2629 Best Bars in USA

With flags and fresh flowers hanging outside its wooden storefront, it's easy to see the Bale of Hay Saloon takes pride in its business. Although it's a saloon (it looks like it was taken from Tombstone), it's relatively family-friendly, the food is good, and the kids aren't shunned. In the summer, enjoy live music and drinking on the outdoor patio. A nightly ghost tour leaves from here at 10 pm in the summer months.

One of the last of the classic Ballard dives still standing: it used to be that fishermen started drinking here before the day dawned, though now it's just as likely to be hipsters drinking cold cans of Rainier beer and asking for pull tabs. While one side has kept the same servers with studied nonchalance bringing the drinks, a snazzy arcade now fills the other room.

On its own private beach, Ballard's has oceanfront tiki bars, VIP cabana rentals, and a barnlike restaurant with a dance floor and live music. It tends to be livelier by day, although you can also arrange for a private beach bonfire at night.

When you land at Park Place and the Boardwalk, you know you're standing on prime real estate. The property, which includes the historic 1860 Dennis Hotel and the grand old Claridge Hotel from the city's heydey, is actually several casinos in one, with multiple gaming floors, 13 restaurants, and two nightclubs. Bally's has a six-story-high escalator, twin waterfalls, and tropical plants. The centerpiece of nightly entertainment is the "Legends in Concert" series, which brings celebrity impersonators to the stage, and sometimes to the tables to deal blackjack. There's always an Elvis, of course, but also Madonna, the Blues Brothers, Adele, Bobby Darin, and a rotating cast of performers. The attached Wild Wild West Casino is a themed frontier town with animatronic prospectors and other sordid characters. This is where you'll find some of the lowest table minimums in town and a hard-partying atmosphere exemplified by beer pong tournaments.

This comfortable Mid-City nightspot has become one of the neighborhood's most reliable venues for local music and comedy, with live performances—sometimes multiple a night—several days of the week. Most shows here don't charge a cover, and there are free red beans and rice on Monday night during the bar's weekly Sip & Sing.

Named for the miniature variety of fowl, this shot-glass-sized pub is refreshing for what it’s not. In a city nearly obsessed with themed cocktail lounges, Bantam has no discernible concept but plenty of character. It’s a snug neighborhood hangout with a brief tap list of Pacific Northwest and German beers, classic and draft cocktails, and a concise selection of shareable entrées for late-night snacking.

One of the oldest bars in South Florida (est. 1946), the old Hofbräu has been reincarnated a few times and now goes by the name "The Bar." A massive American flag hangs on the wall of this locals' hangout, arguably the only cool nightlife in suburban Coral Gables. The Bar delivers DJ-led tunes Wednesday through Saturday nights and karaoke on Tuesday night. Oh, and they have pretty awesome, farm-fresh bar food, too.

Housed in the historic Walker Library building, Bar 1903 has a Library of Cocktails that spans 160 years of mixology tradition. Small plates, sandwiches, and sweets—often made with ingredients sourced from the urban farm that the bar shares with its sister dining establishments—are on offer in a warm, cozy atmosphere, where service is attentive, but unobtrusive. With a seating capacity of only 36, this is an ideal place for a quiet chat.

This beloved mezcal bar is a great spot on Red River to grab a preshow drink before seeing a show at Stubb's, directly across the street, or the Mohawk two blocks down. The laid-back Mexican lounge is cozy and approachable, with a large outdoor courtyard space and a classic bar menu of cocktails and beers. You also have the luxury of ordering from the adjacent Pelóns Tex-Mex eatery's full dinner menu without having to leave your seat.

Bar B is kind of an odd duck, but in the most charming of ways. It's a narrow, no-bigger-than-a-hallway venue with no seats—just standing room at a long counter (unless you can nab a sidewalk table). It's also a hybrid, of sorts: there are cocktails, like an excellent Negroni, but also excellent Italian and Iberian snacks, too. Sip a glass of wine and nosh on chicken-liver-pâté-topped bruschetta, or tuck into a bowl of penne all'Amatriciana. Best of all, everything is very nicely priced.

Overlooking CCB Plaza and the Major the Bull Statue, Bar Brunello is an intimate space for tasting and sipping a variety of wines from France to Slovenia. Proprietor Esteban Brunello blends his extensive knowledge and natural charm with a total lack of pretension and excitement to introduce interesting wines to his guests.

This laid-back spot is the embodiment of an unpretentious wine drinker's wine bar, complete with non-judgy staff. What else would you expect from a spot with repurposed furnishings and a vintage motorcycle mounted to the wall? There's a new menu of wine and locally sourced beer every week as well as delicious appetizers like the popular deviled eggs and charcuterie plate.

The bar in the basement of the Andaz 5th Avenue hotel may have a generic moniker, but it certainly has pedigree. Alchemy Consulting, a joint venture from Chicago's Violet Hour and New York's Death & Co., designed the cocktails here; look for spins on the Negroni and Manhattan in the sleek subterranean space. Sample a curated flight of New York State whiskeys, or choose between a fine range of Negronis and Japanese highballs. The New York--sourced food menu is similarly upscale, with small plates and a short list of mains.

