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San Antonio’s neighborhood bars provide relaxed atmospheres for visitors and locals to enjoy drinks, shoot some pool or play darts. San Antonio can feel like a large, intimidating city, but breaking it down into neighborhoods makes it much more inviting. And going to any of San Antonio’s neighborhood bars will help visitors feels like locals after just one cocktail or beer infused night. Blanco Tavern has a large selection of beer, bottled and on tap, along with a great jukebox that regulars love. This San Antonio neighborhood bar is also cigar friendly. The drink specials at Jack’s Patio Bar & Grill have made it a San Antonio mainstay. Neighborhood bars are also perfect for watching the Spurs or other Texas teams with fellow fans. There really isn’t a better way to experience life in San Antonio than exploring the city’s neighborhood bars.
2015 Place
2015 San Pedro Ave., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.733.3365
Inside of a white little cottage it's hard to imagine there are hairy, leather-wearing, shirtless men swigging beers and taking shots. But, the San Antonio converted house known as 2015 Place has all of the above inside its walls. The gay bar seems small from the outside but manages to fit pinball machines, pool tables, darts and a dance floor. When there's no DJ for dancing, karaoke takes over the small stage and dance floor area. Being that it looks like a house, 2015 Place feels like home for many with the friendly service and nice atmosphere.
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Around the Bend
8380 Eckhert Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.699.3418
The after work and late night crowds are equally friendly and the service is just as hospitable throughout the day and night at Around the Bend in San Antonio. The neighborhood bar can be low-key with friends or have a roaring and laughing crowd on weekend nights. Tunes on the jukebox make sure everyone's favorite song gets played while San Antonio folks sip cheap drinks. Poker two nights a week plus pool tables and darts are all the entertainment Around the Bend's bar crowd needs to stay busy. It's the perfect San Antonio bar to be a regular at.
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Bar America
723 S. Alamo St., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.223.7467
Some of the lowest drink prices in San Antonio make Bar America a popular Southtown, or King William District, destination. Bar America is located right by the Blue Star Arts District and participates in the First Friday Arts Walk, that takes over several of the restaurants and bars in Southtown, happening the first Friday of every month. Any other night of the month, this local bar is just a normal everyday bar with wooden floors and a great jukebox. Artists from the Blue Star Complex, college students and blue-collar workers all can be found with a cheap bottle of beer around the bar or at one of the pool tables at Bar America.
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Blanco Tavern
7210 Blanco Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.341.0405
A neighborhood bar that's cigar friendly and has pool, games and darts? San Antonio's Blanco Tavern is that neighborhood bar. Pool and dart leagues keep serious players happy while others can play video games or use the free wireless Internet on their own laptop. This San Antonio local bar also has an awesome jukebox and several TVs to watch the current Texas sports game on. Blanco Tavern invites customers to bring their cigars and offers special cigar ashtrays for those smokers. With so many activities it almost doesn't matter what kind of beer the San Antonio bar has, but they do have a fine selection of bottled and draft beer, alongside their liquors, at the Blanco Tavern.
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Burro Land Ice House
800 Cincinnati Ave., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.735.2876
When it's hot outside and there's nothing to do but watch the grass grow, Burro Land Ice House steps in to take some of the pain of boredom away. The no-frills San Antonio bar has a concrete floors and picnic tables, but the beer is cold, and that's what matters. Windows have bars on them not because of a high crime rate but so they are more open and let airflow into this San Antonio local icehouse bar. A few pool tables are also available for the bikers and neighborhood folk who stop by the Burro Land Ice House to shoot some stick and pass the time. There's history at Burro Land Ice House, so stop watching that darn grass grow and get a beer.
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Coco Beach
12159 Valliant St., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.341.5330
Right at the upper tip of the San Antonio International Airport, Coco Beach attracts the local college crowd from around San Antonio. A jukebox blares country and rock favorites to the crowds socializing at the bar. When there's no good conversation to be had, customers can amuse themselves with a game of pool or the electronic darts at Coco Beach. The young San Antonio crowd is friendly and just looking to have a good time, the perfect combination for a fun night at the bar.
