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New Addition
Hopsters Brew & Boards
If you dig the DIY beer-making movement but aren’t willing to turn your living room into a microbrewery, Hopsters offers a fairly brilliant solution...
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Bar-Hopping Spot
One Kendall Square
Remember when Cambridge’s Kendall Square was a ghost town after 5 pm? Now, neither do we...
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Beer Bar
Lord Hobo
It dresses down like a dive bar. But behind the lo-fi veneer, Lord Hobo is an impressive haven for those serious about their beer...
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Best-Kept Secret
Speakeasy at Carrie Nation
Psst! Slink through the thick crowd of industry types in the main room of Carrie Nation, named for the hatchet-wielding, barroom-smashing matriarch...
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Dance Club
Royale
Even as EDM mania grows, the national nightclub scene has downsized to the more intimate “ultra-lounge” experience...
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Dance Night
Soulelujah
On Saturday nights, the tight quarters of Central Square’s ZuZu teem with skinny jeans and big, funky beats for Soulelujah...
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Dive Bar
Charlie’s Kitchen
With its neon-filled windows and worn walls of white diner tile, this beloved beer and (deliciously sloppy) burger dive...
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Drinks with a View
Top of the Hub
It’s easy to take certain landmarks for granted, or even demote them to tourist-trap status...
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Gay Scene
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell At Great Scott
Every month, this sickening (that’s good) soiree thumbs its glitter-speckled nose at more mainstream gay nights dominated by neatly pressed polo shirts...
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Hotel Bar
Highball Lounge
We love a bar that boasts a serious cocktail program—but doesn’t take itself too seriously...
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Irish Bar
J.J. Foley’s Cafe
Often billed as Boston’s oldest family-owned Irish bar, Foley’s lines its walls with photographic evidence of the motley crews that have warmed its stools...
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Lesbian Scene
Midway Cafe
Women-centric options are slim in Boston’s LGBT bar scene, but this JP watering hole’s diverse devotees include a strong lesbian crowd...
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Neighborhoods: Back Bay
Forum
Forum has the glossy glamour of a high-end Back Bay boutique, and about as many pretty things on display...
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Neighborhoods: Beacon Hill
The Tip Tap Room
It’s all in the name at chef/owner Brian Poe’s boisterous spot on Beacon Hill’s backside...
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Neighborhoods: Brookline
The Publick House
A bar for beer geeks who blanch at the term “beer geeks." Its got one of the best beer lists around...
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Neighborhoods: Central Square
Green Street Grill
Discreetly tucked away from the main strip of Mass. Ave bars, this unassuming haunt hides behind a spare brick exterior...
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Neighborhoods: Charlestown
The Warren Tavern
Colonial history is at the heart of Charlestown’s charm, and this watering hole is part of its lifeblood...
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Neighborhoods: Davis Square
Foundry on Elm
The gastropub foundation garners a European flourish at this tavern-slash-brasserie...
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Neighborhoods: Dorchester
dBar
Before opening Boston Chops and Deuxave, executive chef Chris Coombs introduced himself at this swanky little cocktail lounge and restaurant...
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Neighborhoods: Fenway/Kenmore
Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar
You can’t bunt without hitting a bar near Fenway Park...
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Neighborhoods: Financial District
Vintage Restaurant and Lounge
It’s an all-new Vintage, reopened this spring with a fresh interior and elevated menu under new chef Hugh Carlton Buckley...
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Neighborhoods: Fort Point
Drink
Fort Point has become a food-and-drink destination in recent years, and chef/mogul Barbara Lynch helped put it on the map with this perennially cool cornerstone...
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Neighborhoods: Greenway
Trade
If an intimate cocktail klatch is your idea of a good time, head elsewhere...
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Neighborhoods: Harvard Square
Grendel’s Den
You started in Harvard Square, but one right turn, and you’re suddenly in Middle-earth...
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Neighborhoods: Jamaica Plain
Brendan Behan Pub
In crunchy JP, the come-as-you-are spirit extends to what many consider the best, most authentic Irish bar in Boston...
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Neighborhoods: Kendall Square
Meadhall
Like a beer-soaked beacon, Meadhall lures an enterprising crowd from Kendall Square’s startup scene...
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Neighborhoods: Newton
Sycamore
Masterful bar manager Scott Shoer has spent nearly 20 years in the field, opening hot spots like Excelsior...
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Neighborhoods: North End
Ward 8
With a cozy restaurant scene drenched in red sauce and redder wine, the North End has plenty of places for couples to canoodle...
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Neighborhoods: Seaport
Gather
This airy entry in the lively Seaport scene is housed inside District Hall, a massive space billed as the world’s first freestanding public innovation center...
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Neighborhoods: South Boston
Lincoln Tavern & Restaurant
The spirit of the “new” (read: hipper) Southie runs high at this designer-label version of a neighborhood tavern...
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Neighborhoods: South End
The Beehive
Sure, some cocktailing couples hang by the upstairs bar, but most descend into the subterranean hive of exposed brick and velvety drapes...
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Neighborhoods: Union Square
backbar
Co-owner Sam Treadway is celebrated as one of the area’s top mixology gurus, so it’s no surprise that his hidden den of bitters-imbued delights...
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Place to Drink Alone
21st Amendment
The spirit of this historic Beacon Hill tavern lends itself to sipping solo as well as to socializing...
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Pre/Post-Fenway Park Bar
The Lower Depths Tap Room
Let the tourists mob those besieged bars on Lansdowne and Brookline...
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Pre/Post-TD Garden Bar
Porters Bar and Grill
Whether they’re pregaming for the Celtics or killing time before a concert, Porters is a favorite stopover for Garden guests...
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Pro-Athlete Playground
Strega and Strega Waterfront
Whether they’re hopping behind the bar for a celebrity-studded fundraiser or fraternizing over heaped plates of penne arrabiata in a corner booth...
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Rooftop Bar
Rooftop at Revere
Boston channels South Beach at Rooftop at Revere, the hotel’s sun-soaked terrace lounge, a frequent host to fashion shows and summer shindigs...
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Singles Scene—Over 30
OAK Long Bar + Kitchen
With its 2012 renovation, the Fairmont Copley’s storied Oak Room traded traditional hotel opulence for modern chic...
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Summer Scene
Boston Harbor Hotel
Sun and sea breeze are mandatory ingredients for summer fun, and this harborside hotel offers all the best of the neighboring Seaport in a classy, condensed complex...
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Trend
Cocktails and Wine on Tap
Here’s a bar trend we’ll toast to: draft lines devoted to cocktails and wine...
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Trivia Night
Champion of Champions at the Middle East Corner
Pop quiz: Are all trivia nights created equal? Answer: No way. As evidence, we give you this inventive entry...
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Watering Hole for the Well-Heeled
BOND at the Langham
Considering that Bond is housed in the former Federal Reserve Bank, it’s no surprise that this sexy nightspot is where deep pockets go to splurge on bottle service...
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Wine Bar
Spoke
Old World wines dominate the list at this Davis Square favorite, but the atmosphere is unmistakably modern...