63 Best Nightlife in Boston, Massachusetts

A neighborhood institution, the Franklin's renowned for creative cocktails, local microbrews, fine wines, and modern American food. There's no sign: just look for the white martini logo (or folks waiting for a dinner table) to know you're there. A full menu is served until 1:30 am every single night of the week, and the bar is open until 2 am.

This funky bar in a heritage flatiron building mixes exotic martinis and fresh-juice cocktails and boasts a whopping selection of international vodkas. The basement level lounge draws eclectic crowds for dancing and live music.

This quintessential grad-student hangout is cavelike, low-lit, and brick-walled. During early evenings, tasty entrées like buffalo chicken dip, burritos, brisket nachos, and burgers are half-price with a $4-per-person drink (inside only; not on outdoor patio). Named after Grendel, the antagonist in the Old English poem Beowulf, there's nothing but neighborhood love here as you raise a pint in this half-century old hangout.

This famed global chain draws rock music and memorabilia fans to its large space with a double bar—decorated with hundreds of Zildjian cymbals—dance floor, bandstand, restaurant (wall art of signed photos, LPs, guitars, and gear), and private party room. The Cavern Club welcomes name (think Psychedelic Furs and Charlie Puth) or tribute bands (Doors, Aerosmith, and Pixies) occasionally on weekends for ticketed entry, while the Rock Shop sells iconic and collectible merchandise. Fuel up on their legendary burgers.

Overlooking Central Square, this 5,400-square-foot ballroom dance floor hosts a kaleidoscope of DJs and live bands, and often free burritos or nachos. Three hundred people may show up to dance salsa, creating a lively scene for dancers at any level. Open Monday is for bachata (sultry midtempo Dominican dance), Friday and Saturday for salsa, and Tuesday blends both. With lessons at 8 or 9 pm, depending on the night, the joint really gets hopping by 9 or 10 pm.

Grab a seat by the windows overlooking Faneuil Hall on hot summer days, or cozy up to a coal fireplace in winter, and enjoy your pint (or a pick from one of the largest selections of single malt whiskies in Boston). There's live music at Hennessy's most nights of the week, as well as plenty of rowdy crowds that overrun the yellow-and-black confines for Top 40 cover bands mixed with DJs on weekends from 9 pm to 1 am at Upstairs at Hennessy's.

Around the corner from Fenway Park and girded with bars and restaurants, the city's juggernaut among nightclubs books a wide array of bands into its barnlike music hall. Tickets are $25–$45, with VIP box seats usually $15–$20 more. The Foundation Room (an upscale VIP lounge) opens to the public for an additional fee, and promises "high-class debauchery."

This Central Square venue flips audience cues into situation comedy, complete with theme songs and commercials. Be careful when you go to the restroom—you might be pulled onstage. Performers may face off in improv competitions judged by audiences. Shows run Wednesday through Sunday, $15 to $25, at The Rockwell theater in Davis Square (with a full bar).

Calling all gamers to this massive bar and restaurant that entertains with upscale-style bowling, billiards, air hockey, shuffleboard, foosball, and more. The ’80s kids among us can wax nostalgic while playing the retro arcade games they remember from their childhood, including Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The kitchen makes burgers, wings, tacos, and more. Kings' Draft Room serves up beers and sports. Anyone under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult, and no one under age 21 is admitted after 9 pm.

Deconstructed in Ireland piece by piece, the Kinsale was reassembled here to give it an air of Celtic authenticity. By day, businesspeople come in for lunch and a pint to admire the woodwork; by night, revelers pour in from nearby Faneuil Hall. Come Wednesday for trivia, and Thursday for karaoke. On Saturday, live bands play with no cover. The Kinsale also serves up a delicious brunch on weekends, including a full Irish breakfast.

More than 300 people per show can share a laugh with the local comics and national headliners who take the stage at one of Boston's favorite comedy clubs. Doors are open to anyone ages 16 and older because comedic material is typically R-rated. There's a two-item minimum per person from the drink or food menu—can you really say no to a pitcher of Coors and a warm pretzel?

