boston-best

Bars & Clubs

  • New Addition

    Cafe ArtScience

    The region’s Mr. Wizard of mixology, Todd Maul, plies the cocktail craft with greater creativity than ever at this new Kendall Square venture, brainchild of food innovator and Harvard engineer David Edwards…...

    New Addition - Cafe ArtScience Photo Credit: Diego Navarro
  • Beer Selection

    Row 34

    The Island Creek team’s Fort Point seafood slinger (which just spawned a twin in Portsmouth, New Hampshire) has billed itself as a “workingman’s oyster bar,” but it’s beer director Megan Parker-Gray who does a bang-up job with the ambitious beer program…...

    Beer Selection - Row 34 Photo Credit: Diego Navarro
  • Best-Kept Secret

    MAST’s Bottle-Locker Program

    Who needs BYOB when you can LYOB? L for “leave,” that is: This downtown trattoria has 27 liquor lockers where regulars can store unfinished spirits or wines until their next visit…...

  • Breakthrough

    More Liquor Licenses in Boston

    Bostonians love to complain about the red tape that reins in our nightlife scene…...

  • Dance Club

    Whisky Saigon

    Turn down for what? In an era and city where big-room nightclubs are scarce, this downtown destination keeps alive the halcyon heyday of fog machines and laser lights…...

    Dance Club - Whisky Saigon Photo Credit: Natasha Moustache
  • Dive Bar

    Silhouette Lounge

    There are plenty of college bro bars one might stumble into in Allston—and some fine beer bars, too—but for our money, one of the best watering holes in Rock City is the Sil’…...

  • Drinks with a View

    Pier 6

    Tavern on the Water had its divey Charlestown charm. But the boxy tri-level building’s new inhabitant retains the killer harborside views while offering a much sexier look throughout…...

  • Gay Scene

    Hot Mess! Sundays at Candibar

    If your Saturday night wasn’t wild enough, come to this recently revamped club for sloppy weekend seconds, courtesy of a weekly party hosted by New England’s longtime LGBT nightlife kingpin Chris Harris…...

    Gay Scene - Hot Mess! Sundays at Candibar Photo Credit: Hildenbrand Photography
  • Hotel Bar

    Highball Lounge

    No longer your grandparents’ lame, lamé-covered special-occasion joints, hotel bars have become some of Boston’s best spots to find top-shelf beverage programs and equally intoxicating vibes…...

  • Industry Hangout

    Tavern Road

    All roads lead here…...

  • Irish Bar

    The Druid

    This cozy Inman pub is home to the best Guinness pour this side of Dublin…...

    Irish Bar - The Druid Photo Credit: Patrick Marasco
  • Lesbian Scene

    Flannel Takeover Company

    The Welcoming Committee (née Guerrilla Queer Bar) has been taking over traditionally “straight” bars in this city for almost a decade, gathering LGBTQ revelers to flash mob, say, some Fenway sports bar and make it more fabulous for one night…...

  • Neighborhoods: Allston/Brighton

    Lone Star Taco Bar

    Lone Star has done for taquerias in this town what sister restaurant and next-door neighbor Deep Ellum did for beer bars: Upped the ante…...

    Neighborhoods: Allston/Brighton - Lone Star Taco Bar Photo Credit: Jennifer Trebino
  • Neighborhoods: Back Bay

    Post 390

    After quitting time, area offices empty a cast of suits, ties and pencil skirts into the bar at this city-sleek tavern…...

    Neighborhoods: Back Bay - Post 390 Photo Credit: Emily Richardson
  • Neighborhoods: Bay Village

    Jacques Cabaret

    A deliciously seedy dive where you can also catch a professional drag show? Done and done…...

  • Neighborhoods: Beacon Hill

    Carrie Nation

    The matriarch of the 19th-century temperance movement would have a fit if she knew her name was appropriated by this den of sin—a title intended, from our liquor-loving lips, as a huge compliment…...

