- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Beacon Hill Pub
- Nearest Transit:
-
Charles/mgh Station - Outbound (Red Line)
Charles/mgh Station - Inbound (Red Line)
Charles St @ Beacon St (43, 55)
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Dive-y
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
138 reviews for Beacon Hill Pub
Review Highlights
-
"which is always funny in a dive bar." In 68 reviews -
"good and cheap beer, go for the frozen pints." In 15 reviews -
"I will be back to defend the top score on Erotic Photo Hunt." In 5 reviews
Loading...
- A Yelpy Insight: 20- and 30-somethings both posse up at this place. See more places they like.
138 reviews in English
-
Review from Virginia Su B.
Boston, MA
smells like pee-pee, you say? smells like a toot? maybe it does. too many fur-swaddled, carrot-colored, glitter-tittied 20 somethings, you complain? maybe there are. but you're doing this all wrong. read the manual:
1. enter post-work in mental stupor
2. stagger to bar on right side in manner of charging, thirsty moose
3. order whiskey with side of NON-LITE beer, you panty-waist daisy
4. repeat
5. jam all remaining funds into juke-box
6. sing along loudly to dolly parton and hank williams and savor the angry stares of afore mentioned fur-swaddled, carrot-colored, glitter-tittied 20-somethings and their block-headed, polo-ralph-lauren clad boyfriends
7. secret step
8. nudie hunt
9. reference steps 3 and 4
10. where am i
11. okay i admit it. i still smell the pee-peeListed in: miss the south?
-
Review from Giuseppe C.
Boston, MA
3/2/2012
It's a dive, has all the dive traits: loud, packed, a little bit dingy. But it is what it is, and besides subtracting a few people and cleaning the bathrooms you can't really ask much more. It gets the job done.
The Good: $3 mixed drinks (gin, vodka, rum), cheap beer
The Bad: The aftermath of $3 mixed drinks, cheap beer -
Review from Hillary S.
Brooklyn, NY
1/26/2012
I lived in Boston for 9 years, and although I only visited this bar a few times I'll say this:
1. If you're in college, or like hanging out in the college scene, go here around 11/11:30PM. Lots of people, crowded, loud and drunken debauchery.
2. If you're NOT into the college scene, this place is still great but I'd recommend going on the early-ish side (i.e. 8-8:30) when it's not crowded and bow out around 11/11:30pm when the youngins start piling in.
I go here with friends when I visit Boston and it's great on the earlier side because there are far less people, you can have conversations without screaming at the people around you, and you can dominate the jukebox. I, personally, don't mind going early and leaving early seeing as how the college scene is not mine anymore.
My $.02. -
Review from Kristen A.
Boston, MA
3/22/2012
For what it is - your neighborhood dive - this place is phenomenal! Sometimes wild, sometimes mellow, always a good time. The bartenders are nice, the drinks are cheap, and the jukebox is bumpin'.
Don't expect a classy establishment, but I have a great time every time. -
Review from Karyn V.
9/9/2011
This is a huge dive bar. They don't try to fight it either. To me this is a college scene. It can be very loud and it is quite dirty. That being said it is in a fancy neighborhood, but maintains dive bar prices. They have bar games to play as well.
If you are looking for one, this is your place. If you are not, you should probably avoid it. -
Review from Megan M.
When I made the itinerary for my recent vacation to Boston, I was really excited about Beacon Hill Pub. I'd heard good things, and the reviews made it seem like the kind of place my friends and I would enjoy.
Eh. It was loud, dirty, and I felt like one of the oldest people there at 26 years old. I was surrounded by college kids that were so excited that they could finally drink legally. I don't know...I wanted to like it, but it just felt so college-y, like a house party at the local frat.
I wasn't a fan. We were there about 30 minutes before we made our exit and walked the streets of Beacon Hill in search of a better bar.Listed in: Boston
-
Review from Tony M.
Braintree, MA
1/31/2012
It's a dive. It advertises itself as a dive. The drinks are cheap(er) and the patrons are trashy. If the Red Line breaks down at Park, collect your belongings, head upstairs, cross the street and get drunk. That's what it's there for. Not much else.
-
Review from Damien S.
