This post was originally written by Adrianne Salmon (@buffalobrunch) & Natalie Brown (@diveintobuffalo) in October 2019 and has been updated since to remove closed businesses.
The first question we asked ourselves when we sat down to write this article was: How does Buffalo define a dive bar? In a town where the bars run deep and the lines are blurred between social and physical comfort, friendliness, bang for your buck, and overall cleanliness, it’s hard to really pinpoint what the average Buffalonian is willing to determine is a dive bar. Being a couple gals, albeit wild, we had to take it upon ourselves to really DIVE in (chuckle) and let Buffalo know what’s up.
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Allow us to elaborate. One of the first things we had to do is figure out our WNY boundaries. Right there, we had to make the cut: real dive bars simply do not exist in towns like East Aurora, Williamsville, and Lewiston. Sorry to burst y’alls bubbles, but they don’t. I can definitely admit that Wallenwein Hotel and Dave’s Last Chance Saloon are really riding the line, but one trip to Brandy’s Pub will definitely sway your definition. I mean, guys – if you Google “dive bars Williamsville NY,” Moor Pat, The Irishman, and Eagle House Restaurant populate the results. Nope.
How we define a WNY dive bar:
- When you walk in the door, everyone turns to see who walked in.
- The bathroom is questionable due to a lack of cleanliness, quirky decorations or smell.
- Speaking of smells, dive bars often have a “unique” smell that only the true dive bar lovers appreciate.
- Good music is playing or is available via jukebox.
- If you’re lucky, frosty cold mugs are offered for beer (the best thing since sliced bread).
- Paying with cash is always preferred and many times the only acceptable payment.
- Some sort of salty snack, wings or fried food is offered – amazing fish fries are a plus!
- You will no doubt meet a cast of lively characters both working behind the pine and in the bar stools next to you. People like “Wolfman” from Dalmatia Hotel, Hoover and Buntsy from The Pink, and Patty from Broadway Hotel are standard names and people you will get to know, buy shots for, and overtip because hey, they deserve it!
- A round of shots and beers costs less than $30 and everyone at the bar buys them for each other throughout the night.
- Bar games are offered on a partly broken or very worn out dart board or pool table (with missing darts, pool balls and broken sticks). The hours will go by quickly as you play game after game.
- Sticky floors.
- No frill drinks – stick to beer or cocktails that involve alcohol + one mixer.
- Walls are adorned with framed photos from a million years ago, covered in dust. Some newer dive bars are covering their walls with chalk art and paintings (Dalmatia Hotel art by MJ Myers).
- Every dive bar has its own unique vibe based on the regulars who visit the establishment and people stopping by for their first time. You should feel comforted by the crazy, tipsy within an hour of being there and full of gratitude that these magical little places still exist in a city that is transforming in front of our eyes.
Did we miss one? Did one of these places close? Send us a note!
CITY OF BUFFALO
Adolf’s Old First Ward Tavern
555 South Park Ave, Buffalo
Arty’s
508 Peckham St, Buffalo
Avenue Pub
2113 South Park Ave, Buffalo
Bases Loaded
3355 Lake Shore Rd, Buffalo
Black Dog’s Tavern
2015 South Park Ave, Buffalo, NY 14220
Brandy’s Pub
805 Elk St, Buffalo
The Buffalo Bar & Grill
307 Louisiana St, Buffalo
Buffalo Tap House
85 W Chippewa St, Buffalo
Dalmatia Hotel
1187 Tonawanda St, Buffalo
Daly Tavern
2423 Seneca St, Buffalo
Daren’s Tavern
514 Howard St, Buffalo
Eddie Brady’s
97 Genesee St, Buffalo
Essex St. Pub
530 Rhode Island St, Buffalo
Electric Ave
300 Ellicott St, Buffalo
Founding Fathers
75 Edward St, Buffalo
Frizzy’s
140 Allen St, Buffalo
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Gene McCarthy’s
73 Hamburg St, Buffalo
Gordy’s Inn Too
3220 Seneca St, Buffalo
Griffin’s Irish Pub
81 Abbott Rd, Buffalo
Hopper’s Rush Inn
2104 Seneca St, Buffalo
Jolly Jug
797 Niagara Falls Blvd, Buffalo
JP’s Checker’s
1854 Hertel Ave, Buffalo
Kelly’s Korner
2526 Delaware Ave, Buffalo
Macky’s Shamrock Room
1634 Bailey Ave, Buffalo
McGarrets
946 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo
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Mr. Goodbar
1110 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo
Molly Maguire’s
834 Abbott Rd, Buffalo
Nine-Eleven Tavern
11 Bloomfield Ave, Buffalo
Swannie House
170 Ohio St, Buffalo
Talty’s Tavern
2056 South Park Ave, Buffalo
The Old Pink
223 Allen St, Buffalo
Tudor Lounge
335 Franklin St, Buffalo
Wiechec’s Lounge
1748 Clinton St, Buffalo
OUTSIDE CITY OF BUFFALO
Betty’s Grill
215 Main St, North Tonawanda
Broadway Hotel
158 Main St, North Tonawanda
Cagneys Too
1254 Electric Ave, Lackawanna
Caputi’s Sheridan Pub
2351 Sheridan Dr, Tonawanda
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Devlin’s Deuce
2335 Sheridan Dr, Tonawanda
Kaz’s
113 Lake Ave, Blasdell
Klimeks’ Tavern
685 Oliver Street, North Tonawanda
Pour House
23 S Buffalo St, Hamburg
Pyramid Lounge
187 Buffalo St, Hamburg
Ryan’s
1186 Oliver Street, North Tonawanda
Sneaker’s
205 Martin Ave, Blasdell
The Village Inn
869 Oliver St, North Tonawanda
Towne House
4889 South Park Ave, Hamburg
Witter’s Sports Bar & Grill
300 Oliver St, North Tonawanda
So you have scanned our list and you might be asking yourself, what makes these millennial gals the experts on dive bars? Well, we’d like to think we’ve spent enough time in them in order to create the following list. And with that, we conclude: Cheers to many more cheap thrills and good times!
Did we miss one? Did one of these places close? Send us a note!
This post was originally published in 2019 and has been updated.
