Live Jazz, Libations and a Southern-Inspired Menu at The Hepcat

If you haunt your way through Springfield’s bars enough, you’ll uncover each one’s distinct personality. Some places are perfect for tossing a few bean bags with your neighborhood crew; others entice you to surf the night away with a taste of an endless tropical summer and still others invite you to soak in the skyline with your head in the clouds and a fizzy drink in hand. But until recently, there wasn’t a cozy, laid-back place to get a great meal and take in live music without cover charges and rowdy crowds. Until The Hepcat opened, that is.

The Hepcat is a jazz bar at the corner of McDaniel Street and Campbell Avenue, featuring live music most nights—always sans cover—from local jazz acts like the Brant Jester Trio and MOJO Lite in a soaring space. The warm, mellow atmosphere ushers in a more seasoned demographic than some of downtown’s rowdier college bars, leading to a relaxing experience as you bob your head to the melodies and nurse a cocktail off the seasonally shifting specialty drink menu or from the vast selection of house cocktails.

Even if you aren’t keen on jazz, The Hepcat is worth a visit for its late-night kitchen alone, serving Southern-inspired comfort foods as long as the bar is open. (Yes, you can get a full meal past 10 p.m. Dreams really do come true.) The dishes change each season, with the latest winter menu debuting just as this issue goes to print. Produce that’s at its peak finds its way into seasonal plates, like the tender beets filling the entirely vegan pierogis, or the hearty root vegetables tucked within the shepherd’s pie, both from the fall menu.

Look for touches of Southern soul foods like collard greens and cornbread popping up in dishes. Other entrees lean fully into their comfort-food status: The shrimp and grits pairs plump shrimp with creamy white cheddar grits and a tomato-bacon gravy, and the smoked fried chicken delivers a juicy interior encased in a fried skin so crispy it crackles, leaving a hint of smokiness as you dive into the super-smooth mashed potatoes beneath.

Always keeping in mind that this is still a bar and, if you’re ordering food at midnight, sometimes a fork-and-knife entree isn’t really in the books for you, chef Dustin Fox also offers classic late-night bites in the form of fries and burgers—including a Jake’s Vegan Burger. Griddled smashed patties are covered in white cheddar and a kicky burger sauce then topped with crunchy cabbage and red onion, perfect for soaking up the night’s libations.

With its relaxed, inviting atmosphere, comfort food that lives up to the moniker and tunes to float you through the evening, The Hepcat brings its own distinct personality to the varied personas making up downtown’s bar scene. Hepcat, it’s a pleasure to meet you.