This multistory complex has something for everyone. Home to Cheeky Monkey Brewing Co. on the first floor, 150 games of all kinds and a bar and restaurant on the second floor, and 25 pool tables, 12 plasma screens, 16 bowling lanes, and an 800-square-foot video wall on the third floor, it's impossible to be bored.

Located on a corner midway into the Fort Point area, this hangout was here well before anything else called the neighborhood home. Low-lit and subterranean, it replicates a Rat Pack–era speakeasy as much as it can in modern-day Boston. On the menu, find a mix of Southern-inspired dishes, Asian plates, and other snackable, shareable fare. Lucky's is known for its live music, too.

This is a subterranean dive with gritty charisma. Live bands hit the stage Thursday to Sunday, including one of the hotspot's most popular events: Sinatra Sundays, where a live Sinatra Band takes the stage at 8 pm. The story goes: when its signboard wasn't ready for the 2001 opening, the owners shrugged, "Ah, so what?" and let the joint go incognito.

In order to score 90 minutes at a table in this exclusive bar (the waitlist to get in is booked up months in advance), you must be dressed up, charm the person guarding the door, and most important, first find the entrance—it's not obviously marked. Craft cocktails have a flair for the dramatic, made with unique premium and small-label brands, creative liqueurs, and other interesting juices, syrups, and ingredients. The food is fantastic, but secondary to the cocktails.

With a wall lined in tropical wallpaper and a neon purple sign, this cocktail bar offers a rare nightlife outpost in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, and a trendy one at that. On the menu, the ingredients that make up the drink offerings are just as creative as their names and include such things as butterfly pea flower–infused gin and Aztec chocolate bitters. This place is popular, so reservations are strongly recommended.

Aptly overlooking its namesake's statue, the 15,000-square-feet Sam Adams Boston Taproom boasts three floors, including a rooftop terrace with views over Faneuil Hall. Drink like a local, by choosing a flight of innovative styles and rotating experimental beers from the nano-brewery as well as fan favorites such as Boston Lager and seasonal brews like Summer Ale. Suds occasionally sit secondary to fun events like yoga, drag shows, and comedy nights. Thursday translates to newly introduced drafts on the menu.

The crowd spilling through French doors onto the sidewalk café in warm weather consists of trendy cosmopolitans, fun-loving professionals, local sports celebs, and scenesters who have flocked to the contemporary spot for decades. The sophisticated jazz-rock soundtrack remains at a civilized volume as you dine, sip, and people-watch. Order any of the martinis that earn a solid rep among the locals, and follow with a brick oven pizza off their late night menu.

At the end of your Charlestown trip, hit up this pub with a 50-plus beer list and classic pub fare with an Irish flare. With a backdrop of live music and traditional Irish seisiún (informal sessions), it's the spot to grab a lager with a snack of curry fries or calamari or satisfy a huge hunger with a shepherd's pie and the perfect Guinness pour. Weekend brunch Bloody Marys sit sidecar to traditional Irish breakfasts. Bonus points for the Airbnb right above the tavern that sleeps up to 16 (and has a pool table).

Named for the amendment that ended Prohibition, this longstanding convivial pub, right across the street from the State House draws legislators, lobbyists, and neighborhood regulars who trade gossip and insider info over notched wooden tables and beers. The food is surprisingly good.

Nestled just 20 feet from the oceanfront, The Anchor is an open-air public gathering space, performing arts venue, and wine and beer garden. The two-story venue is full of swings, huge pillows set against stone terraces, lounge sets, and a grassy lawn for relaxing and sipping your cocktail. The menu offers items like air-fried cheese curds, jalapeno poppers, tacos, nachos, and chowder. The amphitheater hosts live music or movies seven nights a week, while other free events include comedy nights on Sunday, Monday salsa classes, waterfront wellness classes every day (think yoga, boot camp, Zumba), and live paint nights every Tuesday. In wintertime a dozen heated igloos and several fire pits keep things cozy.

