Bar entertainment in New England
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A
Excelsior
A trendy(ish), tame crowd of 30-something urbanites drink in style under a ceiling covered with sophisticated geometric tapestries. The room swims pleasantly in warm tones of dark teak and amber, the whole thing set around a glass -and-steel cube that contains the wine collection. Efficient, professional staff will hurry oysters to your table as you admire the Public Garden across the street. We lament the lame out-of-character flatscreen TV.
reviewed
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B
Doyle's Cafe
This Irish bar dates to 1882 and provides an unadulterated glimpse into some vanishing bits of Irish American culture. Distant pressed tin ceilings hang far above a completely worn out floor that was long ago covered in linoleum, itself almost entirely worn away. No tourists come here, just locals and off duty cops drinking from a huge selection of ryes. Also see an enormous (and ghastly) mural of Paul Revere high-fiving a minuteman.
reviewed
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C
River Gods
The decor of this small, cramped room (max 45 people) leans towards kitsch with a cluttered assortment of sparkly leather stools and gothic red velvet chairs. Art-house movies and documentary footage project silently on the wall while DJs spin from a second-story alcove. The DJs work their magic every night, with a few sessions weekly dedicated to new music.
reviewed
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D
Cellar
Though it doesn't look like much from the outside, descend the stairs to find a rockabilly bartender trying to avoid a conversation about the merits of 7-card stud and a room where the acoustics are decent enough that you won't have to shout. The space really is a cellar, and a wall of crumbling brick-and-enormous-stone blocks provides an interesting cross section of old foundation techniques.
reviewed
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E
West Deck
With lots of open-air seating at the end of a wharf, the West Deck attracts big crowds ordering bottles of beer from two separate bars. Most evenings you can find Rhode Island’s preferred form of entertainment – lame cover acts playing the tunes of stereotypical bands from the last half of the 1980s. The crowd ranges from young guns to dudes with overdeveloped retirement plans.
reviewed
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F
Drink
You’ve heard of wines by the glass? Well, this mod place with an adjoining wine shop also offers them by the ounce, all the better for teaching your palate a lesson, while an armada of inventive mojitos will sink those in search of stiffer treatment. Small plates of New England delicacies (like scallops wrapped in bacon, and mini crab cakes) complement the drinks admirably.
reviewed
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G
Model Cafe
This two-room joint and its loud jukebox attracts droves of precisely dressed hipsters and rockers who enjoy drinking cheap beer (sometimes stale) and crappy liquor while complaining about how either (1) the place is too much of a cool kid haunt or (2) about how the placed used to be cool. Either way, it's a scene near closing time and the pool table is too close to the wall.
reviewed
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H
Casablanca
Below the Brattle Theatre, this Harvard Sq classic has long been the hangout of film fans, local literati and other arty types. Regulars skip the formal dining room and slip in the back door to the boisterous bar. A colorful mural depicting Rick’s Café sets the stage for innovative Mediterranean delights, including a wonderful wine list and great selection of meze.
reviewed
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I
Caffé Paradiso
The Saturday-morning regulars are so dedicated that some painstakingly organize their business calendars so they don't miss their spot at the counter. As he has for years, Luigi masterfully attends to the espresso machine and pours neat cognacs with efficient and understated flourish. It's a good spot to watch overseas soccer matches. Excellent desserts.
reviewed
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J
Silvertone
Black-and-white photos and retro advertising posters create a nostalgic atmosphere at this still-trendy pub and grill. The old-fashioned comfort food is always satisfying (the mac and cheese comes highly recommended), as is the cold beer drawn from the tap. The only downside is that the service suffers when the place gets crowded – and it does get crowded.
reviewed
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Wild Colonial
Come inside the basement level of a 19th-century warehouse to find a spacious tavern with a pool table and two dart boards. A patchwork of walls appears to use every masonry device available, from giant rocks to cobblestones to crumbing brick – so crumbing that you can look through a gaping hole behind the bar to see an office beyond.
reviewed
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K
White Horse Tavern
For some, this is a fun bar with 'great' music like Dave Matthews. For others, it's a meat market with a no-tank-top dress code. Either way, they have a stupid rope outside to imply non-existent exclusivity. The best time to visit is when it's really crowded, as the masses provide a vibe of excitement in an otherwise humdrum mega bar.
