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Boston is a Cinderella city, aglow with delights that for some end all too soon. With the T (subway and bus) making its final runs between midnight and 1 am and taxis sometimes scarce, most nightspots follow accordingly, with "last call" typically by 2 am. Though night owls may be disappointed by the meager late-night options, except in Chinatown, visitors find plenty of possibilities for stepping out on the early side. The martini set may stroll Newbury and Boylston streets in the Back Bay or Downtown, selecting from swank restaurants, lounges, and clubs. Coffee- and tea drinkers can find numerous cafés in Cambridge and Somerville, particularly Harvard and Davis squares. Microbrew enthusiasts find viable options at sports bars and brewpubs, especially near campuses and sports arenas. For dancing, Lansdowne and Boylston streets near Fenway Park have a stretch of student-friendly hangs, DJ rooms, and techno clubs. The thriving "lounge" scene in Downtown’s cooler hybrid bar-restaurant-clubs provides a mellower, more mature alternative to the collegiate indie clubs. Tourists crowd Faneuil Hall for its pubs, comedy spots, and dance scenes. The South and North ends, as well as Cambridge and Somerville, cater to the "dinner-and-drinks" set, while those seeking rock clubs should explore Allston and Cambridge, especially Central Square. College-owned concert halls regularly host homegrown and visiting ensembles. Prominent among these are Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall, Berklee College of Music’s Performance Center, MIT's Kresge Auditorium, and Agganis Arena at Boston University.
Venture down Beacon Street past the Massachusetts State House and Boston Common and you'll cross paths with this cocktail bar and restaurant that channels romantic notions of a 1920s speakeasy. Jazz music, a checkerboard floor, antique photo gallery, art deco lighting, and dark leather set the tone. Famous for its Sunday Drag Brunch, an interactive drag show with cocktail specials and a buffet brunch—reserve a ticket online.
Across the street from Fenway Park, at Brookline Avenue and Lansdowne Street, this lively sports bar is a great place to experience a Sox game with other fans if you can't get tickets to the game.
Whether you call it Cheers or its original name, Bull & Finch Pub, this local hangout turned tourist hot spot celebrates Sam Malone's watering hole from the now-classic hit 1980s NBC television show, Cheers. But why? This pub, which was dismantled in England, shipped to Boston, and reassembled, served as the inspiration for the TV bar and its cast of characters, Diane, Frasier, Norm, Cliff, et al. Today, enjoy typical pub grub and burgers alongside a beer, Cheers' award-winning Bloody Mary, or Sam's own Screaming Viking. Children are not allowed after 10 pm.
If you walked right by this bar without realizing it's a bar, you wouldn't be alone—its signage makes it look just like a European pharmacy. But don't be fooled, as the Chemist's elixirs have more to do with alcohol than medicine—think classic cocktails (the Vesper, the Boulevardier) and house-created ones. Local DJs spin tunes nightly, adding to the atmosphere.
Part fully functioning winery, part bar and restaurant, and part live music stage, there is so much to do at this unique Boston venue. As wine is a focus, there are guided tastings of locally produced wine and two-hour winery tours focused on wine making. City Winery also hosts live performances featuring stand-up comedians, singers, and musicians, including national acts and Grammy nominees. A full menu and bar are available during shows.
Open-windowed, multiroomed Clerys can be your neighborhood bar, Irish pub, dance hall, sports hub, trivia game spot, or even the home for local Georgia Bulldogs sports fans. Expect long lines on weekend nights when DJs take the state from 10 pm to close; its several rooms bustle with young professionals. Food ranges from bar snacks such as nachos, wings, pizza, and burgers, to main events like steak tips and vodka pasta.
This smart multiroom club and restaurant for the Boston LGBTQ+ community and their allies is livelier than ever going into its fourth decade. Behind a stylish restaurant, patrons dance in the "video lounge" or watch classic music videos, cult flicks, and TV shows. There are trivia, karaoke, cabaret, drag brunches and bingo, and DJ events weekly; a weekly Sunday Tea Dance from 4 to 10 pm is free.
Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive—thousands of folkies have strummed and warbled their way through Club Passim, one of America's oldest (1958) and most renowned clubs for Americana and roots music. Audience participation is encouraged, so be ready to sing along. The ultracozy brick basement has a kitchen that's open for relaxed live-music dining (which is only available to ticket holders). If you travel with your guitar, call about open-mic nights. Classes and workshops at their school around the corner carry on folk traditions. Acoustic bands perform nightly; expect to pay a $5–$35 cover.
This unpretentious, cozy bar on a quiet corner attracts old-timers and young professionals with modest drinks and affordable comfort food like tacos, paella, and sandwiches. The quesadillas are worth the wait for a table. Yellowing posters, dim lights, and a ’60s soundtrack add to the quirky, retro vibe (did we mention it's covered in Elvis memorabilia?). The wine list features a couple of reds, whites, and sparklers.
