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Categories: Music Venues, Pool Halls [Edit]
Neighborhood: Morningside / Lenox ParkMon-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
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Smith's Olde Bar, one of Atlanta's favorite bars, is also one of my favorites. I go to Smith's quite often as it is right down the street from my apartment. Last night was the first time I had been to the music venue part, in the upstairs portion of Smith's. The music venue is now one of my favorites.
Smith's is one of the few places in Atlanta that still serves my beloved Rolling Rock. Smith's also has nightly drink specials that makes it worth going to, as well as some of the best music shows in the "big A."
Pros:
-Music Venue
-Thursday night trivia
-food
-Rolling Rock :-D
Cons:
-very inadequate parking
-lack of Rolling Rock upstairs
I'm probably gonna get creamed for this opinion, but I just think Smith's is okay.
First, it has a decent music venue upstairs. It's very clean and has fairly decent sound quality.
Second, the food in the bar is not good. I should've known this. I should've dug a little deeper in my research, but I took a chance. Yep, I rolled the dice and I lost.
The wait staff is checked out and not very attentive. I ordered the blue and bacon burger. The patty itself was huge, a supposed half pound of meat. I just wish it had tasted good. On this night, someone in the kitchen got a little overzealous with the spices. It was literally intolerable. But I choked down half of it.
The fries are the crinkled, frozen kind, but were still tasty with enough ketchup.
And just on a side note, I decided not to drink alcohol as I was the driver on this concert outing. So, I decided to have a real cherry Coke. Until now, I thought every bar knew how to make a cherry Coke. Well, Smith's doesn't. I don't know where it went wrong, but it tasted like cherry fizzy water. No bueno.
Smith's Olde Bar is one of my favorite places to see live music in Atlanta, provided the show is upstairs. With plenty of room to stand, and always at least a few tables on the sides for those that would rather be seated, there's not a bad seat in the house. The bartenders are quick and pay attention, and the sound crew are real professionals. My only complaint about the upstairs is the bathroom, but I don't usually have to use it.
The downstairs Atlanta Room has the potential to rival Eddie's Attic as a listening room for acoustic acts, but if you're expecting that now, beware. While at the beginning of shows, just like at Eddie's, they announce that its a listening room and ask that people stay quiet, this is not enforced. There is not a bar in the Atlanta room, so one or two cocktail waitresses go in and out, letting noise from the bar and the upstairs show in with them. There is no consideration for the performers either - the door is opened at all times.
The bar area is very smoky, but great for pool, darts, and they have some sort of organized card games, I think just on certain nights. The menu is good sized, with a lot of bar food and a GREAT fried section - okra, pickle chips, tater tots.... its a fried food lover's dream.... or nightmare, depending on who you ask :)
Spacious and dark with a real sense of some local musical history but best of all it's not in a strip mall! (breathes a deep sigh of relief!)
Smith's has been growing on me lately and a big part of that is the people. It's very easy to drum up a conversation with interesting people here, and there is no greater joy to me then good conversation.
If it weren't for the bathrooms and the jukebox we'd have a solid five star review, but I can only take so much of Steely Dan and sour toilet wafts, so there we are!
Mmm... and did I mention that they have a video game version of Cornhole (called Bags) over in the corner?
Nothing makes me laugh harder then playing a video game where I get to trackball a virtual beanbag into a little virtual hole!
Read into that what you will!
The important thing to remember about the name of this place is that it's old. Don't be surprised when you come upstairs and the bathrooms lack ventilation and the carpet is really worn out and sticky. That happens when places are old and I'm okay with that as long as there are a few other things going in their favor.
The staff here is professional and very friendly. Some of the cover charges seen excessive, especially since we're in a recession ($15 to see a few local bands play).
Drinks are easy to get and the bartenders all pour very well. Prices are okay ($6.75 for Kettle One drinks) and they even have a cheap drink menu with $4 PBR.
