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An exterior shot of the bar with graffitied walls and a “Silhouette Lounge” sign set on the building rooftop.
Silhouette Lounge in Allston.
Silhouette Lounge

Where to Find Greater Boston’s Essential Dive Bars

Drink cheaply at these fine establishments

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Silhouette Lounge in Allston.
| Silhouette Lounge

There are few things more crucial in this world than the neighborhood dive. Everyone deserves an unpretentious space with bartenders who call themselves bartenders (and not something that sounds like an advanced degree was necessary to secure the gig) and who sling $3 beers and strong drinks that won’t cut into rent budgets. Drinkers aren’t always looking to sip on a finely crafted Sazerac — sometimes a ‘Gansett will do just fine.

Boston has lost quite a few of its best dive bars in recent years, but some of those have returned under new ownership and others are still going strong. Here are 14 of the best dive bars to check out in and near Boston.

See also: Greater Boston’s best Irish pubs and sports bars.

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Sligo Pub

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Sligo Pub, open for three quarters of a century under several different names and owners, claims to hold the neighborhood’s oldest liquor license. Drink whiskey or beer, it’s all pretty affordable, and watch some sports or play Big Buck Hunter. Hurry in while you still can — Sligo is one of several businesses that may shut down to make way for a new lab building in Davis Square.

Exterior of a bar. A faded brown sign reads Sligo Pub in white text; it’s on a light brick wall. There’s a strip of forest green wood above the door and large windows, which have white frames.
Sligo Pub in Davis Square.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

Paddy's Lunch

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Don’t expect to actually eat lunch at Paddy’s Lunch (unless you count cold beer as lunch); do expect cheap beers and classic old Cambridge hospitality. Paddy’s has been around since 1934, cultivating generations of regulars and sponsoring countless local sports teams along the way.

Eddie C's

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Eddie C’s is a Maverick Square institution. It’s cash only — because of course it is — and the jukebox is analog (and the tunes are killer). The PBR pitchers are cheap, as is Jameson on the rocks. And those Jamesons are strong — they’ve been described as a “townie pour.”

Sullivan's Tap

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Sullivan’s changed ownership in 2019, but it didn’t magically become a non-dive bar when it did. This is the spot to hit to grab a cheap lager, play pool, and settle in for a Celtics or Bruins game.

Exterior of a dive bar on a city street with a large green sign that says Sullivan’s Tap. There’s a Dunkin’ next door.
Sullivan’s Tap.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater Boston

Irish Village

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Irish Village is in good company in Brighton, which is lousy with Irish pubs. This one dates back to 1970 and is a particularly good spot to grab a pint of Guinness, play some darts, and snack on a toastie (toasted cheese sandwich).

Dark wooden exterior of a bar with signage that reads Irish Village in gold, in an old-fashioned font
The “IV” has a great old facade.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

Biddy Early's

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Biddy Early’s — the self-proclaimed “best damn dive bar in Boston” — is cheap and constantly soaked in beer. It’s also one of a precious few places in the city where townies and slickly dressed finance bros intermingle effortlessly. There’s simple comfort food available on the menu, such as chicken tenders, burgers, mozzarella sticks, and the like.

Model Cafe

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The Model Cafe is one of Allston’s great dive bars. Musicians and artists and skateboarders and locals occupy the space in sublime concert, sucking back very strong drinks and very cheap beers. The line on weekend nights gets long, so get there early. There’s a bit of food available, including bar pizza and hot dogs.

Bar exterior at night, featuring an elaborate stone facade lit red by the neon signage, which reads Model Cafe in a Medieval-looking font.
The Model Cafe has a swanky exterior.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater Boston

Silhouette Lounge

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Ah, the Silhouette Lounge. What is there to say about the Sil that hasn’t been said already? Pitchers are cheap, drinks are cheap (and massive, and strong), there’s free popcorn, there’s a pool table, there are many dart boards, and there are free hot dogs for life for anyone who devotes a tattoo to the bar.

The exterior of a dive bar on the corner of a city street at dusk. Signage reads Silhouette in black cursive, and a colorful mural is painted over one side of the bar’s dark exterior.
The Silhouette at dusk.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

The Tam

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Like Sullivan’s Tap, Theatre District dive bar the Tam closed a few years back but came back to life, mostly the same, under new ownership — a group of investors going by the name Greater Boston Bar Co. has been reviving a bunch of local bars. (One or more members of that same group are separately involved in the Silhouette in Allston and the reopening of Somerville’s Thirsty Scholar, too.) The Tam is just the right combination of no-frills and cheap beer that you’d expect from a proper dive.

Corner Pub

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The food at the Corner Pub isn’t half bad for a dive bar; try one of a dozen deep-fried egg roll varieties, stuffed with fillings like mac and cheese or chicken pot pie. The draft list is also pretty great, too, especially for the drinker who likes local craft brew.

Delux Cafe

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Most dive bars don’t offer very good food, or any food at all. Delux Cafe breaks that mold. Grab a Miller High Life, and also try the half chicken with potato hash.

Exterior of a bar with the word DeLux in large white letters on a black background. The exterior wall is brick, and there’s a barred window with black shutters on it. A red interior peeks through the front door.
Delux Cafe is the rare dive bar with great food.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

Croke Park (aka Whitey’s)

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It’s cheap; the drinks are strong; one guy featured on the bar’s now-defunct website “can say with 100% certainty that this place is, by far, the worst bar in Boston”; and Esquire named it one of the best bars in America seven years ago. Note: Outside food is welcome.

