Alley Cat

Always friendly. Love the «dick» door handle. Small bar, not good for dancing, but connected to dark lady. Great for your early night cocktails when it’s slow. The popcorn is a must.

It’s impossible to write a review of the Alley Cat without comparing it to the Stable. That being said…
Compared to the Stable, this place is much quieter, but you can do some dancing here, which is a nice touch. It’s a bit wider as well, with more room for moving about and mingling, and typically there’s much less wait time for a beverage. Most people, however, don’t go to Alley Cat to get their dance on; they go next door to the Dark Lady for that, or make their way to a neighboring club.
The bartenders have always been quite nice to me. A bit flirty, too, which is fine – flirts make tips!
This is a good spot for the slightly older gay man and his friends to go out for a couple of drinks, be able to have a conversation without resorting to yelling just to be heard, and rock out to TLC, Robyn, or early Britney Spears, with most other selections being from earlier decades. I’m not into the typical pop music, but that being said, there’s something very quaint about the old stuff. It feels more authentic. It’s a statement of an era with a lot of struggle for the LGBTQ community (much of which continues to this day), and Alley Cat celebrates it by providing the niche elements of a good gay bar with a quaint appeal. We should always respect that older crowd… they’ve been through a lot. It’s a great spot to hear a story and learn some history.
The best night of the week is Tuesday, when – shhh, it’s a secret – they have trivia! It’s probably the single most half-​baked trivia night ever, but Alley Cat doesn’t pretend to put on a blockbuster event. It’s meant to be a homely trivia night for whoever stumbles in on a Tuesday, as long as enough people show up to justify giving out a prize. They also serve free Lunchables-​quality meat and cheese with crackers, and sometimes popcorn. The bartender on Tuesday nights, Kathy, is a legend among bartenders. She is spectacular.
Sometimes on very crowded nights, underwear-​clad shot boys will dance on the bar. I’m not really into that, so I always approach that as a mild occurrence, and I think most people at this bar do so as well. It becomes rather comical. Patrons comment about this as one would comment about the weather. «Oh that lad doesn’t look like he’s enjoying himself all that much, does he?» «Why yes, I suppose he hasn’t had coffee in a bit, probably needs a Red Bull.»
It’s exactly what it advertises itself to be – a divey gay bar.

Super friendly place. Bartenders are very welcoming and fun. Gets a little too loud later at night on weekends.

I used to stop in here often on a weekend night. Not anymore.
First, the good: the place has character, and a neat set up. While the bar is small, there actually is a decent amount of seating, and they have a neat bleacher-​style sitting area. Lots of TV monitors playing music videos, and some cool lights. Its actually a very low-​key kind of place, and RARELY busy (with the exception of special events, or when people from Dark Lady overflow into here).
Theres really only one thing bad about this bar– the bartenders. A gay bar should, arguably, be the most welcoming of everyone (gay, straight, etc.). Ive never felt more unwelcome and ignored by any other bartenders in Providence. They are extremely pretentious and cliquey. Everytime Ive gone here, when they aren’t serving customers, they’re at the end of the bar talking to their friends. Which would be okay, if they were friendly. They just do not have the time (for me at least).
Also, since I first came here, every single time, there are two patrons who are ALWAYS here in the SAME seat with their own special cups. On more than one occasion, one or both, have fallen asleep at the bar. Kiss of death.
I would assume that Alley’s biggest competition is The Stable, and if you go to both places on a Saturday night, you can tell who is winning. By a landslide.

Alley Cat is a great spot. It’s a nice, low key bar adjacent to the Dark Lady. The staff is friendly but sassy — what you hope for in a gay bar. My favorite bartender is Brendon — he’s a total sassball of sweetheart and when you treat him right he reciprocates.
The wood bar itselt is small but the space has gorgeous high ceilings, and beautiful (clean) wood floors. There are two single person restrooms that pricks sometimes will cut you for so B-​E aggressive.
I usually only go here on prime nights. On those nights there is a delightful variety of characters. Most people tend to be very friendly and often outgoing. If you go with two or three friends it’s perfect to mix and mingle and meet new people. The bar is also very straight friendly and on my last visit I met a couple who met there years prior and have been dating since — breeders!
The drawbacks to this place, for me, is mainly the music. The bartenders have some software that plays songs and displays the respective video on the monitors above the bar. It’s not the get you hyped kind of music you might hope for on a Friday or Saturday night but it’s not country either. Fortunately if you aren’t incessant the bartenders are very accepting of requests.
My favorite gay bar in the city!

My friend and I visited Providence on Saturday night and we had a blast at Alley Cat. You can have some drinks and «bop» a little at the back of the bar, but not be burdened by a cover charge or feel like you’re pigeonholed by a certain type (i.e. The Eagle if sex with leather and Levi’s daddies isn’t your thing or Dark Lady if you’re not a fan of drag). Oh, and we loooved the teddy bear near the entrance.

OMGoodness, how many fun nights have I had at Alley Cat? One to many!
Alley Cat is a small little bar tucked away on Snow Street in Downcity. There are a few tables, a juke box, stools at the bar and a couple of couches in the back.
It’s dark and dank, a little trashy. It’s for the older gay crowd I’ve noticed, which is great if you’re looking for a night out and not worried about being smothered between shirtless sweaty boys; unless you’re into that sort of thing.
Bartenders are always friendly and prompt. Drinks are cheap and strong; just the way I like my men.

Went there one night with my boyfriend about a year ago. All seats at the bar were taken except for two, one of which contained a massive flower arrangement. I sat in front of the flower arrangement and moved it over to my side to get it out of my face so I could see my surroundings. Just then the very dramatic male bartender came over and shouts «No, No, No, No, No… and puts the arrangement back in my face. Needless to say, I haven’t been back since, nor did the bartender get a tip. Its funny though, I never had an issue there before. Cathy is wonderful, I have to agree and very friendly!

