Andy’s Basement

Great bands and the staff were great. Gonna go back and check out Kin Of Ettins, Odometer and FixDid Live. Thanks guys.

Awesome, friendly staff. Not pretentious, not «live» like Fry St but a lot of fun for adults (23+). Probably about as friendly of staff as you’ll find in Denton. And they can make drinks. This is kind of a big deal because it is really hit or miss on the square. I won’t mention any names but I’ve been served some undrinkable, very basic drinks on the square. Also super cheap, which is why it’s extra amazing that the drinks I’ve been served have been well made. The only bummer is that they still smoke in the basement. I don’t smoke anymore and I hate coming out with my hair smelling like smoke. Oh well. I love this bar.

Andys is overall a great bar. Awesome food, and the ambiance is very relaxed. andys is stellar.

Great specials. Friendly staff and croud. Average food. The best dive bar. It is what you want every dive bar to be. Don’t go if you are looking for fancy cocktails. You will not get them. And not a college bar.

This review is of course for the basement portion of the bar only. I was here on a Friday night and there was live music going on the main floor. This area required a cover charge but if you go straight downstairs, there is no cover. They mark your hand with a marker so you can’t sneak in upstairs.
I would classify the downstairs as «divey» and «stuffey.» Second hand smoke is rampant and there is no way to get away from it as there are no windows. The space itself is small and there are few places to sit. The drink specials were decent though, but I didn’t think the crowd or staff were that friendly. There are pretty places in the area to spend your time and money.

This review doesn’t need much. If you like divey bars, cigarettes, basements, and cheap liquor — come to Andy’s. It’s a cozy lil spot right off the Square and it’s a great place to get drunk at with your buds.
PS,
They have a Nintendo 64.

This is my favorite spot and I’ve been to them all. I love dive bars. Anything goes speedbar. There is always an eclectic crowd, and a spectacle to behold. Fighting is never tolerated, and almost never happens. There is a tight knit community of regulars here, prepared to welcome anyone to the family, so long as they keep it cool and not be a jerk. Don’t expect anything fancy. But the food is good and cheap, the beer is cold and cheap, the liquor is cheap cheap cheap all around, and the service is fast friendly and diverse.
Venue level has some of the funnest shows in town and same speed bar feel.

Okay. This place annoys me a lot for several reasons. First, you can’t make contact with them for questions. Secondly, they used to be 18 and up only unless with a parent. Then because of smoking laws it turned to 18 and up only. Now it’s NO smoking but still only 18 and up. I have seen people I know younger go in there for a show. My last straw with them was during 35 denton last night. My 17 year old son wanted to watch a band there and they refused and couldn’t justify a reason except he wasn’t 18. Then a band member tried to get him in and they still wouldn’t budge. It was a part of 35 denton and they still wouldn’t allow him to enjoy a show and why is 18 and up if no smoking there? Nothing makes sense so I’m just done with this place.

This part of the Denton bar scene and located on the downtown square, Andy’s smokey interior is one of the places you can catch some of the many emerging bands in North Texas. Denton Bands regularly test new material on a small audience. Other than a stage and a bar, Andy’s offers little else in the way of features. A few chairs and cocktail tables are scattered around toward the back, as well as a very gone to rack-​looking balcony where the sound man mixes during the bands’ sets.

Went to a Burlesque show this past Saturday night. I have been to Burlesques shows before. The Burlesques girls and one guys dressing area was on the upper balcony. No curtains at all! Very tacky. Worst show ever. Unprofessional. This place needs a proper dressing room. After four drinks the bartender gave me water. I’m a older women who was not driving home. The bartender was having shots behind the bar and kidding her girlfriend who was sitting behind the bar. Will never go there again. Their shots were served in plastic small cups. I ask for chilled– she didn’t chill it.

The basement isn’t the greatest part of this building. Unlike the two upstairs bars the basement lacks character. The one time I went in there I ordered one beer the glass still had lipstick on it. I paid and left it sitting on the bar and headed back upstairs.

I have been to every bar in Denton, Texas and out of all the bars in this town, i like the bartenders here the best! Love you guys!

Good ol’ Denton Bar but I had to pull 2 stars for serious all of ventilation. Prepare to be immersed in cig smoke. If you are a non smoker beware of the basement.

