2629 Best Bars in USA

The upscale lounge at the Sierra Nevada Resort is where locals gather for happy hour by the fire. 

An eclectic spot on North Rampart Street, this brick-walled room with private nooks and intimate corner booths looks like a cross between a dive and a lounge on the Riviera. The book-length drinks menu, with everything from pre-Prohibition classics to modern creations, practically recounts the history of the cocktail. The talented staff can turn out any of those offerings with aplomb.

Part-owned by Modern Family star and SLC native Ty Burrell, this trendy cocktail lounge with cozy banquette seating stands out for its extensive selection of spirits and Prohibition Era–inspired cocktails. Next door, sister establishment Beer Bar is a great place to sample local brews.

Beer lovers will want to check out the brewery's taproom, open daily from 2 to 8 pm. Under state law, patrons can only consume up to 36 ounces in one visit (that's for breweries only).

Locals love the view of Downtown Dallas from the outdoor patio at the Belmont Hotel's BarBelmont.

Don’t be deterred if you walk through the door and see a few guys in barber chairs getting haircuts. Just head to the “janitor” door in the back of the room and pass through. The next room—gorgeous and high-ceilinged with crystal chandeliers—reflects Las Vegas’s current fascination with speakeasies, though they were seldom this opulent. There’s bottle service, shooters, and “spiked juices” such as the Bonnie & Clyde, which is Bulleit rye, Cointreau, Aperol, and lemon juice and serves two in a souvenir flask. And if you want to, you really can get a haircut, shave, or facial.

This Highland Park outpost of an NYC institution started an arcade bar revolution in Los Angeles, serving elevated yet accessible (and more importantly, affordable) cocktails and American fare amidst rows of beloved retro arcade games and pinball machines. Barcade has built a community here, holding events like a pinball league to encourage loyal patrons to form bonds with like-minded individuals. You may want to block off the entire evening to visit or revisit classics like Pac-Man, Marvel VS Capcom 2, and Mortal Kombat 2.

Gen Xers will certainly get nostalgic at this mostly '80s video arcade, featuring classics Ms. Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. However, any generation can enjoy the 8- and 16-bit gameplay, or the row of pinball machines, as long as they're adults, since this place doesn't typically cater to children—unless it's a special family day listed on their website's calendar. As the portmanteau of \"bar\" and \"arcade,\" it's very much as good a beer bar as it is a retro arcade, specializing in dozens of rotating taps from microbreweries around the country. However, this original location has no proper kitchen, so there's no bar food—only bagged snacks are available—so plan on grabbing a bite elsewhere.

The first McMenamins brewpub, the Barley Mill Pub, is filled with Grateful Dead memorabilia and concert posters. It's a fun place for families.

This gigantic space can resemble either a raucous club or a sports bar, depending on what night you're there. But the drinks are strong and reasonably priced, and the reclaimed wood decor makes for an intimate atmosphere, even when the DJs are spinning mostly Top 40.

Al Capone and other Prohibition-era legends once sidled up to this hip nightspot's carved wooden bar. Rock to DJ music and sit indoors, or head out to the pet-friendly patio. Some menu items pay homage to California's early days.

Only a small plaque on a bland concrete wall in a nondescript block of Penn Quarter identifies one of Washington’s most sophisticated experiences. Step inside to see José Andrés’s cocktail lab for his acclaimed chain of restaurants that looks the part, with white-on-white furnishings and mixologists in lab attire often seen pouring smoking libations out of beakers. A metal notebook features a menu of more than 100 alcohol-centered liquid experiments grouped by spirit. Make it a show with drinks such as the tequila-based Cedar and Agave, in which a glass and block of ice are infused with the smell of burning wood, table-side, or the Floral Cloud, a fruity gin-based beverage delivered in a hibiscus haze. Soak up the chemical reactions with snacks such as savory mini waffles.

Part of the Sea Creatures mini-empire led by chef Renee Erickson, Barnacle is a narrow bar adjacent to the popular restaurant The Walrus and the Carpenter. It invariably collects people waiting for tables, but with a beautiful copper-topped bar, tiled walls, and plates of oysters, cured meats, and fish to go with the aperitivos, it’s a great place to drink and snack even if you aren’t planning to dine next door.

Open since 1920, Barney's Beanery is an iconic spot along the original Route 66 that drew legendary regulars Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison (among others) to its doorstep. There's an extensive menu, but all anyone talks about is the famous chili and the list of more than 85 beers. There are plenty of distractions, including three pool tables, a foosball table, and arcade games. There's great trivia on Tuesday.

This dimly lit whiskey bar is popular with the local service industry crowd. The bar boasts more than 250 types of the spirit, several cocktails on tap, and rotating nightly food pop-ups that pair well with imbibing.

