2610 Best Bars in USA

This giant shed (quite literally—its exterior facade is rusty corrugated steel) showcases up-and-coming talent and national names in blues, rock, jazz, country, and R&B in its 2,000-capacity concert hall and on stages in its Southern-style restaurant with patio. The Sunday gospel brunch is a great deal, and there's free live music on the deck every evening during summer.

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, blues rarely makes the bill at this Decatur Street link in the national chain. The midsize venue embraces rock, country, soul, funk, and world music, and it's a reliable destination for national touring acts. The restaurant serves dinner before shows, and the Voodoo Garden, in the adjoining courtyard, hosts outdoor live music on weekends. The Parish, a more intimate offshoot upstairs from the main house, books edgier, up-and-coming groups.

The restaurant serves up live blues performances and rib-sticking Mississippi Delta cooking all week long, and there's often a jam session on the front porch. The attached concert hall has showcased name performers and has found a faithful audience tuned into indie acts. Come hungry for the à la carte weekend brunch and unlimited Sunday Gospel Brunch buffet, where there's always a show and all-you-can-eat Southern food.

History and great cocktails collide at one of the city's most legendary bars. There are rumors that President Warren G. Harding met his final fate here, but other accounts say that happened across the street at the Palace Hotel. Today, over a century after pouring its first drink, it's a favorite watering hole for the Financial District happy hour set, then a quieter, casual date spot later on. The cocktails are prepared with the same care and quality as at its flashier, newer peers.

Come here to have a dueling-piano bar and high-energy live show experience—and don't hesitate to sing along. They have a big selection of cocktails, shots, and beers. It's a great place to book parties and group events.

Among the performers at this fun spot are dualing pianists who encourage the crowd to belt out popular songs. Walk-ins are welcome, but weekend table reservations can be purchased in advance. Table reservations range from $60 to $275 for a table of four ($40 of which can be applied to your bill); semiprivate and private party packages for bigger groups also available.

This New Orleans favorite has long been a premier venue and anchor of the Warehouse District club and music scene. With a great corner location in a converted warehouse, it hosts larger rock, funk, blues, Latin, and hip-hop shows nearly every night on the main stage, as well as comedy and burlesque shows. A side bar called The Den books more intimate events and offers a full bar with pub fare served until late.

A local institution, the Howling Dog specializes in live blues and rock and roll. A party crowd of college students, airline pilots, tourists, miners, and bikers assembles for the cocktails, bar food, and music. Shows are played on a red-carpet stage acquired after Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II's visit to Fairbanks in 1984.

Although it's considered something of a dive—albeit a lovable one—this well-established bar (circa 1946) has a loyal local following that ranges from esteemed jurists to nose-ring-wearing night owls. It's known for its strong drinks and its fantastic jukebox.

Billing itself as a "Continental tavern," this two-story River North hot spot pays homage to Ernest Hemingway's travels with classic cocktails and eclectic, globetrotting decor—think Moroccan tiled walls, vintage books, dramatic oil paintings, brass light fixtures, and tables made from reclaimed wood. Small plates are designed with communal dining in mind, though you may want to keep your perfectly balanced Sazerac all to yourself.

The city's oldest restaurant (est. 1879) is notable for its old-fashioned feel and iconic Spanish coffee cocktail, which is set aflame at your table. The old bar in the back has great character. Huber's is on the ground floor of the historic Oregon Pioneer Building, which is now the snazzy Hi-Lo Hotel.

With its weathered barnwood exterior, this music venue, owned by Chad and Natasha Hudson, gives the appearance of being a town fixture—which it is. Home to live music performances onstage six days per week, with a music studio and place where locals take lessons, it’s a great place to stop and stay awhile, nursing a beer.

Hawaii's oldest and best-known gay-friendly nightspot offers panoramic views of Diamond Head by day and high-energy club music by night. Check out the all-day happy hour, which starts at 10 am. There's an abundance of drink specials on weekends and discounted pitchers of beer and cocktails on Sunday. Food options include nachos, tacos, pork sliders, and more. Celebrity patrons have included Elton John, Adam Lambert, and Dolly Parton.

From April through November, this dining and drinking oasis surrounded by water hosts the city's best outdoor jazz, folk, and light-rock concert series and is the stomping ground of such musicians as the Cowboy Junkies, Kenny G, Dolly Parton, and Chris Isaak. The rest of the year the music moves indoors for first-rate jazz (on Sunday), blues, classic rock, and more.

One of Anchorage's biggest bars, Humpy's Great Alaskan Alehouse serves up rock, blues, and folk several nights a week, along with dozens of microbrews (more than 40 beers are on tap) and tasty pub grub. Check the website calendar for the full spread of bands, open mics, and trivia nights. You can grab one of Humpy's delicious halibut burgers on your way out of town—the company has a satellite restaurant in Terminal B of the Anchorage airport.