Technically, this is only a partial review. Andy’s is actually three different bars. There’s Andy’s, where they have all the music acts and a full bar, there’s Paschall, which is upstairs, looks really nice and cozy and has the overpriced mixed drinks for the hipster crowd and a the view of Denton square and there’s the basement bar, which has a low ceiling, a couple of pool tables and cheap beer. This is about the basement bar.
I discovered it a couple of years ago on Christmas night. It was the only bar open and I had been working that night and was just getting home. (I work in TV news). There were only about seven to ten people there plus one bartender and a bar back. Loud music from a digital jukebox and a tv were on. It was smokey and a pool table was in action. I certainly was not ready to end my night, so I grabbed a Shiner and sat down on a stool and took in the place.
I like a good dive bar sometimes. This place was cold. It was drafty and the exit door didn’t want to stay shut that night. So everyone had coats on. The bartender was helpful and I’ve seen him around town at a few other bars when I’ve been out. Hard not to remember a tall, skinny guy with black rimmed glasses. Kinda sticks out. He knew most all the other customers in the basement. I guess that makes for a good bartender. Even in a hole like this.
I’m not putting the place down. I enjoy that it is a hole. I have returned a few more times, even bringing a buddy with me who also had been here. I don’t know, maybe it’s me, but I occasionally enjoy a no frills kind of place. No attitude, no bs, no nothing. Exposed brick walls, mix and match tables and chairs and a handful of people thrown in… And a good, cheap beer in hand.
Can you ask for any more?

Oh Andy’s, the place for local music groups and local make-​your-​own-​fun. The basement always has a variety of music. In one night you might hear pop cover, country, and punk. Right off the square, parking can be tricky on a weekend night. You’ll just have to make the circle a few times until you luck out.

Pretty nice, the ground floor part has some garage band shows a lot, and the below bit looks a bit on the seedy and depressing side, which is cool if you’re into that sort of thing. I do greatly enjoy the jolly roger logo though. I tend to gravitate toward the second story bar Paschalls if I’m in this neck of the woods.

OK. So I’ve stage managed quite a few burlesque shows at this bar with various troupes and I have to say after this last experience, I will turn down all gigs in the future. It is just not worth it!
When I first start managing my friend’s show a year ago, the venue was cool, the people were nice, the dressing room was OMG awesome and we were even given our own bartender who was always amazing. If I would have started Unilocaling events a year ago, I would have given this place a 4 out of 5 for just being a fun, local bar. Now, I feel 2 is being generous.
As soon as I walked in I was accosted by old cigarette smoke. Seriously people, if you’re going to allow smoking in your bar, then clean the floor and air it out! Anywho, long story short, the girls were told that they did not have a dressing room despite verifying it with them over 3 times, including once the day before. They were told to use the bathroom which is one stall each and customers would also have access to it. Not cool. If you’ve never been backstage at a burlesque show before, it is like a Macy’s White Sale aftermath. Shit just be ERRYWHERE!!! and everyone needs their own space in order to get ready. Thankfully, everyone was a trooper until we found out that they did not want us to close off the curtain so would not show all of their kibbles and bits to the audience. I mean, burlesque is about tease, not sleaze and a $ 10 ticket is not enough for you to see all of the church’s business. So after having to get the most basic things handled, the show started and went without a hitch. Sad thing is though that it was a troupe’s debut and they can’t get that memory changed because it is what it is. I left feeling very angry at the bar for taking advantage and not doing really anything to compensate. Communication is key and I seriously do not feel comfortable doing business with them ever again. Even odder, I did not recognize any of the previous staff that were so awesome. Did they run them off with their shenanigans or what? Maybe they are being held in the surprise renovations room of an area that was said to be free the night before.
So what does this have to do with the average non-​stripping patron you ask? Well, the whole thing there is that it is an event venue. If you can’t take care of your talent, including helping with sound check and etc, then you are basically forcing a mediocre show that people have to pay for. That is just not the look. Without the bands, burly-​q girls and etc, Andy’s is just a sub-​par dive bar without the charm, which is a shame. It really was an awesome little bar of fun at one time. Hopefully they will pull themselves together and issue the troupe an apology and make the appropriate changes to being back the charm it has now lost., but I severely doubt they will.