3/13/2011 3 Check-ins Here
A true broken yellow stripe in the ongoing battle over Beacon Hill superiority, BHP attracts the youngest set of Cambridge Street's bar scene runoff, and does so with a moisture in the air that settles on your tongue and let's you taste nothing else the rest of the night.
Liquor served in cafeteria plastic, dirt cheap beers poured from aluminum bottles to clear Solo cups, it's a bar that knows it's customers will end up sloppy jalopy and takes preventative measures in vessel inventory loss. Kudos on the foresight.
Basketball, a Cee-Lo drowned juke and (oh no they din't!) Andy Capp Hot Fries in the drunchies vending machine makes for a Dave & Buster's in my backyard! That is, if D&B retired still wishing for a time when they'd be respected in the arcade community. Here's $10 in Free Play. Be our friends.
Mad respect to whomever had the idea of putting the punching game in hurr. Best seat in the house is to the rear-left of Destination: Rocky Rocket, especially when a slightly intoxicated 23-year-old Bro Namath is at bat. The sobering moment of seriousness before anyBROdy unleashes upon that poor, defenseless speed bag is worth an iPhone upload to Facebook.
Tagged in this photo: Chet McAllister III, unimpressed coed, PBR, rodeo clown, popped collar, hadouken, whiff
Damien S likes this. -
Review from Gail L.
Wesley Chapel, FL
10/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
Noisy obnoxious, so if you just got your ID this might be the place for you. Over 25, probably should pass on this one.
-
Review from Peter G.
Boston, MA
11/16/2010
TOP NOTCH
You have to give a place 5-stars if it does what it says. It's not like you want to be the guy who gave 2 stars to an awesome pub because he wanted to go for seafood instead.
KEY OFFERING
This place smells like stale ass.
When I got assigned to my frist dorm at No Name State School of Suck, there was a suite mate who had a strict no-ass-washing policy. Mysteriously, he did not share his dorm with another person like the rest of us mammals who maintained their evolutionary water-friendly reputation. Anyway, this place smells like that suite mate's room.
I learned young that 3 sturdy inhales through the nose is all it takes to acclimate oneself to the stench of 3-day old death, a hospice patient riddled with cancerous sores, livers awaiting transplant and post-surgical biowaste.
INSTRUCTIONS
Walk to middle of the establishment and suck air up those nostrils like there's no tomorrow. You're good after that.
THE CROWD
They boast-a-post with a review behind the bar that rates it the worst dive bar in Mass., and calls the cast of characters a "bar scene straight out of Star Wars." Yes, yes it is. Minus Leia Organa.
I figure if they say it right to their patrons' faces, I can, too.
WHY
I can't figure it out, but after living here 20 years, I popped in once for Kook and Goon sake. And that was maybe a few months ago, and I have been back a few times to enjoy the ass smell.
I guess if you can hold your laughter in and not look Yoda in the eye, you can avoid contact with the space aliens and be a polite observer. I like visiting because it makes me feel phucken gorgeous, normal as all get out and sane as a patient-free sanitarium.
DISCLAIMER
This is a review only of the post-work hours scene on an earlier day of the week. I think it should also get 5-stars for obviously being a great place to find an easy lay at night (according to other reviewers), play hoops till you puke and meet your neighbors. Let's face it, this is a 5-star establishment within its category. Come as you are, enjoy a drink, overhear some aliens from outer space; and if you last long enough--you might meet some hot young locals, get laid or otherwise form a tale to tell for many generations of oral pleasure.
BONUS PRIZE
Great bartenders and staff. -
Review from Mariano A.
Burlingame, CA
12/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good local dive bar with cheap beer. It's chill during the week but can get hotter-than-a-crotch crowded on the weekends. Love the music selection on the jukebox (yep, music only plays if someone feeds the jukebox), and hoop fever is a plus.
-
Review from Janina T.
Chestnut Hill, MA
1/24/2011
I agree with another review that says it's definitely a dive bar but worth checking out. Since it's located in Beacon Hill, I thought it was a classy-type bar (ala Alibi). To my surprise, I walk in and it's reminiscent of the pub at my old college (Foosball table to boot). People my age were flooding the area too. $2.50 bottles for cheap beers (i.e. bud/coors/bush light). $5 for better beers like amstel light but for the general area, it's cheaper than most places.