It's a very unique place and a fun place to see live bands perform. If that's not your thing you can stay downstairs and eat dinner or play pool or darts. The choices are endless.
I most love that the music/concert areas are smoke free. WOO HOO!
Like the specials they run on Thursday nights. The regular drinks can be a little weak at times (I guess it all depends on who's behind the bar). A great place to watch a show. What I like about Smith's is that its got a lot of variety. If you are ADHD like myself and can't sit for long periods of time doing the exact same shit then this place is for you. You've got trivia,pool,poker,and those touch-screen thingys. I give it an extra star because I met the love of my life, Fabrizio Moretti of the Strokes, in the Atlanta Room. Don't tell my boyfriend.
An identity crisis in a good way.
On a given night, you might find the following: pool sharks so hardcore they are playing alone to hone their skillz, football jersey clad fans intently watching the TV in the corner, and hipsters with 23 inch waists (and I'm talking dudes) wearing jeans that look like leggings - all in this one bar.
I've been before but just for games (this does lean to being an Alabama bar after all) but just went to the Atlanta room to see a show. This is a very, very intimate venue. So intimate, the band isn't even on the super petite stage and you could literally give them a high five without moving from your spot. Acoustically not the best I've heard, but seeing as how bands could sweat on you or you could feel the breeze when they bat their eyelashes should make up for it.
The food is also decent - an extensive menu of bar-ish stuff, and even if you get a cobb salad it will turn out tasty.
You never know, to round out my Smith's experiences, you might find me around a pool table on my next visit.
I love this place for great live music upstairs and Roll Tide Football downstairs on Saturdays :-)
I'm writing this review strictly on the drinks, bartenders and atmosphere. I've never tried the food.
FYI-It's smoky so be warned if you are a non-smoker. It gets way worse on the weekends/when there are tons of folks packed inside.
No offense to Smith's or their staff, but I would never eat here. In the mood for some kick-ass live music? Well then, Smith's is your place.
The b.f. & I saw Marah last night (Tuesday) with friends and was surprised by how packed it was downstairs. I think it was trivia night as it was packed in the pool room, but the downstairs bar/booth area was jammed as well.
Upstairs is a great place to hear music and they're trying to enforce non-smoking which is really nice as it's typically a smoke-pit. Two of our friends were loving the $4 24-oz Red Stripes. Huuuuge!
Smith's is also a Pittsburgh Steelers bar for those of you that are interested.
The crowd downstairs at Smith's is evidence that plenty of people come for the bar. I'm not one of these people. I come to Smith's for the music. The music calendar is packed with a wide variety of musical styles so you're bound to find something worth coming to.
The upstairs music room is a great space for a couple of hundred people. There are some small tables that can either be along the sides or in the middle of the room, depending on the number of people. Come early if you want a seat but expect to have someone standing in front of you.
There's a full bar upstairs but its wise to make sure you or the people you're with don't overindulge. The stairs are steep and its a pain to carry someone who can't walk down themselves.
Wow! 47 reviews before me. That's a lot of reviews for this itty bitty hole in the wall place. What else can I add that hasn't already been said before.
Anyway, here's my review from an African-American's perspective. I am sure they don't get that many of us in that place, when I went, there were 3 of us in total in attendance (I counted). And the bartender kept remembering my order (do you want another Stella?) - and I thought of course she will, there are just so few of us in here.
The venue was a bit on the dingy side, like that hole in the wall strictly for the singer/songwriter artist, but surprisingly the sound quality was really good. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The drinks were reasonably priced, too. So you can get your drink on while listening to live music. I just may go back there.
The only caveat - if a place has no visible windows they really shouldn't let people smoke in there. What do you think?
Beer is great. Food is lousy.
They don't sell beer by the pitcher. What gives?
Anything fried is done in the same grease.
Bathrooms are shameful. Truly.
Noisy, noisy, and yeah, noisy.
