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Cocktail experts. Local legends. Glorious dives. Glamorous dens. Sports sanctuaries. Greasy burgers. Briny oysters. These bars have it all. Grab a stool, start your tab... and keep it open.
The most special place in America is probably a bar.
Great bars aren't just places to grab a drink. (I've had good times with very questionable concoctions in my hand—I'm thinking specifically about a shaken Negroni that still gives me nightmares.) No, great bars are more. They're the places we learn about the people who become the loves of our lives. We reunite with friends we haven't seen in years. We cheer for our teams and discover our favorite musicians before they become superstars. At bars, we find the little stories we carry in our back pockets for life.
Wildsam editors of past (a special thanks to Hannah Hayes for a double pour of intel) and present put our heads together to build a list of the 50 Most Essential Bars in America.
What were we looking for? In many cases, history. Some bars define their streets, their blocks, even their towns. In other cases, we picked places that straight-up stir and shake the best drinks around—that’s part of the experience, too. We sought variety. We gave bonus points for being just a bit off the beaten path. The best cocktails in Kansas? The coolest tiki bar in … Montana? Across the board, we were looking for great stories, and we think found them. These are the places where lore is born.
— H. Drew Blackburn
Amor y Amargo
New York City, New York
Cocktail, Amari-focused
A temple for devotees of all things a little bitter and a little sweet. No juices or syrups are stocked here. All cocktails are prepared, stirred and served up, utilizing the expansive world of spirits, amari, aromatic bitters and vermouth. This is the place to go if your palette is a bit refined—or if you're looking for a place to soak up the knowledge to get there. - HDB
Anvil
Houston, Texas
Cocktail, Excellence-personified
The Blind 50. It’s the final test a bartender-in-training has to pass at Anvil, and it’s a tougher appraisal of knowledge than the legal world's bar exam. The staffer has to taste 50 different spirits and identify them by brand and type. If they get more than four wrong, they fail. Leading up to the Blind 50 bartenders spend months and months working on their craft, with assigned reading, challenges and exams too. Anvil is the zenith of mastery in American bartending. These are the people you need to visit if you’re thirsty for excellence. - HDB
Babes Bar
Bethel, Vermont
Your Favorite Dive Bar's Favorite Dive Bar
A handsome 1850s-era train depot on the White River is home to mascot Babe the Blue Ox and an extensive beer and whiskey library. Whether you’re sampling from the excellent roster of cocktails or sipping on a tried-and-true draft Miller High Life ($2.50!) the small-town Bethel staple is a home base with something for everyone: a second-floor reading library, a kids corner, back patio—for well-earned New England summer days—and snacks with a Midwestern bent, like Wisconsin-style bratwurst. - Sam Alviani
Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits
New Orleans, Louisiana
Cocktail, Wine-To-Go, Live Music
Seems like every corner you turn on in New Orleans, there’s some type of party, each unique in its own way. Bacchanal is basically a big ‘ol courtyard soirée. The wine selection is top-tier, the cheese and meat plates spectacular and there’s live jazz every day of the week. It does close a little early for New Orleans though. Fortunately, there’s a bottle shop on site—take the party home with you. - HDB
Bar at Wonderbird Spirits
Taylor, Mississippi
Distillery, Where Saké Meets Gin
This North Mississippi tasting room connected to a gin distillery keeps focus on the meticulously made local product—a spirit produced from Mississippi Delta jasmine rice. This distillery’s gin-making process takes a page from saké-making. It’s worth the quick drive from Oxford to Taylor for a taste at the source. - Jennifer Justus
Bar Next Door
Los Angeles, California
Cocktail, Neighborhood Bar
It may be hard to conjure cozy on the Sunset Strip—but Bar Next Door is just that kind of oasis. Choose a cute two-seater booth or settle on a classic swivel barstool for mainstay cocktails, or hit up the list of time-tested signature drinks (like the Chateau Marmont or Hustler Hollywood); the reel-to-reel audio system and glowy lighting make the mood. Feel free to carry in slices from Prince St. Pizza, right next door. -SA.
