2610 Best Bars in USA

Adjacent to the Urban Cowboy bed-and-breakfast, Urban Cowboy Public House is one of East Nashville's trendiest cocktail bars. Serving up high-end libations and a thoughtfully designed food menu in a cozy backyard setting, Urban Cowboy caters to hip younger crowds. Most seating is outdoors, so plan accordingly.

Cowboys gather for line dancing and two-stepping on the wooden dance floor—but be forewarned, yee-hawers, it can get pretty wild on Western nights on the first Saturday of each month. There are also Latin, hip-hop, and drag revues but the real allure is in the creative drinks ("Gone Fishing"—served in a fishbowl, for example) and the breezy patio where love (or something like it) is usually in the air.

It's kid-friendly during the day, but this 14-hole indoor miniature golf course really lights up at night when you can enjoy a quality cocktail or beer and putt through the Transamerica Pyramid and those famous Painted Ladies. It's one of the city's favorite spots for a first or second date.

Two native Northern Californians are behind this microbrewery that makes beers, ales, and a dessert stout. Order brews and barbecue at the counter and choose seating indoors or out front in the spacious beer garden–like setting.

This new complex has live music, lit up bowling for $35--$45 per lane, TVs for the big game, and more. Drinks are social, including the four- to six-person cocktail "coolers," which is probably why the entire place is 21 and older after 7 pm. Snacks are fun noshes, such as waffle fries, grilled burgers, nachos, and a giant baked chocolate chip cookie.

One of the more intimate venues in town to catch live rock, alternative, funk, and other edgy performances, bi-level Valentine's is set along a pedestrian-only stretch of Ankeny Street, just down the block from iconic Voodoo Doughnuts. For a break from the inside action, enjoy your drink at one of the picnic tables out front.

One of the best clubs for jazz and blues in the capital region is the Van Dyck, at the entrance to the Stockade District. Sip a martini at the first-floor antique bar before heading upstairs to the intimate, attic-like performance space.

Upstairs from sister joint Byblos, this lively club and restaurant conjures up a Tokyo vibe, from its largely Japanese-themed menu to its emphasis on mod design. The real star, however, is the third-floor Skybar, offering panoramic views of the city.

Legendary Thursday night live music sets are the big draw at this ramshackle place in the Bywater's farthest reaches. At other times, the place is an exceptionally friendly neighborhood dive that is also a great place to watch the Saints' football games.

Another venue with a view, the Velvet Dog has three options for your entertainment pleasure. The martini bar in the Third Level Lounge is comfortably low-key, DJ-driven house, hip-hop, and Top 40 music thumps on the main floor, and the rooftop outdoor patio (open seasonally) provides a unique look at downtown.

Squeeze up the narrow stairway, and check out the eclectic local and national bands that play at this unassuming, tiny neighborhood joint. In addition to performers ranging from indie mainstays to critically touted up-and-comers, the venue regularly hosts comedy and variety shows.

The Velvet Tango Room serves martinis and cocktails straight out of the post-Prohibition era, amid plush booths at a mahogany bar. The crowd is a bit older, professional, and moneyed.

A huge patio with warming fire pits makes this casual bar and restaurant a prime après-ski location at the edge of the Snowmass Village Mall and the ski hill. Look for happy-hour specials and dozens of tequilas and mezcals to sample into the night.

For a taste of the tropics and the South Pacific along St. Leonard's Creek, wet your lips with an umbrella-topped cocktail at. Vera's offers weekly entertainment and no cover charge. With an exotic environment and fantastic location with open-air decks overlooking a deepwater marina and delightful river views—not to mention a swimming pool—it's well worth a visit, despite its difficult-to-find location west off Route 2/4.

It’s hard to decide whether the best thing about Verdugo Bar—which is a short distance away from Atwater Village in Glassell Park—is its selection of 20 craft beers on tap, its menu of refreshing and affordable cocktails, or the large beer garden furnished with picnic tables. Be warned: this place can get crowded, but it's the place to be on a hot summer day. 

