Bar: Mean Eyed Cat
Address: 1621 W 5th St, Austin, TX 78703
Score: 9.0/10
This is one of the newer bars I have visited and reviewed, nonetheless, the atmosphere of this bar feels much older. The Mean Eyed Cat was established in 2004 and is a Johnny Cash themed dive bar. From the outside of the bar, this place screams dive. The outside of the building screams 1950’s, with the aged wood on the outside and the rusted tin roof. I absolutely love the outside of this place. Also on the outside of the bar, the door is covered in stickers, of course I had to represent and add a WeRateBars sticker to the pile.
Walking into the bar, I felt like I was taken back to the true honky tonk days of Austin. Every inch of these walls was covered with decor. From Johnny Cash memorabilia to neons and mounted deer heads, this place had it all. I enjoyed the bar as well, as it had records underneath the bar top. I have seen similar bar tops before that have tickets, baseball cards, but never records. I really appreciated this touch. The bar was also open layout, meaning you can see directly to the other side of the bar. I’d imagine this is much appreciated when there is live entertainment at this bar. Outside of the bar, the place had ample seating, from high tops, to tables, and even a couch, this place can satisfy large groups of people and had a very comfortable atmosphere.
To put the cherry on top, this place had the best patio I have ever come across. This is where I spent most of my visit. The patio freakin rocked. The patio was lined with picnic tables and the overtop was the coolest tree I have seen. I mean this tree was absolutely massive and had lights that ran across every branch. Look, I know you are thinking, it is just a tree, but seriously if you saw it, you’d understand. I bet when this is lit up at nighttime it is incredible. The Mean Eyed Cat was an absolute treat and gets you away from some of the madness of 6th street. Do not lose sight of this bar the next time you visit Austin.
Decor: Every inch of the walls were covered, it was spectacular. Very fitting decor for the bar. This is exactly what I like to see.
Price: I believe my Miller bottle was about $4.50, little on the high side, but they have a killer Happy hour, and beers in the area can definitely go for far more than this, so not an awful price.
Service: Nice bartender, place was pretty dead because I went during off hours, but I got solid service.
Atmosphere: I could not even imagine the patio during a cool fall night, exactly the place you want to be.
High Life Bottle?: Yes! They had it.
Bonus Points: None.