Blue Moon Tavern
Seattle, Washington
Historic, Music, Micro-draughts
The alley out back is named for Pulitzer-winning poet Theodore Roethke. One story goes that Tom Robbins (Still Life With Woodpecker, etc.) successfully cold-called Pablo Picasso (Guernica, etc.) on the house phone. Dylan Thomas drank here (like he did everywhere), as did Allen Ginsburg and all of Seattle’s midcentury poets of note. So they say, so they say. In a fast-changing city, this place keeps it better than real. — Zach Dundas
The Buffet Bar
Tucson, Arizona
Dive, Package-to-go
Burnishing its legend since 1934, this is an unapologetic throwback with rough edges. Sidle up to the bar, order a Coors, squint into the middle distance and say stuff like “welp, here we be … the Old Pueblo.” Graffiti’ed walls, signature cocktails to be consumed on your own recognizance. —ZD
Callaghan's Irish Social Club
Mobile, Alabama
Irish Pub, Live Music
Head to Mobile’s Washington Square neighborhood, where you’ll find one of the South’s best small venues. Owner John “J.T.” Thompson brings in a strong roster from up-and-comers to big names (The Alabama Shakes, Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell) and local legends like Abe Partridge, a former Baptist preacher turned folk artist and musician. Don’t sleep on the burger with beloved Conecuh sausage. -JJ
Cinema Bar
Culver City, California
Dive, Classic
Culver City’s oldest bar (established in 1947) is an institution. It’s the sort of place that attracts the Los Angeles bohemian set, where you’ll find boots (no spurs). You’d think you were in Austin in the ‘80s here, not a few miles away from Hollywood. At this family-owned, divey joint, catch music nearly every night of the week, open mic night on Wednesdays, and grab cheap, stiff drinks. - HDB
City Grocery Bar
Oxford, Mississippi
College-Town Classic
Climb the steps to the perch above Chef John Currence’s landmark City Grocery restaurant, and you’ll be headed toward a good time. Since 1992, the copper-topped bar set aglow in multi-colored Christmas lights has lured a mix of literary types, creatives and students. The gathering almost always spills onto the porch, bedecked in ferns and overlooking the Oxford town square. -JJ
Cleo's Cocktail Lounge
Appleton, Wisconsin
Cocktail, X-Mas-Rated
Christmas runs 365 days a year in this twinkle-lit refuge from reality; the inviting atmosphere and friendly staff are famed. A Dirty Snowball and/or a Wisconsin Old-Fashioned ( a little different than your standard Old-Fashioned) will surely summon the spirit of the season, whatever time of year. —ZD
Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge
Madison, Tennessee
Honkey Tonk, Lively Characters
Musicians have long made the migration to working-class Madison just north of Nashville—Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Kitty Wells, Maybelle Carter. These days, Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge is the place to find the modern-day drifters. It’s a proper honky tonk with high-quality live music, cold beer and occasional visits from locals like Margo Price. Hang out on the front patio between sets or games of pool—or by the fire on the side patio—and you’ll no doubt meet a character or two. -JJ
Double Wide
Dallas, Texas
Dive, Where the Party's At
Yes, the kitsch factor is turned up to about 17 here, and it’ll hit you as soon as you see the decor. There’s a Barry Manilow-at-San Quentin mural, toilets with flowers and plants growing out of them and a silver tornado sculpture plopped on top of the building. There’s also the slogan: Half the trailer, all the trash. But walk with me. This bar, just east of the city’s storied Deep Ellum neighborhood, is where the locals really hang out and where you’re gonna spot the cool kids, dressed their best. Old and young. First legal drink-buyers and grizzled vets of the scene with faded tattoos spend their nights here. You should too. - HDB
Driftwood Room
Portland, Oregon
Hotel, Manhattan-specialty
Everything has changed since the 1950s except the Driftwood Room, a tiny nook inside Hotel Deluxe in Portland’s moody, slightly film-noir Goose Hollow neighborhood. The woodsy and sleek midcentury-mod décor and classic cocktails make you sit up a little straighter and wish you’d worn a tie or a dress, or both. They shot a memorable scene for the movie Wild here, a moment from the “main character’s downward spiral” part of the story. You’ve been warned. —ZD
El Farol
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Historic Bar and Restaurant
El Farol is almost certainly Santa Fe’s most history-rich—and equally iconic—bar and restaurant. The 100+ years of history can be felt, not only in the original wood beams lining the ceiling and the incredible murals by acclaimed artists like Alfred Morang, but in the delectable tapas, mouth-watering paellas, signature cocktails and local cervezas too. Did we mention the National Institute of Flamenco performs there every Friday and Saturday night? - Will Derden
esp
Denver, Colorado
Cocktail, Listening Lounge
Natural wine and a space modeled after the jazz kissas of Tokyo makes for a well-balanced sensory experience: The records-only listening bar, brought to life by owners Mitch Foster and Will Minter, has beautiful restored Garrard 401 turntables and Vintage Klipschorn speakers; the thoughtful stock of low intervention wine exudes less-is-more. A good place for a slow-down, settle-in bar hang. -SA.
