The Mink

wandered into this place because a show was canceled at a nearby club. at first it seems like your typical neighborhood watering hole but if you look around more closely it’s really nice! the service here is on par with bars up in The northeast, which us saying a lot for a bar in the south. one of The managers was more than on The ball and even went to the other club to make sure The show was canceled. her hospitality was above And beyond! «I heard someone say fireball, want shits?“also just yo be clear this place is now alley kats

This used to be one of my favorite venues, if not my favorite. The crowd’s changed a bit since the new ownership (nothing wrong with that). It’s basically a lesbian bar now (again, nothing wrong with that). I just really miss the cool shows they used to have upstairs. It was such an awesome super small venue to catch some low-​key bands and I’m not sure they really put any shows on now, at least none that I’ve heard of.

This place is closed down, it is now called the Alley Cat. It reopened 4 days ago. It’s a pretty good spot. They use fresh ingredients for their drinks but they are a little watered down. I really liked the ambiance and people who work there.

douchebag central. Seeing a band here is pointless. The stage is like floor level so there is no way you can see the band with people in front of you. Trendy hipster douchebags visit this place mostly. Restrooms are crummy and dirty.

Dollar wells tuesday, wednesday, and last friday of every month. Lots of shows. Cool place but sometimes the sewer system smell comes out when it rains.

Gone downhill. Fast.
This place used to have charm, now it’s dusty and disgusting. The most disgusting restrooms anywhere. Disease central! They don’t bother to replace light bulbs in the bar and the the fusty «Mink» is covered in a layer of dust. Cool bartender with Tats and Tatas — the star’s for her, she’s a star!

Karaōke is awesome here… One of the best places to go in my book!!! I love the atmosphere and love the crowd. The drinks, well you cant beat anywhere else and the bartenders are excellent. Parking is right beside the building which you cant miss and I can always find a parking spot close by. Its a clean and great bar which is a A+++ for me. The new management which is under is better than before and has cleaned up a lot. I’ve seen a lot of great bands here which they book them a lot. Its always something new and exciting here which keeps me coming back. Don’t get mislead by the other critics putting this place down. IT’S AWESOME!!!

This place is okay in my book. They have a mediocre beer selection, but they do have a full bar. I go here mainly for local music, as they have a good selection of bands that play.
The actual location is divided into two parts. There is the front area that houses a small bar and restrooms, and the Back Room where bands play. The front area bar probably has the most extensive drink selection. In the Back Room, there are two bars, one upstairs and one downstairs. The upstairs bar, where bands play, is pretty limited, so I would recommend going downstairs.
Another issue I had here is that the restrooms in the Back Room where all out of order. Every time anyone had to go to the restroom, you would have to go downstairs and to the front.
Parking here is bad. They have a small lot in the back that the bistro next door uses, but you can pay to park in, as with most locations in the area. As this is located by the metro rail line, parking in limited and turning around is awkward.
For a good band, I would say go out. It is a cool looking location, but not exactly my favorite place. Grab some friends, drink some beers, listen to some local music, and, if you’re lucky, they’ll be grilling burgers on the patio.

I love this place. It’s been the Tuesday night hang out for my group of friends for ages, and I know exactly why. $ 1 wells! You can feel the burn of the liquor going down. Perfect for the broke college student! Although, they’re out of school and working now. I only go on Tuesdays for the price and for sentimental reasons. This place really isn’t my scene. My hair isn’t crazy nor do I have tattoos and piercings. I always feel out of place if I’m wearing more than my bumming around clothes.
The bathrooms here scare the bejeezus outta me! They’re generally pretty gross, and there’s only one stall. This always keeps me from drinking large quantities of beer. (I noticed there’s a picture of the restroom)
Overall if you’re looking for a cheap unpretentious dive bar it’s worth a shot, but if you’re looking for a refined place to drink quality liquor this isn’t the place.

