Bukowski Tavern
- Nearest Transit:
Hynes Convention Ctr/ica (Green)
Massachusetts Ave (Orange)
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: Juke Box
- Best Nights: Wed, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour: No
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: No
126 Reviews for Bukowski Tavern
Oh, how I love Bukowski's. It's a new hang for me, but my hubby is a regular here. When I finally came here I was made to feel SO welcome. . . and the FOOD ~ it's just plain awesome. I've had a turkey with bacon sandwich that was to die for (and the french fries are amazing). Today I had the vegetarian meatball sandwich which was quite tasty. Now the BEER ~~ whoa! What a selection. You can't go wrong here if you love beer. This is just one of those places where you feel at home. It's a good hang. The bartenders and wait staff are so nice, and they play good music!
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:YAAAAAWWWWWWWNNNNNN:
Eh. Besides the beer selection, Mac n Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries and Turkey Burgers with Guac....this Bukowski's doesn't hold a candle to Cambridge.
It is the same menu as Cambridge so I would rather go right down the street from my house to visit a place with a chill vibe and patrons that are all over the board.
This location is small and cramped and overall really shitty....I don't get the same "cool" vibe like I do in Cambridge. The staff here kinda of have attitudes and to me, it just seems dark and dingy...not in a cool dive bar way.
You get a lot of Ya Dudes before Sox games and a lot of college kids..sure it makes for great people watching - especially watching two 22 year olds trying to order something cool from their beer selection. They usually settle with a Bud and call it a day, whilst hoping no one was watching.
Well I was and I did see you dude! Boo to you. Everyone, come to Cambridge - it is WAY more fun watching Cambridge Hospital outpatients and peeps just coming from the meth clinics talk about life at the bar.
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Okay, I only spent a week here, but this place across from the hotel is my favorite spot in Boston!
Bukowski's is like the Brickskeller in Washington, D.C. only better. Where the Brickskeller will bring you a multi-page list of hundreds of beers that you could order, knowing naught but they're name, origin, and type, Bukowski's menu offers brief paragraphs to try and convey to you just what sort of brew you are considering.
The food is a deliciously good deal. I have had the veggie chili and the all beef hot dog with mashed potatoes. OMG! I wish I could have a Bukowski's in San Francisco.
Good people watching, and the bartenders seem "too cool for you" but are actually good folk who take good care of you.
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LOVE IT!
Why?? Let me tell you!
- Great beer selection..
- ..plus always a cheap (PBR) option
- HOT DOGS
- Great atmosphere
- Cheese dip!!
Of course I love Bukowski's, I'm beer obsessed!
GREAT beer selection-- one of the best. Choose from the 10 page beer menu, anything from Belgian Wheats to Weizenbock to Trappiste Ales to Porters to Stouts to Dunkelweizen to a Sake/Ale Hybrid... go nuts! Or ask the knowledgeable bartenders for a recommendation.
On classy days, I try the beers I've never had before and savor the flavors. On more drunken days, I just order the beer with the highest alcohol content for the lowest price. On those days, I generally end up with something around 8.5% APV for around $6.50. Word!
You can also get a Pabst here for $3.25, which isn't bad since Pabst is the king of all shitty beers, trumping all other cheapo canned ales with a whopping 4.8% APV. In yo face, Miller, Coors, and Bud! (Sorry for the random plug of Pabst, but man, it's worth mentioning...)
Oh, and the food is very good. The menu is the exact same as their location in Cambridge. Get the vegan meatball sub or the mac and cheese and you'll be happy.
I'm only deducting a star because the service is not so great. Last time, I came for just one beer, and when the waitress found out I wouldn't be staying for a while, she was super rude and rushed me out of my table. But whatevs... the beer was still good!
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Holy shih-tzu, is that Green Flash IPA on tap? This is the first real beer-drinker's pub I've found in Boston, and you really can't beat it for atmosphere; it's a spot worthy of its namesake. Where else can you walk into a bar that looks like a boxcar embedded in a parking garage and practically overhanging the Mass Pike? I have nothing but good things to say about spending a couple hours here drinking exceptional beer and listening to Nick Cave. Ultimately I might even tolerate moving to the Back Bay just to make this my local bar (for the non-local, saying you'll tolerate living in the Back Bay is sort of like saying you'll try to make the best of a three-way with Jessica Alba and Scarlett Johanssen, but I think the point holds). Now if someone can just explain to me the purpose of the wheel on the wall I'll be all clear.