Fanboy
Richmond, Virginia
Cocktail, Listening Lounge
Fanboy is funky and just FUN. The Broad Street jewel-box cocktail bar doubles as a vinyl listening room, so you can groove and get down with all manner of wild cocktail creations (like the Shuffle, Repeat with mezcal, cucumber, green elixir, midori, and fernet branca float). Plus, a full kitchen with dinner service and late-night snacks. -SA
Dave's Fox Head Tavern
Iowa City, Iowa
Dive, Beer Bar
In a literary town, there are two signature writer-hangout bars: George’s Buffet, and this place. They’re 331 feet apart, so go to both. You’re more likely to end the night here, in a shotgun-shack-like building with a riotous collection of knick-knacks, creaky floors, battered booths and aspiring novelists arguing the finer points of metaphor or just carousing into the Iowa night. —ZD
Fox's Lounge
Miami, Florida
Dive-ish, Institution
Like a cozy, dimly lit oasis in the spectacle of Miami nightlife flash, this institution has been gathering its regulars with stiff drinks, dark corners and prime rib nights since 1945. The place weathered a brief closure in 2015, but the new owners reopened with meticulous attention to nostalgia. Slide into a red banquette for an order of Thumb Bits (sirloin medallions on garlic toast) and a dirty martini. - JJ
Green Parrot
Key West, Florida
Dive, Historic
It began as a grocery store in 1890, followed by time as a rowdy sailors’ bar after World War II and then hippie hang in the ’60s and ’70s. It still carries the Key West spirit better than any bar on the island, shutters thrown open with live music and beers flowing. You also might, on other nights, spot a long row of locals’ bicycles parked out front for ukulele nights or poetry readings. As one Key West conch explained: “Any given day, it’s a dive bar or the cultural center of the universe.” -JJ
Harold's Country Club
Yemassee, South Carolina
Bar and Grill
First, you might want to stretch your definition of country club. Because this former gas station and auto garage is a gathering place blessedly without a membership fee. Thriving since 1973, it morphed from a regular potluck dinner to a sort of restaurant with Saturday night steak nights, live music, DJs and karaoke nights. Situated down a rural, Lowcountry two-lane near the Old Sheldon Church, it’s an experience worth the wander. -JJ
JAKE'S SUPPER CLUB
Menomonie, WI
Old-school supper club, milkshake cocktails
Wisconsin’s World Class Supper Clubs
Read our journey through the Badger State's world of supper clubs.