Shannon Tavern

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Patrons can play pool and drink cheaply at Shannon Tavern, a well-worn watering hole that dates back to the 1960s.

Brendan Behan Pub

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Come early, bring cash, and hole up for hours at the Behan, a friendly neighborhood dive that occasionally hosts live Irish music sets. There’s no kitchen, but if you’re lucky, you can catch a food pop-up (burritos! oyster shucking!) every once in a while.

Sligo Pub

Sligo Pub, open for three quarters of a century under several different names and owners, claims to hold the neighborhood’s oldest liquor license. Drink whiskey or beer, it’s all pretty affordable, and watch some sports or play Big Buck Hunter. Hurry in while you still can — Sligo is one of several businesses that may shut down to make way for a new lab building in Davis Square.

Exterior of a bar. A faded brown sign reads Sligo Pub in white text; it’s on a light brick wall. There’s a strip of forest green wood above the door and large windows, which have white frames.
Sligo Pub in Davis Square.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

Paddy's Lunch

Don’t expect to actually eat lunch at Paddy’s Lunch (unless you count cold beer as lunch); do expect cheap beers and classic old Cambridge hospitality. Paddy’s has been around since 1934, cultivating generations of regulars and sponsoring countless local sports teams along the way.

Eddie C's

Eddie C’s is a Maverick Square institution. It’s cash only — because of course it is — and the jukebox is analog (and the tunes are killer). The PBR pitchers are cheap, as is Jameson on the rocks. And those Jamesons are strong — they’ve been described as a “townie pour.”

Sullivan's Tap

Sullivan’s changed ownership in 2019, but it didn’t magically become a non-dive bar when it did. This is the spot to hit to grab a cheap lager, play pool, and settle in for a Celtics or Bruins game.

Exterior of a dive bar on a city street with a large green sign that says Sullivan’s Tap. There’s a Dunkin’ next door.
Sullivan’s Tap.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater Boston

Irish Village

Irish Village is in good company in Brighton, which is lousy with Irish pubs. This one dates back to 1970 and is a particularly good spot to grab a pint of Guinness, play some darts, and snack on a toastie (toasted cheese sandwich).

Dark wooden exterior of a bar with signage that reads Irish Village in gold, in an old-fashioned font
The “IV” has a great old facade.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

Biddy Early's

Biddy Early’s — the self-proclaimed “best damn dive bar in Boston” — is cheap and constantly soaked in beer. It’s also one of a precious few places in the city where townies and slickly dressed finance bros intermingle effortlessly. There’s simple comfort food available on the menu, such as chicken tenders, burgers, mozzarella sticks, and the like.

Model Cafe

The Model Cafe is one of Allston’s great dive bars. Musicians and artists and skateboarders and locals occupy the space in sublime concert, sucking back very strong drinks and very cheap beers. The line on weekend nights gets long, so get there early. There’s a bit of food available, including bar pizza and hot dogs.

Bar exterior at night, featuring an elaborate stone facade lit red by the neon signage, which reads Model Cafe in a Medieval-looking font.
The Model Cafe has a swanky exterior.
Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater Boston

Silhouette Lounge

Ah, the Silhouette Lounge. What is there to say about the Sil that hasn’t been said already? Pitchers are cheap, drinks are cheap (and massive, and strong), there’s free popcorn, there’s a pool table, there are many dart boards, and there are free hot dogs for life for anyone who devotes a tattoo to the bar.

The exterior of a dive bar on the corner of a city street at dusk. Signage reads Silhouette in black cursive, and a colorful mural is painted over one side of the bar’s dark exterior.
The Silhouette at dusk.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

The Tam

Like Sullivan’s Tap, Theatre District dive bar the Tam closed a few years back but came back to life, mostly the same, under new ownership — a group of investors going by the name Greater Boston Bar Co. has been reviving a bunch of local bars. (One or more members of that same group are separately involved in the Silhouette in Allston and the reopening of Somerville’s Thirsty Scholar, too.) The Tam is just the right combination of no-frills and cheap beer that you’d expect from a proper dive.

Corner Pub

The food at the Corner Pub isn’t half bad for a dive bar; try one of a dozen deep-fried egg roll varieties, stuffed with fillings like mac and cheese or chicken pot pie. The draft list is also pretty great, too, especially for the drinker who likes local craft brew.

Delux Cafe

Most dive bars don’t offer very good food, or any food at all. Delux Cafe breaks that mold. Grab a Miller High Life, and also try the half chicken with potato hash.

Exterior of a bar with the word DeLux in large white letters on a black background. The exterior wall is brick, and there’s a barred window with black shutters on it. A red interior peeks through the front door.
Delux Cafe is the rare dive bar with great food.
Terrence B. Doyle/Eater Boston

Croke Park (aka Whitey’s)

It’s cheap; the drinks are strong; one guy featured on the bar’s now-defunct website “can say with 100% certainty that this place is, by far, the worst bar in Boston”; and Esquire named it one of the best bars in America seven years ago. Note: Outside food is welcome.

Shannon Tavern

Patrons can play pool and drink cheaply at Shannon Tavern, a well-worn watering hole that dates back to the 1960s.

Brendan Behan Pub

Come early, bring cash, and hole up for hours at the Behan, a friendly neighborhood dive that occasionally hosts live Irish music sets. There’s no kitchen, but if you’re lucky, you can catch a food pop-up (burritos! oyster shucking!) every once in a while.

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