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I love this dive bar.
Cash only!
Can't tell if its dark or dirty.
Bartenders and owner are always nice.
Not an amazing beer selection, but who cares. I don't go to dive bars for Hoegaarden or Hacker Pschorr.
If you need some food to soak up the beer there is a small hole in the wall where you stick your head in and order from the pizza shop next door.
Charlie will always give you a ride home. Stumble out the door to your left and your at the Museum of Fine Arts stop, and if you stumble to your right you will end up at the Northeastern stop...
Oh Punters...
For five long years I frequented this establishment. It was right outside the front door of my apartment building and it was the easiest place to get your drink on during a blizzard.
Basically you walk into a dark, stinky, wooden cave...and I'm pretty sure that the last time they cleaned the keg lines was circa the 70's. Great place to end the night if you like that kind of atmosphere. They've got the jukebox, the sports games are on, there are a couple video games and a dart board in the back...
I've heard rumors of a glory hole as well though I'm not actually dumb enough to search it out...*shudder*
Where else can u find a touch screen jukebox and $14 Sam Summer pitchers? No where. This Northeastern and Wentworth establishment has a pretty much mandatory attendance for graduation. This is definatly a man's bar, but a tispy Miss has been seen stumbling in, as the last E Train drops her off at the near by MFA stop. You got to go at least once if you want to claim to went to school in Boston
p.s. Don't miss the Glory Hole....
living next door has its ups and downs. To much of a shit hole for the crowd i try and avoid and a home to those who do not care. Punters is a home away from home. yes the booths will move and creak as you sit and never be as stable as you would like and yes the corners at some times do smell like urine but it is a short trek and what more could i ask for. Cheap beer and multiple decks of soaked cards and a pool game or two make for a fun night with my amigos who i need to convince to come here. (probably not a good sign) anyone who does not appreciate punters probably just has high standards. having none, for me, has its benefits and one of those is not even having to flash my ID at the door because they all know me there.
This is my most favorite dive bar in all of Boston! As a student at Northeastern University, Punter's was extremely convenient on bitterly cold winter nights when you wanted to drink without having to trek to Boylston. You'd get your pals together, grab a pitcher of beer, and settle in for a cozy night of darts or big buck hunter (they also have a billiards room). So many memories... Anyway, the decor is predictably lacking (I always felt as though I were walking into the 1970's). There is dark wood paneling, not many windows, poor lighting, and chairs/booths in various states of disrepair...but that's okay because that is not why you go here. One of their best features is the hole in the wall that connects you with UHOP (always a bad idea), the pizza place next door, through which you can order vast quantities of drunk food. Fantastic!
Since moving to Charlestown, I haven't been back and it is unlikely that I ever will, but Punter's will always have a special place in my heart.
News Flash: Pour House is not a dive bar. PUNTER'S is a dive bar.
First time I went here, I was with three friends. We grabbed a booth by the windows and when we tried to pull the bench closer to the table, it came apart in our hands. So we moved to another booth that was held together (sort of) by duct tape.
All this while we chugged down the VAT of beer known as Big Bertha (four pitchers with its own spigot for $26).
Next time I went was a Saturday night. There was no one there except my six friends and me. We got a Big Bertha, two pitchers, and a deck of cards from the bartender and played drinking games for hours in the dimly lit, silly-juked establishment.
The bathrooms, yes, they're nasty and practically too small to even use but... this place just wouldn't be right with clean or reasonbly-sized facilities.
I don't know... The place is crap, but it's awesome, and it somehow reminds me not to take myself so seriously when I'm out getting drunk on the weekends. No frills; you just gotta grab some friends and some cheap beer, maybe a deck of cards, and be reminded that's it's not where you are, but who you're with that counts.
I grew up with this idea for what a bar should be. On my 21st birthday, I entered Punters. And it was exactly what my imaginary bar looked like.
