Best Dive Bars

[gtcam]

The Silver Dollar in Rockville, The Olde Rockville Tavern (RIP Ray 12/2/2020) Carrie Nations in Manchester
Sportmans Cafe in Manchester The Fat Cat in South Windsor, Teddy Bear in Vernon

 

[bazzdog]

The Naut.

Nuff said.

Yep
Classic place
Watched magic n bird there back in the day

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Burn's Tavern, Stamford
Ernie's, Darien
Bruce Park Grill, Greenwich
Unfortunately, there are none left in Norwalk that I can safely walk into :-(

O'Neills Pub until they moved into the nice spot that they have now. Owner is a great, great guy. But it was pretty dark and dingy until they upgraded a few blocks over.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Ah the Grape! Back in college I’d go there Tuesday nights, Thursday nights, and more often then not Fri thru Sunday.

They cleaned it up a little bit but it’s still grimy.

Fear the trough.

 

[Griggs]

Shelton had Vic's, Oval Tavern, Jim's Royal, and Sly 's all on Center St.
Murray Stree Cafe in Ansonia was cool.

Best one I was ever at was a place just over the border from Danbury in Brewster NY called Old Homestead. Blind bartender Norm Downey would kick your butt in a game of cribbage.

 

[dennismenace]

I remember the sign from my childhood but not where it was. Downtown?

Yes across the street from the Wagonwheel restaurant/bar and the former White Oak Corp. and next to the railroad track and silver diner on the other side of West Main close (across the street) to today's Police station.

 

[dennismenace]

Ask for the mystery shots behind the bar. They concoct some random mixture of booze and usually sit on the shelf for months until someone like me orders them.

Place gets grimy but if were talking dive bars in Southington go no further than Hydeaway Cafe. And Jersey Joes. The Joe is an absolute trip.

Would that be the former Cosmo's Hideaway on RT 10? I was intrigued going by it at night with that eerie sign when I was too young to drink. You could also tell the real dives in your town by the number of times the picture windows in front were temporarily replaced by plywood when bottles (or excitable patrons) went flying through them the night before. There used to be a country and western bar called the Blue Lantern in Bristol that was frequented by truck drivers. After a rec league soccer game when I was 18 I went there with a few other lads and the place seemed pretty jumping. As a newbie I said "this seems like a great place" and the waitress said "It is............... until closing time and then the bottles start flying around." We thought that was pretty funny but sure enough, the bottles starting flying from everywhere at closing. Crazy.

 

[Apollo]

The Roo Bar in Hartford back in the day was a real S-hole. They used to have midget wrestling and give out packs of Pall Malls as a promotion.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Locally, I loved and miss Jimmy's Seaside/Seaside Tavern. In high school and college, my band played there about a dozen times and we grew enough of a rapport with the owners that we basically given free reign to show up in any side project our members came up with.

I was a regular here for several years especially when Jimmy Love was in charge and local bands definitely loved playing there. I'm sure I heard you guys play at some point.

Black Duck was never a dive. They serve salads. And have top shelf booze. Even though they have the fun house titled floor to the men's room.

The words "dive bar" and "Westport" don't really go together. Place actually has pretty good food though. I still can't believe the building hasn't fallen in the river yet.

 

[UConnDad]

I was a regular here for several years especially when Jimmy Love was in charge and local bands definitely loved playing there. I'm sure I heard you guys play at some point.

The words "dive bar" and "Westport" don't really go together. Place actually has pretty good food though. I still can't believe the building hasn't fallen in the river yet.

Black Duck was one of the first places to have Pac-Man. It used to be down hill to the bathrooms until they raised that end.

 

[methodology]

Hardhat cafe in north haven.

Although recent remodel doesn't make it seem like a dive

 

[bluestreak]

Grew up in Meriden home of the dives!! Others in the area Sals, Raffalas and Polly’s in Middletown, Dudley’s and Corner Cafe in Wallingford, Quitos and Popular in Southington, Mayos in Middlebury, Federal and JPs before UConn games in Hartford....so many great ones back in the day. Now it’s hard for the dive to survive!

Can't talk Meriden without mentioning The Spot. It died back in the mid 70's but was epic.

 

[willie99]

Grew up in Meriden home of the dives!! Others in the area Sals, Raffalas and Polly’s in Middletown, Dudley’s and Corner Cafe in Wallingford, Quitos and Popular in Southington, Mayos in Middlebury, Federal and JPs before UConn games in Hartford....so many great ones back in the day. Now it’s hard for the dive to survive!

Popular? Mayos?

Did you play flag football or setback at Mayos?

 

[willie99]

Outside Inn
Bud's Place
Vendome

All in Waterbury, including a couple of 10 cents per beer places

 

[Waquoit]

Carrie Nations in Manchester

Carrie Nation's used to sell a 1.5 gallon glass of LI ice tea. And it was 2 for 1 on your birthday.

 

[87Xfer]

Does McNeil's in Brattleboro VT count as a dive bar? I used to love that place. I got a pretty trippy guided tour of the crazy basement brewing setup by a pretty hammered Ray McNeil one new year's eve. The man makes some good been.

