The Shakespeare Pub

What is that Shawn Mullins song, "Beautiful Wreck"? That is exactly what I think of when I go to Shakespeare. Between Kirkwood and Dairy Ashford, behind Old Towne Kolache, this dingy little gem is the quintessential dive blues bar. Parking lot is cramped and full of potholes. They have moved smoking outside to a gated patio area. The place itself is cozy if not dark, loud and crowded most weekend nights. I wouldnt call the crowd an international cross section of Houston but black and white mix effortlessly here. The real draw here is the music. We are blessed with a great local blues scene and most every night of the week, you can catch a great local act. Keep it classy, Westsiiiiiiiiide.

Best place in town for blues!  It is a dark and crowded, but that is certainly part of the fun.  Oh! and the renovations are definitely noticeable, congrats to the owner.

hints for newbies:  get there early if you want to sit down, be prepared to wait just a little while for drinks on Saturday nights (it gets super busy), and it is BEHIND the kolache place

I'm a regular at this place, once a week or so, mostly when John McVey is there. The guy is a fantastic Blues guitarist, do yourself a favor. We are spoiled here in Texas with the wealth of blues guitarists; if McVey were to play a club in Amsterdam he'd be drawing 1,000's of people, not 50.  Anyway the bartenders are friendly and quick enough (especially Vicky!!) and they have a variety of beer on tap.  The crowd is very diverse - mostly older but with a smattering of younger ones - and friendly. Never had any issues here; someone tried to pick up my wife once but all in good fun.