Bobby Heugel’s 25 Seat Cocktail Bar Tongue-Cut Sparrow Arrives February 1

With just days until Houston plays host to Super Bowl LI, new restaurants across the city are furiously opening their doors in time to greet the hordes of fans. Now, Houston bar empresario Bobby Heugel is throwing his hat into the ring with a brand new — and tiny — cocktail lounge.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Tongue-Cut Sparrow softly opened its doors over the weekend at 310 Main. The bar requires that drinkers enter through The Pastry War, and then head up a staircase to the second floor to imbibe a selection of classic cocktails, new drinks, and beer & wine.

The menu, inspired by a Japanese fable that involves a mean old lady cutting out an annoying sparrow’s tongue, is inspired by Heugel and partner Peter Jahnke’s travels throughout Japan. The glassware is of particular importance at Tongue-Cut Sparrow — it’s top-notch, and will be chilled to icy perfection before being filled with cocktails and garnished with trinkets and accoutrements from Japan.

Also notable is the bar’s focus on accessible great service. According to the Chron, guests will be greeted with hot towels and served free snacks, but a post to Tongue-Cut Sparrow’s Facebook page indicates that it won’t have a stuffy dress code or pricey service charge. The cocktails, priced at $12, are also pretty darn affordable.

Tongue-Cut Sparrow is currently closed until Wednesday, February 1st, when it will open at 4 p.m. to walk-ins. The first “formal day of service” will be February 8, when the bar will start taking reservations from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. via phone. But don’t feel too disappointed if you can’t score one of those coveted reservations — at least half of the bar’s 25 seats will be held for walk-ins.

• Bobby Heugel to open 25-seat bar in downtown Houston [Houston Chronicle]