Best Dive Bars in Boston?

cg wrote:
Orchard Park Grill in Watertown is a great spot for steak tips and wings, definitely the best in Watertown. The bar has been updated with new flat-screen TVs and has the best prices around.
(Posted on 9/27/07)

MLM wrote:
I still say downstairs at the Red Hat is an ultimate dive bar; it's a dingy basement whose focus is solely on their drinks and pub fare.
(Posted on 10/2/07)

Jay wrote:
I was in Boston the weekend (the Celtics opened their first game) and went to Murphy's Law. We got to Boston Nov. 1 about 10 p.m. and once we checked into our hotel we decided to go out and get a drink. We actually got lost and found Murphy's by mistake. (That is always how you find the best places.) Murphy's is great. The atmosphere and the bartenders are the greatest people in Boston. We closed the place every night we went. This is a MUST GO bar. If you do make it in tell Scott, Christine, Chris, Jay, and Seamus that Jay and his wife says hi. It is cash only but they do have an ATM. Play darts drink beer and enjoy!!!
(Posted on 11/8/07)

Eric H. wrote:
Tee Tee's in Walpole! There are more people smoking outside of the restaurant than eating inside. Tee Tee's consists of a narrow dining room and a separate narrow bar -- of course, separated by a narrow wall. It's a loud, not very attractive place with little decor, no-frills Durgin Park-like service, and very good food. I recently had a double-sized marinated chicken sandwich with cheese with amazing fries that was as good as any. Tee Tee's has a reputation for serving great steak dinners and amazing burgers. The bright, cheap sign out front is one of the last remnants of the "old school" businesses in Walpole center. Tee Tee's is indeed a "throwback" dive from another era that still packs a crowd!
- Eric H.
VisitingNewEngland.com
(Posted on 3/31/08)

MC Slim JB wrote:
In my mind a real dive bar has to be on the filthy side and have an implied threat of violence. A lot of places people think of as dive bars are just Epcot Center versions of townie bars. Yelpers like to cite Razzy's, Sligo, Silhouette and Model, but those places got too clean and safe years ago. I think the Red Hat is just old, and the food is actually decent. No real dive serves anything more edible than pickled eggs.
Real dives I like (when I dare) include the Drinking Fountain, Aces High, Jacques, Sullivan's Pub in Charlestown, and Packy Connors in Roxbury (which violates one of my rules by serving great oversized chicken wings for a buck apiece).
The South End's now-closed Waltham Tavern used to be my local. That was a real dive, the last one in the neighborhood (though The Eagle might count if it were my sort of hangout). I recently wrote a reminiscence about The Waltham here: http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/2009/04/lesson-in-workforce-management-from.html
(Posted on 5/1/09)

BBell wrote:
Bukowski's on Dalton Street. Amazing beer selection and great food...and parking is close...hehe
(Posted on 5/1/09)

DD wrote:
The Last Drop on Washington St in Brighton. Cheap beer, cheap pool and free darts. Plus BYOF. Love the place.
(Posted on 5/1/09)

StrongIsland wrote:
Having been away from Boston for several years, I can't speak to any new places, but dive bars should be judged by the size of the windows. The smaller the windows, the bigger the dive. Extra points for bars in the window. And if there are no windows, then you have truly found a gem.
Castlebar in Brighton used to be great many years ago. Not sure how divey it is these days. Abbey lounge before music took over it. Cantab is a bit of a dive as well or at least it used to be on the nights Lil Joe Cook was not playing.
(Posted on 5/1/09)

JM wrote:
Paddy's on Walden St. in Cambridge.
(Posted on 7/17/09)

RF wrote:
Rick's Pub, at the corner of Dedham Pkwy and Milton Street in Dedham. This is your classic dive. No food to speak of, just booze and friends. Also, Hyde Park Pub on Hyde Park Ave. Bikers love the joint.
(Posted on 9/22/09)

JB wrote:
The Cavan in Hyde Park. I dare ya.
(Posted on 11/11/09)

Bo W. wrote:
Bernie's in Chinatown. It def. fits MC Slim JB's definition, esp. on the "threat of implied violence" end of things. It's where I learned that pimps both do and do not dress like pimps.
(Posted on 2/7/10)

Matty wrote:
The Silhouette in Allston.
(Posted on 2/11/10)

kdmb wrote:
Paddy's on Walden in Cambridge IS a total dive... JMs got it right. So much so I live right down the street and have never been, even though I love my dive bars!
I miss Richard's on the Back Bay / South End line- basically where Flashes is now. I miss the Tar Bar, though that was probably too hip to be a true dive bar. Sligos back in the day, yup, total dive. Even Costello's in JP on Centre Street was a dive... is it still?
(Posted on 2/11/10)

