Cool little bar... nice break from the city centre scene. Drink prices are incredible in comparison as well. Would get 5 stars if they served food too. Although I'm not sure I would want to eat in here. There's a distinct vomit aroma that takes a good 15 minutes or 2 shots to get used to.
All and all a very chill bar. If you're lucky some drunk honeys will stumble in on their way home from city centre...
Was in Houston for business last week and after a long and fancy dinner at Eddie V's, my colleague and I decided we needed to grab a night cap (Shiner Bock and Jameson) at a nice dive bar. Â Conveniently situated across the street from the City Center complex was the perfect answer--Burlap Barrel Pub.
Like everything in Texas--this place is huge. Â Pool tables, a plenty, darts, shuffleboard and even old school video games.
I can't speak for the food, but the beer was plentiful and the service fine, but surprisingly, there was no wait for a dart board. So we started some friendly trash talk with the locals--cowboys, hippies, head-bangers and even some rappers--and played a few hours of pool.
Several beers and a few shots later, my liver recommended I leave (plus I had a 6am flight the next morning). Â I went to the bar to close out the tab and was shocked to see a bill of $50 (before tip)! Â In NYC, the same bill would have been 3-4x. Â Gotta love Texas.
The only rub--finding a taxi--people don't take taxis in TX--what gives.
Came here with a large group of friends on a tip from a waiter at Yard House.  Left the over-priced  of Monnalisa Bar for a better time.  Couldn't have had better customer service at a bar.  All bartenders were helpful, and one fixed the pool table with his apologies when it ate our dollar.
Drinks were stiff and cheap, and we all had an amazing time. Â Crowd was great and everybody in our group had a great time. Â Will definitely come back here and stay away from the high prices of City Centre.
Burlap is a coarse jute fabric used as a cheap all purpose material for various things. This place does have a coarse appearance from when you walk in looking at a crammed patio full of smokers to the outdated furniture inside. But as its namesake the Burlap Barrel does have an "all purpose come one come all and have a good time" feel.
Upside? Very food and beverage service industry friendly. Most of the crowd that makes this place up work in and around City Centre. Best part? It is super cheap.What makes this place interesting? The patrons, the bartenders and the never-ending weird stories that come out of that place....
Recently, a drunk middle aged woman literally stumble into our conversation my friends and I were having. This lady was so sauced she sounded like Boomhauer from King of the Hill. Her friend butted in immediately, aggressively made a big deal about herself and about how we are "too immature" for her and her friend. We were confused not only because we couldn't understand the first one we were getting pissed off at the second one. One friend of mine who is a master at trolling for negative responses says, "Women aren't real people"....the aggressive one punched him in the chest. Who was the immature person now....the bartender later told them to leave because they were too drunk. Go figure!
One would think that those experiences alone would weird me out enough to not come back. The convenience is that not only is it cheap but also the close proximity to City Centre makes it an easy place to hit up if you are tired of knocking back overpriced drinks at the more trendy bars. This place naturally produces entertaining situations that make for good stories later.
A friend and I started out celebrating our birthdays at a high end Town and Country restaurant, and after we had our fill of $10 margaritas, we decided to find someplace a little more low rent for a nightcap. As we left the T&C area, we saw a green and yellow "pub" sign in front of an old strip center and decided to check it out.
Seems we stumbled on to something good. Â We ordered two pints at $3 a pop--nice and easy on the wallet. The bartender told us it was happy hour. At 10.00 on a Friday. Can't beat that.
Diverse, low key crowd, and everybody seems to do their own thing. Looks like it draws an industry crowd from the nearby T&C area and it reminded me of Cecil's on West Gray. There's a couple of pool tables, a couple of dart boards, a ping pong table, and a shuffleboard table.
Like the sign in the parking lot says, it's a pub. Straight up. No frills.
Recommended.
My hockey team comes here after games pretty often, and it's a decent bar. Â I can't really come up with anything special about it except for the shuffleboard in the back. Â The music is usually horrendous (last night it was Nickelback, Pink, and Eminem) and the bartenders seem to crank it every time crap like House of Pain comes on. Â Getting a table sometimes requires some doing. Â Other than that, it's good. Â They have ping pong, beer pong, darts, pool, shuffleboard, some video games I couldn't name if my life depended on it, and one of those internet jukeboxes that charges more if you want your song to play that night and not in a week and a half.
Review Source:I came across the Barrel completely by mistake. I had just arrived in Houston from California, first time ever in this city, and my cousins decided to take me out. Since they are in their 30s and I'm 24, they decided to show me around Washington. However, I'm not a clubbing kind of guy, so my cousins decided to take me to the Barrel (without remembering the name, but knowing it was a chill spot to hang out at).