Beer signs, the musty odor of spilled beer, a jukebox which isn't so loud as to drown out conversation, and an old guy washing glasses behind the bar. Perfect.
Punters was once the crown jewel of Northeastern pubs, but has since fallen to the bottom of most lists. And it's easy to see why...it's dark, grimy, and the only way to get food is to yell through a little window into UHOP. But at the same time, cheap beer, enormous shots, darts, Buck Hunter, tables, and a group of bartenders who don't piss you off? You can't get better than that.
Because the bar is now anti-trendy, you don't find the same idiots you do at more well recognized establishments. This is a double edged sword. On one hand, you can have meaningful conversation with your friends. On the other, there's nobody to make fun of, so you might actually have to have meaningful conversation.
This place is a great dive because it has the 5 basic amenities that every dive should have in order of importance:
1. A 1'x1' hole in the wall that you can order buffalo wings from.
2. $6 pitchers
3. pool table
4. juke box
5. Big Buck Hunter
If you are lucky there may even be a girl there maybe.
A wretched hive of scum and villainy, this is my type of place.
It is an unobtrusive bar on the corner of huntington and parker.
Punters has cheap beer and minimal lighting. It also has darts, pool, house of the dead, and of course Big Buck Hunter. The best feature that Punters offers is a window into UHOP next door. While their food isn't anything great, getting it in an inebriated state through an interbuilding window makes it so.
Busier on fridays and saturdays but you can still find a table if you want to sit with your friends. Wouldn't change a thing.
All cities could use a few more solid establishments like Punter's Pub.
THE GOOD:
- The digital jukebox is top notch. Pop in a ten spot and know your night is off to a good start. If you're lucky, grab the table directly across from the jukebox - This allows for music suggestions and critiquing.
- The pizza hole: there is literally a hole in the wall to the pizza place next store. From this magical hole comes hot tasty pizza and sandwiches.
- Darts - hey, they're fun!
- Steve: he owns Punter's and is a great guy.
- Pool table
- The bartenders - no-nonsense and quick with the beverages.
- The $6 pitchers
- Good door guys/bouncers: they keep the riffraff out
THE BAD:
- Cash only
- It's a Northeastern Rugby bar - take that for what you will.
- Underage kiddies that sometimes don't know how to handle their booze.
THE UGLY:
- On at least three occasions there have been random articles of clothing in the women's restroom: mostly thongs... This always struck me as odd. The bathrooms are super tiny and sort of falling apart. Not the type of place that would make me think to myself, "hmm, maybe I should take my undies off."
Everyone loves Punters.
They have a dart board in a separate room in the corner that's a ton of fun on a dead weeknight (and Buck Hunter right next to that room), another room with a pool table and a couple more arcade games, an ordering window into UHOP for greasy pizza (really, just order an entire pizza, you're gonna be at the bar a while anyway), and most importantly, $2 pints of Bud and Bud Light. Or, if you're feeling really ambitious, get the huge 4-pitcher thing of Bud for like, $25.
Oh, but they don't take cards, so bring some cash or face the wrath of their generic ATM.
4 stars, not for the amazing cleanliness, or fantastic food, quality drinks, or bright lighting.
More because Punters was/is home, for all Northeastern Law students. That day you found out all that research for your social justice project was useless because your LF failed to get instructions from the client? You headed straight to Punters.
Oh Punters. I know there are other bars in Boston, cleaner, with better food & lighting, but you will always be home for me.
$7 Pitchers, Table taps, the UHOP Window, Buck Hunter, pool, and darts. It's a dive, and doesn't try to be anything it's not. The service has always been great to me, and the owner (often checking id's on slower nights) is always around and great to talk to.
I, for some strange reason, really liked this place. If you go with a bunch of your friends, you are definitely going to have a good time. It's cool because you can actually have conversations with people and sit down unlike alot of other places where it's too noisy and crowded. The beer is real cheap, we got a beermeister or whatever it's called, which is equal to 4 pitchers for $28. They have this jukebox type of thing that has pretty good music too. Go there with 10 people and you'll take over the whole place. I never thought I would like this shitty bar, but compared to the others in the neighborhood, it's actually really fun.
