30 editor picks across United States.
30 late-night dives worth the night across United States, editor-ranked. All United States guides.
Hopleaf in Andersonville has poured Belgian beer on Clark Street since 1992, with 62 taps, 200 bottles, mussels and frites and a conversation-only no-TVs house rule.
TipOpen 12:00-23:00 most nights, 24:00 on Friday and Saturday. Kitchen runs through to 22:00 or 23:00. Limited reservations via Tock, walk-in usually fine.
My Brother's Bar at 15th and Platte has poured since 1873 as the oldest continuously operating bar in Denver, with a Jack Kerouac letter on the wall and a brick patio overlooking the Platte.
TipOpen until midnight weekdays, 02:00 Friday and Saturday. The Johnny burger and JCB cheeseburger are the food orders; the jukebox is classical only.
West Alabama Ice House on West Alabama at Hazard has poured cold beer since 1928. Open-air cinderblock walls, picnic tables on a gravel lot.
TipOpen daily; the front-yard tables fill on cool evenings. Cash works fastest, the beer fridge takes precedence over cocktails, and dogs run free.
Atomic Liquors on Fremont East has held tavern license number one since 1952 as the oldest freestanding bar in Las Vegas, with neon-lit booths and a rooftop once used for atomic-test viewing.
TipThe Atomic cocktails on the menu reference the rooftop's atomic-test history. Open until 02:00 most nights, 03:00 Friday and Saturday.
Herbs and Rye on West Sahara runs a pre-Prohibition cocktail program with hand-pressed juices and house bitters, plus an Old Vegas steakhouse menu, until 03:00 Monday through Saturday.
TipClosed Sundays. Late seating is the play for the cocktail program; the kitchen runs through the listed close.
Tiki-Ti on Sunset in Los Feliz, opened 1961 by Ray Buhen, is the 12-seat LA tiki room pouring 90 family-recipe cocktails over three generations.
TipCash only, no reservations. Closed Sunday through Tuesday. Order the Ray's Mistake, the bartenders ring a bell.
Santa's Pub on Bransford Avenue in Nashville is the year-round Christmas trailer karaoke dive run by Santa himself, $2 beers and karaoke from 19:00 every night.
TipCash only, 21+ with ID, karaoke from 19:00 nightly and 21:00 on Sundays. Open Wed to Sun 16:00-03:00.
Donn's Depot on West 5th Street in Austin is the converted railway-car bar with Donn Adelman at the piano since the 1970s, country and honky-tonk dance.
TipClosed Sundays. Live music nightly from 21:00, no cover; the rail-car back rooms are the quieter conversation spots.
Maria's Packaged Goods in Bridgeport opened 1986 and pairs a working liquor store with a bar that shares a wall with Polish Korean restaurant Kimski next door.
TipThursday through Saturday run to 02:00. Walk between the bar and Kimski with the same drink; the cocktail program goes deep on Malort.
Holy Grale on Bardstown Road in Louisville pours Belgian and German imports from a converted 1905 church, the late-night Highlands beer hall with 30 taps and a stained-glass aesthetic.
TipWalk-in for the bar. Kitchen serves Belgian-style fries with the European beer list.
Earnestine and Hazel's on South Main downtown Memphis runs Soul Burgers and a jukebox until 03:00 daily, a former brothel and pharmacy.
TipCash works fastest. Upstairs the old brothel rooms run quiet most nights.
Mac's Club Deuce on 14th Street is Miami Beach's oldest bar, opened in 1926 and registered post-Prohibition in 1933, the South Beach dive where Anthony Bourdain held court and the cash register still rings 21 hours a day.
TipCash only. Happy hour 08:00-17:00 runs two-for-one drinks; the pool table and jukebox keep going until 05:00.
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop at Bourbon and St Philip is the candlelit 1772 cottage commonly cited as the oldest standing structure used as a bar in the United.
TipOpen until 03:00 most nights. Order the purple Voodoo Daiquiri; cash and card both work but the line in the back is faster.
Manuel's Tavern in Poncey-Highland has poured since Manuel Maloof opened the doors in 1956, a National Register tavern with worn booths, political-press regulars and a beer-and-burger menu late.
TipOpen late, kitchen runs to 23:00 most nights. The back rooms hold pool, the front bar holds the press; cash and card both welcome.
Lala's Little Nugget on Justin Lane in north Austin is the year-round Christmas dive open since 1972, boughs of holly on the walls and Santa on the roof.
