Our picks for Richmond's top five dive bars

Mar 12, 2024

From Poe's Pub to Town Hall, these are the top ranked Dive Bars in Richmond

Richmond has plenty of dive bars, some on the seedy side, others on the beloved, “clean well-lighted place” side.

According to the Urban Dictionary, a dive bar can be “a well-worn, unglamorous bar, often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele. The term can describe anything from a comfortable-but-basic neighborhood pub to the nastiest swill-slinging hole."

Here’s our list of five favorite dive bars -- that run the gamut from clean to gritty -- in Richmond and a brief history behind them.

Town Hall is a relatively new bar with old-school dive bar charm in Carytown at 3123 W. Cary St.

Town Hall opened during the pandemic at 3123 W. Cary St. in the former Weezie’s Kitchen space in Carytown in 2020. The self-described dive bar is owned by Mike Yavorsky, Culinary Institute of America-trained chef and owner of Belmont Food Shop.

“Here it’s a lot of local people. They get PBR and a shot,” the bartender Justin Humphries said.

For example, you can get Pabst Blue Ribbon for $1.50 during happy hour, or $3 during regular hours.

“The (bar) landscape has changed,” Humphries said. “We’re missing hole in the wall type bars. Places like Cary St. Café and F.W. Sullivan’s have disappeared in the Fan.”

Town Hall is filling that space, catering to regulars with cheap beer and jello shots for $1-3. It is dark and cool inside, with old Virginia license plates decorating the space above the door and flags from all nations draped from the ceiling. On Monday and Tuesday, there’s karaoke and the owner is hoping to bring back live music.

“Our prices are 2010. We’re a great ‘stop in place,’ if you’re waiting for dinner at Can Can or someplace close,” Humphries said.

The menu is simple bar and comfort food such as wings ($8.95), loaded fries, pork BBQ sliders with picnic slaw ($10), as well as smoked brisket or Boston butt.

Monday-Wednesday 2 p.m.-midnight, Thursday noon-midnight, Friday and Saturday noon-2 a.m., Sunday noon-8 p.m. Happy hour is 4 p.m.-7 p.m. https://www.instagram.com/townhallrva/

Bamboo Cafe located at 1 S Mulberry St in Richmond, Va.

With its pressed tin ceilings, old fashioned bar, and warm, inviting interior, Bamboo Cafe is the epitome of Ernest Hemingway’s “clean well-lighted place.”

Bamboo Cafe has been a Fan staple since the 1970s with the main mantra of “nothing ever changes,” owner Adrienne LaPrade said with a chuckle. She should know, since she’s been waiting tables and bartending there since the 1980s.

“I’ve done everything except cook in the kitchen, which is the size of a closet,” LaPrade said.

Her late husband, Martin White, took over Bamboo in 1992 and she inherited it after his death in 2004.

With its wood booths, the occasional red-and-white checkered tablecloth and old timey photographs on the wall, Bamboo has a timeless grace, pours strong drinks and serves dependable food from burgers to filet mignon.

“Nothing changes here. It upsets the customers to find someone new working here,” LaPrade said.

Beers are $3 and during happy hour, Monday-Friday from 3 p.m.-6 p.m., it’s $1 off any rail drink.

No-frills brunch is also a big draw with eggs Blackstone (fried egg, English muffin, sliced tomato, Smithfield ham and béarnaise sauce), steak and eggs, omelets and more. Dinner specials change often, but the regulars don’t.

1 S. Mulberry St. Monday-Wednesday noon-midnight, Thursday to Saturday noon-2 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-midnight. https://www.bamboocaferva.com

The Locker Room located at 5035 Forest Hill Ave.

Earlier this year, the fate of Richmond’s favorite dive bar south of the river – The Locker Room – was in question. Dodson Development Group bought the building that houses the notorious dive bar in March, as well as two other buildings, for $2.6 million.

But second-generation owner Lisa Ann Peters was able to negotiate a five year lease with the new owner.

“The place is doing better than ever,” Peters said.

The Locker Room has been serving Richmond cheap beer for 42 years. Her uncle bought it in the 1980s – before it was The Locker Room, it was Danny’s Dungeon -- and ran it until his death. Peters took over in 2015 and has been running it ever since.

The Locker Room looks pretty much the same as it did when it opened in the 1980s: wood-paneled walls, drop ceilings, a pool table, darts, a jukebox and a large bar.

And the biggest thing: you can still smoke cigarettes in there. The Locker Room’s Instagram bio reads: “A Richmond, VA smoke stain for more than 40 years.” There’s a nonsmoking room, but nobody goes in there.

The Locker Room is home to a rotating cast of regulars. “If you sit there long enough, you’ll see every walk of life come through. We’ve got the senior hour from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, followed by the laborers, the neighborhood people, hipsters and students. It just keeps changing through the day.”

5035 Forest Hill Ave., 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily. https://www.instagram.com/lockerroomrva

Pull up to City Beach for some "Moose Juice" and rail drinks at 2416 W. Cary St.

City Beach has been pouring cheap drinks in the Fan since 2016.

From the folks at The Beach House Bar & Grill in Innsbrook and South Beach restaurant in Midlothian, City Beach has a beach-y dive bar vibe with brightly painted green and coral walls, tons of TVs playing sports and a long bar where regulars pull up a stool for Moose Juice (a Canadian term for Pabst Blue Ribbon) and rail drinks.

Happy hour is every day except Sunday football, 3 p.m.-7 p.m., with $3 domestic bottles, $3.50 rail drinks and $4 Fireball.

The menu is huge with bar food such as Kitty Hawk wings ($11.99-$13.99), pretzel sticks with queso dip ($9.99), and buffalo chicken dip ($11.99).

2416 W. Cary St., opens 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily, https://www.beachhousebar.us/

Poe's Pub has been serving good food and solid drinks to Church Hill for almost 30 years at 2706 E. Main St.

For almost 30 years, Poe’s Pub has been serving beer, mixed drinks and tasty grub to Church Hill. The long, wraparound wood bar is pretty packed day or night, with a rotating cast of characters from all walks of life looking for a quick beer or a plate of stick-to-your-ribs “Poe’s practically-famous meatloaf” ($15).

Michael Britt has owned the Irish tavern since 1994. His focus is on good food and good drinks. During happy hour, Tuesday-Friday from 4 p.m.-7 p.m., domestic beers are $3.50, well drinks are $4 and drafts are $1 off. The Free Verse IPA is a favorite on draft from The Virginia Beer Company. Poe’s also has Miller Light, Devil’s Backbone, Sierra Nevada, Harp and Guinness on draft.

The atmosphere is well-worn and quirky with a picture of actor Christopher Walken at the door that says “Walkens Welcome,” a deer head over the bar, as well as plenty of Irish sayings and neon shamrocks.

Other favorite dishes include the baby back ribs ($17-$25), fried Rappahannock oysters ($17) and dinner specials such as steaks and seafood.

Occasionally, Poe’s Pub will serve up some truly phenomenal live music, such as local singer/songwriter Landon Elliott who is releasing a collection called “Live at Poe’s” from his recent four-week residency.

2706 E. Main St., Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m.-midnight, Friday & Saturday 11 a.m.-2 a.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-midnight. www.poespubrva.com

Which dive bars did we miss? Share your favorites and we'll write a follow-up.

Colleen Curran (804) 649-6151

[email protected]

Living Editor

From Poe's Pub to Town Hall, these are the top ranked Dive Bars in Richmond

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