I went here last weekend for a friend's birthday. Not my thing. Too frat boy for me. In fact, a drunk frat boy danced over to bother me and another girl I was talking to.
When I got there, I ordered a Jack and Coke, which was $5. I thought, "Wow, that's so cheap!" It was served to me in a short glass the approximate diameter of one of those super-skinny Mardi Gras shooter cups. 90% of the drink wound up as ice. It tasted watered down. It also, inexplicably, managed to be incredibly bitter. I was so annoyed with the shitty quality of my drink that I didn't even bother trying to get a beer and played Big Buck Hunter instead.
The jukebox here was disappointing, too; it looked like it had a lot of different albums from different artists, but they only really had one to two songs from each album on there. Bit of a cock tease.
I appreciate dive bars, but this really wasn't one. It was just sort of a sub-par college bar. If you want a proper dive, go to Sligo in Davis.
This is not a classy place.
The entire bar is covered in the same type of warped plywood and I'm skeptical that any natural light can actually enter. I mean, I don't think there are any windows.
The bathrooms are ancient and the toilets (all two of them) have that awful toilet-seat cushioning on them. You know the stuff I'm talking about.
They have food, but it all comes from the pizza joint next door. The way service works is that you make your order at this square window behind some pool tables, which are located in the back room, and you go pick it up at that same window and bring it back to your table. I'm serious-- they slide your food through a window. Totally sketch. Don't forget to ask for plates or utensils because you won't get them otherwise.
The pitchers of beer are decent-priced and as far as I know there aren't any fantastic deals on any particular night of the week.
So why did I give this place 4 stars?
This is my idea of a really good group place. It's laid-back and you can make yourself at home. They have a pool table, dart board and some other games, so you can all keep yourself occupied or pick songs on the jukebox (I'm partial to any bar that has a wide selection of music by Otis).
I'd go back.
I admit I've always been skeeved out by the looks of this place. Something about a lack of windows screams EVIL DUNGEON to me. So, I was surprised after a pleasant & cultured visit at the MFA, when my friend suggested we head over there for a beer. I sheepishly asked if he'd ever been before and to my amazement he had - more than once. The real determining factor though was the fact the next closest bar was about 3 blocks away.
Although it's most definitely a dive bar, it's not of the chain smoking, scowling old man variety. When we walked in, two girls were sitting at the bar and as we sidled up, the bartender immediately (and cheerfully) came over to take our orders. To give you an idea of the beer selection though, two of the five taps poured Bud Light and when we asked about the bottle selection, I swear the first five he listed were all types of Bud (Bud w lime?? wtf?). I settled on one of the more exotic beers (Harpoon) and my friend got a vodka tonic. Dive=cheap and they didn't disappoint.
They get major bonus points for Big Buck Hunter and they have pretty much everything else, too: pool table, darts, those electronic games that sit on the bar, Golden Tee...and the place is surprisingly big, although it did start becoming a college sausage fest towards the end.
As we were leaving, the friendly bartender yelled after us, "Bye! Come back again!" and I think I actually will.
One of the worst bars in Boston.
Beer selection blows. Prices are kinda expensive for what you get unless you like cold piss in a glass. The crowd is annoying. The jukebox and people's selection make me want to stab myself in the ears. It looks like a fire hazard (hint hint, for you pyros out there.)
Things you can do at Punters:
~Get a pitcher of beer.
~Order "Big Bertha" (contains at least 3 or 4 pitchers of beer. Min 4 people to order)
~Drink
~Put some money in the jukebox and play some of your favorite music
~Play some music to piss off/mock other patrons
~Be that group dancing on a Thurs/Fri/Sat night
~Drink beer
~Opt for "Play Now" on the jukebox to bypass other patrons song selections
~Play "asshole" and other card games. (Quarters reserved for a very select few groups of regulars)
~Drink lots of beer
~Guess the number of layers of epoxy coating the tables and bar.