Latina-owned Bar Flores may look like any indoor--outdoor bar you'll find in sun-kissed Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, but the elevated cocktails served here are very Los Angeles. Margarita Wednesday is a must, and the back patio has a taco stand in case you get hungry.

At this stylish spot from an alum of the Pegu Club, one of the city's foremost cocktail dens, you can expect high-quality, innovative concoctions that make use of the Japanese theme: the Sakura martini is made with sake, gin, maraschino, and cherry blossom, while the Kyoto old-fashioned incorporates rice vodka, gin matcha, and sencha. Small plates to accompany your drinks include miso-slathered wings and savory cabbage pancakes.

Some time at this welcoming part-industrial, part pub-cozy bar and restaurant may indeed produce the sense of comfortable well-being implied by the name, especially for those who try its clever cocktails or the creative craft beers (like a lemon meringue IPA) producted on-site by Brewery Techne. Also notable are many nonalcoholic drinks, including a popular list of mocktails. Oysters, fries, meat and vegetarian boards, burgers, and sandwiches fill out the menu, and brunch is available weekends. 

Nestled on top of the Thompson Hotel, this popular rooftop bar has glittering views of the Savannah River. There is a compact, well-curated list of cocktails, but the star of the show may be the bar's fluffy, savory bread, which becomes delicious pizzas and flatbreads. Dinnertime seating is first-come, first-served, so come early to put your name down.

An evening at this dimly lit venue begins with an aperitif hour and ends with burlesque, a jazz trio, or other entertainment appropriate for a place that is part intimate library and part Parisian club. The food here is fittingly European, with grazing options like almonds, olives, and anchovies; seared scallops in white miso dressing and a satisfying pub burger are among more substantial choices. If you're looking for atmosphere and romance served alongside your expertly crafted cocktails, this is your spot.

On the quiet side of the hill, this cute European-style café-bar feels like it's been around forever despite opening in 2022. The craft cocktails feel like classics but include a number of creative originals, and the menu offers plenty of low- and no-alcohol options. The terrific food menu reads like a high-end restaurant menu, but the upscale, gastropub-style snacks come out bistro casual.

If you woke up this morning and thought: I'd really like to drink a cocktail in 1920s Japan, you're in luck. This stylish bar, whose name is the Japanese equivalent of a \"flapper,\" shakes up classic American cocktails using Japanese spirits and ingredients. The food menu is equally unique as it focuses on yoshoku cuisine, Western-influenced dishes that were created when Japan ended its 2½-century isolation and opened up to the West in 1868—sort of a time-warp cuisine that marries perfectly with the ethos of this bar.

This quiet, cozy neighborhood bar is a favorite go-to for area locals craving wine, beer, or a unique, well-crafted cocktail. Knowledgeable bartenders are happy to help you choose, The dimly-lit space has a chill, intimate vibe perfect for conversation.

The passenger trains are gone, but Billings's 19th-century depot has a new life as a beer and wine bar (albeit, some of the wine is in cans, so it's not for snobs). It may only be open until 10 pm, but that doesn't stop the loyal patrons who come for the big selection of beverages. Choose from 29 beers, including rotating seasonal brews, on tap, and feel free to sit on the dog-friendly patio when the weather allows.

It doesn't get more intimate than this dark, inviting music den downstairs from the Italian café La Lanterna. An ever-changing roster of musicians takes the stage here, from emerging artists to featured trios. Come early to grab a seat and tuck into a good thin-crust pizza. In summer, hang out in the lovely garden for a prelude.

In a 19th-century redbrick building that's been everything from a hotel to a bank to a bus station, this bustling bar opened in the 1970s. These days, it serves craft beers and specialty cocktails you can pair with booze-friendly appetizers, pizzas, and comfort food (or have a big ole rib eye with Bulleit bourbon peppercorn sauce). Open later than most downtown bars, BofA presents live music one night a week or more year-round.

This intimate, sophisticated little cocktail lounge with bar and booth seating is known both for creative cocktails and inventive small plates like lamb lollipops with mint-curry couscous and fried green tomatoes with corn relish.

The cocktail bar companion to Café Boulud, also in the Surrey hotel, Bar Pleiades is a livelier alternative to the more staid atmosphere at the Carlyle's Bemelmans Bar. The design is classic to a fault, employing a black-and-white theme that's positively Audrey Hepburn–esque. Drinks rotate seasonally, and there are tasty nibbles from the café kitchen. Though it doesn't have the same drink menu, the rooftop bar is a cozy aerie good for people- and skyscraper-watching.

This homey wine bar on the city's fast-growing East Side is a relaxed setting for sipping intense wines with funky biodynamic and natural labels cropping up often on the smart by-the-glass list.

The same year that the Brooklyn Bridge opened (1883), the Temple Court building welcomed its first visitors—though back then it was an office tower, not the lushly restored hotel it became in 2016 (The Beekman). The Bar Room is among the neighborhood's highlights, a splendid ground-floor lounge where libations are priced as much for the landmark setting and elegant furnishings as for their quality. Nevertheless, there's no other hotel bar in New York where you can gaze up a nine-story atrium lined with ornate ironwork while sipping a tipple; just reserve prime seats in advance.