I used to go here with my co-workers for the burger deal weekly, and it ruled. We got great service and were treated very well. Working in the service industry ourselves, we tipped big, and came back to the same great service the next week. We knew the check on a few $5 meals wasn't that big, especially in a bar, but a pitcher of water and some cordiality is all it took for us to tip in the 50% range.
Not anymore. The service has gotten REALLY bad and the attitudes have too. Being treated like a pain in the ass for asking for a water re-fill in a bar or making light of a mistake in the order ruins it for me. It was good while it lasted, but I'm done with this place.
Ahhhhh Bukowski's...I used to be a regular here on Wednesday nights back in the days of being a Bostonian. I spent many a drunken evening there befriending the bartenders and the locals.
Cheap bar food a + AND it's delicious-sweet potato fries, turkey burgers with guacamole, hot dogs, veggie dogs, amazing. A meal is about $7 and good at absorbing all the libations your tummy is about to consume.
Amazing beer selection-Boddingtons, Chimay, Duvel, Dogfish, Lambics, Belgian bottles, etc etc etc at reasonable prices. They also have wine on the menu for your anorexic hipster lady friends who exclusively drink wine because they read on a thinspiration thread that beer makes you fat.
The music is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too loud-you cannot carry on a conversation here, which is fine with me because who wants to talk when you can drink!?
Cash only. Seriously, cash only. If you want a dirty look, try to pay with a card. Just try it.
Come early and get a table and some grub and claim it for the night if you're coming with a group. Don't think you're going to waltz in at 10 and have a seat for you and 8 of your closest friends. Not. Going. To. Happen.
Before you get too buzzed, check out the wall art-it's kind of neat. I miss Bukowski's and standing outside in the FREEZING cold to get inside in the middle of winter.
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Great beer selection! Fun for an after work beer. Gets crowded on weekends prefer week nights. Service is alright, but if you want a good atmosphere with descent music and food. This place is it.
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I went on an accidental date here once. I couldn't believe she thought it was a date, because Bukowski's is about the least romantic place I can think of, without being a dump. It's got a hipster-neighborhood feel, loud but friendly enough. Did I mention, THE MUSIC IS LOUD? Sorry for shouting. I was just so used to yelling, to be heard over the music. It's fun though, even if it does a number on your throat. You can't beat the beer selection, obviously, but there's also some decent food to wash it down with. Excellent mac & cheese, I haven't strayed from it.
The date? We went out a few more awful times. On the way home from the last one, she asked to be let out of the car in the middle of Roxbury. I think she thought I was hitting on my bff's girlfriend and was jealous. I wasn't. Issues!
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I really enjoy Bukowski's on weeknights. If you go before 7 there is almost always a place to sit, look over the amazing list of beer and order a super cheap and amazingly filling burger. The character of the place alone is great- small, dark, hole in the wall almost on top of the highway. When it's busy the servers can be a bit brusque, but that's the usual for Boston anyway. They are fairly patient when I take forever to decide on what random beer to drink. Definitely a bar to check out - watch out for the cash only though!
One of a few bars I really liked while living in Boston. This place is pretty close to Fenway Park, so its a pretty good place to get loaded up on good beer and a buck burger (buck extra for cheese, buck for fries or mash) between the hours of opening til 8pm (I believe). This place always had Dogfish, my favorite east coast beer co. on tap, they had Anderson Valley, Racer 5 on tap when they could get it, so yeah this place was great for me and my tastes. Also I always liked the music the tenders were playing.
Tiny, cramped, loud craphole, but I love it. Mind boggling selection of beers here, complete with some exotic, wacked out beers. Wine too! I don't give half a shit about trying to be hip and alot of bars make me uncomfortable, but not this place.
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Great beer list, decent food, bad bartender...lots of attitude and not very efficient or attentive to anyone at the bar. I've seen a lot of the same beers on their list for a lot less money, especially the Belgian bottles they have. Cheese dip was great, hot dogs were wicked salty, BBQ buffalo chicken nice and tasty. Worth a return trip, but maybe at a table.
Yeah, Bukowki's has a terrible location wedged right over the highway, but it's a damn fine bar.
