The Best Bars In Athens, Georgia - The Infatuation (2024)

Every college town swears it's a drinking town, but with 80-plus bars clustered into a square mile, few places can compete with Athens. With that many pubs, comes a wide variety of drinking experiences. Of course, you’ll have the divey establishments meant for the rowdy college kids—crowded places where the dance floors are covered with a mysterious substance (we call it bar tar). But there are also breweries that welcome families and pets, chill places to watch the UGA games, and cozy haunts to read a book and sip an espresso martini. We explored above and below the so-called “khaki line” to bring you the must-visits from around The Classic City.

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Creature Comforts

Brewery

Downtown Athens

$$$$

Perfect For:

Watching SportsSitting OutsideDrinking Great Beer

Few Athens icons loom as large as Creature Comforts, a downtown brewery that’s featured in about 50% of Classic City-themed souvenirs. They even earn a cameo as Thor’s go-to drink in Avengers: Endgame. God of Thunder endorsement aside, this place is famous for a reason: the beer is damn delicious. Cult classics like the Tropicalia (a fruity must-try for craft beer fans) sell out fast, but the taproom is known for running audibles, so it’s always worth tasting any seasonal brews on draft. And with massive indoor and outdoor screens, the brewery is also a great place to watch the UGA games. On a regular basis, the patio bustles with farmers markets, food trucks, and parents sipping on beer flights while their kids run around the fenced-in lawn.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Pauley's

French

Downtown Athens

$$$$Perfect For:Happy Hours

While a casual creperie first, Pauley’s is undeniably one of the most popular student bars. Not just because of their walls decked with photos of people who tried 100 different beers here. It’s mostly because of their Happy Hour, which includes easy-sipping $5 martinis on Thursdays and half-off wine and $1-off draft beer Monday-Thursday. And the food is valid too—like sweet crepes with berries and cream and a savory, cheesy caprese sandwich, which both hit the same on a quiet weekday lunch as they do four drinks in during a much livelier Saturday night. Open for lunch until late-night, Pauley’s has perfected the transition from downtown dining to debauchery.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Manhattan Cafe

Bar

Downtown Athens

$$$$Perfect For:Drinking Great Cocktails

It’s easy to mistake this dive bar for a shuttered downtown business. But inside the barred windows and unassuming entrance, Manhattan Cafe is a charmingly eclectic cocktail paradise that fills with more locals than students (likely thanks to a strict no-fake ID policy). The mood is foreclosed-storage-unit-chic with antique dolls hanging from the ceiling and ancient threadbare couches held together by sheer willpower. And it’s the only bar we’ve been to where it’s quite normal to read a book by lamplight and drink solo—there's also unlimited free popcorn. They make great classic cocktails, like the gimlet and moscow mule, and a silky-sweet espresso martini that’s rightfully the talk of town.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

The National

Mediterranean

Downtown Athens

$$$$Perfect For:Dinner with the ParentsDrinking Great CocktailsLunch

The National is a clear parent-friendly favorite for students looking for a top-notch, fancy-ish meal on someone else’s dime. Fine dining by college-town standards, the Mediterranean spot still fills withfolks in khaki shorts (but polos and button-ups often replace the old Greek life T-shirts). And though it’s not a bar-bar, it’s a worthy switch-up if you want a sophisticated drinking scene in tavern-heavy Downtown Athens. Join the regulars huddled around the wooden bar and sip on a rotating menu of excellent seasonal cocktails designed by different bar staff members, like a creamy tequila drink with ube-pistachio orgeat or a rye sipper infused with sesame oil. And the creamy hummus platter or the sweet celery-stuffed dates help cleanse the palate, so you can keep the cocktails coming.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Royal Peasant Pub