 

[8893]

Does McNeil's in Brattleboro VT count as a dive bar? I used to love that place. I got a pretty trippy guided tour of the crazy basement brewing setup by a pretty hammered Ray McNeil one new year's eve. The man makes some good been.

Not remotely.

 

[FairView]

You should have seen the Sea Grape when it was the Nautilus late 70s into 80s. Bar floor was crooked and the swill would flow downhill and get an inch deep against the wall. Smell of urine and non working toilets. Those were the days!

Black Duck still going strong in Westport. Ultimate is Matty's Corner in Black Rock. Defines dive.

Out of state, old stomping grounds Chanticleer pub in Ithaca, NY. It was old in 1980. Still there as is Rhine House.

As a Norwalk boy, we would venture to the Nautilus to see if the Westport or Fairfield girls were in the mood to slum it with the kids of blue-collar parents. There was also another dive in the area – the surfside maybe? The Nautilus was better, but it was nice to check them both out. It was a different world back then. I remember witnessing a fight outside of the Nautilus one summer night. The low point of the fight was when the obviously stronger aggressor pulled the hearing aid out of the ear of the guy he was picking on and stomped it to bits. This really bothered me, so when the cops arrived I happily volunteered as a witness. They asked me to drive to the police station to give a statement. I was obviously very, very drunk. The cops had no problem with asking me to drive. I sat in the police station as the officer typed my statement into an old manual typewriter. I must have reeked of beer and looked like Otis from Mayberry. I signed the statement, walked out and drove to meet my friends at IHOP. Fortunately I had turned 18 a few weeks earlier. I had been patronizing the Nautilus for a year or two. How is anyone from my generation still alive? Thumbs up for the Nautilus.

 

[NoVaHusky]

Checkered Flag in Indianapolis
Old Colony in Provincetown, MA

 

[FairView]

Growing up in Norwalk, my first experiences with dive bars are in that area. There was a place called Larosas, in East Norwalk right by the train tracks and the sewer plant. You could feel the place shake when the express trains went by and in the summer, the aroma was less than ideal. That said, it was packed with 16-26 year olds. Plus some old drunks. Not very many women, if any. But it was fun, friendly and safe. People were there to get drunk and it was always Mission Accomplished. I can remember being a regular there when Saturday Night Live first broke through. This raucous bar would go quiet as scores of drunks from both rooms crowded to watch the single small TV that was over the bar. If you talked other than to laugh, you were quickly told to shut up of leave.
Follow the road a ways, over the draw bridge into what is now called SoNo. Then it was just South Norwalk. Ever been to Donovan's on the corner as you enter SoNo? Very trendy. I'm sure the millennials love it. Back then it was called Bat's Shanty. It was as much of a dive as could be. The boxer pictures that are now neatly arranged on the walls, were all over the place, crooked and filthy. In fact, the entire place was filthy. Bucky, the bartender most nights, was known to pass out on a mattress that was actually on the floor behind the bar. No problem, though, you could just reach over and pour yourself another draft. Most of us left the appropriate payment. A mix of kids and old drunks. For some reason, a number of mailmen and retired railroad workers. too. As a kid it was a blast. If you were one of the regulars there as an adult, you probably led a pretty dull life.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

Billy's Pub Too in North Miami deserves a mention. I used to frequent that place pretty regularly during the short period of time I lived in Little Haiti (2004 timeframe).

Always some good people watching to go along with shady things going down in the disgusting bathrooms covered in water. All that aside the drinks were cheap and there was never a dull moment.

 

[HCCForever]

Carrie Nation's used to sell a 1.5 gallon glass of LI ice tea. And it was 2 for 1 on your birthday.

I remember listening to bands at Carrie Nation's long ago and getting to keep the glasses from LI Iced Teas. My memories are fuzzy but I don't think I would call it a dive. Was that near the phone company on Main Street in Manchester?

 

[superjohn]

Last time I was in New Orleans I was at Sneaky Pete's, the female bartender was drunk and asleep and I walk in the bathroom where a young drug dealer is bagging up little baggies of cocaine.

 

[SoFla Steve]

Would that be the former Cosmo's Hideaway on RT 10? I was intrigued going by it at night with that eerie sign when I was too young to drink. You could also tell the real dives in your town by the number of times the picture windows in front were temporarily replaced by plywood when bottles (or excitable patrons) went flying through them the night before. There used to be a country and western bar called the Blue Lantern in Bristol that was frequented by truck drivers. After a rec league soccer game when I was 18 I went there with a few other lads and the place seemed pretty jumping. As a newbie I said "this seems like a great place" and the waitress said "It is............... until closing time and then the bottles start flying around." We thought that was pretty funny but sure enough, the bottles starting flying from everywhere at closing. Crazy.

Cosmo's became the Blue Parrot which was a different kind of bar. I think the Parrot closed and it's something else now. Haven't been out that way in a couple of years.