In the center of Congress Street's bustling nightlife scene, Barrelhouse South offers live music most nights of the week. Packed on the weekends with an enthused mix of bohemian and professional twenty- to thirtysomethings, the crowds dance the night away to bands playing covers and originals that range from funk and R&B to rock. Shoot a round of pool at the second bar in the basement.

This small venue, which seats 100 people, hosts indie acts, emerging talent, and holiday events. It's one of two venues under the Basement umbrella (their other venue is The Basement East in East Nashville, close to Little Five Points). Entry is generally affordable, ranging from free to $20.

New Yorkers love a speakeasy. Hidden behind a clandestine door inside jewel box–size Stone Street Coffee, 1920s-esque Bathtub Gin is a dark, brooding yet sleek spot for elevated and creative libations using unlikely ingredients like quail eggs, salt-and-vinegar potato chips, and graham crackers. Not surprisingly, the bar stocks an impressive array of gin, but cocktails are also made with rum, vodka, whisky, and other spirits. There's a food menu of bar bites like chicken sliders and charcuterie.

The speakeasy trend has produced some lovely, intimate bars, including this one, which is reached via a wooden door in an alley next to the Humphrey Apartments (it's actually in the basement of the building). The tiny, shabby-chic bar is a laid-back spot to settle into a couch for a few drinks. Note that despite being a pain in the neck to find, the bar still attracts the hard-partying Belltown crowd on weekends, so go midweek for maximum serenity.

At Baton Show Lounge, boys will be girls. The lip-synching revues with female impersonators have catered to curious out-of-towners and bachelorette parties since 1969. Some of the regular performers have become Chicago cult figures. The more the audience tips, the better the show gets, so bring your bills.

In addition to teaching workshops on improvisation, this group based in a renovated warehouse stages performances such as "Guilty Pleasures: Improvised Soaps" and "Spontaneous Broadway." As is always the case for improv, the quality varies, but it's reliably fun. Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door and have a suggested price range of $5 to $50 depending on what each patron feels comfortable paying.

Once a jewelry store, the stunning space that now houses this music venue, tapas restaurant, and bar feels like stepping into the most garish of Roaring '20s parties. An elevated stage lets jazz and pop artists survey the spirited scene below as patrons rise from leather chairs to click across the white tile floor to the room-length bar, where top-notch mixologists produce an amalgam of inventive cocktails.

At Bayou Bar & Grill Cajun specialties and lots of beer are served on an outdoor patio.

Claim a seat on the sprawling multilevel outdoor patio at this low-key neighborhood pub and sip a pint from the great selection of beers. Multiple TVs show all types of sports, and the bar occasionally hosts trivia and other events. Next door, and sharing an adjoining courtyard, is a wine garden offering gourmet meat and cheese boards, snacks, as well as popular wines on tap.

Houston's largest entertainment complex, is a 130,000-square-foot, two-story center of evening activity, with restaurants, clubs, a movie theater, and a live music venue.

In addition to its selection of Alaska and Pacific Northwest craft beers, "The Pub" serves burgers, steaks, sandwiches, and fish-and-chips. There's a stage for live music; nonmusical diversions include two pool tables, a dart area, and plenty of wide-screen TVs—and there's a great view.

Live music, DJs, theme nights, and drink specials keep this longtime outdoor hotspot, about 8 miles west of Southampton, going all afternoon into the night Thursday–Sunday during the summer. A $10 cover is charged. The on-site restaurant, Shuckers Lobster Bar (dinner Friday, lunch and dinner weekends), offers a lobster feast, quick bites, salads, and a kids menu.

Set amid the handful of boutiques and galleries that make up Salishan Marketplace on Gleneden's Siletz Bay, this cozy taproom with polished-wood communal tables and a long bar produces about a dozen exceptional beers at any given time, from a Bavarian-style helles (pale) lager to a dark and formidable oatmeal stout. Soft pretzels and wood-fired pizzas are served, too.

This far-east-side intimate ex-ballroom, with its creaky hardwood floor and cathedral ceiling, hosts up-and-coming national and regional music acts of all kinds. It's not uncommon to hear jazz, Afro-beat, punk, and folk all in one weekend. Bands that draw smaller crowds play the Beachland Tavern, next to the old ballroom. A small parking lot adjacent to the ballroom and tavern fills up fast, but there are plenty of spaces along Waterloo and neighboring side streets.

Beantown Pub cleverly posits itself to be "the only pub in the world where you can drink a cold Sam Adams while viewing a cold Sam Adams." And it's true, since this casual bar sits across from the Granary Burying Ground where the Founding Father is interred. The bar is always lively no matter the time of day. It's a fine place to watch multiple sports events on television, shoot pool (bring some quarters!), or people-watch. There's also a standard pub menu, usually served until midnight. Fun fact: Beantown Pub cooks up baked beans and brown bread, a traditional Boston dish. No kids are allowed after 6 pm.