Dogs are allowed in the back porch area, and I really appreciate that.
If you want beer, then this is THE PLACE.
When I'm in the mood for smoky, dark and divey, this is my favorite spot. Not a hole-in-the-wall due to its size and the music upstairs, but still in my mind a place of that genre.
As other folks have noted, there are plenty of pool tables and other game-type entertainment, and the food is actually good! I like it best, though, for grabbing a booth and hanging out with a great friend or a boy I'm really into...no one will care if you take up the space for a long time to talk, or start making out!
Cabbing there can be a best bet, as parking is a challenge, but despite some complaints over beer prices, the service (bar or table) is generally good, and when you're in the mood for this kind of atmosphere . . . Smith's will always be one of my favorites!
Restaurant/Bar...
Decent bar food, good drink selection, ok service. Good jukebox, pool tables, dart boards. A good place to grab some dinner and a drink with a friend. They allow smoking so be prepared if this bothers you.
Music Venue...
I love going to shows here. Some folks don't but what do they know. This a small scale venue and the sound can be loud, but all shows are intimate and if you get there early enough you can sit and have a drink and listen. Friendly bartenders/servers, a beer window, and an interesting crowd make for a good night.
I have mixed feelings about this place. I love the dark dirtiness of it. The horrible bathrooms, the wood bar, the cramped and old venue upstairs. But I wasn't as excited by the drink prices, the crowdedness, the EXTREME lack of parking and the size of the place. I think we were only here once for a dart tournament a couple years ago, and this might be my second time here in eight years of living in ATL. We experienced several things on our visit here...so I will elaborate:
Bar experience: We like to sit at the actual bar. This was a good choice, though the booths looked cozy. The place filled up fast, but our bartender was still nice and no attitude from the place...all kinds of folks inside. Did get a little annoying having people order drinks over your head...especially for a weekday.
Food experience: Good, but not the best bar grub I've ever had. Kinda pricey. Took quite a while to come out of the kitchen.
Show experience: We were here to see "Back Door Slam," a blues band. I loved the creepy feeling of ascending the stairs to the unique venue upstairs. It was small and intimate, yet obviously jammed in a lot of people. We were lucky enough to be invited by some bikers to sit at a coveted table along the side. (thank goodness cause I forgot that there are a million opening bands nowadays, and I was practically asleep by the time Back Door came on.) In any case, the sound was perfect for blues, atmosphere too. Good Stuff. And again, no attitude from anyone...lots of well endowed staff members to the delight of my boy and others in the crowd.
Overall, I can't say I will be racing back here before any of my other haunts. But it was a cool place to see a show.
Smith's Olde Bar is kinda dark and kinda loud, but they have a lot of pool tables and a very well-run free poker tournament that goes on 3 days a week.
The review below mine says friends were shocked because he'd been in Atlanta for 2 years and never been to SOB.... make that almost 7 years for me, before tonight!
I liked this place okay. great place for bands but the food is left to be desired. 10 bucks or a warmed up veggie burger? It wasn't that special.
Service is good, space is great. Really cool. Watch out for the ID Nazi as you come in!
I finally went to SOB Friday night. Everyone was always amazed that having lived in Atlanta for almost two years that I had never been. I really like this place and plan on going again.
I was meeting friends and I was the first to arrive. I grab a spot at the bar and the service was great. As everyone else arrived over time, we hung out near the bar and the party was on. The place filled up nicely with a real eclectic crowd. It caters to all ages and styles - and no one seemed out of place.
As others have commented, there are different areas of SOB - pool room, bar area and live music upstairs. A few of us headed upstairs to catch the headline band. While the band was not good, it was still a lot of fun for $10. Really the only downside is It is very smokey.
I didn't eat here so I can't comment on the food.
Next time you can't decide where to go for a fun evening - head to SOB - you won't be disappointed.