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Fatso's Sports Garden
1704 Bandera Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.432.0121
The bar area of Fatso's Sports Garden is always filled with people sitting at picnic tables with their eyes directed at the many TV screens for any Texas games. Pool tables, trivia, karaoke and other entertainment besides watching sports on TV are offered at the San Antonio neighborhood bar for customers who aren't enjoying food and drinks. Outside, sand volleyball leagues run from March to December with Monday night open play at Fatso's Sports Garden. Lunch and dinner are popular with the locals because Fatso's offers some of the best BBQ in the San Antonio area. Come play on one of the six sand volleyball courts then retire to the bar for BBQ and beer at Fatso's Sports Garden.
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Hills & Dales Ice House
15403 White Fawn Dr., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.695.2307
Practically across the street from University of Texas, San Antonio, Hill and Dales Ice House is a San Antonio bar with over 80 selections of beer. The bar is a huge room with picnic tables inside and out full of people from all over Texas who are interested in beers and a good time. College students from UTSA, an after work crowd, even bikers fill the tables up depending on the night. TVs with the latest sports game on, a jukebox, darts and pool round the bar out and provide other activities besides socializing and causing a ruckus at this San Antonio neighborhood bar. Hills and Dales Ice House claims to be the center of the universe and it very well may be with the crowds that gravitate there.
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Hooligan's Bar & Grill
13920 I-35 North, Live Oak, Texas; Tel. 210.654.4444
Right outside of San Antonio, Hooligan's Bar and Grill offers a friendly environment to watch a game or partake in one. The sports bar offers poker nights, pool and darts to give customers a break while watching a Texas sports game. Local San Antonio live bands perform throughout the month when they won't interrupting a game on TV and draw as much of a crowd as the game would. Daily drink specials at Hooligan's Bar & Grill go from happy hour into the late night, so there's a way to save money all night long. The best part about Hooligan's Bar and Grill is the food they serve up fresh from the grill. Barbeque chicken, enchiladas, burgers and wings are served throughout the day and when the grill closes down at this San Antonio local bar and restaurant there is a menu of "Late Night Nibbles" to satisfy hunger. Looks like this sports bar has all the bases covered.
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Jack's Patio Bar & Grill
2950 Thousand Oaks Dr., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.494.2309
Rock, drink specials and even good ol' bar food make Jack's Patio Bar and Grill one fantastic place to hang out in. The San Antonio bar has drink specials every day of the week so going everyday certainly won't rob the bank. Thursday through Saturday nights guarantee live rock music along with the drink specials at Jack's Patio Bar attracting a fun twenty and thirty-something crowd. Throughout the week there are more local San Antonio bands and even karaoke where the customers are the ones on the stage performing for the bar. The bar and grill is perfect before and after a San Antonio Spurs game to quench thirsts and satisfy hungers. Burgers, wings and other bar food are staples at Jack's Patio Bar & Grill to go along with a beverage while watching a show or waiting for a pool table.
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JJ's Tavern
2209 Guadalupe St., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.226.7807
There's not much to being a neighborhood bar than cold beer and nice people, and JJ's Tavern has both of those in kind. Locals go to the bar for Texas sports games and the action gets particularly good at JJ's Tavern during San Antonio Spurs games. Besides watching sports on the TVs, pool is a popular activity at the sports bar for San Antonio folks. When there's no game on, a DJ spins rock, oldies, rap and even country music to the full house. JJ's Tavern is s a good, clean, friendly bar where the bartenders will get to know everyone making then instant regulars.
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Joey's
2417 N. Saint Marys St., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.733.9573
A few blocks away from San Antonio College and Trinity University, Joey's sits in the perfect San Antonio location to draw students in the evening and downtown businesspeople during happy hour. Part of the St. Mary's strip, a small group of clubs on the street, Joey's provides pool players a lively environment and plenty of opportunities to play on one of the almost 10 billiard tables. TVs at Joey's always have the latest San Antonio sports game on and the sound system is worked out so everyone can hear the game throughout the entire sports bar. A rooftop deck at Joey's lets customers take in the San Antonio night air while enjoying one of the 17 beers on tap or one of the over 50 in bottles. Joey's also offers a menu of classic Texas pub food for something to munch on while watching the game.
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Make My Day Lounge
12114 Nacogdoches Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.655.6367
From the outside, Make My Day Lounge may not look like much, but give it the benefit of the doubt and this San Antonio local bar will pay off. The warm and friendly San Antonio bartenders go out of their way to make the customers feel at home and even when it gets dark outside—not that anyone can tell from inside the windowless bar—the different crowd that rolls in under the moon isn't that bad. The bar has several dartboards for the San Antonio dart leagues to play on and other activities for idle drinkers. Several TVs make the bar a great place to watch football and when there aren't sports on, the jukebox takes over with country and rock.