There's a nice rotating selection of draft beers, an amazing selection of bottled beers, and some delicious food that's served all night until last call. The service is good, and it's always packed on a weekend.
The only note of caution is that it does cater to an older crowd, but if you go with a group of friends, who cares?
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This is another bar that I can't believe I haven't reviewed. What the hell? First off: This is Bukowski. Do not go to Inman Square. This is it. Now that we've cleared that up, you should go here. It's smaller and a bit cramped and it only takes cash (why don't any of my favorite bars accept freaking credit cards?), but it's still a great little bar. The beer selection is extensive, the food is reasonable, and the bartenders are always a good time. I might add, they had hilarious things written on construction paper hearts here on VD last year, many of which my friends and I took pictures of stuck to various people. Most popular was the "Slut" heart, which made its rounds to all of us, as well it should have. Anyway, cool bar, cool attitude. Good show.
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Do You lIke great Beers? Go Here for their taps and casks.
The food was pretty good too. Pub Extreme yummy yum.
The Bartender threw some extra food our way, thanks man
I really like being at your bar, dude. Wasted on your 15% beers.
thanks
I think I prefer the Inman one to this. Hard to say though, as this one has more of a welcoming "pub" type vibe to it. Great beer selection and and good food, but each beer is about 50 cents to a dollar more than it should be. The "playing whatever music someone has handy" concept rules. The "playing it at 150 decibels" concept does not.
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I like this location better than the one in Inman Square.
The place is narrow, but has a much better atmosphere than the bigger one in Inman Square. Excellent and extensive beer selection, of course, and the food seems pretty good as well. (We only had the sweet potato fries, but judging from their menu they have some pretty decent bar-food).
Music is sometimes a bit too loud too talk comfortably, but then again, what do you expect - it's supposed to be a dive bar! (Although it seems almost to neat for a real dive bar - I somehow doubt that the real Bukowski would have drunk here.)
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Bukowski's overlooks the 90 and appears precariously wedged into a parking structure like a cliff dwelling. Somehow I find the high angle views of highway drivers from Buk's more inspiring than those from atop the Prudential. . . Anyway, during the week, a chill atmosphere prevails in this long corridor of a bar. Weekends see the place maxed out so prepare for frottage in the first degree. The food is whatever, but all the burgers can be subbed with a veggie burger, score!
You could probably wring something akin to a PBR out of the well worn menus, but why bother when you can order from a plethora of more enticing options. Lots of IPAs and belgians abound. Order a 3/4 liter bottle of Allagash in an elegant, emblazoned beer chalice and drink up like Ron Burgundy. Stay Classy Boston!
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I've been going here for eight years, In that time I've gotten my own mug, seen a favorite menu item of mine disappear (margerita [corn] fries), my favorite tap beer disappear. . a couple of times, and watched the progession of staff.
I've weathered service so terrible, that I left a $12.00 tip on an $8.00 tab because the bartender refused to rung me up for 30 minutes and I had to get back to work (many years ago, doesn't happen anymore)
But I can't shake the fact that this is everything I want in a bar. A (sometimes) obnoxious staff with a warped sense of humor slinging beer and great bar food to loud music you rarely hear anywhere else, and an eclectic mix of people. . .all together in a tiny area with a crappy restroom.
I'm hooked.
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Bukowski's has just about every kind of beer on Erf.
Seriously. That's their shtick!
And the Best sweet potato fries on erf, too.
Oh - and wicked cheap food during the day!!
They are certainly NOT set up for good conversation, so don't go there if you want to talk to anyone... go there to drink beer.
And Be Warned!! They ONLY HAVE BEER, and they are CASH ONLY.
Oh - and it's full of emo kids, but who cares about them anyway. :o)
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I'm not sure if this Bukowski's is related to the Inman Square Bukowski's but they're two completely different beasts. If you're looking for a small, dark and really loud place to saddle up and do some drinking, get on your horse and head straight over.
If that ain't your bag, well, tough shit.
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I don't get how a pub that looks like it's part of a parking garage attracts a huge crowd of Morrissey/Smiths singing fans...but it does. Maybe it has to do with their beer club or their huge selection of beers (don't ask for anything with hard liquor). The place was always packed.