They played pretty good music too which is great since I like to dance. Only con was that the music wasn't loud enough to justify "dance circles"....or least without eliciting the "wtf are they doing at a bar" looks....We started one anyway.
Overall, I'd come here to have audible chats with friends and good, cheap drinks. -
Review from Chronic C.
Cambridge, MA
4/19/2011
Horrifying.
Beacon Hill Pub reinforces my overarching desire to never cross over the bridge into Boston. I have circled the states and have been to many countries abroad but I only had to go into my own backyard to find the biggest dump on the planet.
If you love the sweet piquant of day old puke and disinfectant, reminscent of a greyhound bus station circa 1978, and if you love draught beer poured from unclean lines into faux glass (plastic) pint glasses this may be the place for you, otherwise ANY other bar is recommended. Don't get me wrong, I love a good old fashioned down and dirty bar every once in awhile but this place just goes too far and the aesthetic is ugly as sin.
I was too embarassed to even "check in" here! -
Review from Rachel S.
Brighton, MA
5/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
An excellent dive bar in the heart of the ritz and glitz of Beacon Hill.
Bloody Mary's = delish! -
Review from Mark M.
Boston, MA
8/18/2009 ROTD 1/7/2010
I love the BHP. I know it is becoming forbidden with each day I age. I understand that most of my friends will not go there anymore with me. I understand that people one day will ask about the old guy playing Buckhunter drinking the BruBaker covered in Jagermeister.
But friends.... TODAY is NOT THAT DAY and we will go on, steadfast
Honestly, there is no reason to leave the BHP. Reasons:
1. Shower? You could, but you will always smell nice in comparison to the bar.
2. Snack attack? Snack machine bitches.
3. Cash? ATM/ $3BB or $2 Busch LT
4. Boredom? Buckhunter, Basketball, Foosball.. it is a sporting oasis.
5. Depression? Look around the front bar... your life just improved by association.
6. Tired? Pass out at the bar. It is okay here.
7. Sex? Rear bathroom (C'mon... its happened at some point)
8. Religion? You've just found it. -
Review from Jeffrey H.
Washington, DC
9/23/2009
Stumbled (literally) into this dive bar after a Yelp event at Scampo. *burp* The beer is cheap, the clientele cheaper, and the decor the cheapest. Feckin' love it. But to be more specific...
Bartenders - love fast service. MoreBeer?PlzKthx.
Erotic photo hunt - love pointing out disfigured boobage.
Basketball hoop arcade - whaddup to this homo gettin' the high score!
Punching bag game - love proving that despite my obvious masculinity, I am in fact stronger than a woman.
Bathroom - the toilet has no stall door so you can totes LOL at your friends when they puke up their lives.
But there are a couple of things I don't love...
Cash only - but hey they have an ATM
Bathroom - what if it's ME who's being LOLd at for puking up his life!?
Hangover on a Wednesday morning - not really your fault BHP ;-O~~~ -
Review from EricaLynn J.
Oaklyn, NJ
7/27/2010
Not the best, not the worst. There are certainly many less desirable places I could be, that's for sure.
Let me start out by mentioning that I differ from the vast majority of my friends in that I actually love pub food. In fact, I usually look forward to going to bars and pubs just so I can try out their menu. I cannot even begin to tell you how many mozzarella sticks I have tried in my day. If you give me about an hour, I could probably rank them all for you in order of absolutely love to holy crap this is awful. So when I hear about a dive bar, I don't think "oh crap, get ready for a cash only, dingy, gross, smelly place with a terrible single-stall bathroom". I think, "oh good, fried food for cheap." Because nothing tastes better with a Miller Lite than an appetizer portion of fried food. Nothing.
Being that BHP does not serve food, I had to enjoy myself solely on the cash only, dingy, gross smelliness factor. And the cheap beer, of course. And the Buck Hunter game and plastic cups and ALL THE CRAZY DRUNK PEOPLE. I put that in caps not because I am yelling, but because it's almost impossible for me to describe the clientele at BHP without using caps. It seems only fitting. I think they'd agree if they could find their keys and go home and use their computers and read this.