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Mix Nightclub
2423 N. Saint Marys St., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.735.3737
On the St. Mary's Strip, a few blocks away from San Antonio College, the Mix Night Club offers typical bar amenities but still ends up packed every night. After being at clubs all night, many head over to the Mix to wind down with music, pool and foosball. It also helps that the drinks are cheaper at Mix Nightclub than all the other San Antonio clubs. Everyone from San Antonio College students to professionals make an appearance at the Mix Night Club and always stay right up through last call.
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O'Malley's
8637 Fredricksburg Rd., Ste. 135, San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.561.9665
Charming Irish style—in a sort of Americanized way—makes locals keep coming back to O'Malley's in San Antonio for the cold beers and free popcorn. TVs are everywhere for the viewing pleasure of bar patrons who spend more time chatting with the bartenders than actually watching sports. Customers at the bar who can't get a word in edgewise with the big-personality bartenders retreat to the abused pool tables or electronic dartboards. O'Malley's has brought a well-received Irish flavor to San Antonio.
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Safe House Drinkery
5450 Babcock Rd. #140, San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.561.9743
The younger crowd sure knows how to party at the Safe House Drinkery. Live music and drink specials every night bring in a crowd from all over San Antonio especially from the hospital that's practically across the street. Thursday nights are college night and Wednesdays are $1 pint nights at the Safe House Drinkery and, while the partying is raucous, this San Antonio local bar rarely gets out of hand. Local rock bands play throughout the week and a pool table provides another activity when the band isn't tearing things up. The Safe House Drinkery promises to be a bar that won't empty wallets and is consistently a good time.
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Sanchez Ice House
819 S. San Saba, San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.222.8073
Back in the day before there was the amazing technology of refrigeration, the only way people could keep their beer cold was with an ice chest. What better place to have a bar then at an authentic ice house? Sanchez Ice House is one of the converted ice houses of yore with a cement floor and a picnic table to rest elbows upon. The jukebox is an added bonus and occasionally there's even live music. All that the University of Texas, San Antonio downtown students really need is cold beer, and the bar has that covered with an icy bucket.
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Sir Winston's Pub
2522 Nacogdoches Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.829.5933
There aren't just Texas sports teams like the Longhorns, Spurs and Cowboys to be watched at Sir Winston's Pub, there are also bar games to be played. The San Antonio neighborhood bar has pool tables, shuffleboard, dartboards, video games and even more. Specials on drinks and pitchers make drinking, playing and watching games all the more fun at Winston's Pub. It's the bar to be at with awesome bartenders and a fun crowd.
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Stacy's Sports Bar
3805 Blanco Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.738.1200
It's almost as if grunting men can be heard from the strip mall parking lot outside of Stacey's Sports Bar. The biker, rocker and blue-collar crowd that frequent the San Antonio sports bar can create a raucous environment during Spurs games or when other Texas teams are on. San Antonio is serious about their sports and their sports bars and Stacy's is no different. Pool tables, sports TV and a blaring sound system when the game isn't on make the bar a great neighborhood place to hang out all the time.
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Spanky's
5103 Randolph Blvd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.590.9737
The name of this San Antonio bar is not a reference to "The Little Rascals" but rather directly to the action it implies. Spanky's may appear to be the average hole-in-the-wall neighborhood bar, but it's soon clear that many of the clientele are into spanking and other kinky sexual practices. Not everyone at this San Antonio club is waiting to bind each other in leather, there is also a traditional "vanilla"—that's "normal" for all the non bondage and discipline, sadist and masochists—crowd that comes to Spanky's. Anyone who isn't looking to get spanked just needs to be careful if Spanky's is in the game plan.
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Texas Ice Service
4102 Blanco Rd., San Antonio, Texas; Tel. 210.735.8691
The Latin music coming from inside the Texas Ice Service building permeates the air of the Chicano neighborhood around the establishment. As far as icehouses go, the Texas Ice Service in San Antonio will not surprise anyone with its open-air structure, cheap beer and several pool tables. Drinking in an icehouse is like drinking in somebody's garage—besides the garage doors that are open when it's warm—patrons need only to park their car and walk a few steps to the bar. A friendly atmosphere and cheap beer make the San Antonio down-home bar a great after work hangout.
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—San Antonio bar and club reviews by Alanna Lee
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