I would never go here unless they had Tuesday’s $ 1 well drinks. And I probably would like it even past 3 stars unless all of my friends regularly went. Their beer selection is meh. Their parking is horrendous. Their well drinks sometimes taste like they came from a well.
However, I have to give this nonpretentious bar credit for being a nice, relaxing place to go to to get really cheap drinks with a pretty ecclectic crowd. You’ll most likely see someone with half of their body tattooed, but you won’t get looked at sideways if you show up in dress clothes like I regularly have to do.

I will admit it, this isn’t my scene. It was my scene in my early college days– when I was trying really hard to be indie and a little bit punk (with little success).
While this place feels like it cater to that kind of crowd, it isn’t just for that crowd.
For a long time now, I have been a good wine/​great Scotch drinking kind of gal… These days, I much prefer the wine bar or hotel bar to the dive bar, but as far as dive bars go, the Mink is definitely a place where I could be considered a regular.
What brings me here so often? My BF, or rather his old college friends, or rather their $ 1 well Tuesdays.
Every Tuesday, his group of friends meets at the Mink for cheap drinks and cheap A GoGo tacos.
The Mink is one of the most accepting bars I have ever seen. The bartenders don’t judge you– come as you are. You don’t have to look like them or act like them for them to say hello or strike up a conversation with you. One of the bartenders, Mark is responsible for escalating my addiction to vintage costume jewelry, since he gave me all these ins on how to get it cheaper at certain thrift stores on certain days. Their service is friendly, fast and generous (so tip well).
Our group is pretty eclectic– About half of the group is made up of young professionals who rush to the bar dressed in their work clothes, and the other half is grad students in jeans and t-​shirts. Neither group has ever felt out of place because we aren’t inked up, don’t have Mohawks and don’t wear tattered jeans and old band shirts.
The music is pretty cool. Last night a DJ was making Michael Jackson Reggae mixes, but other nights they have live bands or just a bartender’s ipod on shuffle, which isn’t bad– mostly a mix of classic rock, punk, mixed with a little bit of funk, pop and indie.
I think the mink is exactly what it attempts to be: A relaxed, no frills kind of place where you can go unwind without worrying about keeping appearances or trying to be something you are not.

‘You see? That’s why you don’t give ‘em cookies!’
That phrase came out of the bartenders face just after moving a homeless guy out of the light in front of the door — The Mink is quite a scene, from the vintage era glam (think Ziggy-​era Bowie, Mott The Hoople, some ELO, ABBA, and I didn’t hear any T. Rex but it wouldn’t have surprised me). It’s a laid-​back joint in the truest sense — know that if you’re a beer drinker and you pop by on Tuesday or Wednesday, the beer gets re-​stocked on Thursdays, so the prior two days may run a bit light. They were out of the first couple of brews I asked for last night.
But it’s all good here, from that soundtrack to the happy tidings of both the guy behind the bar and the crowd gathering within. It’s a bit of a sing-​a-​long or quote-​a-​long room, and on this night some guy at the other end of the bar couldn’t get enough of his (less than novel) Tool Time impression. The whole thing was like stepping into the Way Back Machine, and it made for grand people watching. And The Mink made a fan out of this guy.

Three stars for now…
Cool venue with inexpensive admission ($ 7 bucks which also got you a free CD this night) to check out a cool show – we were there to see the Tontons, who we’d seen the week before at the Via Colori event downtown. We flew right passed the front area of the joint, so I can’t honestly say anything about that part of The Mink. We enter the seedy alley, duck and dive through the smoke and enter the Backroom.
With another bar as you enter the Backroom, a tiny stage area in the back, classic dive bathrooms, another stage upstairs with an additional bar and a few chairs to lounge on, I dig this as a music venue. It was a cool environment to check out a band. The stage area downstairs was impossible to really stop and listen to the music because it was so small – and right next to the stairs and the bathrooms, so we stayed upstairs where the Tontons were going to be playing.
The drinks were decently priced and the bartender friendly and quick. With the stage set for a great night (cool vibe, cheap drinks, good service, great impending music) the Mink had one major letdown – and the reason 1 – 2 stars drop from this rating – the sound was off. Something was wrong with the pa that night and you basically couldn’t hear any vocals. I’ll stick with a 3-​star rating for now because there is good potential and I’m hoping this was just a fluke with the sound system (although I wondered if it was one they could’ve fixed in between sets).