Do you like sausage? Do like parties? Then you will love Andy’s. Andy’s tends to be the default bar I go to due to lack of really anything better to do in Denton most Friday nights. Recently, however, I’ve noticed a great decline in the atmosphere of the basement. If you aren’t familiar with Andy’s, it has three floors — basement, second floor showroom, third floor Ernest room.
Basement — it’s dark, stuffy and hot in the summer, and not the place you want to go to scope for chicks. What appears to be the general clientele of the basement now, are poorly dressed dudes that seem to be friends with the 99% male bar staff. They pump the jukebox full of money and rape your ears with the worst kind of metal garbage I thought would’ve gone to the wayside after the age of 17 once hormones leveled some and they decided they hated their parents less. The bartenders are in control of the volume and seem to prefer it at ear-​piercing level that makes conversation impossible. The bartenders are friendly and you can get Jameson and Beam for the same price on some nights, but that’s about the only bonus in the basement which isn’t something you can’t find elsewhere.
The second level showroom floor is fine enough, however, if you’re a band, it is ill advised to play there. I’ve played several shows at Andy’s myself and if you plan on making enough money from a show, even if you drew 50+ people, you can bank on the fact you won’t even get enough to pay for your tab if you get anything at all. The booking dude there is incredibly nice, however he has horrible taste in music and books bills that make absolutely no kind of genre sense whatsoever and often fall through. He’s even gone so far as to add 2 more bands to a three band bill the night of the show which caused the last band to play late, play a short set, and walk out with zero, yes ZERO dollars even though 50+ people paid money to get in.
Now, the third floor, the Ernest room as it is called, has potential. It is a loft area with a lounge quality that’s comfortable and a nice break from smokey, loud bars. The problem is that it’s barely ever open and no one really knows about it. Its hours of operation are sketchy to say the least and it’s sad that it has the most potential in that building but it’s neglected so that the downstairs metal sausage party can rake in the dough. Had it regular hours and some work were put into the atmosphere, I’d frequent there.
Sure, I’ll still go to Andy’s during the hours I know it won’t be busy, but once the metal starts blaring and the hordes of sloppy, perpetual single dudes start rolling in, I’ll be bouncing and continuing my drinking at home.
*Tip for dudes — Look, guys, girls don’t hang out at Andy’s. Not generally pretty ones that can handle their alcohol. Why? Because most girls are not impressed by your knowledge of Pantera or Slayer, nor are they impressed by your faded-​to-​grey, moth eaten tour shirt from one of the aforementioned bands.
*Tip for chicks — Don’t hang out at Andy’s unless you’re into dudes in faded-​to-​grey, moth eaten tour shirts that have been a wardrobe staple since 1996.

Grungy yet cavernously quaint. Beams overhead hold the tiny balcony over looking the stage. For atttire think bulky glasses and overgrown curly hair, V necks, beards. Drink specials. $ 1 Zeigenbock while we were there! Right on the square. Kindof just really awesome little space.

My review is based on the Basement bar at Andy’s. I’ve never spent much time upstairs, as there is usually a screaming metal band making my ears bleed. Go downstairs! Your brain will thank you.
I absolutely love the feel of this place. Cozy and welcoming. It’s relatively small, but if you get there before 9 or 10, you’ll find a place to sit. There are a couple of pool tables and a jukebox that’s highly playable. They have a big screen TV for sports and what not, but that’s not what gets my attention.
The bartenders are ridiculously awesome. I usually saw the same two any time I went, and they try and recognize you or get to know your name. They’re extremely helpful with recommending drinks, and have a full bar of tasty beverages. They make drinks right, including bloody marys, which aren’t easy to do!
I love the usual patrons, too. Sometimes you get the hipster punk crowd, but for the most part its full of cool, laid-​back people just looking to hang out and have a good time.
In summary: The location’s ideal being right on the square, the drinks are tasty, the people are awesome, and the prices are quite reasonable. You have no excuse not to try it.

If you’ve been to Andy’s you’ve probably seen me. This is my home away from home, my Cheers.
I have never met more caring bartenders. Even before I knew them very well, they took the time to learn my name, what I usually drink and ask me how my day was going. Since then, I’ve had them stand up for me, hug a bad day away, or simply sit and talk on a slow night.
Another thing I love about this bar: No matter what night it is, if you don’t want to see the band, you don’t have to pay cover. You just tell them you’re going down to the basement. It always irritates me if I have to pay cover at a bar when I don’t care about the band.
Andy’s has a music venue on the ground floor. For the most part, its not my kind of music, but there are a handful of great local bands that turn the show into quite a party. Most of the regulars hang out in the basement. Its a smokey little dive bar with great service, a fantastic juke box, pool tables, and ring toss. And they serve food until midnight – try the super fries, they’ll change your life.
And if none of that floats your boat and you’ve got extra money to spend, there’s a cushy VIP room on the second floor for $ 25/​month. Its really nice up there, but the basement is more my style.
But beware, this is not the place where you come to pick up chicks/​guys. Its just a laid back place hang out with friends and meet cool people.