About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

RocBar is a franchise-able rock ‘n roll oriented nightclub that plays the role of glitzy, commercial rock star fairly convincingly. It is located in Downtown Houston’s Bayou Place.

See the Guide to Bayou Place

Pros

• Fun but not wild (i.e. no fights)
• Great Location
• Moderately priced drinks

Cons

• Parking will always cost you five to eight dollars
• Have to walk up several flights of stairs to get inside

• Music is bland at times

Description

• 530 Texas St
• 713.236-1100
• RocBar

Guide Review - Review - RocBar Houston

When a rock club opens up, there are really only two ways that it can play out. One, you can play up the anti-facist attitude of rock ‘n roll and go for the rundown hole in the wall vibe (you’d probably play lots of Jesus and Mary Chain). Or two, you opt for the Open Up And Say… Ahh! Ideology and be the commercialized version of rock ‘n roll. RocBar aims for the latter.

See the profile of Downtown Houston

The venue is huge. The bar looks to be about 60 feet long and the ceiling appears to reach as high. Beyond describing them as “young and looking to have a good time,” there’s no real stereotype for RocBar customers (although more than a few had on those Affliction/Ed Hardy shirts). For the most part, it’s a mix of (mostly white) people. They mostly play current and past Top 40 rock, though it is connected to a smaller venue called Mosaic that specializes in DJ music.

See the Guide to Bayou Place

As far as party bars go, RocBar is up near the top of the list. It’s fun without getting out of control. If you’ve ever been to a place to seemed to draw an inordinate amount of bachelorette parties, chances are it was exactly like this place.