reviewed
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L
Vox Populi
Vox Populi ‘Urban chic’ is the goal of this bistro and martini bar. The effect is inviting, especially in the 1st-floor fireplace lounge. The eclectic menu represents fusion at its most extreme; if you just come for drinks, you’re bound to find something you like on the list of creative martinis and classic cocktails.
reviewed
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Lili Marlene’s
If you've dropped food on your pants, fear not – this bar is so dark that no one will notice the stain. Here, Atwells Ave looses the Italian feel and becomes either a Victorian parlor or a bordello with imitation tiffany lamps casting a faint glow on red walls set above rich wainscoting. Sit at the bar or in leather booths.
reviewed
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M
Red Fez
Packed full of Hasbro copywriters who work on the packaging for Transformers action figures, this dark, spooky bar makes stiff drinks and fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches. What little light exists is red, by which short RISD girls with interesting hair draw crap on napkins. Upstairs is cooler than downstairs.
reviewed
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N
Squealing Pig
This pub is a fries-and-gravy kind of place (on the menu) that attracts dweeby guys in long-sleeved dress shirts and aspiring engineers being trained at nearby Wentworth. The place looks ye olde English, though the wainscoting is fakey. Tunes are best characterized by 'Desperado', the Eagle's masterful ballad.
reviewed
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O
Rose & Crown
This is the place in town to go for dancing; it’s a friendly bar/restaurant that clears the tables at 10pm and turns into a dancefloor. Music varies with the night, anything from jazz and blues to DJs and rock, so call ahead to see what’s happening. The crowd tends to be mostly 30-somethings.
reviewed
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P
Tavern on the Water
Set at the end of the pier behind the Navy Yard, this understated tavern offers one of the finest views of the Boston Harbor and city skyline. The food is not so memorable, but it’s a fine place to go to catch some rays on your face, the breeze off the water, and an ice cold one from behind the bar.
reviewed
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Q
Clery's
Big, popular and very sanitized, Cleary's attracts droves of heads accustomed to wearing baseball hats to its weekly trivia night. Some criticize it for fake Irishness, and poor acoustics turn collective conversation into cacophony. Emblematic song played during visit: U2's 'She Moves in Mysterious Ways.'
reviewed
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R
Reel Bar
Among the trendy spots in Allston, this bar ranks among the cleanest and most laid-back. So nuzzle up to the bar, nurse a reasonably priced beer from an unusually good selection and ask someone to pass you the joystick for a remote-controlled Galaga arcade experience. Odd movies often play on a screen.
reviewed
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S
Coolidge Corner Clubhouse
A tiny closet of a sports bar, the 'three Cs' somehow manages to fit several dozen TVs onto its limited wall space, and you can reliably watch almost every major college and professional football match. Though the vibe is great for fanatics, the crowd is often uncomfortably large for the small space.
reviewed
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T
Sister Sorel
A pleasantly cracked concrete slab forms the floor of this small bar, whose brick walls and bay window compete against images of roosters in various stages of abstraction in a historic vs. artistic battle. A few patio tables provide sidewalk seating in front of the charming building. No TV!
reviewed
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U
Noir
Nearly elegant with artful red lights and summertime terrace seating, Boston's ubiquitous flatscreen emerges to sabotage the atmosphere, analogous to the reasonably well-dressed ladies being attended to by men failing to hold up their end of the style bargain. It's in the Charles Hotel.
reviewed
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V
R&D
Take an odyssey through Frank Gehry's Stata Center (MIT's Building 32 -the giant angular thing that looks like a pile of windsails) to enjoy style cred in this quiet bar and restaurant, which has a cool skylight. Clue: it's on the forth floor. Other clue: some elevators only go down.
reviewed
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W
Independent
The dark, inviting interior and Irish-accented barkeep are the obvious appeals of this Union Sq star. Above and beyond your typical pub grub, the food is good enough that Boston residents come out to Somerville to eat here. You can take bus No 86 from Harvard or No 91 from Central.
reviewed