There's sooooo much beer at Bukowski's!! You'd have to be gluten-free or something not to be enamored with this place even a little bit. But most times when I'm tempted to go back to Bukowski's, I don't, because it has the ambience of a craphole and almost exclusively college sausage patronage. Still, you might not notice because it's so dark inside you won't be able to see far enough to make out the face of the person sitting next to you, and the music is being played way too loud to hear their name.
What I want to do here at this Bukowski is to run at full pace from the back of the bar down the front door with my right hand holding a pen or spoon and knocking every one of the glass tankards that are hung from the ceiling above the bar. It can be like a scene from one of those 1980s Michael J Fox teen movies. I could be at the back with my dunkleweiss lamenting my poor performance on the pitch earlier, when coach comes in and tells me I'm needed on the team - suddenly 'Walking on Sunshine' comes on, coach shouts... "Don't fail me, you need to be there in 20 mins!" and off I run dinking every tankard in celebration with the music volume suddenly upping.. Woo! Yeah!
But apart from the tankards and the long selection of bottled beers, I was basically disappointed by this place. The layout ain't great, they don't take cash and they skimp on paying for nice seats, decor or toilets. Do you get that money back elsewhere?? No - the food, although good, isn't Charlie's-cheap and the drafts (which is what this beer drinker goes for) are quite expensive and the choice is a bit crap.
Maybe Bukowski is something that has been surpassed now with Publick House, Deep Ellum and a whole bunch of other places. If you're coming for the beer... there's better. If you're coming for the cheap food... there's better. If you're coming for the glass tankard dream... you've found it.
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Bukowski is a good bar for Boston, there's not many like it in town, oddly. I say oddly because it's kinda a typical tavern elsewhere. Lots of beer selections, dark, low ceilings, covered in stickers and posters, wooden booths, Stone Roses playing, and hipsters drinking Schlitz.
But man, maybe I've been away too long but this shit's expensive! And I think I am just running a string of bad luck but we both ordered a beer for $5.50 and the bartender charged us $11.50. Can't anyone do math in this town? Also, it's good to know before hand that they are cash only.
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I love Bukowski's. Great beer selection, very cool crowd, and those hot dogs are delicious.
Every time i visit Boston, i try to drag my friends there - usually with success cause who couldn't love Bukowski's ?
Laid-back tavern with an undercurrent of intelligence. I like this place. A great selection of beer, appetizing pub grub, good location, the ability to hear the person (or people) with whom you are speaking and a non-raucous crowd. Very chill place to grab a bite and a drink with someone on a weekday. (Not sure about the weekend.)
I think this place is slowly becoming one of my favorite bars. It might have something to do with the fact that it's like 4 blocks away from where I live, but I'm pretty sure it also has something to do with the amazing beer selection (over 100 in bottles, and a different set of beers on tap changed weekly (or maybe even daily?)) and the cool atmosphere. It's got a beer wheel on the wall so you can leave your beer choice up to fate, and a bunch of "dead poets society" mugs hanging over the bar. The fact that it's squeezed between a huge parking deck and an I-90 overpass is a little strange, but whatever...
The music they play varies widely because the bartenders just choose the next song from an iPod (a little ghetto, but still cool), and I think they usually give you some free wings at midnight - it's happened to me twice so far, but didn't happen when I was there last night, quite the bummer.
The crowd there seems to be pretty hipster, although I am definitely not a hipster and I don't feel out of place chillin there. Overall, a cool pace.
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A staple in my weekly routine. This location has a much more heterogeneous crowd than Iman. Love the regular change up in cask-drawn offerings as well as the constant rotation of what else is on tap. Food here was surprisingly good, as I thought such an amazing beer selection was a sign of single mindedness and food would taste more like an after thought. Nothing extremely gourmet but good bar food. Bartenders are friendly and no signs of the xenophobia you sometimes get when non-regulars show up at the Inman location.
I keep meaning to count the number of 8.5x11 sheets of paper on their categorized beer menu. Then when there, I get so excited about all the beer, I forget to count.
They only have a beer and wine license, but boy do they do the beer right. Huge selection. Bartenders and wait staff know what they're talking about both in respect to recommendation ability and how to pour appropriately. The beer is always served in the correct glass. The food is delicious and a little off beat. All beef hot dogs what? And the fries are soooo good.