KC wrote:
Bukowski's on Dalton, easily the best downtown. If you want an Orange Line ride for a "real" dive and not for the faint of heart, My Honey Fitz in Malden.
(Posted on 2/16/10)

anonymous wrote:
Whitneys in Cambridge; best dive around.
(Posted on 3/3/10)

redroomwolf wrote:
I work nearby and usually make it over to my favorite dive TCs Lounge just off Mass Ave by Berklee. No windows at all in that joint.
(Posted on 3/7/10)

greg wrote:
Bernie's was a genuine dive but it's been gone for a while now.
Bukowski's is a cool place but it is not a dive bar. Too expensive and NO HARD BOOZE.
(Posted on 3/30/10)

jw wrote:
Bernies is the only dive in BOSTON mentioned on this LIST.
(Posted on 4/5/10)

AJ wrote:
Whitey's in Southie....Most people don't have the guts to go inside...but it's a great place and the ultimate dive!
(Posted on 6/29/10)

cmw wrote:
The Other Side in Boston, not really that divey but a little rough around the edges. Penguin Pizza, best pizza on the planet and a beer list that will rival places 10x the size.
(Posted on 6/29/10)

cmg wrote:
Morrison's in Malden...holy COW with the grated windows and the crowd outside of the bar.
(Posted on 6/29/10)

Ed wrote:
Lewis' in Norwood.
JJ Foley's in the South End.
(Posted on 6/30/10)

RB wrote:
Reds in Salem, MA. The best breakfast in town, especially the Eggs Florentine!
(Posted on 6/30/10)

rb wrote:
Miss the old Charlie Flynn's on Tremont St. Now some yuppie theatre joint... ugh.
(Posted on 7/5/10)

ortenzia wrote:
Original Sully's (aka Sullivan's, not the one on Main) in Charlestown is my favorite - because the guys who run it and the regulars are damn fine people (my friend and I ran out of cash on a cold night so they let us drink Bud Light for free).
(Posted on 12/22/10)

Leah wrote:
I think Paddy's 34 counts too!
(Posted on 5/2/11)

husky82 wrote:
Any place that Chris Nilan drinks in is a dive. Punters Pub anyone? Too bad about the Rat. Is the Rifleman still around, or did that go out of style like Whitey Bulger?
(Posted on 5/2/11)

mrsx wrote:
I miss Guido's on the Cambridge/Watertown line.
(Posted on 5/2/11)

@therickyross wrote:
TC's off of Mass ave across from Berklee. They have buck hunter and lots of crazy lighting and that indescribable dive bar feel.
(Posted on 5/2/11)

dfphil wrote:
I haven't been there in ages but if it still exists, upstairs at the Cellar was a great dive. I like a nice bright place with wooden tables as it keeps the crowds down. I'd also second Paddy's on Walden in North Cambridge.
(Posted on 5/2/11)

mm wrote:
Hands down- The Tam in the theater district is a sick dive bar.
(Posted on 5/2/11)

oya wrote:
The Troubadour, if Newton can have a dive bar.
The Lions Den and the Sunset Cafe in North Cambridge.
(Posted on 5/3/11)

engel wrote:
THE TAM. Cannot believe only one other person has mentioned The Tam. Don't let its location across the street from the Theater District fool you. This place is a dive bar with a diverse clientele. I'm sorry, but people really don't understand what a dive bar is unless they've gone to the Tam. I mean, where else but a dive bar does one night's excitement include a woman angry at her boyfriend running into the bar and following him into the bathroom where they fight and then almost copulate? How do I know? Because there isn't a door to the men's bathroom and about 20 people saw it all go down. And did I say bathroom? I should say, "water closet", because that's how small the bathroom is. And that is how dive-bar The Tam is.
(Posted on 7/13/11)

Marie A wrote:
No one said The Model on Allston? Eddie C's in Eastie too
(Posted on 10/17/11)

KE wrote:
Jacques, The Derby in Everett, Players in Lynn, New Brown Jug before it moved
(Posted on 10/17/11)

travis wrote:
Bukowskis is NOT a dive bar. Upstairs at the Cellar is definitely NOT a dive and Allston no longer has any good dives. The Swill-ohuette and Model are packed with trust fund babies and BU bro-bros. OMalleys was Allston's last good dive, but has since been turned into Deep Ellum. Even the Castlebar now sports granite top bathroom counters and large picture windows. The only true dives that still come to mind are Hogans Run, Whiteys, the Penalty Box and Sullys Tap.
(Posted on 10/18/11)

JB wrote:
Mary Ann's in Cleveland circle
(Posted on 2/23/12)

bc wrote:
The Dot Tavern -Dorchester pickled eggs included
(Posted on 2/23/12)

Winnie wrote:
The Linwood Pizza in Randolph/Best bar pizza & cheap drinks
(Posted on 2/23/12)

Jonathan Bowen wrote:
Does the Sail Loft qualify?
(Posted on 2/23/12)

Mike P wrote:
Definitely Biddy's in the Financial District. Great dive bar in a high end neighborhood
(Posted on 2/24/12)

kmd77 wrote:
Hands down it is the original Sully's in Charlestown! :)
(Posted on 2/24/12)

emd wrote:
The Tam!
(Posted on 2/24/12)

@boston_drinks wrote:
Waltham Sports Pub on Main st in Waltham.
(Posted on 2/24/12)