It's not just a bar, it's a representative of an entire genre of Wisconsin community hubs. Always a great crowd, but there are plenty of spots to hide away in a tiki-like atmosphere that's unique in Wisconsin. The food menu is a line-up of rib-sticking classics, and the cocktails evoke another, calmer era. — ZD
Longfellow
Cincinnati, Ohio
Bar and Grill
Located in the heart of Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood, Longfellow is revered as one of the best cocktail dens in the city. The Shiso Painkiller—a remix of the popular tiki drink that adds shiso leaf to the ingredient list—is a big hit. Aptly titled, The Other Room is a bar within the bar, featuring more than 100 rums and drip-style absinthe service a la the olden days. Go ’head. Chase that green fairy. - HDB
Maps
Portland, Maine
Dive, Microbrews
The dense Old Port of Maine’s city-in-miniature seems to demand a snug hideaway, a place to shelter from the streets’ bustle and from Nor’easters when necessary. Here we go. This basement refuge, stocked with vinyl LPs and provisioned by people who know their local beer, wine and everything else in-between, is a glove-fit for any blustery night. —ZD
Million Dollar Cowboy Bar
Jackson, Wyoming
Honkey Tonk, Live Music
Go for the iconic neon sign, pop in for the barstools made of saddles, stay for rowdy nights of live country music. Will there be cowboy hats on stage? Just about guaran-damn-teed. —ZD
Minturn Saloon
Minturn, Colorado
Historic
No trip to Vail Valley would be quite complete without a visit to the Minturn Saloon. For all of the area’s ski resort polish, the saloon is a real après original and has been for decades, with Old West vibes and blue corn enchiladas, birria tacos and carafes of famous margaritas. -SA
Mirador
Kingston, New York
Wine, Cocktail
Nick Africano’s gem of a watering hole is a little Andalusia in Kingston’s bustling Uptown, reflective of his—call it an obsession?—with the sherry and tapas of the southern Spanish region. As a result, the bright little space is soulful and deeply inviting; the garden patio is also idyllic, an oasis for pan con tomate and sherry flight or glass of Galician white. -SA
Nemo's
Detroit, Michigan
Classic Sports Bar, Tigers Fan Sanctuary
In case you needed any convincing that this place is a true Detroit classic, Nemo’s now offers their own shuttle for all Tigers home games. Pop in early to take in the timeless wood paneling, aged brick, ornate ceiling and hundreds of framed pictures (some autographed) of baseball legends. Once you’re done looking, start drinking. We recommend any ale from eccentric Kalamazoo-based Bell’s Brewery. For food, get the burger. Once properly stuffed, just hop on the bus to Comerica Stadium. -WD
New Sheridan Bar
Telluride, Colorado
Hotel, Historic
Built from the riches of silver and gold strikes in the San Juans, the New Sheridan Hotel has been a Telluride fixture for over 130 years. It’s still a social center, even if the clientele has changed—but you can still belly up to the same bar with its lead glass divider panels, mahogany wood paneling, and filigree light fixtures. The $5 Jack Daniels is the long-sustained special, and the way to go here. -SA
Off the Record
Washington D.C.
Hotel Bar, Big Wine List
This is not the newest, shiniest or hippest cocktail spot in the Nation’s Capital, but it’s the sumptuous and vaguely shady basement lounge you want to find kitty-corner from the White House. A velvet-lined, age-old hangout for the political class, it’s decorated with caricatures, including the actual customers. Not on the current menu, but ask for the Bipartisan Consensus, a curious Negroni with a pilsner float. We all need one. Well, make that two. —ZD
Oscar's Tavern
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Beloved Dive, Messy Cheesesteaks
For some local Philly flavor, duck into this neon-lit nook just a stone’s throw from city hall. Grab ice-cold beers downstairs and catch small bands upstairs at Bluebond Guitars, a clutch venue for up-and-comers. And don’t forget to balance out all that local ale with a handsomely sized and properly messy Philly cheesesteak. -WD
Plough & Stars
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Irish Pub, Great Food, Live Music