  • Neighborhoods: Brookline

    The Publick House

    Brookline has really enhanced its food and drink game during the past few years, but when it comes to bars, nothing comes close to old standby the Publick House…...

  • Neighborhoods: Central Square

    Brick & Mortar

    Behind an unmarked door waits Central’s go-to spot for an expertly crafted, wittily named cocktail…...

    Neighborhoods: Central Square - Brick & Mortar Photo Credit: Patrick Marasco
  • Neighborhoods: Charlestown

    Warren Tavern

    Bostonians get blasé about our history—must we genuflect whenever we enter someplace one of the Founding Fathers picked his nose?…...

  • Neighborhoods: Davis Square

    Spoke

    It’s owned by a former wine buyer, so no wonder we find wondrous sips at Spoke: Old World-skewing lists of painstakingly handpicked bottles, listed from light- to full-bodied for oenophiles on their training wheels…...

  • Neighborhoods: Dorchester

    Ashmont Grill

    Dot’s got some grade-A dives, but classy-yet-comfortable watering holes are harder to find…...

    Neighborhoods: Dorchester - Ashmont Grill Photo Credit: Mike Ritter
  • Neighborhoods: Downtown Crossing

    Stoddard’s

    This gastropub’s handsome wooden bar is big: The hand-carved UK import stretches 30 feet…...

  • Neighborhoods: Fenway/Kenmore

    Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar

    Bourbon nerds congregate at this classy little cocktail joint, where barkeeps pour more than 200 whiskeys as full servings and flights…...

  • Neighborhoods: Financial District

    Granary Tavern

    When spreadsheet-sorting days are done, Financial District denizens descend on this two-floor tavern housed in, yes, a former granary…...

    Neighborhoods: Financial District - Granary Tavern Photo Credit: Natasha Moustache
  • Neighborhoods: Fort Point

    Lucky’s Lounge

    The Rat Pack era is alive and well at Lucky’s, a speakeasy-style bar that hosts weekly Sinatra Saturdays and Sundays and maintains a decidedly retro vibe…...

    Neighborhoods: Fort Point - Lucky’s Lounge Photo Credit: Jess Magoon
  • Neighborhoods: Harvard Square

    Russell House Tavern

    Look, little shaver: When you’ve graduated from cheap scorpion bowls and karaoke at the Hong Kong, we’ll see you at this smart but still-fun cocktail den where two bars’ worth of masterful vest- and tie-wearing mixologists can school you on spirits one second and chat indie rock the next…...

  • Neighborhoods: Inman Square

    Trina’s Starlite Lounge

    There was plenty of rejoicing in March when Trina’s announced it would start serving brunch on Sundays, an indulgence previously offered only on Industry Mondays, which have a packed house of revelers throwing back killer bloodies while old-school hip-hop jams pump out of speakers…...

  • Neighborhoods: Jamaica Plain

    The Haven

    Boston’s only Scottish bar has a vibe so warm, you can practically smell the burning peat…...

    Neighborhoods: Jamaica Plain - The Haven Photo Credit: Nicole Popma
  • Neighborhoods: Kendall Square

    State Park

    Decked in retro paneling and studied kitsch, this subterranean dive is one of the few joints in town where boozy cocktail pitchers are available alongside diverse beer and cocktail lists, offering plenty of options to wash down the high-concept takes on lowbrow comfort- and junk foods…...

  • Neighborhoods: Mission Hill

    Flann O’Brien’s

    Irish accents abound at this authentic pub near Brigham Circle, which wouldn’t feel out of place in downtown Dublin…...

  • Neighborhoods: Newton

    Hopsters

    Kids have Build-A-Bear; grown-ups get Build-A-Beer…...

  • Neighborhoods: North End

    Lucca

    We adore its Back Bay spinoff, but nothing in the North End beats the original Lucca, a classic spot of which Little Italy dreams are made…...

  • Neighborhoods: Porter Square

    Lizard Lounge

    With bars offering live music dwindling, we’re happy we can still slither over to this intimate, subterranean performance haven in Porter…...