America's oldest continuously operating pub (founded 1795) is named after its original owner, town crier Jimmy Wilson, whose bell-ringing wooden sign still hangs on the wall. On the edge of the Freedom Trail, this glassed-in flatiron pub serves fried haddock sandwiches, burgers, and New England's favorite entrées, against a background of live music. Bands (and the occasional comedian) play each night downstairs, and DJs spin Top 40 for dancers Thursday through Saturday upstairs; there's karaoke every Tuesday. Expect long lines of twentysomethings on the weekends.

Hung with 20 bright county banners, decorated with pictures of Ireland and portraits of Samuel Beckett, Lady Gregory, and James Joyce, The Rose draws as many tourists as Ireland-loving locals. Friendly Irish bartenders serve up pints, blarney, and far more Irish whiskeys (28) than Scotches (12). Nightly shows by traditional Irish and contemporary musicians confirm its abiding Gaelic good cheer, or craic. Dine on Guinness beef stew and fish-and-chips—all served by staffers with authentic brogues.

You can feel like you're in Dublin here, sipping well-poured pints, eyeing the dusky atmosphere with wood paneled walls, and eating black-and-white pudding or rib eye roasted in Guinness. Musicians jam Wednesday evening, Saturday late day, and Sunday afternoon.

Less rowdy than its Faneuil Hall neighbors, this now-Irish bar claims to have housed the "Headquarters of the Revolution" and was the inn where silversmith Paul Revere overheard plans for a British assault on Lexington and Concord, prompting his famous ride. While yesteryear found John Hancock (whose brother lived next door) strolling past its doors, today The Green Dragon is known for a great Guinness pour and Irish music—soloists play in the evenings from 5 to 9 Wednesday through Friday, and bands bring it on nightly beginning at 9. There's comedy night every Monday and a selection of Top 40 cover bands playing Tuesday through Sunday. College kids and young professionals tend to crowd the bar in the evenings.

Packed with bachelorettes and frat guys with straws stuck into potent Scorpion Bowls, this party spot serves up $1 teriyaki skewers, drafts, and shots, and hosts daily karaoke with contests and weekly dating games for revelers on the dance floor. A frequent stop on bar crawls, the Hong Kong does a big trade in tacky gear and earned souvenirs like Buddha mai-tai cups.

Named after famed architect Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow (nephew of poet Henry), this neighborhood bar and restaurant is located in the historic Café Algiers space directly above chef/owner Michael Scelfo's Alden & Harlow, a subterranean haunt adjacent to The Brattle Theatre. Bartenders pour creative cocktails, local craft brews, and a fluid list of edgy boutique wines by the bottle. The menu features bar food intended to be passed and shared.

This genuine Irish pub has doubled as a bohemian oasis since 1969. Drink Guinness and Bass on tap and many Irish whiskies; hear light rock, Irish, or country music nightly, usually by 10:30 pm. Narrow and cozy, The Plough is a comfy, noisy den for locals and students, yet a fine place to have lunch alone. The cover charge varies, but the popular weekday beer and burger specials remain the same. Fun fact: literary magazine Ploughshares was founded here.

By day a Berklee College coffee and snack bar, the Cafe by night opens its tidy, scarlet, 200-capacity concert space. Run, booked, and played by students, it's an ideal all-ages venue for aspiring student bands and indies on the rise; everyone from Hozier to Karmin has played here. Refreshments are light (soft drinks, noodles), and so is the cover charge, which varies based on the event. There are a dozen eateries within 200 yards.

Follow the retro neon sign to the music scene you've been waiting for. Bringing a long-awaited sophisticated rock music and dining venue to Harvard Square, The Sinclair's adventurous, near-nightly lineup of indie rock—with enticing flings into world, electronica, and jazz—often sells out. Its adjacent but quite separate restaurant and bar, with wanderlusty train and highway decor, a serious beverage list, creative mixology, and cuisine inspired by regional Americana at on-site Brato, is proving to be a winning formula. Accommodating 500, here's a party made to order for transient, academic, and streetwise grown-ups.