~Order from the greasy window
~Play pool
~Make friends with Steve, the bartenders and door staff
~Drink even more beer
***Have an effing amazing time with your friends***
Ah Punters. I've been drunk here many-a-time after law school finals or just after a particularly bad contracts class. Punters is fabulous because it's so awful. It's dark. It's grimy. You can order food from a hole in the hall (literally, not joking) next door where you can dine on some of the worst bar food ever. But, the drinks are cheap and the clientele is usually okay (harmless law students from Northeastern- suprisingly the undergrads steer clear of this joint).
They have a jukebox that, if I remember correctly, is pretty decent. But, I wouldn't count on it, I was really drunk and dancing to a heck of a lot of Journey that night. I think if a jukebox has Journey on it, then it must be good.
Every first year student at Northeastern University's law school recieves a welcome packet in the mail during the Summer in which they are told matter-of-factly to expect to spend a significant amount of time over the next three years in this hole-in-the-wall dive bar with its own unique brand of "sickening charm." (the welcome packet's words, not mine)
Punter's is great not just for law students however, but for anyone who is in the area and starts to feel a little thirsty (it is also accross the street from Boston's museum of fine arts). Punters is about as unpretentious as you can possibly get, with its dimly lit basement atmosphere (even though it's actually at ground level), its rickety wooden booths and old-school arcade games shoved in the corner.
Also, if you get hungry, you can literally order through the hole in the wall that is shared between the bar and the University House of Pizza.
My only complaint is the limited beer selection, but really, there are more important things to worry about in life than not being able to order a micro-brew.
I do have to give the bartenders props for tolerating all the law students, who often descend upon the unsuspecting bar by the dozens without any warning (usually right after an exam or paper is due).
Punter's is perfect! I live right across the street. The beer is cheap cheap cheap. This is exactly the sort of bar atmosphere I appreciate. Not too crowded, booths held together with duct tape, ordering food through a hole in the wall and kind of accidentally rustic.
dirty bar, yes. Dive Bar, no.
I'm new to writing reviews on Yelp (although I have been trolling Yelp for reviews and info on places for what seems like quite a long time), and I apologize if many of my reviews have the centralized theme of "dive bar" - it's what I know and what I love - my particular area of expertise if you will. I've come to understand that people in my new city of Boston have a warped concept of a "dive bar" (save for quite a few Yelpers who I've come to love!) Here's how I feel Punter's measures up:
Punter's....hmmm....well, I'll give it an extra star for the benefit of the doubt since I visited this place on the early side one night and am not sure what the 2am crowd would have been like, but I feel like a good dive has people at the bar no matter the hour - like 11am, cars are parked out front, you know?
The clientele leaves a LOT to be desired. Bunch of un-fun college (Northeastern?) students in sheepskin boots and rugby scarves. Just obnoxious - and not the sort I want to spend my Friday with. The bartender was obnxious about checking my age - I'm 25 and look it and it's a Mass. ID for god's sake. Nobody would mistake me for being under 21 although I'm flattered when people do, there's no need to be rude about it and treat me with suspicion for the next 20 minutes. The bartender was rude in general and when not rude, seemed extremely patronizing. I mean hey, I was in there talking quietly with my roommate drinking draft domestic light and eating pizza in jeans, flops, and a cardigan - really? As an added bonus no music was playing on the jukebox during that time so it was unearthly quiet and only the screams of my money begging not to be spent in such an obnoxious and prententious, yet dirty, place could be heard.
Listen up Punters, here's your wake up call:
1) The fake ID crowd is fun and definitely deserves it's own special place in a dive bar - but to be so incredibly strict about carding and yet so rude to those of us in your bar who are NOT under 21 and also NOT full-time students is kind of like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, dig?