A mature crowd hits the dance floor for Gloria Gaynor and the Bee Gees. Upscale professionals gather here for daily happy-hour specials and the lighter bar menu. The restaurant serves a full menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Popular arcade games, pinball, and '80s pop culture provide the entertainment at this nightspot, but no one under 21 is allowed after 7 pm. The fun extends to weekly theme nights, including free play and Super Smash Bros. tournaments. The food is decent but nothing special—although there are milk shakes.

The Chandelier Bar may be The Cosmopolitan's cocktail-venue claim to fame, but you shouldn't overlook the sleek Vesper Bar, the true mixologist space at the hotel. Name an ingredient, any ingredient, and the talented staff behind the bar can come up with a drink for you. Long-forgotten cocktail recipes are a specialty at this very modern square bar sitting alongside hotel registration.

This speakeasy-style bar is smack-dab in the middle of Kihei's nightlife scene, and it stands out for its lineup of specialty cocktails and incredibly friendly staff. It's the size of a living room, but mixology is given more consideration here than at other venues.

Amid the city's drab business district hides another entry in the growing list of craft cocktail bars. Named for Daniel Victory, one of the city's best mixologists (and an owner), it draws a young professional crowd to its dimly lit, vaguely industrial space for drinks that push the boundaries of traditional cocktails. A cozy room in the back is available for private parties and intimate sipping. At Drink Lab (343 Barrone St.), cocktail novices can take mixology classes from Victory's experts.

Art-deco-influenced floor-to-ceiling windows frame superb views on the 39th floor of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. You won't feel out of place here just getting a drink or two rather than dinner, but the small bites are usually delicious. It can get crowded at happy hour on weekdays and all night on weekends.

St. Tropez meets South Beach at this sceney, French resto-lounge with prolific alfresco seating in a spacious, tree-lined courtyard and personality-driven relaxation areas indoors (replete with swaying chandeliers, white tufted couches, and whimsically accessorized library shelves). Although Veuve Clicquot is a staple among patrons, the tropical-inspired cocktails and the selection from the in-house wine cellar, La Cave d'Azur, also impress.

Put on your favorite band T-shirt and head to the Village for a high-energy night. Rock, blues, soul, hip-hop, and other wide-ranging acts draw party fans to this funky shingled building in the heart of downtown. Live shows and DJ nights get the crowd dancing on the lit-up floor (à la Saturday Night Fever).

East Nashville neighborhood Riverside Village is one of the few remaining stretches in town that has managed to retain a true community feel. Part of the reason is Village Pub, a friendly neighborhood bar serving up craft beer and specialty mule cocktails alongside a menu heavy on soft pretzels and pretzel sandwiches. 

Much of Hillsboro Village is hip and manicured, but not The Villager Tavern, which remains one of the neighborhood's longest-running establishments. A true dive, The Villager, which is wildly popular among locals, serves up a limited menu of cheap beer and occasionally has potato chips for when you need something to munch on. The real draws are the front-room jukebox and the back-room dartboards, the latter of which draw serious competitors on any night of the week.

In the hip Hyde Park neighborhood, Vino Vino serves a carefully curated variety of wines, from Alsatian crémant (sparkling wine) to obscure Argentinean reds, on the perpetually evolving menu. The sleek amber wood floors and bar give a warmth to this wine bar and market, where you can peruse the wine wall in search of the perfect bottle. The Hyde Park staple will certainly bring some music to the table during SXSW.

A pianist-singer performs four hours of old-time music at the Wawona Hotel; call for a schedule of performances.

Music now fills the space of this 112-year-old former Masonic lodge. An impressive variety of bands and acts have floated through the 850-person venue, which offers mostly standing room. The box office is open weekdays between noon and 5 pm, as well as before all events (one hour before start time).