The Mink is a very interesting venue. I know this is dorky to admit, but if you have ever played rock band and it shows you the venue you and your band are supposed to be playing at, The Mink would be a place you’d play at. Something about it is just legendary. Graffiti on the walls, dark hallways and a secret backroom and just some feel of electricity through the place.
The backroom is well hidden– if you don’t know about it, that is. It’s behind Julia’s and so I was really confused when I went to go see my friend’s band Listenlisten. There were 4 bands playing, a $ 10 dollar cover and pretty cheap beers; $ 2 lonestars will make me happy anywhere.
But you know what really loved about this place? Everyone was just «people.» I get so sick of going places and feeling like everyone is trying so hard to fit in or judging you. This place had it’s normal Houston hipsters but everyone here was nice to each other. Strangers taking to strangers, easy to get attention at the bar, always talking to someone at the inevitable line to the bathroom.
It was like all the people that worked here from the bartenders and the clean up crew knew me personally. It was really cool just joking with them. There is not a lot of seating here so be prepared to stand most of the night. But who wants to sit if you are there to see a band anyway?
If you’ve been looking for the under belly of Houston — where all the cool kids are actually hiding — it’s here.

I’ve gone to the Mink almost every time I visit Houston. It isn’t because I love it and I’m just itching to get back… it just seems like this is where everyone goes to see a good show or hang out on the weekend. Or at least everyone I know in Houston.
They have three main places to hang out once you get there. There’s the front bar where they usually have a DJ spinning, a back patio and a second bar inside, and an upstairs part where the live music goes down. The upstairs can get really hot and stuffy, even in the winter. The back patio is nice, but I like the front bar the best. There is lots of people watching to do and the bartenders are friendly even when they’re being slammed with customers.

My friends used to be all about this place several years ago. But then Washington Avenue started converting them, one by one, and I guess that meant no more Mink for me.
Anyway I still end up here every blue moon and you know, I think it’s kind of grown on me. .. like a benign tumor. Or something.
Okay so it’s typically a mid-​twenties-​ish crowd on the first level that’s just simply a bar. Sometimes it’s disgustingly crowded with pseudo-​dbags (for lack of a better characterization!) and their lady friends, sometimes it’s sparser with dressed down peoples lulling around or taking a break from the DJ/​band show upstairs.
Upstairs/​the Backroom seems to attract a younger crowd, mostly depending on what type of musical act is playing. It’s not exactly spacious, but it’s somehow a good use of space — more welcoming and tidy than say Rudyard’s whole show area. It’s a little dark and possibly dingy, but I’ve never really noticed. It’s equipped with a bar area as well and I’ve always noted service to be pretty regular and the drinks pretty all right.
I think this place is more like a 3.5 stars to me because it’s not like super impressive by any stretch of the imagination. However, whenever my friends are like, «Let’s go to The Mink tonight!» I’m not completely overcome with a wave of foreboding, so I guess that’s a good thing!

I really love this place. I’ve played a few shows here, and seen many of my friends play shows here. You can go here on any given night, and odds are there will be some awesome live music. Also, for a dive bar, they make a decent martini. who’d have thunk?
I second the poster that suggests using the bathrooms in the front part of the mink and not the back room if you are concerned about that kind of thing… those bathrooms are… well… once you see them there will be no confusion that you are indeed in a dive bar!
Also, the front bar offers a wider liquor selection, and has pretty pink flowers on the wall. I like to buy a drink here between sets just to sit on the fluffy velvet couches in front :)
(Oh, and to the poster that was worried about the glassware, as someone who works in a wine bar, the reason you’d wipe an already clean glass with a towel is to get rid of water spots. It just makes the glasses look prettier for the customer even though they’re obviously already clean as far as sanitation is concerned :)