I'm a fan of this place. From the dark grittiness of its appearance to the multiple rooms for bands to play to the awesomely cute bathrooms, it's a unique and fun place.
The food was surprisingly good, I would almost call it excellent. Tip- order the Jalapeno poppers, to DIE for!
Downsides: parking is complicated, especially after a few drinks. There is a parking lot, but it's narrow and you have to back out onto the road. Also, drinks are not the cheapest around, $5 for a blue moon.
The bands I saw play were just alright, but the atmosphere and the food made up for it!
This is a cool place to hang out, people watch, and get food. Just be careful of the $5 charge for shitty bands and the slightly pricey drinks!
I've been to Smith's Olde Bar a few times before -- I've lived in Atlanta for years on and off and, let's face it, it's an institution -- but I've always given this place less cred than I should have because I think of it as a place where bow-heads and wannabe jocks come to knock heads and listen to garage bands.
I was wrong, and last night's line-up on the main stage confirmed that Smith's showcases a wide variety of outstanding musicians. Case in point: through the invitation of my impossibly hip, plugged-in music blogster friend, I went to see Jessica Tonder perform, a critical darling and break-out local artist that's gotten her music out through the internet. She chose to start her modest national tour at Smith's Olde Bar, and opening before her were equally talented rapper Diverse and Brunswick, New Jersey band Like Trains and Taxis. Each performance had a different style and mood from the other (rap, jazzy rock, atmospheric R&B/ pop), but the connective thread was that all the music was unapologetically on the edge, full of conviction and a new soul while respectfully giving nods to the musical giants and genres that came before them. An especial thanks to the incredible DJ that collaborated with Diverse and Jessica for some of the best sampling (I could hear Public Enemy in the background) and music I've heard in a while.
For that alone, Smith's Olde Bar needs to be placed on equal footing with some of the newer and more edgy music venues in the city. Sure, below on the main floor that same night, half of the bar was filled with college students playing poker, while the other half of the bar was filled with a non-descript group of regular folk swigging beer and watching sports on the tele -- who cares? As long as they continue to offer a good variety of musicians and sell mixed-drinks for about five bucks a pop, I'll remain an ever humble, converted fan.
As other people have noted, drink prices are too high (4.50 for a Sweetwater? I mean, you'd think that with the brewery 2 miles down the street that it wouldn't cost that much for distribution), it's a little dark and you have to take your chances for parking at Ansley Mall.
But the two shows I've seen here have been great.
The craziest bathrooms I've ever seen.
Odd stairs throughout this huge space. Watch your step - I almost bit it twice.
I continue to explore locally owned businesses in my neighborhood and this one feels old. I like that.
A dizzying amount of posters promoting upcoming bands both upstairs and downstairs.
Friendly servers who are really attentive.
A wide array of adult games: Bags, Silver Strike, lots of pool tables. It seems to be a hangout for after work crowds.
I'm sure I'll be going back to check out the live music.
I love this place. Reading the walls will keep you busy if the conversation is lagging. It's a typical dive that serves as a cool place to watch a football game, play pool or darts and have a few (or more than a few)drinks. The tilapia sandwich and the chili cheese fries are yum yum yummy! The service is always good and the location in midtown is great.
A tale of two places...
The downstairs is a frat like atmosphere minus the buzz of a busy crowd.
Upstairs is a listening room that is so out of step and out of sync with the scene and the touring bands it feels uneasy.
It just lacks the intangibles that makes great bars great bars. This wasn't always the case but the venue falls further and further out of step with it's audience. Parking is horrible and it is a pricey time to be had. All in all it's not bad but it's not really worth it. Unfortunately, Atlanta just has other places to offer.
Now I will say if they regained their identity and reinvented itself the place would absolutely come to life. Unfortunately, that looks further and further away every time I go to hang out or go see a show.
