2629 Best Bars in USA

Composer-lyricist hopefuls and established talents show their stuff until 2:30 am nightly at this convivial Theater District cabaret. Extroverts will be tempted by the piano bar's open-mic policy as well as by the other showroom's singers, comedians, and drag acts. As with many NYC cabarets, there's a two-drink minimum and cash is king. The attached restaurant Kitchen 46 ( www.kitchen46nyc.com) serves refined American and Italian dishes and creative cocktails.

Right next to Franklin Music Hall, Doom is a cocktail and mezcal bar with an epically delicious hot dog and a very good plate of nachos. The name refers to their inspiration from doom metal, but it's more easygoing than that would suggest. 

A 20-minute drive from downtown, this popular Tchoupitoulas Street hangout for grown-ups is a lively den of blue smoke. The selection of scotches, brandies, ports, and bourbons is outstanding. The nightly live music runs the gamut of New Orleans styles. A full calendar of performances is available online. The low-key patio offers a quiet retreat from the haze.

If you're looking to watch the big game in Hillsboro Village, look no further than Double Dogs. This brewpub has TV screens on TV screens, so they're sure to be broadcasting whichever sporting event you're after, which you can enjoy with a long list of craft beers. It's also a full restaurant, making it a nice spot for a casual meal.

Call it a self-aware dive bar—the Double D sits a short walk between the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and the Thomas & Mack Center and a long, long way from the upscale casino hotels. A sign inside says it nicely: \"Shut Up and Drink.\" Delicious decadence prevails here 24 hours a day; no wonder it was a favorite of the late food celebrity Anthony Bourdain and anyone else adventurous enough to enjoy a bacon martini. While it has been impacted by outside forces—namely the downtown migration of college students and the boho crowd—not a thing has changed within: this deliberately downscale bar awash in cleverly obscene graffiti has everything from great local bands to a truly eclectic jukebox. Our advice: go late, choke back the cigarette smoke, and try the (fabled) Ass Juice cocktail. A sister property, the Triple Down, has opened just west of the Strip as part of the Punk Rock Museum.

Notable for its European-style beers, including the rich Black Irish Stout and the refreshing Kölsch, Double Mountain also produces seasonal cherry-infused Kriek ales and a hoppy India Red Ale. The bustling, homey downtown taproom is also a great source for pizzas, salads, and sandwiches. There's a second location in Portland.

Part retro diner and part log cabin, the Doug Fir serves food and booze and hosts DJs and live rock shows from both up-and-coming and established bands most nights of the week. It adjoins the trendy Hotel Jupiter.

If you're looking for that everybody-knows-your-name vibe in L.A., look no further than The Douglas, where owners Dave and Johnny warmly wave to patrons, new and old alike, entering the front patio. The draft beers and hard kombuchas are affordable enough to keep you returning. Pair your beverages with casual, no-nonsense food, such as chicken wings (served with house-made blue cheese), crowd-favorite breakfast burritos, and homemade falafels. Be prepared to rub elbows with Dodgers fans on game night.

Delicious lagers, smoked beers, and funky barrel-aged beers are specialties of this Eurocentric craft brewery. The rustic taproom offers snacks and easier-drinking shandies, and the brewery tours go deep into the interesting processes Dovetail uses to create their beers.

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.

Drawing Room is the dive bar of the locals. Located in a dimly lit nondescript strip mall a few blocks away from the major bustle of Los Feliz, it's easy to miss. Inside, Drawing Room is bathed in a red glow with Chinese accents such as a large gold-painted dragon and a list of Chinese zodiac signs tacked to the wall. In a neighborhood of increasingly trendy bars, the prices for cocktails cannot be beat here.

This bar's 1940s lounge decor makes it a favorite with folks in Los Angeles. Another reason to wander in is the Blood and Sand cocktail, self-proclaimed to be "the world's most tantalizing drink." 

Once your eyes adjust to the romantically dim lighting, you'll find a curved bar, leather banquette seating, and polished-wood ceilings and walls in this Old Hollywood–themed bar in the Hotel deLuxe. The trendy cocktails are garnished with herbs culled from the hotel's garden.

Across from Hotel Contessa, Drink Texas serves tapas and has a large variety of signature Texas cocktails, wines by the bottle, and wines by the glass. They're also known for their long (2 pm to 9 pm) happy hour.

This north Austin neighborhood craft cocktail haven has all the comforts of a local community pub with all the sophistication of a sleek downtown bar. Creative signature libations and local beers dominate the beverage menu, while a tasty spread of snacks and savory bar food keeps guests pulled up to the cozy bar for a few hours. There's an open-air back patio that expands the seating of the intimate interior.

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.

This is one of Asheville's most exciting breweries, with a downtown taproom open nightly (and all-day weekends). Branding is wacky and irreverent, and beers manage to be both inventive and traditional (there are also ciders and meads). The taproom has a small patio as well.

The Dubliner is a rowdy Irish pub in which to hoist pints or throw darts.

A short walk from Union Station and Capitol Hill, this Washington institution in the Phoenix Park Hotel offers cozy paneled rooms, rich pints of Guinness, and other authentic fare. It's especially popular with locals and Hill staffers alike. While offering live Irish music seven nights a week, this charming spot never charges a cover, save for St. Patrick's Day.

You can dance the shag and take lessons from the pros at this classic club that hosts shag events throughout the year for dedicated and novice dancers. There's also an on-site café.

A local landmark, the city's oldest extant gay bar hosts lively karaoke parties, DJs and dancing on weekends, and boisterous drag shows.

One of the liveliest bars on Kauai is this beachside bar and restaurant at Kalapaki Beach. Contemporary Hawaiian music is performed daily 3:30--5:30 pm and 6--8 pm, and from 9:30 to 11:30 am during Sunday brunch.

“Farm-to-bar" cocktails, many powered by local artisanal spirits and organically farmed ingredients, are among this downtown bar’s specialties. The old-school-in-a-fresh-setting vibe suits the inventive libations, but the bartenders fashion the classics equally well. DJs get people dancing on many weekends.

Tampa Bay is seen by many as a flourishing craft beer hub, but, if it weren't for Dunedin Brewery, that might not be the case. It was the first of its kind in the area and continues to offer delicious brews to throngs of patrons. It doesn't hurt that it offers live music many nights of the week, either.

Just two blocks from the Sullivan’s Island beach, this friendly pub is a local favorite, often featuring Irish, folk, and blues music throughout the week. It's also home to the annual Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day.

No matter who's performing, the big, gay audience hoots and hollers in support of the often kitschy talents at this music-scene staple on busy Sheridan Square, open since 1951. Singers and comedians hold court in the cabaret theater, while those itching to take a shot at open mic head downstairs to the lively piano bar. Warmer seasons bring a most welcome outdoor seating area that offers some of the neighborhood's best people-watching.

This megasize entertainment complex is home to eight different bars and clubs, both indoor and outdoor. Their motto is "Eight Famous Bars, One Awesome Night," and they're right. You'll find pizza, dancing, live music, Rick's Key West, and the infamous Red Garter strip club.

For the best après-ski scene among both visitors and locals, head to this rollicking saloon complete with Wild West decor, including cowboy hats and buffalo skulls over the pinewood bar. When the ski slopes close, the bar is usually packed.