A young energetic gay and straight crowd comes to this club-scene mainstay for bar grub, drag bingo, bottle service, and Speedo-sporting studs.

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.

One of the best-known queer night clubs in Chicago, Hydrate combines a relaxed front lounge with a late-night, high-energy dance floor in the back. Weekly events include DJs, drag shows, and viewing parties for RuPaul's Drag Race when the show is airing. Sundays see the post-brunch crowd stopping in for drinks and then dancing well into the night. 

Formerly called ImprovOlympic, I.O. is the city's home for long-form improvisation. The signature piece is "The Harold," in which a team of improvisers explores a single audience suggestion throughout a series of stories and characters until they all eventually weave back together to fit with the original audience idea. There's no drink or age minimum. Seating is first-come, first-served, so be sure to arrive early, especially for weekend shows.

Tucson's most popular gay bar, IBT's has rock and disco DJs, karaoke, live music, go-go dancers, or drag shows nightly.

Famous for poolside drag-queen shows (with some of the most beautiful queens anywhere), this is one of Fire Island's most famous gay bars, but it's something that anyone with an open mind and a wild sense of adventure should experience at least once in a lifetime. Grab a cocktail, lounge by the pool (or buy a day pass to jump in), and enjoy the show.

Thanks to the miracle of refrigeration, this is Orlando's coolest bar—literally and figuratively. Fifty tons of pure ice are kept at a constant 22°F and have been cut and sculpted by world-class carvers into a chilly sanctuary of tables, sofas, chairs, and a bar. The staff loans you a thermal cape and gloves (upgrade to a faux fur coat for an extra $10), and, when you enter the frozen hall, your drink is served in a glass made of crystal clear ice. There's no cover charge if you just want to hang out in the nonfrozen Fire Lounge or the outdoor Polar Patio, but you will pay a cover (starting at $15 with upgrade packages available) to spend as much time as you can handle in the subfreezing ICEBAR. There's no beer or wine inside; it's simply too cold.

One of the foremost craft brewers in the state boasts a large and cheery outdoor terrace and an attractive indoor taproom where you can view the company's massive brewing vats. Order a flight for a chance to sample the eclectic offerings, and be sure to include the signature Bootjack IPA in the mix. Warm pretzels and bowls of chili are great food choices.

Ever tried Chartreuse? Its signature acid-green color comes from its more than 130 plants and herbs that macerate in alcohol for eight hours. After the distillation process, it's placed in oak casks. Made only by French Carthusian monks since the 18th Century, this strong vegetal brew can transport you to another time after just one sip. Idle Hour is one of the few bars in America that serve the liquor: its arty, funky, and slightly musty ambiance is the perfect backdrop to such a unique flavor. A popular spot for hipsters and yuppies who gravitate toward the unusual, thi bar hosts some of the city's best indie DJs.

Drinking an old fashioned inside a whisky barrel-shaped bar might seem gimmicky, but Idle Hour, which opened back in 1941 on the outskirts of NoHo, is actually a history lesson in SoCal architecture. As the car became king and people stopped walking in L.A. as the song says, businesses turned to programmatic architecture, where structures take the form of their product or service, to grab attentions as they whiz by. Most of these are long gone but 1933 Group, known for their era-themed establishments and preservation projects, restored the cask, installed another programmatic example—a pipe-smoking bulldog—on a great patio, added a kitchen to pump out stick-to-the-ribs food (like burgers, tenders, and sloppy tots), and stocked up on quality craft beers.

Occupying a sleek, contemporary corner space on Division Street, Imperial carries a regularly changing rotation of about a dozen connoisseur-worthy microbrews and has shelves filled with hundreds of additional bottles of craft beers. While you ponder your beer options, you can order in takeout from any of the several restaurants on the same block.

A remodeled former dive where locals like to drink, shoot pool, and meet singles, the Imperial retains mounted moose and bison heads and other vestiges of its divey decor. Other noteworthy features include the original pressed-tin ceiling and what is reputed to be the longest bar in Alaska. The Imperial Grill, located within the bar, serves food until 11 pm on weekends.

Seating is cabaret-style at the comfortable Improv Comedy Club & Restaurant. Attentive servers bustle throughout the club to deliver drinks, but they cause little distraction. The Improv's familiar brick wall on stage and white-hot spotlight emphasizes the entertainment but also reminds the audience that the comedy business can be lonely at times. Dinner is served before the first show every night. For shows featuring nationally known comedians, buy tickets online in advance. Even if performers are regional acts, you should arrive early or be prepared to sit extreme stage right or stage left.

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.