British

Five Points

$$$$Perfect For:Watching Sports

This English pub in Five Points comes in handy on those rainy days when you need a pick-me-up. A covered patio is there to keep you dry while a pint of Guinness, Wells Bombardier, or Carlsberg Lager is there to keep you warm. And for maximum comfort, Royal Peasant has an Indian and English menu with things like tasty curries and thick, battered fish and chips that are good enough to perk up a bad day. And the pub is the most popular place to watch the “other football games” (though they show American football as well). The spot is only steps away from a bakery, bookstore, coffee shop, and liquor store, completing pretty much everything needed for a now-perfect day.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

The Old Pal

Bar

Normaltown

$$$$Perfect For:First DatesDrinking Great Cocktails

It’s almost an Athens rite of passage to wait for a mediocre well drink while standing elbow-to-elbow with a bunch of freshly minted 21-year-olds. While the Old Pal might make you wait, this tiny Normaltown cocktail bar—with a multigenerational crowd and stellar drinks—is worth the queue to get inside. At night, it may be hard to read the menu in the low lit space. And if that’s the case, play it safe with classics like an Aperol spritz, Hemingway daiquiri, or the bar’s namesake, their rye-heavy Old Pal. But we recommend pulling out your readers for their small rotating menu of fun, seasonal creations like their Day Trader with refreshing celery juice and smooth cachaça.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Boar's Head

Bar

Downtown Athens

$$$$Perfect For:Live Music

Boar’s Head is usually too packed to even talk to a bartender, so have a simple drink order at-the-ready to yell across the bar. Besides, hovering barside isn’t why you’re at this decades-old downtown establishment. You’re here for the music. Standing three stories high with indoor and outdoor stages, Boar’s Head has a spot for everyone willing to squeeze in. Up-and-coming local artists perform covers and original songs, so find a seat outside to get a good show. And if you’re prepared to taste somebody else’s breath, head downstairs to dance, shoot billiards, and play shuffleboard in between songs.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Wonderbar

Bar

Downtown Athens

$$$$

Every bar should have an included activity. At least, that’s how we feel after going to Wonderbar, the Classic City’s premiere video game lounge. Hop on the couch to battle it out in Mario Kart, or grab a Blue Moon to hunch over Pac-Man for 30 minutes. All the games are free to play, so be ready to elbow your way into a spot or play against a stranger (get in where you fit in, champ). As far as the cocktails, you’ll have to ask what’s in each drink since names like Princess Peach Tea or a Captain Falcon don’t give you the cheat codes. But we’d suggest the boozy and super-sweet sangria along with their fairly good corn dog from the snack menu.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Puma Yu's

Thai

Southern Mill

$$$$Perfect For:

Sometimes one of the many, many food pop-ups in Athens makes it to a brick-and-mortar establishment. Puma Yu’s in the spacious Southern Mill development is one of those success stories. And we’re glad because the Thai small plates restaurant and cocktail bar serves exceptional food and drinks. The bar plays with seasonal ingredients and unexpected pairings to create super-sippable drinks like the “Lose My Number,” which combines tequila with aperol, tomato, and elderflower. And the owners take particular pride in their seasonal slushie, which pairs well with a warm day and a seat on their quiet, relaxed patio. And it would be an injustice to leave without a bite—we recommend crispy wings and savory mushroom laarb.

photo credit: Sarah Newman

Bar

Downtown Athens

$$$$

The Athens art scene teems with comedians, and musicians, and each sect of the creative population has its own hub. Downtown’s Flicker is a haven for performers of all types. Split down the middle, one side is the bar itself, decked out with a giant settee, board games, and free Old Bay-spiced popcorn. The other side, hidden behind a curtain, hosts open mic comedy nights, film screenings, and all sorts of acts. After a hilarious (or hilariously bad) stand-up set, grab a refreshing housemade sangria or any of the excellent cocktails, which are elaborately drawn on the chalkboard above the bar. We dig the gin-based Jolene and the Red Wedding with bourbon and Cheerwine, which is about as Southern as it gets.

The Best Bars In Athens, Georgia - The Infatuation (2024)
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