Smoke and grease: two unfortunate olfactory consequences of my recent dining experience at Smith's Olde Bar: my boyfriend and I were craving protein and stopped in for an early evening dinner of burgers and fries. Although I was surprised by the price ($10 for a plain ol' burger?), it was tasty, as were the crinkle cut fries. Our server was also very friendly, and my boyfriend and I enjoyed pondering SOB's eclectic visual qualities, such as its prominently expressed love of Alabama and Pittsburgh football. Yet we non-smokers were very displeased that smoking is allowed, and upon returning home, I was even more unhappy that a greasy odor had apparently permeated my skin and I smelled as if I had been flipping the burgers in the kitchen myself! Unless my boyfriend has a craving for pool and foosball, I don't think we will be returning anytime soon.
It never fails. Each time i go to Smith's, I have a good time. There are 2 bars (main and upstairs), a 2nd floor music venue, a pool/dart room, and other rooms for eating, etc. The bartenders/servers, expecially Brad and Sam, are great , Always serving strong drinks (made correctly) and......they'll likely remember your name after the first or second visit. The hummas and fried pickles are addicting.
On a busy night ,expect to wait in line for the bathroom. Oh... and if your drunk, wearing heels, or both, don't use the one on the right. I had to use my spiderman skills to actually tinkle IN the toilet as a result of the crazy toilet/wall placement. ~cheers
In the late 90's this place attracted some pretty good local and big- time acts to its upstairs venue- I met Bernard Butler (Suede) after he played a show there, and local acts like The Tender Idols (anyone remember my boys?) played there on a regular basis.
But, slowly but surely, we all stopped seeing shows there. Why? I am not entirely sure. Maybe it was the tiny restrooms that seemed to be hall closets back in the day and renovated into creepy little bathrooms in the back of the place. Or maybe it's the backstage area that looks like a homeless person was kicked off the left-on-the-corner couch, and only about 4 people could fit in the tiny room they let the bands chill out in. If I were a band I'd be ready to play just to get out of there!
But the venue is very small but cozy in a creepy way, and the drinks are pretty strong. I've only been downstairs to the bar/pool hall area a few times and felt a little out of place- it was definitely filled with college kids having a grand old time. Even though I was a college kid, I never fit in with that crowd. But it's a nice place to go and have a few drinks and play pool if that's your thing.
It has a little bit of everything for everyone. Pool tables, darts, concert area, food.
I usually end up here for a show of some band I've never heard of that my friend's cousin's brother is in, but I always walk away having had a good time. The music venue is really small but holds a decent amount of people. And they have shows here with incredible frequency - they usually pick fairly good bands, I've only seen one here that I walked away thinking "okay I can play better than that" and I don't play a musical instrument.
But if you get bored of the show - there's always pool. Bartenders are incredible - friendly and strong pours.
PS - unless you like immense saltiness, the lemon pepper wings are a bust. But the hot wings are really yummy!
In my opinion, Smith's is one of the best places to go in Atlanta for chill night .. when you just want to go out for a couple of drinks and maybe a game or two of pool. It doesn't matter if it's on a week night or a weekend, the atmosphere is most always pleasant.
.. basically several different areas
A Game Room
A Room for Dinners
The Bar
The upstairs music venue (small, but amazingly holds a good number of folks)
So, this allows you to choose the area based on your mood.. if you get tired of playing pool, go hang out at the bar! Its nice..
This place has one of the better line-ups for live music in the city. I've seen some of my favorite bands here. Dangerously hot bar wenches work upstairs so be careful not to leave a mortgage payment as a tip after too many rounds.
I have had one negative experience there and it was pretty minor. One of the bartendresses downstairs questioned me as to whether I planned to walk out on my tab after I'd just placed an order. She did this with a straight face, and I do not fit the description of a street person.
This is a good place to take a chance on bands you've never heard of. It's not the cheapest cover for upstairs(usually $8-$15) but the acts booked are consistantly entertaining. I'd recommend it as both a regular watering hole and for a special trip from out of town to see good music.
