State Park in Kendall Square is the Big Dipper Hospitality basement bar with shuffleboard, a deep jukebox and vinyl-only DJ sets three weekends a month including Cafeteria and Soulelujah residencies.
Tip: Soulelujah DJ night is the marquee Saturday. Brunch Saturday and Sunday from 10:00; bar runs to 02:00 Friday and Saturday.
Address: 1 Kendall Sq, Cambridge, MA 02139, Boston
Charlie's Kitchen on Eliot Street has run a Harvard Square dive since 1951. Diner-counter cheeseburgers downstairs, college bar upstairs and a beer garden out the back. Cheap, dark and unbothered.
Tip: Double cheeseburger and a tall PBR is the order. Upstairs bar runs late; the beer garden opens spring through autumn.
Miracle of Science on Mass Ave has run a science-themed neighbourhood bar in Central Square since 1991. Periodic-table chalkboard menu, the Ronie burger, a clientele that mixes MIT regulars and dive-bar holdouts.
Tip: Order from the chalkboard, not a paper menu. The patio opens in spring; the bar closes 01:00 every night.
Bleacher Bar on Lansdowne Street sits beneath the Fenway Park bleachers with a one-way garage-door window straight onto centre field. Burger and beer menu runs to midnight on weekdays, 02:00 on weekends.
Tip: Game-day window seats book by lottery on the website. Off-day walk-ins are easy; arrive 30 minutes before first pitch for the field view.
The Tam on Tremont Street is the Theater District Irish dive with a cheap pour, a long bar, an unmovable jukebox and a 02:00 close every night of the week.
Tip: $4 well drinks before 21:00 most weeknights. Cash gets the friendlier nod; the back of the bar holds the regular crowd.
Highland Kitchen on Highland Avenue has poured craft cocktails and Southern-leaning American comfort food in Somerville since 2007. Upscale dive feel, no reservations, a killer jukebox and a 01:00 last call.
Tip: Kitchen closes 22:00, bar runs to 01:00. Mai Tai is the canonical order; the back booth fills first on weekends.
Charlie's Kitchen on Eliot Street has run a Harvard Square dive since 1951. Diner-counter cheeseburgers downstairs, college bar upstairs and a beer garden out the back. Cheap, dark and unbothered.
Tip: Double cheeseburger and a tall PBR is the order. Upstairs bar runs late; the beer garden opens spring through autumn.
Miracle of Science on Mass Ave has run a science-themed neighbourhood bar in Central Square since 1991. Periodic-table chalkboard menu, the Ronie burger, a clientele that mixes MIT regulars and dive-bar holdouts.
Tip: Order from the chalkboard, not a paper menu. The patio opens in spring; the bar closes 01:00 every night.
Silhouette Lounge on Brighton Avenue has poured cheap pitchers since 1965, named Best Dive Bar by Boston Magazine. Free popcorn, $7 pitchers, dart boards, pool, Big Buck Hunter and a jukebox heavy on classic rock.
Tip: Cash for the cheap rounds. Tuesdays bring the locals; weekend nights fill with BU students through closing.