7 Best Bars in Tampa, The Tampa Bay Area

Offering the fruits of the adjacent Cigar City brewery, this large tasting room puts Tampa on the map for craft beer enthusiasts. On tap, it offers mainstays like Jai Alai IPA and Maduro Brown Ale as well as an interesting rotation of seasonal beers. The staff is friendly, and the music is generally good, but beware: happy hour can be packed.

This low-key, old-timey bar is a Lowry Park–area mainstay. Many of its more than 40 craft brews in bottles and on tap hail from the Tampa Bay area, and it also has a decent wine selection. The bar menu has a handful of snacks, and the lush courtyard hosts food trucks.

Everybody’s welcome on the dance floor at this famous Ybor City club that's only open on weekends and has catered to the alternative set for three decades. Friday nights The Castle hosts its iconic Midnight Mass, a night of Goth and industrial music. Every Saturday, DJs play a wide range of genres, including Goth, new wave, electro, industrial, dark wave, and EBM (a type of alternative electronic dance music). In addition to embracing musical—and personal—diversity, this multilevel venue has several bars offering a good selection of single malt scotches, small batch bourbon, aged tequilas, and beers from around the world, including several local craft brews.

Tampa's first bar to combine retro gaming with craft beer is a haven for all things nerdy, hosting events that range from cookie cook-offs to pup-friendly meetups to indie markets.

Local music lovers rejoiced when this Tampa institution reopened closer to Busch Gardens. In its new location, New World Brewery offers an expanded menu, a patio, and a separate space for concerts and special events. It's known for its stone-seared pizzas, a killer craft beer list, and an amazing lineup of musicians taking the stage.

Comedians generally perform Thursday through Sunday nights, though there might be other shows sporadically throughout the week.

Top comedians perform in this Ybor City venue.