did not eat there so I am not sure about the food.

Update! Update! Read all about it! Still a big fan of Mugsy’s! Chef Eric rocked my world the other day with his meatloaf! Er… Um…Get your head out of gutter, not that meatloaf! The literal meatloaf they serve is awesome! It was moist and served with a sweet potato purée on top of 3 stalks of asparagus. It was comfort food at its finest. The meatloaf is on special on Wednesdays, but I would go any day that you are missing mama’s home cooking.

I came here for Monday steak night. It was just OK. The meat was a bit on the fatty side, I ended up throwing a good amount of it away.
The drinks were pretty much dirt cheap, but you are in Montrose area, and this is a very divey type place. Such things are good traits, however this place holds regulars too highly I feel. They kind of ignore the randoms.

Visit #1 to the Bar
Me, to bartender: I’ll have a Shiner, please.
Bartender: Coming right up.
Regular sitting at the bar: (ten seconds later) HAHA, did you say «Shiner»? HA, I was just, HA, thinking about my friend, who has a black eye, you know, Shiner, HA!
Me: o. O
Visit #2 to the Bar
Me, ordering steak. Matt (Actual Person I Know) is ordering too and starts talking to me.
Matt: So, you went to Ireland recently?
Me: Well, not recently. I–
Regular: Wait, did you say Ireland? WOW. Best country ever!
Me: …
So, besides the loud desperation of the «regular», Mugsy’s was A-​OK. It’s a lot nicer inside than I thought it would be, with burgundy upholstered booths and dark wood walls. The runner got a bit confused and brought me Karen N.‘s steak, which I didn’t realize until I was halfway through eating it. (D’oh.) I ordered mine medium and she ordered hers raw and wriggling (Gollum-​approved), so we eyed each other’s steaks enviously for the rest of the night. But the green beans and garlic mashed potatoes on the side were DIVINE. It’s not often that steak night sides are worth writing home about, but this definitely was.
Prices were fair, and even though the «friendly regulars» scared the bejezus out of me, I’d be willing to give it another shot (with my boyfriend in tow). Definitely keeping this place on my radar for steak night.

I like Mugsy’s. The mixed drinks are well-​made and reasonable priced. My Tito’s and pineapple was perfectly concocted (and I can get pretty pick about ratios…)
Though you can order food in, they typically don’t have food there. On Mondays, however, you can get a 14 ounce ribeye, potato and veggie for $ 12. Though I didn’t order food this past Monday, I have gotten it in the past. The steak was relatively fatty but even after cutting off those parts, you still got more steak than your $ 12 probably paid for.
The bar is definitely A-​OK in my book, but I don’t think it would be a regular haunt. No pool table or dart boards that I remember seeing, though there were some arcade type games in the back corner near the bathroom. It’s definitely a decent place for a drink or two to get primed for the evening before heading to one of the many other Upper Kirby bars with a bit more pep.

My suggestion: rename the place to Muggles. C’mon. It is a natural.
Set in the rear of the group of restaurants, Mugsy’s stares out upon the parking the lot and the side of the Hobbit Café, perhaps a bit disapprovingly that the Hobbit Café is more burgery than Mugsy’s is more steaky (no, not the vampire killing kind) and Mugsy’s has a bigger bar. Mugsy’s is maybe the bigger brother, Hobbit is the younger brother.
Like the Hobbit you pass through the patio on your way inside. There are a few tables, I have never seen it fully occupied when it is warm out. Inside you walk along the bar to your left and the «arcade”/bathroom area is to your right, or head left into the bigger seating area with the television and grab a table.
Maker’s Mark with a splash of Coke is poured like it means something — surprisingly stiff drink. I wanted to give a nice shout out to the bartender since he was alright — but I checked my receipt and it just says «Server 1/​Bar Right» — so yeah, if you see that guy around, ask him to pour your drink!

Did some eye watching here today at the pre-​party elite Unilocal event. the steak with the mashed potatoes and green beans looked pretty good I have to say, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t really care for stead period. I don’t know why people go crazy for it. Anyways, neat atmosphere, really comfy yet social place to meet and greet with some friendly bartenders. And the drinks are cheap according to The Screwdriver which is what I had.
Will be back to test that steak.

After eating dinner at Blue Fish House Wednesday night, we decided to hit another bar. First, we hit the Hobbit Café around 9:45PM, only to find out they close at 9:30PM (???). So, we decided to walk to Mugsy’s next door. From the outside, you think it’s just a small bar, but once you walk through the door, there’s actually ample room with tables and chairs. I had a cape cod, which was good, and I think it was $ 4.50. Not too shabby.
There are lots of televisions, people talking in normal voices (and not being obnoxious), and the bar had a homey feel. We didn’t stay very long, given that it was a weeknight, so I can only base my experience on one drink. I wouldn’t mind going back to try the steak on a Monday night.
Like my review with Blue Fish House, the parking is awful (docked a star). The parking lot would be so much better if it was paved instead of having gravel potholes everywhere. The lot isn’t that big, considering there are 4 – 5 restaurants sharing the same lot, but there aren’t many people dining either. Don’t miss the parking lot either (as soon as you see the Hobbit Café sign, turn!) — it’s a pain to U-​turn!

Mugsy’s is adorable. I love everything about this little bar. It’s super chill.
There is plenty of nice outdoor seating under huge trees in the front, and there is even more seating in the back. The music was loud enough to hear from outside but not so loud that it was annoying. The prices were pretty typical. For one glass of house cab and one beer it was $ 10. I don’t know how much either of them were. I won’t lie, I had 4 glasses of that wine!
The bartenders are super cool. I went on a Thursday night when John the man with a sweet british accent was working. He remembered what everyone was drinking, remembered all of our names, and was really good with everyone I saw him interact with at the bar.
Oh also, some dude came by selling pepperoni pizzas for $ 8 dollars for a large. We bought and devoured one. I loved that I could smell the grill next door at Blue Fish and that we were facing Richmond.
I am 100% certain that I will be back here.

This gets 5 stars not because there’s anything more than it to being a neighborhood bar. But that’s why it’s so nice… the nice ambience, caring staff, dim-​lit lights, exuding almost some sort of romance or atmosphere for pensive thinking for the locals to be swooned away by their thoughts or sympathizing neighbors.
The owners will patronize you, to keep you patronizing the bar on and on. And it shows — there were stockings for the frequent customers on the walls during Christmas time in 2007.
Every city needs something like this — a small, unknown, and classy neighborhood bar such as this one, where the customer can count on it being his or her own.