2629 Best Bars in USA

Whether you’re in the mood for a Paso Robles Grenache Blanc or an Oregon Pinot Noir, you'll find it at this narrow, sleek locals’ favorite. The kitchen isn’t much more than a stovetop but does some pretty impressive work beyond cheese and charcuterie. Take advantage of the ability to order half pours and sample more wines.

This unfussy brewpub on the northwest side of downtown has a pet-friendly patio and taproom with lumberjack-inspired decor (the owner is a former logger). It's one of the top craft brewers in the region, known especially for its refreshing blackberry wheat ale and heady Riggin Slinger Red Ale. 

Cowboys, hipsters, and dancing queens alike all mix and mingle with surprising ease at this Eastside honky-tonk for the modern age. Live music from some of the best country, rockabilly, and swing bands in the area are hosted onstage every night, and newcomers can take donation-based two-step classes before the main dance floor fills up. The backyard food truck, Bomb Tacos, slings food every night until late.

With a vibe that borrows from Day of the Dead and New Orleans voodoo without looking like a theme bar, WillCo is known for their chalkboard menu of seasonal cocktail features, hidden back mezcal bar, and laid-back bartenders. Dried flowers and green plants hang from the ceiling, a neon flamingo skeleton lights up the wall, and the outdoor tables are often filled with locals waiting for a pizza from Oakwood Pizza Box next door.

An oceanfront bar with well-known rock bands performing on the raised stage, the Windjammer attracts a mix of young people just out of college, salty locals, and visiting tourists. Expect to pay $10--$25 admission when there's a live band, but if you sit on the back deck there's generally no cover charge.

Tucked down a side street in White River Junction, this intimate, buzzy cocktail bar caters to a mix of students, artists, and craft spirits connoisseurs from both sides of the Connecticut River. Set in a dimly lighted, urbane storefront space, Wolf Tree is the perfect spot to meet friends before dining at one of the town's several outstanding restaurants—or stay in and nosh from one of the custom meat and cheese boards.

One of the city's best-known bars has anchored LoDo since it was a pre–Coors Field warehouse district. The Wynkoop Brewing Company is now more famous for its founder—former Denver mayor and Colorado governor and current senator John Hickenlooper—than for its brews, food, or ambience, but it remains a relaxing, slightly upscale, two-story joint filled with decent bar food, the usual pool tables, and games and beers of all types.

This club backs up onto a pool that converts into one of the most spacious open-air dance floors in town. The resort's signature attention to detail shines through with motifs throughout evoking \"the sexy curves of the human body,\" such as walls imprinted with golden naked body casts (the waitresses reportedly modeled for them). At the pool are cabanas, another bar, and outdoor gaming, where the sexiest croupiers in town ply their trade. Excess is a pretty good word for all of this.

It's a dive but one of the city's best beer bars—there are almost 50 on tap—and a great place to relax with a cold one or an ever-popular Bloody Mary in the large patio on a sunny day. Burgers and brats are available, and a few items on the menu incorporate food from local farmers' markets.

A mixed crowd of mostly locals hunts out this unique spot at Pike Place Market's Street Hill Climb (walk past the Gum Wall to find a nearly hidden stairwell leading down to the piers). In addition to pouring a perfect martini, Zig Zag features a revolving cast of memorable cocktails and a Mediterranean-inspired food menu with plenty of tasty bites. A small patio is the place to be on a summery happy-hour evening. Zig Zag is friendly—retro without being obnoxiously ironic—and very Seattle, with the occasional live music show to boot.

The welcoming vibe of the largely under-30 crowd at this retro-hip but chill wine-and-beer bar is exceeded only by that of the charming hosts. Congeniality aside, the other draws here include the craft brews on tap, the change-of-pace selection of international wines (nothing from California), and the live-music, movie, and other event nights.

The glorious matriarch of North End cafés, glistening with marble-topped tables, mirrors, and shiny machines, lets you glimpse la dolce vita on Hanover Street as baristas pump steaming espresso machines from 7 am until midnight. Skip the frenzy at tourist trap Mike's Pastry next door; relax as you sip caffe latte or grappa and nibble authentic gelati and pastries–-tiramisu, sfogliatelle, cannoli. Cash only, per favore.

The Chicago Blues Festival leaves no doubt about it: Chicago still loves to sing the blues. Each June, the city pulses with sounds from the largest free blues festival in the world, which takes place over three days and on five stages in both Grant Park and Millennium Park. The always-packed open-air festival has been headlined by blues legends such as B.B. King, Koko Taylor, and Buddy Guy.

Located next door to the roastery, the light and open, bamboo wood–filled Coava Coffee Roasters offers some of the highest-quality single-origin, pour-over coffees in the city. There's a second branch in the Hawthorne District.