_________
06/14/08
Came back here recently and have come to the conclusion that this place is a bit too pricey for what it is. I mean, $10 for a burger is awfully steep when the Vortex is 5 minutes away. The drink prices are a bit high too.
So, good for music...not that great if you're looking for a good deal.
So I went here to see PJ Morton live. The show was great and the sound upstairs is pretty awesome. I would never have gone to Smith's for any other reason and actually I had never even noticed the place. Parking is tricky here, I recommend parking at the little shopping center across the street and walking over. The staff was really nice, the bartender fixed me a nice "girly" drink when I couldn't figure out what I wanted. The surprise here was the food, it was actually like the bomb, maybe I was just hungry, but I had a turkey burger and fries. It wasn't the best burger I've ever had, but it was pretty awesome and the fries were like those old school fries they served in the elementary school cafeteria, the crinkle cut ones, so good. Now Smith's is pretty nasty I mean the place feels dingy so pee before you go and bring your hand sanitizer, but this was a good experience overall.
In theory, Smith's should be an awesome place to hang: they have a whole room of pool tables, another huge room with tables for hanging out and drinking, another room with just the bar where you can stand around and congregate, plus an upstairs area that somehow reminds me of the Shining in its decor, complete with a semicircle curtained stage where bands play. There is also another nice room available for private parties, or where smaller acoustic acts play on certain nights.
All in all, it's quite a nice set up, though for some reason I don't know much of anyone who goes here except on special occasions.
The range of bands they get tend to be unknown touring acts and locals, though maybe once every other year someone random will pop up there. And while the rooms downstairs are set up perfect for hanging out, I've never really gotten comfortable here. It seems more like a place where you'd drop in and drop out. Perhaps though if you live closer to this area and have friends who are willing to come along, you could make a really good night of this facility.
Can we say, fantastic neighborhood pub and music bar?
Celebrated New Years here, attended many a show, and many a drink...
Great place. Simple, ATL homestyle fun.
Now i'm getting nostalgic..never thought i'd say this...
But i'm beginning to miss Atlanta!
This is the place for live music downtown. I've been here 5 nights a week and have heard a different type of music every night of the week. The weekends are always crowded with a good set of people.
Poker on Mon/Tues/Wed and Team Trivia on Thurs so you can't go wrong with things to do!
If I had one place to go every night it would be here for the music alone.
Just stopped by Smith's for the umpteenth time since I moved here five years ago. I have to admit, I'm a little biased towards Smith's, having spent most of my adult life in Miami and Milwaukee, I tend to gravitate toward Midwestern style bars like Smith's rather than the thump thump DJ hey-I'm-so-cool-velvet-rope sylings of a Whiskey Blue or Aja (ugh!). That said, Smith's is a great bar. Pool tables and darts. A good juke box. Big screen TV's playing whatever sports is on. Yes, it is smokey. Yes, the bathrooms are gross. But there are some seriously cheap beer specials - $3.50 for a 24 oz Red Stripe, and $3.75 for a 22 oz. Fat Tire 1554. Let me repeat that - $3.75 FOR A 22 oz. FAT TIRE 1554. Granted, the food is meh, except on Thursdays when they serve Fox Brothers BBQ and on Tuesdays from 10 - 1, when the menu is half price. Great place to see a live band and an eclectic lineup (where else can you see Buckwheat Zydeco (July 29), the rebirth brass band (August 8), and Taylor Hicks (August 16 - bwahaha!!!)?). Gets a nice turnout for Trivia Thursdays at 9pm. As mentioned, park in the shopping center parking lot with the CVS and Pier One Imports.
In short, if you want to go to a bar without pretense and a good crowd, Smith's is your place.
Love that SOB!!!
