The Chat Room

The first time I walked into The Chat Room, I was a crying nervous wreck. The Man of My Dreams just walked out on me after a tenth month relationship, leaving me with a broken heart and an $800 a month apartment. A friendly woman playing pool looked at me, grabbed my shoulders and said "I'll buy you a drink, but don't get too hooked to this place." One drink became another that December of 2009 and I've been going here ever since. I'm as grateful as I'm mad that I didn't listen to her.  Funny enough, she has since moved.

This divey neighborhood bar is pretty much the last of it's kind on Fort Worth's Near Southside Magnolia Avenue commercial strip. The neighborhood's quickly gentrifying. But while it's still here, go in and read the chalkboard listing the drink specials and then read the absurd, probably offensive quote next to it spouted by some drunk and/or high regular the night before. It's smoky--Fort Worth still allows smoking in bars--and the inside is left to be desired, but its charm isn't the aesthetic, its charm is that it's a freewheeling neighborhood gathering spot where the familiarity is as comforting as the drama among the younger regulars is discomforting. (Hey people, me included.) Regulars know more about music than themselves, think they know their shit, and are happy when you say "Shut the hell up."

In short, when government doesn't do enough to bring people together in a neighborhood, you can always rely on a drunk entrepreneur. I give it 4 stars because I gained a lot of weight going here.

Cheers, Chat Room.

Awesome drink specials. Cool Bartenders. Whether late night hysterics or afternoon on the patio, The Chat brings all kinds of folks together under the auspice of loud music and cheap drinks. Lots of good points for the random nature of interpersonal interactions, you never know who you're gonna meet.

Hands down one of my favorite bars to frequent.  This place is welcoming with their reasonably priced drinks,  at-home atmosphere and fun patrons. Of all the bars in fort worth, this is the least likely place where you'll try to be picked up by a creepy old cowboy.

My favorite part is that when the weather is nice, I get to bring my fur-kids to have a drink with me.