You can't miss the place with its big blue facade, and once inside, you'll be embraced by the congenial atmosphere and amazed by the beer menu offerings. There are about a half-dozen to a dozen original brews on offer, from wheats to West Coast IPAs. Fun fact: the workers who run this brewery and pub also own it.
This local brewery is "malt-forward" and a female-owned and LGBTQ+-friendly place. It's a great spot to catch women's sports on TV or just kick back on the weekend with friends. Some prepackaged snacks and nonalcoholic beverages are available, but the main focus here is on the brews.
You may feel like you're in Dublin when you're sipping well-poured pints, eyeing the dusky atmosphere with wood-paneled walls, and eating black-and-white pudding or rib eye roasted in Guinness inside Cambridge's oldest wooden mercantile building. Musicians jam Wednesday evening, Saturday late day, and Sunday afternoon.
British expats and other football (not the American kind) fanatics head to this Downtown pub to watch English Premier League, MLS, and LaLiga matches live—which means opening time can be early. We think it's a great excuse for 7 am pint of Fuller's. The menu features pub grub with British flair, from burgers to butter chicken to a flight of four savory potpies. Check out the happy hour snack specials Monday through Friday 3–6 pm.
Not a driver? That's OK, you can still go head-to-head with your friends on a simulated Formula One video game experience; participants must be seven years old to race. Play as a team or as single opponents during 30-minute racing sessions, then recover from all the excitement with some tasty food and a champagne cocktail or craft beer; it's 21 and over after 7 pm. Check the website for frequent F1 Grand Prix watch parties with live commentary.
Open in a part of the Ciao Roma space, this apothecary-inspired cocktail bar boasts only nine seats and hundreds of cocktail potentials. During one of his ticketed progressive journeys, creator Phillip Rolfe (of Wink & Nod fame) creates individually tailored concoctions made from high-end spirits, homemade syrups, infusions and tinctures, and freshly cold-pressed juices. House-made pickles, dips, roasted nuts, and gelato pair nicely but aren't meant to fill you up. Because it's so small, Farmacia is booked two months out, so plan accordingly.
One of a few locations around the globe, this popular bar that is focused on playing darts was one of the first in town to offer organized socializing with cocktails on the side. The Flight Club's proprietary Social Darts is a technology-based multiplayer game that simulates the well-known dive bar pastime. Playing groups get their own seating area for 90 minutes ($15 per person) and can order drinks and food (sharing plates and flatbread).
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.
Vibes abound at this supper club and live music venue that boasts a Southern-inspired menu, live jazz and R&B music, and an opulent atmosphere. Wednesday jam sessions and Sunday brunch are worth a visit. Fashionable dress is required—no caps, sweats, or sneakers—and there's a per-person entertainment fee added to each check as well as a two-hour maximum seating limit.
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 most weekend nights 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.
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.
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.
This Downtown bar has quite a story behind its moniker (think castles, wizards, and yup, hobgoblins), and that theme carries throughout its food, drink, decor, and entertainment. Try one of the magic potions (cocktails) meant to spell fertility, prosperity, or healing among other things. The menu features gastropub fare with a strong Asian influence. Stop in Thursday through Saturday nights for live piano music.
Packed with bachelorettes and fraternity bros with straws stuck into potent Scorpion Bowls, this party spot serves up $1 chicken 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.
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 average $29–$50, 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."
Despite its name, this sports bar and hangout is not actually at the TD Garden (home to Boston's NHL and NBA teams), but it is just steps away. Pub-style food like loaded waffle fries and buffalo wings go great with beers and boisterous patrons cheering on whatever local team is playing. Also check out Hurricane's adjacent pop-up beer garden in nice weather.
In Somerville's Union Square, this comfortable neighborhood bar is a good spot to hit for a pint, a whiskey-based cocktail with a quaint name, quality brews (25 drafts, 10 bottles/cans), and a long listing of spirits that come together for a mad menu of house cocktails.
This massive bar and restaurant entertains with upscale-style bowling, billiards, air hockey, shuffleboard, foosball, and more. ’80s kids can wax nostalgic while playing the retro arcade games from childhood, including Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The kitchen makes burgers, wings, tacos, and more.
Whiskey (loads of it), wine, and atmosphere: they're all staples within this bar at the Omni Parker House hotel, where mahogany club chairs and silver-tray service might make you feel a bit rich. The Last Hurrah also serves up tradition—many politicians across the 20th century stopped in regularly to drink and do business at its various past locations within the Parker House.
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 no food or drink minimum, and the bar opens one hour before showtime.
