Cat Man Blu

Seven of my colleagues and I went here since we were across the street at the convention center thinking it would be a great place to get some great southern comfort food. Wrong. The service was friendly, but slow. The food came out little by little (not at the same time), and was not impressive. Save your money and your time and stick to something else in Long Beach.

This place is divided up in two sections, on one side you have the warm looking bar, kitchen and restaurant area, then on the other side you have the band and a generous amount of tables and chairs. Live music Tuesday — Sunday! The musicians are pretty good, there is this one woman with long hair that can really belt out crazy notes! They play the music loud over their speakers so that you can hear them halfway down the block, so don’t come here looking for a place to have a conversation!
I only ate here once and ordered the Dinner special for $ 14.95. I ordered catfish, greens and red beans and rice, it comes with a side of cornbread. I liked the catfish and greens, but just loved the red beans and rice! I wish a bigger bowl of it was provided… I could just eat that all night and be happy. The cornbread square I got was a bit on the dry side but good.
They have a good selection of beers and wine, but not much in the mixed drink category. I remember trying to order vodka with lemonade or something, but surprised when I got the drink because it was electric blue and didn’t taste very lemony.

Last Friday my cousin and I went here just as a something to do. I read the reviews and was looking forward to the food and blues.
Ok so I have frequented many, many, many ghetto establishments in my day. And generally they are great places to find authentic ethnic food of many varietals. However they often have something lacking in customer service, consistency, ambiance, and CUSTOMER SERVICE. So when I walked in and waitresses buzzed past me with no acknowledgement of whether I wanted a seat or a menu or anything I wasn’t wholly surprised or bothered. Its a ghetto place that reeked of fried everything, I knew what I was getting myself into.
And when I say reeked of all things fried, I mean something in the kitchen ventilation was definitely broken as it smelled and felt like I was frying my own fish and fries right at my seat.
Turns out the catfish was pretty darn good. The mac & cheese unfortunately inedible. This night it was all soupy/​watery/​oily pasta and something like cheese in a too wet mix. I didn’t even taste it, and almost couldn’t stand to look at it.
I also had the sangria, which who knew «livingston» sangria with a couple orange slices could be so good?!
As for entertainment, we were expecting blues singing. Turns out there were also a couple comedians in the house who performed for all 10 or so of us. It was a little painful at times. Then the band played and had a guest singer, whose name I sadly can’t recall, he was a 50ish year old black man, in fitted blackish jeans with extra white stitching, a black turtleneck-​with gold dipped chain worn on the outside!- and a leather (possibly pleather) vest. In short he exuded sex. So naturally when he broke into his rendition of «Pop That Thang» women swooned. No really. Women gave this man money to continue with his gyrations and pelvic thrusting whilst singing «POP THAT THANG».
It was magic. It may have been the highlight of my life. I literally cried in laughter and delight. Despite what Trey Songz may think… This is the man that CLEARLY invented sex.

Good food, laid back casual and welcoming environment, fantastic music. Open jams and open mic tue and thur are a lot of fun. My favourite hang out when I’m in Long Beach.

I love this place for their Southern food, great music (blues most nights, reggae every now and then), and friendliness. I usually order the fried Tilapia with Mac & cheese and cornbread. It hits the spot everytime. This is comfort food so don’t come here if you’re on some type of fancy diet.
You’ll enjoy the live music late nights and the vibrant downtown Long Beach scene. Definitely worth a visit late night.

My husband and I were on our walk home and passed Cat Man Blu. We decided to go in and give it a try, as we like to support local non-​chain restaurants.
We went in during a lakers game and there was a a lively group inside. We sat down and got served by a very nice lady who was friends with the owners. The fried chicken was delicious. The cornbread which came with our meal was the best I have ever had. It had a hint of vanilla or something. I asked the waitress and she said that the chef uses honey. The gumbolaya was also really good. It tasted homemade and was different than any gumbolaya I have had at restaurants, which usually taste like it came out of a can.
In the next room they had a jazz/​blues band that was great. After finishing our meal we sat and listened to the band. We had a great time! We will definitely make it out here again. Hope more locals come out and support local restaurants like this one.

I thought I’d died and gone to blues heaven!
I found this place by perusing
, so I decided to check it out Friday night. And lo and behold, it’s where CasaVino used to be. The joint is now twice as a big, with one side as the restaurant and the other side the blues club.
The music was incredible. Sir Stan and the Counts and Miss Jackie Jackson really got the crowd into things, making it a fun casual party atmosphere. These guys have a showmanship that equals their musical talent. There was no cover the night we went, but I would gladly shell out money to see these guys play again.
And the food was delicious down home Southern food that could put you in cardiac arrest. But I’m not complaining. The cornbread was the best I have ever had.
I hope this place brings in more people to keep it going. It would be a tragedy if Cat Man Blu doesn’t survive.