Among all Greater Boston’s Irish bars, consider this contender, renowned for poetical spirit and for going from one O’Malley family hand to another for 50-odd-years. The venerable literary magazine Ploughshares started here in 1971; current owner Gabriel O’Malley has his own list of writing credits. But most importantly, there’s a good time to be had now—today, or tonight, when there’s likely a Liverpool FC match on followed by live music. —ZD
Poison Heart
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Neighborhood Bar, Chic
Deep red and black decor. Neon lights too. Lit low — more sultry than romantic. Poison Heart straddles the line between many things. It’s at once a neighborhood bar and a spot for exceptional drinks. Here you can grab oysters and a patty melt, too. Can’t leave out the herbs de Provence-covered popcorn that’s on the house, either. It’s primed for Instagram—the grid, not just stories. But, you’ll probably get too lost in a good time and good bites to take your phone out. - HDB
Pretty Decent
Louisville, Kentucky
Cocktail Bar, Plant Shop
If Kentucky's calling card is bourbon, Pretty Decent is putting in the work to encourage folks to sneak a little more mezcal and tequila into their diets. Part boutique plant shop, part agave bar. Multitasking! —Jenna Wilson
Red Lion Lounge
Homewood, Alabama
Jazz Club, Dive
It’s one of the oldest bars in Birmingham (since early 1960s), lit by a tangle of Christmas lights around shelves of liquor bottles and bric-a-brac decor. No website. Jukebox. And it's kind of hard to find. But you’ll join a cast of regulars sipping from red solo cups under a low drop ceiling. Yeah, this is the place. -JJ
Scofflaw
Chicago, Illinois
Cocktail, Gin-focused
Scofflaw is a gin joint that Humphery Bogart would love, no matter who walked in. The Logan Square bar has earned its keep among the best cocktail dens in a city overflowing with them thanks to its inventive creations. Here’s an insider tip: at midnight complimentary freshly baked cookies make the rounds. - HDB
Sip 'n' Dip
Great Falls, Montana
Tiki Bar, Live Mermaids
Imagine you’re driving across the windswept plains of Central Montana, headed into the mountains. Or vice versa. It’s either way hotter or way colder than you want it to be. You pull into a nondescript old motel and … enter a tropical paradise. A place famed for its behind-the-bar view into the pool and live mermaids. (“It’s not a show, they’re just swimming.”) A place for gigantic blue drinks. A place that restores your faith in fun. - ZD
Starlight Theater
Terlingua, Texas
Dive, Saloon
It’s a bar inside a theatre with a porch looking out on the Chisos Mountains, in a dusty ghost town once known for mining. Yes, it’s changed some as the tourists have made a descent. But Wildsam contributor, Terlingua resident and Big Bend Sentinel reporter Sam Karas says it best: “The Porch has held on to some of its primordial magic, with a few characters swapped out–there’s new dogs, new fiddlers, new elders swapping stories.” -JJ
An Ode to Starlight Theater in Terlingua, Texas
Read our feature on the West Texas 'ghost' town of Terlingua and the Starlight Theater.
Stereo
Atlanta, Georgia
Cocktail, Listening Lounge, Coffee by day
The menu is sparse but intentional. A few stirred drinks and some highballs to match. The back bar has a small selection of Japanese whisky. There are crates and crates of albums, and this is a listening bar with a crisp sound system. Kick back and listen to everything from Tyler the Creator to disco to rare rock steady, with some of the city’s best DJs in the city spinning vinyl deep into the night. - HDB
Sunday Vinyl
Denver, Colorado
Wine Bar, Listening Lounge
This relative of Frasca Food & Wine is just as refined—perhaps with a more rumpled, lived-in sensibility—but applies the same stellar wine knowledge and service to a vinyl-filled space right next to Union Station. Trust the wine list to thrill no matter which adventure you choose, from classics to new kids on the block, all with a through-line of deep rooting in place. -SA
Techo Mezcaleria & Agave Bar
Austin, Texas
Cocktail, Agave-focused
There’s a set of creaky wooden stairs next to Mi Madre's. Walk up, and you’ll get transported to an intimate mezcalería with an intensely curated array of agave spirits. Sample them on their own with smoked salt and an orange. But the frozen guava margarita—that is life-changing. - HDB
The Lantern Inn
Wassaic, New York
Neighborhood bar, historic tavern
