If you've seen the movie, you have a general idea of what this place will be like on a busy weekend evening. It's surprisingly woman-comfort focused, and if you're a guy coming here to watch (or whatever), make sure you have a good sense of humor about yourself. You will likely be told to wear a bra or other ridiculous things.
I'm actually astounded by the gender ratio here. I expected it to be, essentially, strip club ratios with 90% men and 10% women. But it was slanted VERY heavily female, with a good 70% of the bar patrons women (especially in large groups and bachelorette parties).
We actually were having a great time at Coyote Ugly, but the bathroom situation (two stalls for a bar that easily had 100+ women in it at only 9PM on a Friday) meant the line was already crazy, and I didn't want to wait in line all night. Seriously, fix the bathrooms. It feels silly to have to leave for just that.
NOTES:
-Seats are exclusively high-top bar stools here, and they're in short supply. Prepare to do a lot of standing.
-There's a flight of stairs to get down here. I didn't see an elevator, but I'm not sure if there's a service one that could be used.
-A Google review said TN law *requires* them to check all IDs because of the adult vibe here, so don't expect you can get in on age alone. They checked ours too.
-The bartop actually has stairs on it on one end. If you wanted to get on the bartop but were scared of climbing up a barstool, don't be.
-If you want interaction from the bartenders, sit at the bar itself. If you want the best views to watch, I recommend standing at the back railing or standing back at the further tables.
-People crowd near the entrance for some reason. There was a ton of space near the backwall of the bar (including tons of chairs), but people were just standing near the front entrance of the bartop. Keep your eyes peeled if you want to sit.
-This is a participation bar. If you're going to come, please be somewhat in the spirit of things. You don't have to strip down or anything, but be prepared to yell or chant when they ask for it; it really helps make the experience.
-They will request cash for the jukebox at some points; if you want to bring some cash, this can give you an opportunity to interact with the bartender.
PROS:
-Lots and lots of good entertainment. If you've ever wanted to sip your drinks while watching women do body shots or dance on the bartop, here's your dream. It's not a strip club, but it's very sexually suggestive with pretty bawdy language. There was pretty much always a single Coyote on the bartop on a mic, ribbing people, dancing, and orchestrating lots of body shots.
-Every woman will be encouraged to get on the bartop. Doesn't matter if you're fat, thin, young, or AARP-qualified. If you stay for a few hours, you will be pointed at to get on the bartop.
-But there are a metric buttload of security guards here (easily 5 standing guard throughout the bar) who are constantly on the move. They stand nearby in case they need to help when anyone is interacting with the bartenders (like doing body shots). If they see a woman approaching the bar and climbing the barstools to get up, they hold the barstool and provide a hand up. If they see a woman trying to get down, they offer their hands to help you down. They even end up getting roped into taking photos for women on the bartop (and are happy to do it). They also clean up empty drinks and generally stay aware of the entire bar. I was impressed by how on top of things they were.
CONS:
-The entire bar has four stalls for the women's room. Two of those stalls were out-of-service. This led to really long lines, and it was still early in the evening. I asked staff, but they said they only have the single restroom. There is a ton of people (literally, three bars in here) to be filtering through 2 stalls.
-The "women only on the bartop" feels really sexist. I can understand specifically not inviting all genders up (I feel like it'd lead to a lot of grinding and other movements that may push someone off balance) to the bar, but it feels weird that a single man isn't allowed up on the bartop to do something like a body shot.
-The "no free water" thing is cute in the movie, but it's less-cute in real life. People should be encouraged to pace themselves and take care of their bodies.
-If you're a woman on the bartop, you're not allowed to do anything but stand. If you get onto your knees or sit down, you'll be asked to stop. When it's busy, I get it, but some bachelorettes were sitting on the bartop for pictures on a dead, unused end away from where the action was, and they were still asked to stop. Sitting feels like it should be less dangerous than standing.
-Some of the gags get a little old after awhile; it's not a bar I'd want to come to for multiple evenings in a row, but I really liked seeing it for a few hours. They're pretty constantly doing body shots and trying to beg for women to come onto the bar top. read more