2) Big Buck Hunter is great, keep that. Also keep the pool tables and lovely wood decor - would be a great "dive" asset if you ever become a great "dive" bar.
3) The pizza delivery via the hole in the wall was truly ingenious and hilarious. The fact that it is completely disgusting pizza is irrelevant to me - it's hilarious and it's cheap. That's where you get your extra star from.
4) Play some f'ing music even if no one's rockin the jukebox - sitting in a place drinking where you can hear a pin drop is too damned creepy for anyone.
A dive bar should, at it's best, be a melting pot of exhausted people. People who are tired of being broke, tired of working so damn much, tired of their spouses/kids, tired of being ugly, tired of abstinence, tired of losing teeth due to bad hygene, tired of living in a trailer, etc. All of whom just want to get blazing drunk and forget about their woes in a place that makes them feel well-dressed in a wife-beater, has people that make them laugh and feel better about themselves, and will only leave them waking up to an aching head, not an empty wallet (provided you don't accidentally bring home a prostitute by accident).
Yeah, in sum - Punter's you are not a "dive bar" you are just a bar that happens to be dirty. If I'm going to spend money in a place that unkempt it better have a staff that makes me feel like I'm in my own living room, patrons who are friendly and make me smile, and cheap drink prices to write home about. In short, you are none of the above and there are far better places for Bostonians to drink away their money - Northeasterners, it's all yours.
I had so many fond memories from this dirty bar. During Soph year at NU, I lived in Burstein Hall and Punters was the easiest/ cheapest place to grab a pitcher of beer. Good dart board, too; I made a lot of friends just by starting "cricket" games with complete strangers.
Watch out for the roaches, though. I remember sitting in one of the wooden booths and a roach walked along a ledge right next to my head. eek. Maybe the reason they keep it so dark in there is so you can't see just how dirty and infested the place really is.
Punters is awesome and far better than Conor Larkins. I think Punters has been there since the 1970's and it's for a reason. Nice, no nonsense drinking in a dark bar.
No matter where you go in life you cannot ignore your home. And if you went to Northeastern Law at some point during your three-years (four for some of us) you called Punter's Pub home. And why not? It's close, its comfy and Steve (the owner) will treat you like family. Have an evening class and only a few minutes before the first pitch -- no worries, Punter's is always there for you. Now i know it's not the flashiest place in Boston and one of my friends asked me on the way to school - "are they ever going to change the replacement door?" But it is home - and you have to "protect your house" in the famous words of Big Papi.
Insiders note: go to the back - you will see a hole in the wall. That is where you buy your pizza from. Honestly.
"I'm going to the bar to socialize with people other than those I came with."
Is it me, or is this the Unspoken Fallacy of the 20-Something Bargoer?
More often than not it seems like the exception and not the rule. When you're at the bar, you hang with the people you came with. If you're a single guy, maybe you try to talk to girls. If you're a single girl, maybe you listen.
Anyway, for those that think we all need to stop kidding ourselves, or just enjoy a place where small groups of people can run their own show without all the shenanigans of the nightclub-bar, this is your wheelhouse.
I don't need to stand uncomfortably and pay $6 for a beer while struggling to hear my friends talk over Fall Out Boy.
What I want is basically a giant bar in my living room that I don't have to clean up or restock. A place where I can sit down with however many people I came with and shoot the shit for as little expense as possible. I go home and somebody else can clean it up.
I miss you, Punter's.
I like this place.
However dark it is, even on the sunniest day.
They have 5 beer taps, 2 Sam, perhaps a Harpoon, and Bud and Miller. I cant complain here.
They seem to make the usual cocktails, but not anything fancy from the guy behind this bar.
The food is horrible, but when you are munchy, the potato skins will do. You have to go to a hole in the wall near the pool table, where you can talk to the pizza guys from next door. Yup. They will make your potato skins or whatever, you send money through the hole, and they send you your cheesy skins and mozzarella sticks. Hilarious really.
