Catbirds — Restaurant in Houston

It was a small gathering of me and my some college friends. Another year had passed. Another friend's birthday swirling around. Congregating for a pause to our daily haste of work, errands, and obligations. we celebrate in droves at Catbirds, some surging towards inebriation with a Lone Star or a vodka soda, others joyriding with Catbirds' free baskets of popcorn.

On the TV behind the bar, I see Bill Bixby on "The Incredible Hulk" TV series from the 1970s. Further contrasting TV's version of an 1870s Robert Louis Stevenson novella, I gaze at the divide in Catbird's U-shaped layout. My group of liberal, yuppie cosmopolitans command the western half of the bar, annoying anyone feeling adventurous enough to squeeze through to undertake the venture of a C-Bird bathroom. A saltier, grungier smattering of regulars peppering the eastern portion, with a few smoking on the patio in their denim vests and black jeans. The normally darkened interior means my vision fails me from across the room, but it appears as if the Mr Hyde to our Dr Jekyll are both as entranced by their time in this space.

Because as much as The Incredible Hulk was two separate forms, they both resided in the same organic being. And we have all shown our worst faces to friend, foe, and stranger alike at Catbird's at one point or other. But the good times also have shone through in that organic being of a non-judgmental bar.

I approach a cadre of women who are friends of friends. I gesticulate wildly in front of the AMI BarLink jukebox as the ladies want to request Beyoncé's "Drunk in Love" but are unable to determine the protocol for doing so. My hands wave through the air, and the ladies' eyes glimmer as the light from the digital display illuminates not just their faces but part of the adjacent mural of prominent jazz musicians. Behind me, a former roommate uses his silver iPhone to pay for some Bey (as well as some select Disney songs). The magic trick has worked though and the ladies think I conjured the tracks from the depths of the digital jukebox's annals.

But the real magic is dynamism of Catbird's. Neither friend nor foe will be found there. And that is the strange case of Catbird's. You will enter it's obfuscous interior to find yourself enlightened by the unmolded retinue who go there for a good drink and a good time, unfettered by the hindrances of who they are outside of this bar. Because as time passes us by more and more, we realize that we learn less in our daily haste of DOING and more from our nightly...

I did not have a good first time experience here. It did not begin well nor did it end well. Three things: first I was not greeted, all the heavy set woman with the nose ring said to me and my friend was, “can I see your ID’s?”. Second Both of the bartenders attitudes were not in the right place. I understand that not everybody is going to try and give their customers a good experience all the time but even when I tried to start a conversation with them they were still very off put. So I decided to let it go and try to salvage the rest of my drink and my night by putting on some music from the jukebox and this brings me to the third and final issue. As soon as the song started they got quiet, the bartender turned the music down then proceeded to turn the devise in which I paid my money into for that song off, turned it back on and played something else. So I left. After I calmed down I decided to call and let them know that I understand not all music is liked, I wouldn’t have minded if they asked me not to play anything like that again or play something that was more to their liking and all the woman said was (and in a very sarcastic and snarky way) “Oh, well thank you so much for your input...” I am very offended because I did not come at these people in any negative way yet I was treated with such unprofessionalism. I will be getting in contact with the manager as soon as possible or even the person who owns this bar because this was a very shady situation. These people need to be replaced with people who actually enjoy...

Catbirds is a Montrose institution. Back in the day this place was a wild dive bar. Of course as the times changed, the bar has evolved. They shutdown, and for a while we scared that the beloved Catbirds was shuttered for good. But the she rose from the ashes like a phoenix. The drink menu was amped up, now offering delicious craft cocktails. They still offer Lone Star at the cheapest price I’ve found in Montrose. Their prices range to keep an eclectic clientele. You never know who you’ll be sitting next to. The service is great. Love Liberty. She’s the nicest bartender ever. But the entire team is equally attentive, kind and knowledgeable. One of my favorite things about Catbirds is how inclusive it is. They proudly hang the rainbow flag behind the bar. It’s not a “gay bar”, but it is a safe space. I love this bar and hope it never...