McElroy's Pub - Houston, Texas

Last night Part II....





As the Usual Suspects happy hour was breaking up last night and everyone was heading out the door, George and I stopped, turned to one another, shrugged and both agreed we were still a little thirsty. Knowing that there was another pub a stone's throw away, I suggested we go across the street to McElroy's Pub. George didn't put up much of a fight, so we were off.

McElroy's is in a funky little building that looks like it might have been in a small strip of business offices about 40 years ago. You step inside and realize... maybe its been a pub all that time.... and hasn't been updated since! You really catch a waft of cheesy old vinyl furniture. Smells like one of those seedy little dives that dirty, shady old men eye you from the corner in. But once your nose gets accustomed to the oder you find that its really not all that bad. On a previous visit I found they have a nice little partially covered patio area in back that seems to attract most of the less shady customers. If it weren't so nasty and cold out, we probably would have headed out there.

When we first arrived there were a whole 2 other customers there. Mind you this was at 9:30pm on a Friday night. More folks quickly filtered in though. Surprisingly these were mostly younger people in their mid to late 20's. I was kinda surprised by this considering the semi-seediness of the place. Granted these weren't the mid-town cool clone crowd. Lets just say they were a bit more 'individualistic'.

Cupcake and I saddled up at the bar. We remained the only ones at the bar as long as we were there. Our perch offered a bird's-eye view of the important stuff that the pub had to offer. It was a decent selection. Not great but not horrible. Maybe a dozen taps. But on the upside, only one tap was piss beer. So George and I got our Irish on. First a round of Smithwick's (that's Smit'ick's to the educated). Then a round of the black stuff. This gave us plenty of time to catch up on some random news and also do some brewing planning. ...and me some time to screw around with the camera.


While doing this we noted they have one or more dart boards (always a plus). They don't appear to have a kitchen. Oh well, I'd probably be concerned about anything that might come out of that kitchen anyway. The bartender was adequate.... served up the beers, was helpful but not intrusive.

That's really about all I can say about the place. Its certainly not a bar that I would make my primary destination on a night of drinking. Lucky for them they're close to the Stag's Head. Presumably there are others like us that like a little change of scenery occasionally while out beer hunting.

The Brew Card

Atmosphere: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Clientele: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Beer Selection: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Food: N/A
Service: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Prices: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Stuff to do: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Overall: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

The Stag's Head Pub - Houston, Texas

George and I are SO freakin' backed up on reviews. Its really is pathetic. So its time to knuckle down and knock a few out. So without further adieu, here we go....

The Stag's Head. Jeez, I've been there PLENTY of times. But since I like to have a fresh recollection for reviews, I waited... until now. I must say in general it is one of my favorite pubs in Houston. It is about as authentic as Houston gets for a true Public House.

The occasion was our first Usual Suspects happy hour in 3 or 4 months. About 10 of us found our way through the nasty cold and rain to the warm, dark confines of the Stag's Head. We dragged some tables together near the bar and got down to some serious chat. Along the way we sampled from the pub's better than average selection of taps. I myself had a Santa Fe Nut Brown, an Old Speckled Hen and a Gorden Biersch Maerzen. Not a bad random mix and all very tasty. Among other things Cupcake had a St Arnold Cask Elissa IPA. Somewhere in that complicated bar area of theirs hides a cask pump tap... or as George says its called - an engine. I guess I'll trust him.. this time. I love the taste and smoothness of these cask beers. So different from a normal tapped and kegged beer.

We also order a few appetizers that were pretty decent. Not the best ever ..but decent. Charlotte - our favorite ex-pat Northern English woman ordered English sausage rolls. These are English sausages wrapped in puff pastry. In her opinion (and mine) the sausage could have stood to be a little more spicy, but otherwise they were a decent representation. We also ordered a trio of fried things.... fried jalapenos, fried zucchini and fried mushrooms.... mmmm healthy! These were also decent.. but really nothing to write home about... typical bar grub.


The bar seems to attract mostly locals from that area. Not that that is a bad thing. A relatively quiet crowd. Most over 30, some over 50. Certainly quiet enough for us to carry on multiple conversations at our table and not have to yell. We had chosen the place specifically so that we could play some board games... quiet enough to hear and room enough to spread out. We never did get around to playing anything though... 3 or 4 months of stuff for us to all catch up on kept us busy I guess.

I suppose the Stag's Head would be considered a soccer pub. They seem to always have soccer on the tubes. I suspect that probably has some impact on the sort of clientele they bring in. Not that I'm complaining. There are some good dart boards there, thankfully, to keep a non-soccer fan like myself occupied.

I must compliment the staff. Our waitress was in short - very good. She knew her bar, her customers, her beer, her food and was a smart-ass to boot. Everything you can hope for! I must admit I occasionally go online to local websites to get other peoples' opinions on bars and restaurants. Not sure why I bother. Invariably the reviews ALWAYS follow a similar pattern. Every other review is generally very positive or very negative. And the negative ones are always the same.... someone bitching about the staff and usually have some piddly example of their reasons for being disgruntled. With 40 years behind me I have come to the conclusion that most often you are treated in the fashion that you treat others. If you are friendly and inviting to your wait staff, then they normally return this treatment in kind. I mention this because I recall reading criticisms of the Stag Head's staff specifically. How did those people have such a bad experience when we had such a good one?.... and we dealt with multiple staff folks last night.... they were all VERY nice and good at their jobs.

I do have to add one further comment on the staff.... well one bartender specifically...hopefully I'll escape with only a minor bruising from my wonderful wife... Love you babe! :). So a few months ago I visited the Stag's Head. I entered the front door and stepped lightly up to the bar... only a few feet from the door. You'll notice when you visit that the bar has these peculiar dividers along the bar made out of stained wood and smoked glass. I suppose it allows you to have a little conversational privacy from other customers sitting at the bar. Well on this occasion it served a different purpose. As I stepped in, still trying to adjust my eyes from the outside's sunny glare to the warm cave-like darkness of the pub, I was caught completely by surprise as I sat in my stool. From behind this divider stepped a GIANT pair of boobs. Humongous even. :O The sort that no human - man, woman, straight or even gay can do anything but stare wide-eyed and slack-jawed in wonder at for a solid minute... just to take it all in. After snapping out of it I saw that these literally honey-dew melon sized mammaries were attached to this tiny little petite Asian bartender. Poor girl must have the worst back pain EVER. Btw, she/they are still there at the Stag's Head behind the bar. Saw them/her last night. See for yourself. They're a medical marvel. Truly.

In conclusion, I'm a big fan of this pub. I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes a more authentic (for Houston) old world-style pub. It may not rock your world but I think you'll find it comfortable and homey... perfect for a good beer on a cold winter night.

The Brew Card

Atmosphere: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Clientele: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Beer Selection: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Food: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Service: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Prices: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Stuff to do: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

Overall: 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10