Tip21+ with valid ID. Open weekdays 16:00-02:00, weekends from 12:00. Cash and card both work; jukebox is the soundtrack.
Highland Kitchen on Highland Avenue has poured craft cocktails and Southern-leaning American comfort food in Somerville since 2007. Upscale dive feel.
TipKitchen closes 22:00, bar runs to 01:00. Mai Tai is the canonical order; the back booth fills first on weekends.
Nietzsche's on Allen Street in Buffalo has run live music since 1982, with free Saturday Celtic Sessions sponsored by the Amherst Gaelic League.
TipCeltic Sessions run every Saturday from 16:00 to 19:00 with no cover; the bar stays open until 03:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Recovery Room on Upper King is the perennial Charleston dive: ice cold PBR, late-night gourmet tater tots, pinball, pool and bingo or trivia at 21:00 nightly. Voted top dive in South Carolina.
TipOpen weekdays 14:00-02:00, weekends from noon. Kitchen runs late food until 01:30; DJs Friday and Saturday, no cover.
The Bitter Alibi keeps three floors of house-party dive comfort going until midnight on Houston Street, Chattanooga's after-work clubhouse of choice.
TipThe third floor hosts the Dilemma cocktail bar, Thursday to Sunday from 18:00; the porch is the best seat in the house.
Innertown Pub on West Thomas has poured cheap beer in Ukrainian Village since 1983 with free pool, darts, a Tom Waits jukebox and a back room of taxidermy and rummage art.
TipCash preferred, kitchen-free. Open to 02:00 weeknights, 03:00 Saturday. The crowd shows up after 22:00 and the booths fill last.
Nisei Lounge in Chicago opened 1951 as the oldest tavern in Wrigleyville, two blocks south of Wrigley Field, with pool tables, board games and a wall of infused Malort.
TipGame-day mornings open at 11:00, regular open at 17:00. The Malort wall has six flavors poured neat; the dart boards are free.
California Clipper in Humboldt Park has run a 60-foot mahogany bar and a tiny stage since 1937, reopened after a two-year pandemic hiatus with cocktails and live country.
TipClosed-ish Sunday, opens 16:00 Friday and Saturday. Saturday runs to 03:00. Live country and rockabilly bookings most weekends, no cover.
The Old Miami on Cass Avenue is Detroit's canonical dive bar since 1980. Vietnam veteran-run, punk shows, stand-up comedy and open-mic nights.
TipBeer is cheap; the back garden is a hidden party space in summer. Pool table inside.
Chico's Tacos is El Paso's most important late-night institution: a cash-only counter restaurant serving rolled tacos in tomato broth until 23:30 nightly, packed from midnight onward with after-bar crowds and night workers.
OrderPlate of rolled tacos in tomato broth
TipThe loudest, most alive table in El Paso after 23:00. Cash only, no exceptions.
La Mariana Sailing Club on Sand Island in Honolulu is the city's last original tiki dive bar since 1957, with carved tikis from the Sheraton Kon Tiki Room.
TipTuesday to Saturday 11:00-20:00. Closed Monday and Sunday; tucked behind the warehouses, hard to find.
Frankie's Tiki Room runs 24 hours on Charleston Boulevard as the only round-the-clock tiki bar in the world, with Bamboo Ben interior carvings and exotic rum drinks at any hour.
TipBar-side video poker keeps regulars in seat all night. The Bearded Clam and Lava Letch are the listed signature tiki pours.
Double Down Saloon on Paradise Road has been the punk and psychobilly hub of Las Vegas since 1992, with graffiti walls, the Ass Juice house pour and 24-hour Shut Up and Drink hours.
TipLive bands play most nights with no cover or ticket charge. Anthony Bourdain shot No Reservations here, which has not made it any cleaner.
The Golden Tiki opened in 2015 on Spring Mountain Road in Chinatown as a 4,000-square-foot tiki fantasy with four themed lounges, animatronics and a 24-hour bar program.
TipWalk past the lava-rock waterfall entrance to find the Pirate's Lair and Mermaid Cove rooms. Reservations recommended on weekends.
Wolski's Tavern on North Pulaski Street has been a Lower East Side corner tavern since 1908, with the city's most famous I Closed Wolski's bumper sticker.
Holler House on West Lincoln Avenue is the oldest sanctioned bowling alley in America since 1908, with two basement lanes and a corner-bar shot-and-beer.
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