There are about 10 different kinds of wood and wood paneling in this place. Bizarre. You can tell nobody planned the atmosphere, it just sort of happened.
I would not travel far on account of Punters Pub.
I like it because it is near work. And is a decent spot for a 5:00 pitcher of Sam shared with work buddies. (pitchers are $12.)
so if you are nearby, it is one of the only options, and it will do just fine.
This place rocks.
The beer is cheap, even if it's crowded it doesn't feel like it is, there's always access to the bar and you are served in a timely manner. It's connected to the pizza shop next door, so drunkenly feast at your hearts desire. The pool table actually functions as a pool table (unlike at Conor Larkin's, last I checked) and it's dark. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing, but I like it.
The only bad thing (costing it a star) is that it's cash only, which sucks because nothing makes me happier than watching someone swipe my debit card. I suggest hitting up an ATM on the way, otherwise you'll be stuck with the one they have there, which is like the prototype for the first ATM.
Also, the girls bathrooms are a little iffy, but then again when are bar bathrooms anything but?
A law student's best friend. Other than highlighters.
Ol' reliable, Punters, thanks for always being there for us.
Not a bad place to grab a pint. It would be worthless if it didn't have a window connected to a pizza joint. Good beer for $5...cheap beer for $2. If its late on a weekday night, head over to punters for a brew and some food. If it's dead, bail and check out Connor Larkin's. Definitely not a place to write home about, but it gets the job done.
A great break from studio for Wentworth architecture students, Punters is a hole in the wall that just happens to be right down the street. Cheap beer and a place to hang out. How bad could that be. Also a good place to end a night of drinking.
I like this place because of the location (near the art museums) and big screen TVs, and because it's cheap. Very poor beer and liquor selection, however.
Since I'm a pool table junkie, and I read about it on Yelp, I thought I'd give it a chance. Even though tonight was dead and nobody working was making any money ( at least when I was there) the bartender and door staff were friendly and hospitable. The place has a quirky layout and I'm willing to give it another shot or two cause I'm sure it can lively up itself. The woody, church- bench laden, pool room decor could be described as pew and cue (just trying to put the pun into Punters ).
This bar is great if you're not into the college bar scene, even though it's in the middle of college town. Seven dollar pitchers and darts is all I need to have a good time. And, as previously mentioned, there is a window to the pizza place next door, which is great!!!!! And Steve is awesome, talk to him as much as you can.
Oh, Punters. I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time in your hallowed halls over the next few years. Your pitchers of Miller Lite quench my thirst, and your jukebox satisfy my dancing needs. And what other bar would refuse to let my friend pay for a pitcher on her last day of class in the first year of law school? You are truly a friend.
Are there ever more than 5 people in here? There sure isn't every time I've walked been or unfortunately been there, once. Price for a pitcher wasn't bad but I certainly wouldn't go here to have fun. Maybe if I was an alcoholic and just wanted to sit by myself and drink.
Punter's is a great place to meet up with a group of people, fight over the jukebox, play pool, watch a game, and down cheap pitchers. Oh yeah, and you can order some slices through the hole in the wall (LITERALLY!) which leads to University Pizza next door.
punters=meh
This place sucks. I don't care about how classic it is, or all the legands and stories that happened in this place....the whole place just sucks. First off, there's only 3 taps containing Bud, Bud Lite, and some kind of Sam or Blue Moon. The people who go here are pretty lame (overrun by pompous NU students) and the only reason I've been to this place is cause my friends are always there (which in turn, makes us pretty lame, doesnt it?) because of it's proximity to Wentworth. I really don't understand why they keep coming back. Yes, the prices are alright, but the whole building is ghetto. A hole in the wall to order pizza from next door? Ridiculous. Go somewhere else.
Boston, MA
Category: Restaurants
Roxbury Crossing, MA
Category: Pubs
Boston, MA
Category: Dive Bars
Boston, MA
Category: Pizza
Boston, MA
Category: Nightlife
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