08/24/09

Excellent Place to Hang Out!!!

by perfectlyspoiled

I enjoy hanging out a Kelvin Arms - it is relaxed and non-pretentious and every night - you meet someone new and experience a different vibe. I have brought my puppy there and sat on the patio one day and everyone pet her. Easy parking and Fast - Cheap Drinks.

• Pros: Easy parking - Fast drinks
• Cons: NONE

08/19/09

this place is terrible

by zbanger

if you're looking for a fun time, don't go here. this place is always dead. the drinks are watered down. the staff is rude. you have to wait long periods of time to get drinks. last time i went there they charged me for drinks i never even had. i give this place maybe 2 months before it closes its door for good.

• Pros: none
• Cons: it's a sausage fest with watered down drinks & lame staff

07/25/09

I love this place!

by Dalaimama69

Every time I have a friend visit from out of town, I try and take them some place fun and unique to show them a good time. The Kelvin Arms is always on my list of places to stop by and relax.

• Pros: Bar with a bank vault!
• Cons: None

03/25/09

Cool place.

by vanillabean18

This is a nice, casual place to hang out and have a few beers. They have a nice atmosphere, jukebox, pool, and darts. The only negative thing would be the service at the bar. The bartenders do not seem happy to serve..in fact, one guy was rude to me until I came back about an hour later and he was drunk! Then he served me happily while slurring his words.

• Pros: Relaxed atmosphere, beer selection, jukebox
• Cons: service

06/24/08

Favorite bar in Houston

by yankeenhouston

There are a lot of positive things to say about Kelvin Arms. The liquor selection is fantastic, and the bartenders know their stuff, especially Amanda the manager. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, and the crowd is very diverse - all kinds of people and all ages. I love their patio and the interior space/decor is great. It's very much like a friendly neighborhood Cheers bar with a much higher cool factor.

05/14/08

Great belgian beer selection

by duhq

What a terriffic beer selection in general! My faves are all represented at this cool, low key neighborhood pub. No food, but who cares when you have 30something beers and a full bar to choose from. Also, never worry about wait for service, it's one of the few bars in the village where you can expect to get good service and not have to deal with the younger drinking crowd. Oh, yeah also a ton of great belgium beers as well as some good local offerings.

• Pros: Atmosphere (cool old building), free popcorn
• Cons: parking

02/15/08

My fave in every way!

by hrhl2

I almost hate to give my fave a stellar rating because then it will be packed. However, there are so few places worth driving to in Houston and enduring hellish traffic that I have to give credit where credit is due. I'd love any place adorned with the visage of Sean Connery but it's more than my lust for 007 that keeps me coming back. People are friendly and interesting. Service is good even when it's packed and it's cozy. The converted bank vault is the coolest thing about the bar and fun to take out of town visitors to explore.

02/11/08

Love the coziness and privacy

by africansicklet

very warm atmosphere, cozy velvet sofas and masculine dark soothing atmosphere. Great for an intimate conversation and a drink. Love to go there with a comfortable date and enjoy the sofas and quieter surroundings.

• Pros: quiet, private, cozy, warm, nice atmosphere
• Cons: none in my opinion

09/03/07

Bad example of a Scottish pub

by elyned

I am a native Scot in Houston, this is not a Scottish pub, it would never make it in Glasgow. No food service, no atmosphere, just a cold empty hole in the wall. The vault is also just a big room with sofas, Scottish pubs dont have sofas and you should be able to buy a bag of crisps with your beer. Safe yourself a trip.

• Pros: none
• Cons: like a garage atmosphere

07/02/07

The Kelvin Arms is 70% bad, 30% good

by proletkult

There are good and bad things to say about the Kelvin Arms. First, there are two areas, in my opinion, where this institution fails:

1) It is too expensive. With the exception of happy hour and certain days, a pint of crappy, American, domestic beer costs $3.50 each. To add insult to injury, the Kelvin Arms does not even sell pitchers! What kind of bar is this? I have lived in three different cities for extended periods of time, long enough to explore some bars and find one to my liking. I find the idea of a bar refusing to sell pitchers a little bemusing. I know this place is trying to present itself as casual and laid-back, but it really is not. A lot, but not all, of the patrons are pretty trendy, the beer is often expensive and they do not give you enough of it. I don't know why everyone is saying how this is a great "college bar." If by college bar you mean it caters to "frat boys" and trust-fund kids, then I guess so. Otherwise, give me a break.

2) Perhaps this does not universally apply, and the times that I ordered cocktails at the Kelvin Arms, I was not very lucky. One of my friends seems quite satisfied with the service. However, going by experience, neither I nor my wife was very impressed with the mixed drinks. They are typically very watered-down, and we have had to tell the bartender how to make fairly common drinks before.

Now for the good parts. The Kelvin Arms has a very nice sitting room inside - better than perhaps any bar I have been to. Large, comfortable couches, chairs, and coffee tables with good lighting and prints adorning the walls. It also has a nice area sectioned off for darts. Big parking lot. Lots of beers on tap, a lot of liquor and cocktails are fairly priced. Finally, while some of the patrons are a little too yuppie/preppy for my liking, the place does not seem to get many outright jerks.

In my case, the negatives outweigh the positives. I am just not that impressed by the atmosphere.

• Pros: Good sitting room, variety of beers, large parking lot and agreeable patrons
• Cons: Below average service, above average beer prices, and does not sell pitchers