This area favorite lounge in a brick Fort Point Channel warehouse offers a short beer, wine, and food list, but no cocktail menu. Patrons rely on the highly knowledgeable bartenders to concoct libations on the spot according to drinkers' preferences. The space has an underground, modern speakeasy feel. Chat with the bartender to create your perfect drink; hint: if you like creative Manhattans, ask for a "Fort Point."

The only genuine brewpub in Kona, this spot is beloved by locals and visitors alike. Good pizzas and salads, excellent locally brewed beer (go for the sampler and try four of them), and an outdoor patio with live music on Sunday night means this place can get crowded, especially on weekends. The location isn't at all scenic, but that's not the draw of the brewpub. The main entrance is at the end of Pawai Street, in the Old Industrial area.

Inside a striking new building on the Columbia River, Pfriem (pronounced "freem") is all about the marriage of Belgium's brewing traditions and Oregon's decidedly hoppy style. The brewery has quickly vaulted to the top echelon of Northwest craft beer makers, earning accolades for its heady Belgian Strong Blonde and one of the best IPAs in the state. The on-site restaurant serves stellar pub fare, too, including mussels and fries, vegan Moroccan stew, and house-made bratwurst.

In the heart of student heaven, the Sunset looks, at first glance, like any neighborhood hangout. But venture inside and you'll be bowled over by its good promise to host the "365-days-a-year beer festival" with a staggering 500 choices of beer, 112 of them on tap. Forget pallid domestics: try an unpronounceable but appetizing brew from faraway places—seasonals, cask-conditioned, Belgians, wheats, stouts. If you're really thirsty, order a "half-yard"; if curious, order a flight sampler. There are ciders and meads, too. Brewing excellence is matched by fine eats like steam burgers and mile-high nachos served until 1 am.

Java aficionados serious about single-origin coffee favor this Central East Side roastery, which sources its beans from top growers in Colombia, Ethiopia, and Indonesia, roasts on custom-built machines, and provides its house-roasted coffees to many restaurants and cafés around town. There's also a Downtown location.

A stone's throw from the bay, the city's greenest wine bar serves up sustainable, organic, and biodynamic wines from around the world. Small plates are also available, usually vegetarian, and change weekly, as does the wine menu. The commitment to a healthier planet isn't reflected only in the food and drink, but also the decor, a mixture of reused wine bottles and wood reclaimed from nearby piers. Public transportation shuts down early at night, so expect to need a taxi back and to wait about 30 minutes for it to arrive.

You can't claim to have a sophisticated nightlife scene until someone in a vest is mixing artisanal cocktails, and 1022 South is one of Tacoma's top spots for fine drinks made with unusual infusions (nettles, yerba maté), house-made liqueurs, and premium liquors with hipster cachet (Crater Lake Pepper Vodka, for example). Daily happy hour is 4 to 7 pm (and all day Sunday), and the kitchen produces nosh-worthy nibbles, from cheese plates to burgers to smoked pork shoulder and cheddar grits.

The truly honky-tonk 11th Street Cowboy Bar, with its outdoor patio and music stage, is always crammed with locals and cowboys. Be ready to look the part in some Wranglers and boots, and perhaps be prepared to get pulled onto the dance floor for a little boot scootin'.

Regulars abound at 12 Steps Down, where people shoot pool, sing karaoke every Tuesday, and belly up to the bar for local and domestic beers, pours of bourbon, and plenty of classic bar snacks. During Phillies games, dollar hot dogs are served to pair with drinks and cheering on the home team.

Sophisticated wines meet an environment of polished industrial decay at a wine bar and retail shop set in a former dry cleaners. This is the only wine bar in town that keeps its vino in a temperature-controlled cellar, set at, you guessed it, 13 Celsius.

Easy to miss on an alley and overshadowed by neighboring adult-entertainment venues that are parallel along the Columbus strip, this craft cocktail den with a Basque theme serves up tipples of sherry, a few thoughtful wine picks, and creative cocktails. Pair your drink with tasty, Spanish-driven bistro snacks, such as pressed tuna baguette sandos, house-made pickles, pintxos (Basque tapas with bread), and croquetas (a fried snack). With a non-Internet jukebox and a photo booth, this place oozes vintage hipster vibes but with old-world sensibilities.

With more than 500 brews from around the world, you're bound to find a beer you like, so belly up to the bar. Formerly World of Beer, the location is now home to Blend Lounge, Taco Agave, and Graffiti Pizza, so you can grab a bite to eat while you hang.

Although it's named for the amendment that ended Prohibition, this long-standing, convivial bar is no speakeasy. Its location right across the street from the State House draws a mixed crowd of legislators and locals, but not too many tourists since it's a bit off the beaten path. Beer, burgers, steak tips, and fish-and-chips are on the menu. Check out the JFK booth in the back, a favorite spot where the former president used to meet colleagues. Anyone looking for a no-frills bar where you can loosen the tie or fit in with jeans, this is your place.

There's free nightly entertainment from April through Labor Day weekend at the 24th Street stage or on the boardwalk.