Needless to say, I love it there. You can hang out and watch sports, or just listen to the awesome music playing on the jukebox, or play beirut, ping pong or pool. The staff is VERY friendly, and remember you by name. Being from California, they have gone out of their way to introduce me to people who can make suggestions about things to do and places to see while I'm in Houston.
Generally an older crowd, but at night (around 11pm), the wait-staff from different restaurants nearby come out. You won't find any snot-nosed pricks or d-bags here... just friendly people who are there for the same reason as you - to unwind.
Wish there were more younger women though. Most of them seem to be taken.
In the shadow of City Center (the area formerly known as Town & Country) and south of I-10, in a outdated strip center sits the Burlap Barrel. We came here after dinner at Bistro Alex, then lounging in the V Lounge, Eddie V's lounge. It was my birthday and I was getting bored, and I recall seeing The Burlap as I was driving in and thought it would be my kind of place. I suggested we finish the evening here, it was what I needed. Talk about some Luv Ya Blue nostalgia. They had team pictures of the old Luv Ya Blue teams and posters of the some of the Oiler Dolls. The Internet jukebox played Texas music all evening, everything from ZZ Top, to Blue October, and Spoon. The beer was cheap and the shuffle board table was fun. This seemed like the place that all the restaurant people along I-10 came to hang out after work. I thought it was a good crowd and the bartenders were friendly.
Review Source:The Burlap Barrel loves you just the way you are -whoever you are.
They have a very eclectic patronage that runs the gambit from stodgy Memorial residents to bikers to Scottish roughnecks. Â The best part? Â Everyone gets along just fine! Â If you spend a few hours here you'll see the the climate change 3 or 4 times over. Â The happy hour crowd is a middle aged group for the most part, and the later crowd seems to be predominately younger local restaurant employees coming off their evening shifts to unwind.
I love the friendly and attentive staff here, and I especially like that most of them are also actually advanced enough in their years to call me "Honey" and "Darlin'" without pissing me off. Â The drinks are strong and cheap, and the atmosphere is relaxed. Â It's not pretty by any means, but it's got a really good vibe. Â Monday is trivia night as long as Monday Night Football doesn't conflict. Â Winner gets a bar tab, and you just can't beat that!
We love this place. Â It's our neighborhood dive bar. Â Reasonable prices. Â Interesting and efficient staff that treat each other and the regulars like family. Â Bar-top trivia. Â Internet jukebox. Â And (be still my heart) a Beirut (beer pong) table. Â
If you're waiting for your movie to start at the nearby (and great) Studio Movie Grill, don't pay Studio Movie Grill prices for drinks in their lobby (although it's cool that you *can* do that). Â Instead, walk over to Burlap Barrel.
Love it.
This is a very casual, comfortable bar. Â The other reviews are not exaggerating when they say it's a wait staff hangout. Â The night my friends and I were there, there were no fewer than four distinct clans of waiters, most still in their work clothes. Â If the Baseball Furies had shown up, we could have shot a sequel to "The Warriors."
The drinks are generously poured (my gin and tonic was stoutly served in a tall tumbler). Â There's a full bar and 10 or so beers on tap. Â
The staff was friendly enough, though regulars obviously get preferential treatment. Â My friends and I were given the hairy eyeball the first five minutes or so until we were sized-up as meaning no harm. Â After the warm-up period, everyone was as friendly as could be. Â
There are plenty of diversions (darts, ping pong, pool, jukebox, video games, etc).
Neighborhood places like this are always welcomed. Â They rarely aspire to be more than a cozy spot within a few miles of home were you can get a strong drink and good service from a friendly face. Â This one slides right into that mold.
This is the "Cheers" of memorial. The bartenders are friendly with a down-to-earth no-nonsense attitude.
It is definitely the place to go after work in your waiter clothes because nobody really cares what you wear there. Its very casual and laid back.
Very roomy with lots of TVs and music. Thursday nights are karaoke night and usually has free pizzas. The food there is also very good on pub-food standards.
This place is definitely a regular place of mine when I don't feel like going into midtown or rice village. Its a good place to just grab a cold beer at a decent price.
Best thing about this bar is all the stuff to do there. Theres a pool table ($1 a game), shuffle board, darts, and ping-pong table (doubles as a beer-pong table). Other than the pool table, the rest is free.
Another perk is that it is in city limits so smoking has to be done outside. Theres a small patio with chairs and tables to hang out and smoke.
Overall, great place to hang out.
OK, so it's not the fanciest bar in the world; but the staff couldn't be nicer.
It's roomy with plenty of t.v.s and games to keep you occupied. You'll see local motorcycle enthusiasts hanging on the patio. Â Way late into the evening waitstaff from local restaurants and the comedians from the ComedySportz improv club hang out.
Good place to unwind!
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