2610 Best Bars in USA

Despite being a small, standing-room only venue, The Pub Station attracts semi-big acts like Trevor Hall as well as the best local bands. There are dance floors right below the two stages and a bar where you can sit and enjoy wine and local beers and ciders on tap. Check out the website for the music lineup.

At Puck, bands play in the 120-seat indoor music venue, and eaters and drinkers sit in the bar or out on the patio in season.

A rare, old-school watering hole in TriBeCa, Puffy's has been pouring drafts, shots, and plenty more strong drinks since the 1940s. Expect to find good prices (including daily 4–8 pm happy hours), filling sandwiches, sports on TV, a darts lane, and friendly atmosphere inside at the bar or tables, or outside in summer.

This restaurant and entertainment complex offers bowling, billiards, karaoke, Giant Jenga, pinball, Skee-Ball, and other diversions. After you've worked up an appetite, dine on updated pub grub and sip well-chosen craft beers, wine, specialty cocktails, or boozeless beverages.

Punch Bowl Social—which has three locations in California and more across the country—is essentially three different concepts all wrapped up in one wildly entertaining time. It's a cocktail bar, boasting favorites like mules and punch bowls (it's in the name, after all), along with modern twists and themed shots. It's also a diner, with fare that ranges from chicken-and-waffles to pretzel bites and cilantro-honey wings. And most important, it's game central, complete with darts, pinball, a bowling alley, and yes, there's karaoke. Don't want to jeopardize your bowling savvy? Try one of the zero-proof cocktails or NA beers instead. Kids are okay until 10 pm when the whole space becomes 21 and over.

A launchpad for the likes of Robin Williams and Ellen DeGeneres, this medium-sized club books some of the nation's top comedy talents.

Wine lovers come for the massive selection—the menu boasts 90 wines by the glass and some 600 bottles—but this place deserves props for its design, too. Despite the cavernous quality of the space and floor-to-ceiling windows, all eyes are immediately drawn to the 20-foot tower ringed by a spiral staircase that showcases thousands of bottles. Full lunch and dinner menus feature American and Pacific Northwest fare—the lobster mac ‘n’ cheese is especially tasty—and servers know their ideal pairings.

This is a dive bar. If you don’t like dive bars, you won’t like this place. But if you do happen to like them, you won’t feel mere affection for the Purple Orchid; you'll feel something closer to love. It's also a tropical tiki bar, though the tiki drinks are often sipped by those who are new to the joint—if you want to drink like the regulars, go for a beer or a gin and tonic. Cheap pool and tiki-themed jukebox selections add to the kitsch. Happy hour is a great value by L.A. standards.

What's better than minigolf, snacks, and drinks? That combination at any time of the year! This bar features tech-forward 9-hole courses (and you don't need a pencil to keep score) complete with hazard traps. Before or after your (approximately) 30 minutes of play, nosh on some shareable apps, flatbreads, or sandwiches. Keep in mind that Puttshack is 21 and over after 8 pm.

In a city known for icing out strangers, this classic European beer hall tries to get them to cozy back up with its communal tables, frosty mugs of beer from 30 taps, and a menu of hearty drinking foods, like pretzels, poutine, and burgers. Everybody's invited to the party here, including kids up until 10 pm.

A combination wine bar, tasting room, and small inn, this popular hangout on a bluff above the Fresno River serves about 100 wines by the glass or flight, plus microbrews and imported beers. Live music plays Thursday–Saturday nights in summer.

Drag fans, assemble: for a very queer, very good time, head to this inclusive performance space and bar. Live drag shows feature local talent and nationally known queens up to five days a week, and other nights, the calendar fills with viewing parties for RuPaul's Drag Race, queer burlesque shows, and "queeraoke." Big name events can get crowded, so reservations are recommended for large groups, and smaller ones should plan on lines.

The drinks are stiff and complex at this sophisticated bar tucked inside the Jefferson Hotel, and the mood is a quiet celebration of all things civilized. The dimly lit, two-room, wood-paneled art deco space provides an intimate atmosphere made even more welcoming by the friendly and expert service of the bartenders. The drinks come with a price tag, but it's worth it, given the attention to detail and service.