All in all, you gotta try it. For all the comments you probably hear as a Bostonian (or if you are a visitor, for all the snarky remarks you make about people in this area - of which you are likely correct) about how Boston does not really have a great party scene, at least now you have a place where you, too, can crush a plastic cup all night long and feel all sorts of amazing being part of a place that does black out their windows. Oooh, sneaky! -
Review from Felecia C.
Boston, MA
12/16/2006
BHP = the diviest dive bar of all time. Whether this is good or bad depends on personal preference, but I enjoy the fact that this scuzzy yet popular watering hole is part of charming Charles St.
Some coworkers and I wanted to try this bar as an alternative to the Hill and Harvard Gardens, but the scene here at 5:30 PM on a Thursday entails 4 old dudes at the bar reading the Globe and watching sports. Yeah, the 3 girls at a table definitely didn't fit in, so we bailed. However, I was told that the BHP doesn't get lively until around 6:30, 7, and that even though it looks like hole it really IS fun, so I didn't want to base my Yelp review on that one instance.
We went back last night around 12, and wow, what a difference. The bar was packed, yet there was still room to walk around and available tables. The clientele was varied...seems like anything goes here, which is good b/c I was wearing work holiday party attire.
Love the mini-basketball games in the back, and it's pretty hilario to watch guys try to prove themselves in the punching bag game.
There's definitely a Daisy B's vibe, and while I found it easy to ignore the pick-up aspect, I can't get over how absolutely disgusting and small the bathrooms were. I'm aware that this contributes to the "dive bar" classification, but it's not like business is hurting, BHP, it's ok to spend some money on plumbing...or at least some Clorox.Listed in: Next Stop: Charles/MGH
-
Review from Jocelyn C.
Jamaica Plain, MA
11/10/2008
This dive is alright.
A few lady friends and I decided to stop in here for a beer after work Friday after the Sevens was way too crowded. We walked inside and it was like crickets chirping. There were a few old dudes sitting at the bar that turned to stare at us and that was it.
We sat down and ordered beers anyway. I got my Octoberfest in a plastic pint glass. Pretty classy. Beers are cheap though, and they have a lot to choose from, so I'm not complaining.
After a while, more people poured in and someone finally turned the jukebox on, and it became a little less intimidating and awkward. We stayed for a few more drinks and ended up having a good time. I'll definitely come here again, but probably not so soon after work. This seems like a place you go to at the end of the night, not the beginning. -
Review from Bradford M.
Portland, OR
6/2/2008
Yick. I hate this place. It gives me nauseating flashbacks of fraternity basement grimness. Sticky floors, broken glasses, packed crowds, pretty much everything I'm not looking for in a bar. People go to the BHP for one purpose, and one only: to get wasted on cheap drinks and then stagger home to hook up with whoever ends up nearest to them at the end of the night. That said, that's exactly what the BHP is trying to do. And they do it well.
So BHP, you get four stars for completely successful nasty cheap grimness. I'd give ya five, but you don't take credit cards at the bar and your ATM is always broken. Also, I'm never coming back to your bar. It's gross there. -
Review from Katie W.
Boston, MA
12/23/2010
Reminds me of your upstate NY dive bar. Your greeted with the overwhelming smell of stale beer and puke as you walk in the door, but give it a few minutes and you'll be all set to take in the surroundings. Neon lights, a few crappy tv's and Big Buck...
The scene: 99% NESCAC alumni half of which you most likely went to prep school with or roomed with in college.
Usually nights ending here you won't remember much of, but all in all you'll always had a good time!
Remember its cash only! -
Review from Malena L.
Cambridge, MA
9/19/2007
Yikes. People actually like this place? Not my kind of dive. People seemed rude to me (REALLY tempted to call everyone a d-bag, but we all know I tend to be a hater). Plus, what's up with the lighting. I know it's won Best of Boston for best dive, but everyone knows dives are supposed to be real dark so that you can't see the roaches roaming around. Suuure, they have $2 beers, but where are all the looney bartenders you usually encounter at real dives? BORING.