A century-old tavern and pool hall in the tiny hamlet of Wassaic is also its warm heartbeat, a beloved, communal haunt that draws longtime locals and weekenders—plus the artists-in-residence of much-loved Wassaic Project across the street in the old Maxon Mills—for wood-fired pizzas, Bud on draft, boozy slushies and courtyard hangouts. -SA
The Silver Stamp
Las Vegas, Nevada
Beer Hall With An Old Soul
In the Gateway District, there lies The Silver Stamp. It’s miles away from the Strip, but still has a glow about it. The Silver Stamp is a true mom-and-pop shop, with wood paneling and decor that makes it seem like this place has been around for decades. But co-owners and life partners Rose Signor and Andrew Smith cut the tape just three years ago. In a beer-lovers haven, suds upon suds can be had, from the big-box breweries you see with 30-second spots on Super Bowl Sunday to the local favorites. - HDB
The Tusk Bar
New York City, New York
Hotel Bar, Swanky
Step into The Tusk Bar and you’ll feel like a Roaring Twenties aristocrat. Sip on refined cocktails, shoot oysters and soak in the Art Deco grandeur of The Evelyn’s historic hotel lobby. Kick things off with the "Upon Arrival," a zesty gin cocktail featuring elderflower liqueur, shiso, and yuzu. That’s how you start a night of glamour .—JW
Trick Dog
San Francisco, California
Cocktail
A lot of the bars on this list have won national awards. We haven’t mentioned those accolades much here, because this list is about history, character and just damn good drinks. However, if we failed to mention that Trick Dog has won the “World’s Best Cocktail Menu” at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards multiple times we’d be doing you a disservice. It is part of the charm. Each themed menu, when it’s trotted out, is a production. The latest, lasting from July 2024 through January 2025, is literally conjuring a production. It’s a Playbill for a musical called Dogs, spoofing Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, with bartenders in makeup and drink names honing in on the parody. This is the heart of what makes Trick Dog special. They make magnificent drinks, and is anyone out there having more fun doing it?
Vaughan's Lounge
New Orleans, Louisiana
Dive, Neighborhood Bar
A most beloved neighborhood spot, site of too-late weeknight hangs and respite from things that ail, home to drag shows and raucous live sets and easy conversation: Vaughan’s conducts a particular joy frequency that extends to strangers and barstool neighbors. The best bars—the best places—are like this. By the end of the night you’ll be full up, enough to carry you through to your return to the corner of Lesseps and Dauphine. -SA
Wild Child Libations
Shawnee, Kansas
Cocktail, Maximalist
Who would have thought one of the most maximalist bars in America would be sitting in Shawnee, Kansas? At Wild Child Libations, you can order a drink with barbecued mango-infused rhum agricole and garnished with a chicharrón, or a cocktail meant to evoke Neapolitan ice cream, with a glass in the shape of an ice cream cone. Cool. But the coolest thing about Wild Child Libations is the lengths they’ll go to make sure nobody is left out. The pregnant, the designated driver and the sober all get the same attention to detail, with a deep non-alcoholic cocktail list aided by atmospheric distillation, a process that slowly distills the alcohol from spirits. And can only be explained by a chemical engineer… or bartender in Shawnee, Kansas. - HDB
Wild Child Wines
Lafayette, Louisiana
Wine Bar, A Li'l Fancy
We love a stylish spot with a tight focus on quality. This “tiny bar” with wines by glass serves as a retail bottle shop and grocery, too, with cheeses and tinned fish and a proclivity toward unique and small production wines. Pop in for a glass and fresh breads daily or the Friday lunch, which might mean a mortadella and pistachio-pesto pizza or a sandwich with ham, comte and good French butter on fresh-baked baguette. - JJ
Young Joni
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cocktail Bar, Down-the-Alley
Wander down the alley—trust us (this time). Just make sure the red light is on—that means the bar is open. Pickle pizza (you heard me right) is one of Young Joni’s delicacies, so stop in for a slice and sip on some baseball-themed cocktails. Trust me, it’s worth the trip down the alley. —JW
