Original Fat Cat’s

Great band, great vibe, great beer– what else do you need!

Wish I could give this place 5 awesome stars, but since they allow smoking INSIDE, minus 1 star (even though in reality it’s minus more like 3 stars, but I love it here!!).
My soul is an alternative rock girl! The band that plays here (or it might even be multiple bands, I’m not sure… yeah, I never walk outta there sober) is spot on. In all my nostalgic glory I’m taken back to the good old days in DC of HFStival. Only THE BEST alternative rock festival EVER! And every time I’ve been to this venue, it pulls at my heart strings (XOXO *insert heart emoji here*)!!
Outside is pretty much open in the front of this venue. You can lollygag outside with your drink, go out there for a smoke (which I prefer you do HA!), or catch some good conversation.
The bar is amazing, and long, and serves good beer at really good prices. The bartenders are super nice.
There is a pool table, or maybe 2, in the back. Seriously, I mean it all takes me back to great times. I love this bar and I love the music, and I love the setup. Minus the smoking inside. I’ll be back to party…

Cool atmosphere, decent drinks ($ 5 for well whisky), and free cover with a live band.

My go to when visiting home. No matter how long I’m gone for, the staff always remembers me, what I drink and make me feel welcome. Good music, packed and never leave until they’re closed. Awesome spot for downtown Fort Lauderdale. On a block of pretentious bars, this place rocks!

My absolute favorite bar in Fort Lauderdale. If you want a good time go see frank or Ian or little Ian or Jason or Jenna or Chris or Andy Or Jonson at the door. They’re all fantastic.

I love this bar. The stage is awesome, the crowd is fun, and the staff is great. They always have exactly what I want to drink. I love coming to see bands like Spred The Dub, The Duppies, and 4^th Dimension. I Never had a bad night in this bar, and I don’t think I ever will. ⁵⁄₅

For late evening drinks, this place as good as most around Las Olas.
A dive bar offering simple fun. Enough good drafts to keep you lubricated, and decent entertainment — music, sports and pool.
No idea what the barman was named when we visited, but some amazing skills: taking orders from one group, filling the drinks of another, and handing change to the third. What a pro!

Wandered in around 5 on a Saturday to a sparsely populated bar with the club music already turned up to 11. The people who were there were already completly sh*t faced and seemingly all knew the bar tender who was refilling their drinks with amazing speed. Meanwhile we could hardly get his attention for our one drink. That said, I could see it being fun if there was some combination of me being more intoxicated and/​or the place was busier. But mostly if I was more drunk.

Went to watch the Broncos game on a Sunday night. Besides the bartenders inattentiveness. He was giving the chick next to us free shots. Of course it isn’t fair. I feel like this is more of a bar that they know each other very well and come for free drinks.

I’m a big fan of this spot… Its a nice change from the usual pace and scenes of Las Olas. Great selection of beers and the bartenders are always happy to give up your cocktail of choice. They frequently have live music in bands which is a big bonus also

So to continue our bar hoping we drove to downtown Ft Lauderdale and went to Fat Cat’s, we found live music that played a good variety of classic rock and 90’s rock with awesome drink specials, now here is a bit of important info… there is NO live music between 9 – 11:30 :(but this could allow you to step out to grab a bite to eat and come back. We had already eaten before so we were up for drinks and live music, they do have chips… thank goodness so I didn’t get sickly wasted. We’ll definately be back.

Always a good spot to go and hang out when you’re in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Anytime we have family in town we always want to take him out to the downtown area we always had to stop at the original cats. When you go there go to the back bar there’s a fat guy back there named Micah.

Ducked in with famous bartender Bernadette from Elbo Room and it was an awesome time, here’s why:
* Bernadette is a local celeb!
We needed a tum or a rolaid stat, and the bearded bartender not only hooked that up, but shots, and obscure movie references, too. «Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia, he’s an English guy who came to fight the Turkish.»
Usually live music and a roguish band of characters within, but not at 3P on a Saturday. Inexpensive and strong drinks abound.
Good Times.
Cabeza OUT!

my favorite local dive. Very good beer menu plus The best bartenders & great live music!
Sundays you can get the best Bloody Mary in town!

I’m gonna tell you why it’s one star… Cause there a snitch out there… Running around… Two dumb bitches. Hanging out… (that’s me and my girl). Pull into a lot that we think is part of the establishment… Oh. No wrong. We were literally there for 2 hours max. Keep in mind it’s Labor Day???
So we come out there is a boot on the car. Really…
My point to this story is… Don’t ya think the place should tell us about the issues of the parking or place a sign saying so… So in closing everybody is getting paid off… It’s just a shame !!!

Cool bar! I like the setting. Pool table.
Nice selection of brews on tap. Helpful staff.
They have a pinball machine but no key so they cannot help out if anything get stuck. Well that sucks.
We were there on a Friday night and a live band played.

Fun, late night bar with a good crowd. Good drinks, a bit pricy at $ 7 – 8, but a fair pour. Live Reggae Wednesday was ripping, with the crowd getting large as we moved towards 2:15am. I believe they shut down around 3:30am for the night. Mainly a locals spot, and probably wants to stay that way. No drama!

This is my favorite place in the Himmarshee area. I love live music, and the cover bands are fun to listen to. Overall, the crowd is as laid-​back as you can get in the downtown area. I’ve never had to pay a cover. It’s unpretentious, and I like it that way. It’s my kind of place to go out, have a few drinks, and enjoy the entertainment.

5 stars, just for the beer selection. The atmosphere is so laid back. Bring your pet, and leave your shoes at home if you wish. The bartenders are extremely nice & helpful. My first Lambic from here, & now I’m hooked.

Been here a number of times and loved it here each time. Its a solid live band, party hardy, fun loving, beer drinking rock ‘n roll bar. You won’t find any of that fizzled out dated disco crap at Original Fat Cat’s. This place really booms! The beer is good, not overly priced, a decent selection, and the best part is that you can step right outside onto the sidewalk, catch some fresh air, have seat on one of sidewalk stools, set your drink down on one of the little rail counters, engage in some conversation, meet some people, have smoke or whatever.
Also, I’ve never seen a cover charge, its small enough that you are right up close to all the action, and everyone seems to be of a super friendly nature.
They also have plenty of security and a good staff of bouncers so you can be pretty well assured that no one will get out of line or, if they do, they’ll be dealt with rather quickly.
For entertainment, they have some of the best solid rock bands around. For me at least, a real thrill to listen to and enjoy.
It’s generally populated with patron in their early 20’s but even though I’m in my 70’s I felt right at home and was even rather flattered by the fact that some of younger girls sort of seemed to enjoy being around an older guy, who they took to be an early years rock ‘n roll fan, seemingly having great admiration for my long over the shoulder length vintage long white hair.
Though somewhat divey, it’s not overly so, rather more a traditional rock environment.
For a good solid good old rock ‘n roll bar, where rock is played the way it was meant to be played, this is my favorite bar in Lauderdale.