Anyways, I decided to stick around just for Big Buck Hunter (one must bow in the presence of such an amazing game). After being defeated royally, my disappointment could only be cured by some ass kicking. So, I looked for another "sport" where I could wipe out. Thankfully, they had a foosball table. Unfortunately, 2 drunken girls had "taken over" claiming they had defeated everyone (riiiiiight) and said we had to pay AND play against them if we wanted to have anything to do with foosball for the rest of the night. "Fine! But you are going DOWN" and, indeed, my friend and I slayed! Not only those 2, but a few other guy couples. Eventually, these 2 dudes beat us by a goal.
I'm telling you, the 2 stars are for that damn foosball table and Big Buck Hunter. The latter would be the only reason I could ever be dragged back to this place. Wait till I find Big Buck Hunter somewhere else... -
Review from Chris C.
North Babylon, NY
8/7/2007
It's like they took all the poor people in Beacon Hill, and locked them in a room to die, except the bums got organized and turned the place into a bar they all could afford.
BHP doesn't take credit cards. Honestly, they might not even have a phone. I dunno. So bring cash with you. And by cash, I mean 10 dollars. Because if you drink 2 dollar brubakers all night (a large bottle of halfway decent beer) I don't see you breaking the bank. But please, tip your bartenders. Remember, they're just as poor as you are.
Honestly, the only difficult experience I ever had at BHP was when I was down to 2 dollars and had to choose between a round of golden tee and another beer.
I don't really remember the details, but I'm fairly certain I stole my friend's beer and went a golfin'. -
Review from Pipes P.
Boston, MA
1/29/2008
One of my three most favorite bars in Boston. One of the others is TC's Lounge. I'm still trying to find the third.
This place serves the best Jack and PBR in the Commonwealth.
I do hate when pretentious wannabes say bars like BHP are dive bars. Just because they don't charge $6 for a beer or $10 for liquor doesn't mean the place is a dive. BHP is packed full of law students, WASPs, and lime Lacoste polos. If you think that's a dive crowd, you've got something coming to you, babe. After last call, drive through Chinatown, past Centerfolds; that's where you'll find a dive bar. Not on Charles Street. Go home to Weston. -
Review from Sarah G.
4/22/2010
Yet another pub to add to the collection here in Boston....But hey, at least this one has that shooting contest basketball arcade game in the back, skee ball, and an awesome punch this punching bag as hard as you can game, aka try and impress the drunken ladies behind you game.
It is a narrow, and tight squeeze in this place, and definitely gets really crowded to the extent that there is often a line outside of this bar, but no cover. It is especially narrow by one of their bars (seems like bad planning to me, crowded areas and just paid for drinks sounds like an accident waiting to happen!). The bar, by the way kids, is cash only. They do have an ATM on site, but for a place located this centrally in the beacon hill area, I kind of expected it to take credit card, ya know?
Drinks are too pricey, I swear I heard the same song 3-4 times while I was there, and that is another one of the joys that comes with a pay by song jukebox, and your shoes may stick to the ground a little bit with whatever that stuff is on the floor, but you are pretty much guaranteed to have a good time. And for you men out there, you can at least battle it out with each other on that punching bag machine in hopes that your so-called strength ranking displayed in big bold neon letters on screen attracts a mate for you :-) -
Review from Ben L.
8/11/2007
Please I beg of you, do not confuse Beacon Hill Pub with the many other nearby establishments that have Beacon Hill in their name. This wonderful place takes the status quo for the neighborhood and pisses all over it.
That is why I love this place so.
Blacked out windows, plastic cups, bouncer at the door. It makes me feel as if, though I have walked many blocks in the opposite direction, I am back in the theatre district.
BHP will always be at the top of my dive bar list just due to the memories that I don't have of it. You know what I mean. -
Review from Jackie G.
1/8/2009
Beacon Hill Pub, how I love thee..... let me count the ways:
1. You are easy to get to via foot, bus, T or cab.
2. Your bouncers and bartenders know my name (is this good or bad?)
3. Your drinks are strong and cheap.
4. You have a snack machine.
5. I can show up dressed or in my jammies and I feel just fine.
6. You have a lovely digital jukebox.
7. On week nights you are a great quiet place to have a beer with friends.
8. On weekends you are fun and lovely and still a great place to get a drink with friends.
9. You have two bars making it easy for me to get a drink quickly and efficiently.
10. You have nice bartenders.
11. It is easy to move around in you.
12. You are divey and wonderful and I love you.
And as in any good relationship there are a couple things you and I could work on:
1. You sort of smell... really.
2. Your drinks are not nearly as cheap as they used to be.
3. You are sometimes full of frat boys and such. -
Review from Meghan A.