I love the staff here. One time, our waitress was wearing a bike helmet because, well, she felt like it. She also kept bringing us coasters as we were turning them into mini works of art. Rock.
Yes, sometimes it gets a little loud. Okay, a lot loud. But whatev, the music list is eclectic, interesting and a little off beat. (just like the rest of the place) I believe they're not admitting any new members to the dead author's society, which is sad on a few levels. Including because nobody can add Vonnegut...but that's another story.
The short of it? This place rocks.
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This place rocks. Only place I know where you can find $2.50 beer! They are a limited selection of bar food but still very good.
Only downside is that it's wicked small and you will have a hard time trying to hold a conversation with the music blasting in your ears. My friends and I stayed on till a little later (seems like crowd moves on around 11 as ppl bar hop around the area) and it was nice place to just chill with no frills. :)
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i love this place, if you like beer this is your heaven. If your into the inde crowd this is heaven and if you like peanut butter on your burgers with a side of sweet potato fries this is heaven. Oh and by the heaven is good.
The music fits the ambiounce loud punk/emo/ skater. bring cash no credit cards allowed and only come when thirsty.
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This Bukowski's is waay better than the Cambridge one. Same good food and beer selection, but in a more cosy pub-style setting, with laid back efficient bar staff who are cool without the more-hipster-than thou vibe you can sometimes get in the other one. Best of all, yes, you don't have to ponder how you're turning into your old man by complaining about the teenage volume levels that are so popular in Inman.
It's not a dive bar though - I suspect that description may have arisen from the smattering of Back Bay rich kids one sees slumming it in there. Although in fairness, they're a low-key bunch; no sweaters over the shoulders that I could see...
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So what if their menus are ratty? They have a cheetah print bathroom, a beer wheel for their hundreds of brews, and a rockin' staff. I'd just hate to be the dude at the end of the night that has to empty the wells; so much melting ice. I tried some Trippel that started with a B that the barkeep suggested after I told him I like Belgian whites. One swig had me sold. Smuttynose was great, with a silly name and a lychee like aftertaste. Dogs are yummm. Spinach artichoke app was too. Stop complaining. It's a dive bar, folks.
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An awesome time, my brother and I went here and he comes back to Boston now just for this!! Some of the pitchers are high up there, and they only take cash, but three dollar brubakers is good!!
Y'know, I just love this place. Small, kind of dank, dark corners, loud music and a great place to get drunk on a budget. If you get there before 8pm, you can ask for a dollar burger and dollar fries (not on the menu!). Extra buck for a turkey or veggie burger. And where else serves Brubakers? Three bucks for 16oz in a scratched up, reused bottle. Hipsters, drink your heart out.
This location is way better than the Inman Square one, which utterly lacks soul.
The one-less star is because it's so small that you can't always fit.
Great bar to be a regular. Staff is friendly and just pretentious enough. Example: Bukowski's has about a zillion beers by the bottle and some of the best beer in town on tap. I once saw two frat guys walk in and order Budweisers. The bartender smiled and cracked two 'shorty' cans of Bud (those tiny 8 ounce cans that most people don't even know are made anymore). The 'bros' quickly drank and paid for their beer and left.
Their food menu is also good, but very greasy bar food. BUT after midnight EVERYTHING is only $5. Also, before 8:00pm on weeknights the veggie burgers are only $3.
All in all a great escape right in the Back Bay.
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I went here last night because I wanted food, it was late, beer, and Bukowski serves the hot eats until 1 on weekdays, 1:30 on Thursday (not a week day there), Friday, and Saturday. This was my first time in this one, as opposed to the Inman Square location.
I haven't had a hot dog in probably a couple of years, so I decided to try their all-beef Mad Dog. Actually I got the double ($7). They were delicious, juicy, tasted like beef, and didn't make me sick. Cheap beer was cheap, around $3. My friend got the mac'n'cheese with andouille, which was absolutely superb.
While I was waiting for her to get out of the bathroom, an argument broke out amongst a group of friends over whether or not green-shirt girl was ACTUALLY 25. She repeated it enough times. Eventually, after her license had proven her 25ness, the bartender turned the music down, cupped his hands, and announced to the bar "Hear that everyone? SHE'S 25!"
We got our check, and found out that after a certain time of night, food is half price. Can you hug a bar? No. Can that stop you from wishing? Of course not.
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