Another reviewer says that to like this place, you have to "get past the basement feel." Good luck. The suffix "feel" was a little generous, I thought.
Imagine yourself fumigating in the strong smell of cooking oil, garbage, perfume, and B.O. because that's what you'll get in this poorly ventilated basement.
The decor here is what happens when you operate a business for years and stop really seeing what it looks like. (At least that's the best excuse I can think of.) Burnt-out lights. Chipped paint on the walls. A mysterious traffic light.
The furniture was ordered out of a 1970s catalog probably titled: "Crap Tables and Chairs: Dive Bars and Outdoor Taco Stands Our Specialty." Combine that with hopefully-arty-but-not-really-arty framed black and white photography, deep maroon paint and bathroom-grade tile flooring. So it's more than a basement, it's a partially destroyed bathroom in a basement that's trying too hard.
Given all this, the $16 entrees on the specials menu were surprising. One was a taco dish that appeared to be made with that pre-shredded cheese that comes in a bag and Old El Paso store-bought flour tortillas. The catfish in the catfish sandwich special was good, but the bread was, in a word, unconscionable.
I came back after a disastrous previous visit because someone told me the specials menu had the good food on it. Not so. On the previous visit I had watched them make the blue cheese burger by adding a scoop from a giant plastic tub of gluey industrial blue cheese salad dressing. The specials menu continues this high standard.
To top it off, service was poor. The food was delivered quickly but it was impossible to get a refill or the check even though the restaurant was half-empty. Everyone seemed nice, but improbably busy with things that didn't involve customers. The area behind the bar teemed with staff members who bustled around ignoring my waving arms.
I can only attribute the positive Yelp reviews to heavy drinking. You have been warned.