Providence, RI
11/12/2008
Eh...
My girls and I walked in to Beacon Hill Pub, and I feel we were responsible for bringing the joint to life. It was kind of pathetic how quiet it was when we got there. What kind of dive is quiet?
At first I was completely appalled by the dude sitting behind us. He was wearing a very tight T-shirt to show off his lack of muscles and multiple stomach rolls. On the pack of the shirt there was a naked pin-up style girl and something about loving girls and guns. Clearly he was a classy fella; how could you not want that?
Once the place started picking up, it got a little more fun. The tables are sticky, and seating is cramped, and the beer on tap is served in plastic cups. AWESOME. I was beginning to like this place more with every sip of my Miller Light (holla - I love cheap beer).
Nice music selection, and sweet placement of the random cameras. I decided it would be fun to wave in all directions of the camera for all to see. The girl picking out music had no idea there was a cool kid behind her waving at the cameras.
I'll return here, but not until I've hit up a couple other places first. Seems like a good place to end the evening so long as you're with a good group of people. -
Review from Marguerite W.
New York, NY
2/7/2007
One of my favorite neighborhood dive bars (I've been checking out too many lately)!
I think Brandy put it well, you can literally go there wearing anything and no one will bat an (often unlined-make up is not required) eye! I don't live in Beacon Hill, but I have wandered beyond the South End specifically to pop in, on more than one occassion!
Sort of sports that barely 21 crowd, but fun for the young at heart, and true party animals! -
Review from Caroline A.
Chicago, IL
6/5/2007
BHP is exactly what you would expect - a great neighborhood bar with cheap drinks and a lively crowd. Love the casual atmosphere! I've had many crazy nights at BHP, and have always have a great time. The bartenders are fantastic and move quickly. I've never had to wait too long for a drink. Sometimes you'll see pretentious college kids there... which is always funny in a dive bar.
For a casual good time, I definitely recommend BHP. -
Review from Kristen F.
Mid-Cambridge, MA
Updated - 9/23/2009
To the what now?
After being back a couple times including last night with some fabulous Yelpers after a fabulous Yelp event... I checked my review.
Damn, was I harsh after the first time I was here.
I can learn to like the place.
Last night I noticed the extensive gaming options. Total score. Cheap beer, hello Brubaker! Clientele... not so bad, and no popped collars this time. Actually, most of the collars were blue, which I can appreciate especially being in Beacon Hill.
This dive is alive and needs more chances than a first impression.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
4/28/2008
I had such high hopes going here. I walked in, and immediately felt like I was in the basement of a… Read more »
-
-
Review from Shaina P.
10/23/2009
Still dizzy from ... was it the aluminum cans of Bud Light? The Brubaker from five weeks ago? My awesomeness with Shot Fever or my sniper eye at Buck Hunter?
BHP never fails as = dive bar.
.... excuse meListed in: Dirty Bars
-
Review from Purvi R.
Boston, MA
6/8/2009
This was the last stop on the crawl, and no one's first time being here. It only made sense after 7 bars to descend into the depths of the B.H.P. What's classier than this place!? Nothing! And can a place like this have any surprises, really? No, I will not be shocked by the couples making out in random corners. No, I will not be shocked when my friend has shots waiting for me. No, I will not be shocked that this place smells like vomit.
Oh and another reason we came here: pop-a-shot! But their machines sucked; one was broken and another kept eating money/getting stuck
In all honesty though, this place is what it is and won't ever be what it's not. Just keep that little prose in mind when walking in the door.Listed in: A pretty good bar crawl -…
-
Review from tom k.
Boston, MA
10/14/2009
Oh, holiest of holies ... um, I mean ... hole in the wall dive bar of course.
Hipsters, set aside your PBRs. Bourgeoisie, just say no to that pear/pomegranate/espresso/whatever fauxtini. This is the place where the cliques can unite in cheap "stinky-hand beer" Brubaker glory. In a haze of drunkenness, crowded quarters, increasing sweaty humidity, and dim lights, differences seem to become less important (or apparent, whatev) at this gem of a dive.
