The best bars and cafés Boston

An ultra-sympa bar, with an eclectic decoration, a mix of museum dedicated to Elvis and flea market. Locals love this cosy place that has been part of the South End scene for over 50 years and still has very affordable prices. It is true that you can eat well and cheaply there, in addition to having a drink in an almost parallel atmosphere. From its toilets with graffiti-covered walls to its LEDs hanging from the ceiling, Delux Cafe is a real old-fashioned bar, where pretension is not the order of the day. Attention, payment in cash only.

The trendy bar where Boston's finest like to hang out. If your budget doesn't allow you to stay at the Liberty Hotel, which houses it, treat yourself to a gourmet break in the Scampo Bar. Here you can discover a place steeped in history. Here you can drink good cocktails, most of which are classics revisited, such as Manhattan with bacon or sangria served hot in winter! Scampo also serves good food. For the little anecdote, before being a very expensive hotel, the Liberty Hotel was a prison.

Set on the harbor, Legal Harborside offers three concepts on as many floors. On the second floor, you can eat seafood and oysters on the go, in a relaxed atmosphere; on the second floor, fish and seafood are also honored, but prepared in more elaborate dishes; on the third floor, you can sip a cocktail while enjoying the view from the rooftop, which is accessible all year round. In summer, you can sit on the armchairs in the sun, lulled by the sound of the waves, a glass of punch in your hand...

The Solas Irish Pub is attached to the beautiful Lenox Hotel. The setting and decoration are a little more refined than in an average Irish pub, and the clientele is therefore younger and trendy, but the principle remains the same: people come here mainly to drink a Guinness, comfortably seated on the leather benches. If the weather is nice, you can sit on the few tables of its small terrace, installed under the pretty façade. The food is not always perfect, so concentrate on the atmosphere and the beer!

A rather common local pub, whose service is not always ideal. Yet the place is often full, which is certainly due to the fact that Beacon Hill doesn't have many bar options. There's a nice selection of draught beers. The place has everything of a classic dive bar, with its long beer-soaked bar and wooden booths. If you happen to be in the area and are looking for a place to stop for a froth, stop here, but don't make a detour to this bar.

A chic bar in the no less chic and luxurious Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. A great choice of cocktails and wines to enjoy in this place voted best bar in the city by Boston Common Magazine in 2022. The Oak Bar (whose decor is reminiscent of English officers' clubs in the Orient) is undoubtedly one of the most elegant bars in the city, but it is also an excellent restaurant. One can easily come to dine there while sipping some delicious cocktails perfectly made. The service is neat, and the subdued atmosphere very pleasant.

The place is mostly known for its restaurant, its efficient service and its Sunday brunches, but don't forget the bar, often crowded, very nice to just have a drink or wait for a table. You can take advantage of many promotions, like the oysters at half price on Monday afternoons when you sit at the bar, or the beer and pizza combo for the modest sum of 12 US$. The offers change regularly but they are written on the mirror behind the bar. The atmosphere is elegant and bourgeois, very Back Bay.