Another great place to meet up with friends. Tuesdays are amazing if you are a Glee fan. Cathy is one of the best bartenders Alley Cat has EVER seen.
A note about this place also, just like The Stable, they have difficulty carding people. I would definitely consider keeping an eye on this place if you do not like being at an establishment that serves under 21.
Otherwise, I love the place!

The drinks are strong and cheap!

I’ll make this short and sweet for the gay crowd: it’s a small, dark, dank, tacky gay men’s bar with a sketchy crowd and lame staff. Any self-​respecting gay man should find another bar or drive two hours to P Town rather than lower themselves to going here. It’s the old 1980s crap bar cruising scene with even tackier outdated gay men. Give yourself a treat and go to the Ram Rod instead!

Several high school friends and I have a pre-​Christmas tradition of cavorting around the city an evening before the holiday’s eve. This year, our last stop was an unexpected one: The Alley Cat! It’s funny — in my travels around PVD, I have ended up at the Dark Lady at least once a month. Never, in all my stumbling around downcity with gay and straight alike, have I stepped foot inside the Alley Cat. I know the gentlemen who run it, I have performed with and befriended several drag queens whose butts are basically carved into the barstools there, and I have walked by it hundreds of times.
On this fateful night, I popped my Alley Cat cherry! And popped I did: we were there for about 90 minutes, and we heard EVERY pop singer’s Christmas song, every cheesy holiday song in between (Dominick the Donkey, for one!), AND some great nineties pop! In addition to the great music selection, their couches were comfy, the bathrooms were very clean, AND my Amstel Light bottle was very cold (extra points). Although the bar stools were full, there was no one in the dance floor area (which feels much more like a living room lit with kick-​ass gobos), so we went nuts doing step-​pivots, ponies, and step-​chasses a la 8-​year old holiday recital. The bartender was totally accepting of this fun, and played more ridiculous holiday music to egg us on (Santa Baby by RuPaul!). It’s nice to know there are places in Providence where my friends and I can truly be ourselves and have a bit of immature, pop music loving fun.
If you’re generally down for a good time (and are not of the homophobe persuasion), put the Alley Cat on your regular bar-​hopping rotation. After my first visit there, it’s certainly on mine.

I’m visiting my friend and he brought me here last night., on a thurday night. I liked the box is always open sign when we came in. The bar is sorta small, with a bar along the front which opens to a little lounge area with two (ish maybe 3) couches in the back. When we came in, trying to escape the bad 70s music of stable, more of the same was playing here. my friend asked for them to change, and they did and it was a little better. the bar was pretty dead but it was near the end of the night and pride was going on in boston so thats probably why. it was dull, but i dont like bars, and this is just a bar, not a bar club, so that’s to be expected. i spent the night watching the tv which had white party 08 footage, trying to see if i could spot me or my friends from when we went. lol. the part that was bad though was the end of the night. they blasted a celine dion cd. i love loud clubs, but i mean BLASTED. i had actual physical pain in my ear drums. i had to leave i couldnt wait for my friend to close his tab. this morning i still have pain in my ears. its a real health hazard and im sure its to get us to leave, but just shutting off the music, or asking us to leave would have served better without permanently damaging my ears. so if you go, please make sure you leave by 1245 so you dont get maimed. ow. i mean it. ow. Im giving it one star because i dont expect to get injured when i go out.

This is Providence’s best gay bar and one of its best bars period. The staf is beyond friendly. If you are lucky you can run into the Mayor and his entourage. Stop in afterwork and you can always get a seat at the bar. This is the only time this narrow bar isn’t packed. Sometimes the bartenders even dance on the bar! So much fun in such a small space!

This place is easy to find if you carry a map Jeffery… LOL. I actually like this cozy place as a first stop on a night out. Friendly staff, and friendly patrons, and a few cute ones as well. I want a relaxed homey place like this in Boston.

This place was pretty impossible to find for 3 Boston gays venturing in Providence but thankfully a summer block party was happening in front so we just followed the sounds and sights of what I would imagine to be a Skittles factory.
Noticing the lameness (ugly men) at the street party, we made our way inside Alley Cat. The bar is long and narrow so be prepared to bump and grind your way through. Don’t worry though — everyone here is wicked nice and the older gentlemen might compliment you like they did me. Unlike smug Boston gays where you will get stared down, whispered about, and molested.
Let me pause for a moment as I reflect upon the bar staff. O-​M-​GAH! The boys were so hot. SO hot. Like. omgomgomgomgomg. And shirtless. OMG. And the middle-​aged lady behind the bar was the sweetest. Tips all around… sorry for the drool.
My only criticism would be the bathroom situation… there were only two that I noticed and for the cramped crowd, the bathroom line was about 10 people deep per toilet — so many people waiting I thought it was a dance floor. People shuffling side to side holding it in. It was so ridiculous that even when a girl asked to cut the line because she was pregnant everyone just yelled «NO!»
Gays are bitches.

Wow, the guys in this place work fast! I arrived on a Sat nite ready to party with my 2 queens in tow. Within minutes one of my friends was swept away by a friendly stranger and my other royal friend and I stood in the corner, looking fabulous, watching the cute boys parade by… IT WAS PACKED!!! Which was good and bad, good obviously because you want people with whom to mingle, bad because it made it a bit claustrophobic in there. But being Sat nite big crowds are to be expected. Super friendly staff, spoke briefly with the beautiful prima Donna and gawked for a minute at the blonde adonis slinging booze behind the bar. Just wish the place was a lil bigger to walk around and admire the scenery… we will be back!