Poison Girl — Restaurant in Houston

Poison Girl isn't just a dive bar with good selection of whiskey, it is also a true neighborhood bar for Montrose. I have been here many times on various hours and you will see various type of people at the bar. If you come during earlier in the day or during happy hour, you will notice some of the older generation who have been living here for awhile just having a drink and chat. Another crowd will be the people who probably just got off work from downtown and on the way home but wanted to stop by for a drink or two before calling it a night. Then as the night progresses, the younger crowd will come to have their drink and mingle with each other.

The bar is really consist of two different atmosphere, the first one is in the bar with very moody dim light, divey decors, and a bunch of pinball machines lit up the back of the room. Then there's the back patio where it's a free for all seating surrounded by vines and fence and a few local arts on the wall and a giant Kool-Aid Man who gets repainted every now and then. Now when you're in the back patio, there's no music but chatters from various parties and an option for you to make a cigarette with your alcoholic drink. When you are inside, you get to listen to a variety mix of classic rock, country, overall great music that's loud enough where you don't need to yell at each other to chat.

During happy hour here you get $2 wells and $3 draft beer as they have a small selection on tap that rotates from time to time. There's usually a weekly special cocktail but no one is really here for sophisticated cocktail but a good whiskey coke, gin tonic, or a cold brewski. During late at night, there will be someone come in and sell pizza by the slice or other foodstuff as you are welcome to bring outside food and eat at the bar. Now be warned, the bar service sometimes isn't as fast but just be patient and you will get your drinks.

Every now and then Poison Girl will have special events and sometimes there will be drink specials as well. It has always been a great time for me here at Poison Girl. If I ever have anyone from out of town, this one definitely be one of the place I'll take them to for a...

This is my go-to spot when I'm inside the loop. As soon as darkness falls and I cross over the 610 it is like a giant magnet turns on and I'm slowly (but surely) pulled into this "dive bar" to just have my usual Lone Star and Jager shot among the eclectic crowd that, no matter my experience with crowd watching, I can never figure out completely.

I just sit there with so many unanswered, yet entertaining questions. Like, Why is the girl with all the tattoos and piercings jovially drinking with the girl that's wearing Louboutins as her Marc Jacobs saddle bag rests on the bar? And, Which guy will pull the blond at the bar? The oil guy that looks like he just got off of the golf course or the hipster with the righteous beard wearing horn-rimmed glasses? Or, Do I risk asking for the Gold Fish when the bartenders are in the weeds thereby pissing them off and probably exponentially slowing down my beer re-up times?

I usually just shrug off the many questions rolling through my head and move on to bigger decisions. Like, will the damned pinball machine I choose steal my quarters or will I get to revel in all of their 1970's glory? !@#$ it. Let's find out.

The question I will not run around in my head is "Which whiskey do I choose?" There are way too many to choose from. They even range all the way to moonshine. Which is gross by the way. The "moonshine" I tried there tastes like sweaty gym socks. But nonetheless they have an amazing array of whiskey choices if the hipster choices of Lone Star, PBR, or Strongbow don't meet your...

We attempted to visit Poison Girl on Saturday night for a low-key celebration of my fiancé’s 31st birthday. Our group was composed of close friends and said fiancé’s mother visiting from Florida (7 in total). She loves a good dive bar and I thought I knew just the place.

We were surprised to be denied entry without cause — the only explanation given was “It’s not gonna happen tonight,” and “No Thank You” (??) delivered by a woman who identified herself as the manager (pic below). Her demeanor was erratic, and she appeared to be intoxicated while acting as the de facto bouncer.

I would like to note that we weren’t loud, inappropriate, or impaired in any way - just a respectful group hoping to enjoy a night out. It was not only confusing, but deeply disappointing, especially with a visiting family member present at a bar I had moments before raved on about.

I don’t typically leave reviews, but I hope ownership takes this seriously. No establishment should have someone in a managerial or gatekeeping role who treats guests arbitrarily or appears to be under the influence while on duty. This experience left a very poor impression and would have put a bit of a damper on the night had we not discovered Anvil and later Roswell’s Saloon right...