I have been to Smiths one time before and had a great time so it's no surprise that I had yet ANOTHER fantastic time at SOB. I was there last night with friends and fellow Yelpers (NYC) to kick off the weekend a little early and was pleasantly surprised that they also had my college football game on. We snagged a spot right at the bar by the big plasma TV and was immediately greeted by Maria, who pleasantly extended her hand accompanied with a smile to meet everyone in my group. Now how often does a bartender approach YOU to say hello?!?!? How about NEVER! So I was very impressed to see that. Maria at SOB gets mad props.
We ordered 2 different flavors of wings, buffalo and honey mustard. Yum!!! The buffalo wings were good but nothing to write home (or yelp) about, but the honey mustard wings were awesome! The right amount of honey paired with the right amount of mustard and VOA LA! you have honey mustard wing goodness!
Other then that, SOB will always be on my list of hot spots to hit while bouncing around on a night out. It's a good-ole time place!
Great local bar!! Great Bar food and all the usual suspects in the beer list. Full liquor bar and very friendly staff.
Very very unassuming bar. Come as you are and don't be judged.
Numerous leisure sports to choose from. Fooseball, pool, darts, Golden Tee, Ms. Pac Man, etc.
Not to mention the venue upstairs for great local and indie talent.
I love Smith's Olde Bar - the first time I went was just about a year ago on NYE to see a couple friend's bands play. I haven't hung out downstairs too much, although once before a show we all had some grubby grub while sitting in the booths down there. The food wasn't half bad - typical bar food really, but they had a couple vegetarian options which is definitely a-typical for bars.
My only complain really has nothing to do with the Olde Bar itself - because it's upstairs and the room is fairly small in size, it gets EXTREMELY smokey. I mean, establishments should really be able to chose for themselves whether to allow smoking or not, but it'd be nice if they would chose not. I know, I'm living in a dream world.
The Thursday night hang out of choice for my single, fresh out of college days. Yes, believe it or not I was once a baseball cap and polo shirt wearing punk that could go out drinking any night of the week. Actually, that sounds about the same now except that the wardrobe has changed.
I haven't been back to Smith's for anything but concerts since getting older and settling down (and moving to another side of town), but I still remember lots of great evenings there playing foosball and spending a ton of time perusing one of the best jukebox play lists in around.
Smith's is a relaxed atmosphere where you can play pool, watch sports, drink, or socialize without anything detracting from the experience. It's not completely dominated by any one social strata, so it's a good place to meet people or hang with your friends.
Some of the best concerts I've seen in Atlanta have been in the music venue upstairs. It's an intimate setting and there's a full bar there as well so you don't have to run back and forth downstairs if you need another round.
Smiths old bar has all of the qualities that make a good bar great, but there are several variables that tremendously hinder the establishments claim as a local hot spot in Atlanta.
The interior is spacious, which allows guests to have enough room to stand around and consume some stout concoctions created by the phenomanal bartending staff.
Live musical performances at this venue are decent; however, I will give an opinion similar to the one Lauren gave in her accurate observation of the musical talent that performs here on a regular basis: most of them are no talent boobs. More specifically, some of the bands that perform at Smiths Old Bar have the distinct quality of being extremely mediocre in the talent department, or in worst case scenarios having no talent what so ever. I know it may be hard for the management to tell a certain band that they are not good enough to play because of the potential for the bands family and friends in attendance to bring business to Smith's; but for Pete's sake, at least listen to the band before you allow them to go on stage.
The other quality that diminishes the great bar potential that Smith's could embrace is the pool tables. Sure, there is a whole room dedicated to an abundance of pool tables; however, every time I have been here there is always a group of meat heads hogging every single one of them. Why can't they just be nice meat heads and share every once in a while? It's not my fault they are pissed about getting rejected by girls over and over again because their shirt is way too tight.
Neighborhood: Midtown
Category: Bars
Decatur, GA
Category: Music Venues
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Pool Halls
Decatur, GA
Category: Pool Halls
Atlanta, GA
Category: Gay Bars
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