    Neighborhoods: Porter Square - Lizard Lounge Photo Credit: Jillian Medugno
  • Neighborhoods: Roslindale

    Redd’s in Rozzie

    Where’s the bar scene in residential Roslindale?…...

  • Neighborhoods: Seaport

    Gather

    If these cocktail napkins could talk!…...

  • Neighborhoods: South Boston

    Local 149

    It’s fitting that a former union office is now home to Southie’s best post-work boozing scene…...

    Neighborhoods: South Boston - Local 149 Photo Credit: Holly Rike
  • Neighborhoods: South End

    The Gallows

    Now five years old and lively as ever, this loud and hip South End gastropub serves some deadly serious cocktails, from the tea-and-vodka-based Grave Robber to the vanilla rum-centric Velvet Voodoo…...

  • Neighborhoods: Theate District

    Jacob Wirth

    The glittering marquees fail to mention one of the neighborhood’s choice sources of entertainment: this dark-wooded 19th-century piano bar, where ivories are tickled and stein-swinging guests belt gloriously off-key tunes…...

  • Neighborhoods: Union Square

    Brass Union

    Taking up residence in the old Precinct space, Brass Union has maintained its predecessor’s laid-back vibe but kicked up the beverage program with craft brews and cocktails like the Rum & Smoke, made with Bully Boy rum, house-smoked lime juice, housemade orgeat and ginjinha berry liqueur…...

  • Neighborhoods: West Roxbury

    Porter Cafe

    Stouts, pilsners and ciders, oh my! This cute little pub lays claim to its neighborhood’s largest selection of craft beers (keep an eye on the blackboard specials), though the well-prepared cocktails are nothing to shake a stemmed glass at…...

    Neighborhoods: West Roxbury - Porter Cafe Photo Credit: Adam Detour
  • Pre-/Post-Fenway Park

    Audubon

    This rechristened cocktail joint (formerly Audubon Circle) offers Fenway crowds an alternative to sticky-floored sports bars serving watery beer and frozen buffalo wings…...

  • Pre-/Post-TD Garden

    Ward 8

    There are sports bars aplenty by the Garden, but gameday drinkers and concertgoers used to have to travel far to find a well-made cocktail served with a lively scene…...

  • Singles Scene—Over 30

    The Liberty Hotel

    Years after “hot nightspot” status typically wanes, we remain arrested by the former Charles Street Jail, where multiple bars spill the nightly overflow of pretty people into the luxury hotel’s rotunda…...

    Singles Scene—Over 30 - The Liberty Hotel Photo Credit: Natasha Moustache
  • Singles Scene—Under 30

    Lincoln

    For upwardly mobile, fresh-faced South Boston transplants (the kind that make grizzled old townies shake a Guinness-grasping fist), there’s no better place to drop early-career paychecks and trade digits than at Lincoln’s two big, buzzing bars…...

  • Spectacle

    Stage American Vaudeville

    Variety is the spice of nightlife at this downtown club with rotating entertainers, including joint-jerking b boys, hoop-swinging aerialists, burlesque dancers twirling ta-ta tassels and graffiti artists swirling spray cans…...

    Spectacle - Stage American Vaudeville Photo Credit: Derek Kouyoumijian
  • Sports Bar

    Tony C’s

    Here are some numbers you need to remember…...

  • Summer Scene

    Legal Harborside

    We didn’t see it coming…...

  • Trend

    Cider Programs and Taprooms

    Maybe it’s the gluten-free appeal, but suddenly cider is everywhere…...

  • Watering Hole for the Well-Heeled

    The Langham

    Housed in Boston’s former Federal Reserve Bank, the Langham hotel is a fitting host for a moneyed crowd on the prowl…...

  • Wine Bar

    Belly

    At this Cambridge boîte from the Central Bottle and Blue Room crew, co-owner Liz Vilardi shows a way with words as well as wine, infusing wit and poetry into a list that’s almost as fun to read as it is to imbibe…...