Al's Bar is a bar in North Limestone, Lexington.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Tip: Closed Mondays; Tuesday open mic is free and the Thursday to Saturday bookings range from hip-hop to bluegrass.
Address: 601 N Limestone, Lexington, KY 40508
Chevy Chase Inn has poured since 1933, Lexington's oldest bar, a cash-friendly Euclid Avenue dive that opens at 14:00 and never pretends to be more.
Signature drink: A cold bottle in Lexington's oldest bar
Tip: Afternoon drinking is the move; it opens at 14:00 daily and the jukebox and regulars do the entertaining.
The Beer Trappe runs taps and a bottle wall on Euclid Avenue, the Chevy Chase beer bar where Lexington's beer nerds drink in or carry out rare releases.
Signature drink: Rotating craft drafts beside a wall of bottles
Tip: Anything on the shelves can be opened at the bar for a small corkage; ask what rare Kentucky releases landed.
McCarthy's Irish Bar pulls Guinness on South Upper Street daily until 02:30, the downtown Lexington local for march-in singalongs and post-game pints.
Signature drink: Guinness across from the courthouse crowd
Tip: Open 11:00 to 02:30 every day; it is the default St Patrick's headquarters, so plan around the March crush.
Charlie Brown's furnishes its Euclid Avenue bar like a worn library, all couches, bookshelves and lamplight, a Lexington comfort institution with pub food.
Signature drink: A bourbon by the fireplace among the bookshelves
Tip: Grab a couch by the fireplace in winter; the kitchen serves the full menu until late on weekends.
The Bar Complex runs three bars, a dance floor and drag stages on East Main, the long-standing anchor of LGBTQ+ nightlife in downtown Lexington.
Signature drink: Dance-floor drinks before the drag show
Tip: Thursday to Saturday only, 20:00 to 02:30; check the drag show schedule and arrive before the second set.
OBC Kitchen stocks over 150 bourbons and whiskeys behind a Lansdowne storefront, the Lexington bar-restaurant where bacon arrives in a glass with the drinks.
Signature: Bacon in a glass
Tip: It sits in the Lansdowne Shoppes beside sister steakhouse Malone's; weekend service opens at 10:00 with brunch dishes.
