Anvil Bar & Refuge opened on Westheimer Road in Montrose in 2009 under Bobby Heugel. The bar was, on opening, the first serious craft-cocktail room in Texas — predating Austin's scene by several years, predating Dallas's by half a decade. It set the standard the rest of Texan cocktail-bar work has been measured against since. Anvil's most-quoted artefact is "The 100 List" — a printed catalogue of one hundred classical and modern cocktails the bar argues every serious cocktail drinker should try at least once. The list is the bar's standing educational programme. Twelve drinks from it, with annotations.
The full list is printed and available at the bar; ordering from it is the standard way to use Anvil. Reservations not taken on the bar; tables are book-only. Open daily from 4pm to 2am. The kitchen runs a short small-plates menu (the bar's Cuban sandwich is the standing pairing).