They truly do get quite the mix of people here, and the crowd always seems more welcoming and open to conversation than other places. They have a jukebox, some silly games, two bars and nice bartenders.
It's always a party when we meet, sweet Beacon Hill Pub, see you soon. -
Review from Ali A.
Boston, MA
2/10/2010
There. I said it. "Meh. I've experienced better."
Let the anger fly, but I stand by my two stars. Don't get me wrong, somehow I end up here at least once every other week, but it's always against my will. Why do my friends insist on ending every night at this place? Buying rounds of Brubakers? No thanks. (But I'll take a Bud Light on the next one, if you're buying....)
Yes, you can write on the walls and yes, the jukebox keeps good music pumping, but COME ON. Last weekend one of our friends actually threw up on the floor about 30 min before close, the bartenders saw, and no one did anything. Seriously? The place is so dirty it's like they didn't even care. And the bathrooms? A place that fits so many people should have a bathroom that fits more than two people in it at a time.
As a loyal Mary Ann's patron, I just don't get it. I love me a good dive bar, but I'm just not feeling this one. -
Review from Barney B.
San Diego, CA
12/17/2008
16 years ago the improper bostonian apparently wrote a review of the beacon hill pub, comparing it and its patrons to the cantina in star wars.
And this place proudly displays that review - blown up to even allow
the bleariest of eyes to read it.
It's a dive in every sense of the word EXCEPT most dives don't charge
four bucks for a bud lt bottle.
But hell, it's beacon hill. Put it on teresa heinz-kerry's tabListed in: Pub Crawl 1 - Loop the Hill
-
Review from michael m.
Boston, MA
5/12/2006
This is, without a doubt, one of (if not the) best dive bars in Boston. Cheap drinks, an interesting crowd, and fun ways to pass the time make this one of my common hangouts.
The crowd can vary from Suffolk students to Beacon Hill townies to workers from MGH fresh off of a shift -- you can show up in shorts and a t-shirt or a tie and still fit in. And it's never too crowded, never too empty.
The beer is plentiful and cheap, and the drinks also aren't too expensive. The place is dark and dingy, but that's what gives it charm in the otherwise upscale Beacon Hill area.
To pass the time, there is a dartboard (though management will usually not give you the darts, and I have never seen anyone play), a foosball table, arcade basketball, and a jukebox (at least, I think there's a jukebox). -
Review from Amy B.
Charlestown, MA
9/22/2006
If only I could remember my night at the BHP.............
Is it safe to assume I must have had a good time if I can't remember it at all?
I blacked out and woke up the next morning to find I still had money left in my wallet; that's a good sign. -
Review from mandi m.
Boston, MA
6/27/2007
I think many of the reviewers need to brush up on the term "dive bar". Just because it's in Beacon Hill and it's a piece of crap bar doesn't make it dive. It's a popular end of night destination for obnoxious 20's kids looking to keep the college years going strong. I know, I used to be one of them.
Go there to drink far too many shots and cheap alcohol try to hook up before spilling into a cab and passing out. -
Review from A D.
Quincy, MA
6/19/2008
I think this place is super-cool.
The atmosphere is sweet. I like the setup, and the people there are better than tolerable. It's like a dive bar-kinda pretentious patrons bar-frat house fusion of sorts. You can ignore the dude-bro sausage fest that gathers around the foosball table, or the popped collars around the high-tops if you need to. And it's not like other pretentious type places where they'll look at you funny for wearing jeans and a hoodie. (I don't think.) Ya know, like, if you like the people you go there with, you'll be all set, because the rest of the peeps there won't really infringe on you with their stupidtiy.
$2 brubakers and $4 vodka/tonics? mmmm yess.
Bartenders are fast and friendly, which is good. Cash only kinda sucks, but you run into it once in a while.
Oh...and the bathrooms?? SMALL. SO SO SMALL. I worked at a bar that SUPPOSEDLY had the smallest b'rooms in the city. But no. Award goes to BHP.
Conclusion: Cheap, cheap drinks and good atmosphere. :)
