boston-best

Bars & Clubs

  • Industry Hangout

    Trina's Starlite Lounge

    For years, this intimate Inman Square hangout has been a bright beacon summoning service pros to its famous industry brunch on Mondays...

    Trina's Starlite Lounge Photo Credit: Pat Piasecki
  • Bar-Hopping Destination

    Union Square

    Maybe it sufficed during your fake-ID days, but as a grown-up, tripping o’er the crowded cobblestones of Faneuil Hall gets old fast...

  • Beer Bar

    The Publick House

    There are plenty of new bars in town offering beer lists full of sours, IPAs and Belgian ales that will satisfy any palate...

  • Cozy Bar

    Anchovies

    Spiffier South End spots attract see-and-be-seen crowds. But when you want to slip away to a dimly lit den, sidle up to the dark wooden bar at this neighborhood haunt...

  • Dance Club

    Royale

    Nightclubs come and go, but none have been in the position to steal Royale’s crown...

    Royale Photo Credit: Conor Olmsted
  • Dance Night

    Magnum Saturdays at dbar

    Is bigger always better? Depends who you ask...

    Magnum Saturdays at dbar Photo Credit: Arlan Fonseca
  • Dive Bar

    Drinking Fountain

    As the glut of luxury condo builds attests, nowhere in Boston is safe from gentrification...

  • DJ

    Nathanael Bluhm

    Diversity is this DJ’s strongest suit...

    • 209 Columbus Ave., Boston
    Nathanael Bluhm Photo Credit: Abby Rose Sugnet
  • Dream Living Room

    The Hawthorne

    Many Boston cocktail bars compete to most accurately resemble a hipster’s idea of his great-grandfather’s favorite speakeasy...

    The Hawthorne Photo Credit: Sam Gray
  • First-Date Destination

    The Gallows

    Finding a first-date spot is tricky. You want the place to feel fun but not forced, with reasonable price points lodged between “penny pincher” and “moneybags.”...

    The Gallows Photo Credit: Brian Samuels
  • Gay Scene

    Club Café

    It’s been around for more than 30 years and still attracts a block-long line of gays waiting to get inside...

  • Hidden Gem

    Harborside Lounge

    “Gem” and “airport bar” are rarely seen in the same sentence, but the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor plays unexpected host to an airy, tall-windowed bar with a killer patio...

  • Hotel Bar

    Hojoko

    This kooky izakaya inside the rock ’n’ roll-themed Verb Hotel is the antithesis of all those unstylish lobby bars where sad traveling salesmen slump and get sauced...

    Hojoko Photo Credit: Diego Navarro
  • Irish Pub

    The Field

    This may start a Dropkick Murphys-scored riot, but we have to say it: Some of the area’s best Irish pubs aren’t even in Southie...

  • Jazz Club

    Wally's Café

    This narrow, easy-to-miss South End bar practically vibrates with a venerable history of nightly jazz performances by hallowed veteran musicians and up-and-coming talents...

  • Last-Call Spot

    Golden Temple

    If there’s any single neighborhood that has last-call hangouts on lock, it’s Chinatown...

  • Mocktails

    Waypoint

    It’s easy to scoff at mocktails. They typically languish in a forgotten corner of the menu, unattended to by any but the pregnant or sober...

    Waypoint Photo Credit: Abby Rose Sugnet
  • New Addition

    The Supper Club at Capo

    With a checkered floor and wood paneling on one end, and a stage that hosts live music sets on the other end, there’s a vibe that’s one part grandma’s basement, one part...

  • Place to Drink Alone

    Brendan Behan Pub

    No one’s going to bother you if you bury yourself in a book at this cash-only Jamaica Plain pub...

  • Place to Feel Like a Kid

    Roxy's Central + A4cade

    This joyful joint venture between two local restaurant brands taps into the nostalgic fancies of ’80s babies and translates them for grown-up tastes...

    Roxy's Central + A4cade Photo Credit: Zac Wolf Photography
  • Pre-/Post-Fenway Park

    Eastern Standard

    If you want to fight for elbow room with sweaty stadium seat-warmers at a nearby sports bar, feel free...

    Eastern Standard Photo Credit: Adam Krauth
  • Pre-/Post-TD Garden

    Ward 8

    Heading for the Garden and thirsting for cheap beer? You have plenty of plain-brown-wrapper taverns nearby to serve you...

  • Pre-/Post-Theater

    Townsman

    Before you get your ticket ripped at a nearby theater, know there’s already quite a show going on at the front bar of Townsman...

    Townsman Photo Credit: Huge Galdones
  • Rock Club

    The Sinclair

    In a region that has seen its live performance venues dwindle in recent years, the Sinclair manages to draw diverse acts that tickle the music-snob sweet spot...

    The Sinclair Photo Credit: Sinclair
  • Rooftop Bar

    Legal Harborside

    Six years after it first made a splash in the Seaport, the scene at Legal Sea Foods’ massive threefloor flagship remains as fresh as the day’s catch...

    Legal Harborside Photo Credit: Lauren Hallion
  • Sake Program

    PABU

    Downtown Crossing’s swank Millennium Tower houses this high-end izakaya from San Francisco celeb-chef Michael Mina, a posh place to enjoy fancy yakitori, sushi, sashimi...

    PABU Photo Credit: Allison Webber
  • Sherry Program

    Straight Law at Taberna de Haro

    Three years ago, Brookline tapas stalwart Taberna de Haro branded its 13-seat bar as Straight Law, a nod to a classic gin and sherry cocktail...

    Straight Law at Taberna de Haro Photo Credit: Shannon Vanderhooft
  • Singles Scene—Over 30

    W Boston

    Once you’ve graduated from Tunnel, the W’s thumping subterranean nightclub, move upstairs to the W Lounge, where veteran DJ Braun Dapper curates sounds...

  • Singles Scene—Under 30

    Coppersmith

    Set in a former copper fabrication plant, Coppersmith now manufactures good times for throngs of 20-somethings...

    Coppersmith Photo Credit: Rachel Gianatasio
  • Sports Bar

    Parlor Sports

    Boston takes its sports seriously—sometimes, dare we say, too seriously...

    Parlor Sports Photo Credit: Haley Abram
  • Summer Scene

    Boston Harbor Hotel

    This waterfront property proves it’s the simple pleasures that make summer special...

  • Watering Hole for the Well-Heeled

    The Langham

    Where can you swap digits and stock tips with singles of a certain income bracket? A bar in a bank, naturally...

  • Wine Bar

    Haley.Henry

    In this teensy, winsome, nautical-themed spot in Downtown Crossing, owner Haley Fortier has built a wine-friendly menu around tinned seafood and other grazeable delights...

    Haley.Henry Photo Credit: Brian Samuels
  • Winter Scene

    Lookout Rooftop & Bar

    Yes, the Envoy Hotel’s rooftop bar buzzes in the summer, but if you want to get sloshed inside a snow globe, Lookout likewise has you covered...

    Lookout Rooftop & Bar Photo Credit: The Envoy
  • Worth the Trek

    The Baldwin Bar

    Self-taught cocktail wunderkind Ran Duan holds court in the same stately, crumbling Colonial manor that houses his family’s excellent traditional Sichuan restaurant...

    The Baldwin Bar Photo Credit: Raul Zelaya
  • Worth the Wait

    Drink

    Look, if you want basic drinks poured fast, waltz on in to your corner pub...

    Drink Photo Credit: Patrick Evan