Capitol Hill's original gastropub has friendly bartenders, a large selection of beers on tap (with the West Coast and Belgium heavily represented), an extensive whiskey list, and a menu of rib-sticking food, which you can enjoy at the long bar or at a table on either of the two floors of the industrial-chic space. A pretzel and some French fries are good ways to start—then you can choose from beef tartare with pumpernickel crisps and perfect marrow bones with baguette and onion jam. Heartier mains, like the signature wild boar sloppy Joe, are available at dinnertime. A pared-down pub menu is also available from 4 pm to midnight or later. The folks here take their libations seriously, so chat up the bartenders about their favorites.

Behind the tinted windows of this dog-friendly corner bar, find a red-vinyl-clad neighborhood hangout and stylish social hub with a throwback ambience. In addition to crawfish boils on Friday afternoons (in season), the place runs offbeat specials—on Monday night, for example, 10 bucks gets you a shot and a haircut—and it's prime real estate on holidays like Mardi Gras and Halloween.

While the food is decent, this restaurant is better known as the favorite watering hole of University of Maryland Terrapins fans. The walls are covered with license plates and gas-pump memorabilia, except the "wall of fame," hung with jerseys from the university's past athletes. Signed floorboards from the 2002 NCAA Men's basketball Final Four hang in the terrace area, where diners and drinkers can watch games on mounted television sets. Students and alumni head to this hangout for beer, chili, wings, and sandwiches; the bar packs in fans after home games.

It can be boisterous at this sprawling beer hall, where plenty of communal tables foster a convivial atmosphere—and the occasional dancing on tables. The European beers on tap wash down hearty foods like schnitzel, goulash, and giant pretzels from the kitchen, or brats and currywurst from the grill. There's live music on weekends, for the afternoon and nighttime crowds.

For some true local flavor, head to this funky place for live music, an artsy vibe, and a cocktail. Performances happen through the week, but Tuesday night is arguably the most fun, as Honky Tonk bands blaze. The cool crowd dances into next door's Light Club Lamp Shop late on Friday and Saturday nights.

This comfortable venue is versatile enough to be closed off for ticketed concerts or opened up to host free lounge acts and casino promotional events. Sight lines are great, and it's really the only game on this side of town for a diverse range of local and mid-level concerts that range from rock to country and just about everything in between.

Chicago hipsters and indie rockers have made Rainbo Club their unofficial meeting place. Apart from the working photo booth wedged into a corner, the stripped-down hangout is pretty barren, but drinks are dirt cheap and the crowd is loyal.

Being located next door to a long-running music venue, the Roxy, helped cement this bar and restaurant's status as a legendary watering hole for musicians of The Who, Guns N' Roses, Poison, and KISS. Many others have passed through the doors, including their entourages and groupies.

Faces of early-20th-century newsboys stare out from a 20-foot photo mural covering one wall at this 1906 newspaper office, artfully restored into a gastropub. The bar features a great selection of Belgian beers (Obama's pint glass from a 2008 campaign visit is enshrined above the bar) and thoughtful wine and cocktail lists. In addition to the three-floor bar, the Times family includes a coffeehouse and pizza takeout shop.

Rams Head Live showcases national and international musicians, as well as local talent. It's part of the Power Plant Live! complex, just steps from the Inner Harbor.

The hosts nationally known folk, rock, jazz, country, and bluegrass groups. Past performers include Lyle Lovett, Ralph Stanley, and Linda Thompson. Dinner combinations are available; the tavern is no-smoking.

On Sixth Street’s "grown-up" west side, this multilevel bar has a tendency to get a little rowdy on weekends but manages to keep a steady flow of young execs popping in throughout the week. Large-screen TVs, upbeat DJ tunes, and an outdoor patio with a great view of the city skyline make this a perfect place for large gatherings with friends. It's also near a few choice spots to grab a bite to eat. It's currently only open on weekends and during Longhorn and Patriots football games. 

This good Cajun restaurant is also a salle de danse, with music and dancing seven nights a week.

As the name indicates, this is a rowdy—and sexually charged—leather-and-Levi's gay bar. It's two blocks from Bourbon Street and is open around the clock.

With their wine-making and -tasting room facility in downtown San Antonio, this urban winery specializes in local wine education and serving only Texas wines. It usually features six wines on tap and dozens of bottles. They also produce their own wines.