The Mink had always been there for me. I pop in between sets at The Continental Club, but always in the front part of The Mink. I think it’s OK but more often then not I will typically end up at Shoeshine Charley’s because it’s closer to the Continental. I have been waiting for an opportunity to visit The Backroom, finally the planets had aligned, a band I really liked on a day I could make it out. It was Wednesday for one of my favorite bands El Ten Eleven. I know, random, mid week for an indie band out of LA.
I had a couple of friends with me who had never been to the Mink. We walk in through the front door meander past the bar, making our way to back alley door. Jump into the alley walk through the back patio and enter the back room. Walk up a flight of stairs and walk in a small cozy cinder block room. I don’t think you can fit more than 100ppl in there. The floor is wood and to the right of the room, as you enter, is a small bar with cold beer. The back of the room there are 2 rows of lounge chairs to chill between sets. Towards the front is a slightly raised stage. I read some of the reviews for the Mink before I went and everyone seemed to be impressed by the sound. I can see why with the small space and cinder block walls I would expect the sound to be a mess, but give it up to the sound guy, El Ten Eleven sounded great.
Parking has never been an issue for me in this area and $ 7 bucks to get in was a bargain. The restrooms in The Backroom were shameful, I thought my fat ass was going to fall through the floor. I would recommend, go back up front of the Mink to use the restrooms there. It was a great night to get together with some old friends and introduce them to a cool venue and band. The Mink has been added to my weekly «Check it out» list

The next time you go to The Mink, look at the door handle… no, the interior front door handle. That was on a list of places that a friend of mine spouted off to me a couple of years ago. The door of The Mink, a stop sign on Dunlavy @ Hawthorne, the bike rack at Poison Girl, a sign near one set of train tracks on Taylor near the Mahatma rice mill. That’s right. I’m talking about «Knitta, Please!»
Guerrilla knitters who «graffiti-​ed» Houston before moving on to other cities. The Mink was one of their first tags. Or rather, that’s why the mink has a cozy on it’s interior door handle.
The Mink is a quirky little nondescript bar from the outside; mod/​indie music haven of darkness inside. If you were to walk past at night, and not look in, you’d think «abandoned office space.» If you stop, look through the darkened glass, and enter (look at the door handle), you’ll find a long bar, a hodgepodge of people, and $ 5/​glass wine. Not bad, it’s usually pretty decent. Oh! and the three years that I’ve been going here, I’ve never had the same label or type. It’s a choice of white or red, and whichever they bought that day, is what you get… except for the two week stint when they didn’t buy ANY bottles.
Beyond the bar, straight back, is the ofttimes hard to open back door. Once you manage to open the door (don’t fall if it opens easily), you’ll find the patio, the alleyway, the cockroaches, and venue.
If you’ve never been, it’s worth a stop/​tour on the best city block in Houston.

Well nothing really like rolling up to this place when its hotter than shit with the humidity up and all you want to do is get a ice cold beer, a couple of mixed drinks, and then show Houston how you throw down on the 1’s and 2’s! That’s pretty much how my night here went and I was very satisfied with this spot to say the least.
This is a nice grimey bar to catch some good music. In my case I came here to play a show «HeavyDNB» which was awesome! Great crowd, great drinks, and it was nice venue to DJ in. Basically reminded me of Rico’s in San Francisco when I used to frequent the Eklektic parties. It’s the perfect venue to hear some thumping basslines and get down to some dirty sounds.
This aint by far no dress up, look like a million dollars, and wear your 300 dollar jeans place. However I am sure a few people have arrived this way but all I am saying is this place is dived out, murdered looking (all black inside), and is really for the cats who wanna catch dope shows and want to leave that TI meets T Pain shit on the radio.
Dope Music, Cheap Drinks, and no watered down commercial shit = Get Dirty, Fuck looking pretty!
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