BAR

BAR is a five-​star dive bar, which does make it a two-​star bar by every other standard, right down to the surly bartender and questionable hygiene. This place is grungy, scary, and really looks like a bar set up in a biker gang’s basement.
Tucked down an alley in Fell’s Point around the corner of Jimmy’s, this place would be impossible to find if not for the mysteriously bright sign on the side of the building which reads simply «BAR». Given the simple sign, we of course were attracted out of curiosity, but a peek inside scared us away for months. My wife still avoids the place, but I snuck in with a group of guys a few months later. I imagine they get a lot of one-​time visitors that way.
It might provide a nice break from the gentrification going on in the rest of Fells Point, but unless dives are really your thing you don’t need to show off how cool you are by stepping in here.

Douches need not enter! Must be Jackie Chan to be considered worthy of service. If Godzilla was to come to Baltimore the only freaking thing he would spare in fells point would be this place… but the lack of carding super young looking individuals, such as Myself, is ridiculous.
The interior designer was apparently going for the 70’s atmosphere and just totally nailed it.

Jake is a dick. This place would pass for a substandard dive bar with out the waste of primordial ooze named Jake. The bathroom was full of used smelly mops and the walls resembled something out of the silent hill movie. Service was three tiers below auchwitz… Choose another place to waste your welfare checks.

Stopped in for a couple of beers. The women’s behind the bar had no customers but finished her game of solitaire before coming over to take our order. The place looks like a dive and is dirty enough to be considered a dive but to charge $ 10 for two cans of National Bohemian??? I think the Redstar is less expensive… or they just make up prices as they go. Never going back again. Not worth the time or money.

Absolutely awful. Came in here tonight and just had the rudest bartender I’ve ever encountered. So apparent that this guy hates his job.
My friends and I came in – our first time — none of us were rowdy or drunk. I actually hadn’t been drinking since I was hung over the whole day. I ordered a sprite while everyone else had a beer and I could tell that he was angry that I wasn’t drinking. He charged me $ 2 for the Sprite (Who knows if it was actually supposed to be free). I didn’t mind that — I was going to throw him $ anyway.
His girlfriend was sitting at the bar and they were whispering about us. I don’t know what we said or did to piss this guy off, but we did something.
I jokingly asked him about the Bart Simpson framed photo hanging on the wall. I asked him how much he would sell it for and he just blankly started at me and goes «yeah no,» and walks to the other end of the bar.
Needless to say, it was my first and last time there.

There is a bartender here named jake who is a complete asshole to everyone that asks for anything what so ever. That place would be more crowded and make more money if he was dead

BAR is exactly as it sounds– a dive bar. It’s tucked into the corner by Max’s Taphouse and the only way we knew to check it out was because someone in our group had been there before. When you walk in the front door you immediately notice how small the place is. There are window units in every window and a bookshelf by the door encouraging you to take a book, leave a book. It’s fine for just grabbing a beer and heading out but I wouldn’t hang out for too long.

Dive BAR. Locals BAR. Cheap BAR. Throwback BAR. It’s BAR.
Cheap old-​ass pool table in the back, bomber bottles, Natty Boh cans, and mass market suds on tap in the front. This is an old-​school Balmer row-​house corner watering hole, basically unchanged from the days when Fells Point was for shipyard workers and not tourists and bros.
To maximize enjoyment:
1) Realize this is a cheap shot-​and-​a-​beer place with a jukebox and a pool table. Your glittery bachelorette party and/​or shooter requests are not likely to be welcomed.
2) Just pay cash.
3) Come during an O’s or Ravens game and yell at the TV along with the regular crowd.
4) It’s a locals hangout, and it’s been there a while. There will be house rules. Just roll with ‘em. You’re basically drinking in someone’s rec room.

Credit card minimum is on par with multiple beers, thanks to how awesomely cheap booze is here. Great place to chill out, but unfortunately we rolled in on an off-​night when the only thing that made us happy was the cooling system. Their taps weren’t working, and the bartender was intent on mothering us. Pool table is tucked into close quarters in an already cramped dive bar, and is now 50 cents per game.

Honestly, if I had wanted to be nagged at while drinking, I would have just grabbed a six pack and gone to my parent’s house.
As Ruth C’s review states we went on an off day when the taps weren’t working (they have six beers on draft). The bartender (owner, I believe) got us bottles of cider and cans of natty boh and then watched us like a hawk.
This lady must have the mortgage paid off on the bar because she was not shy in telling us what to do. We were clearly under her roof. While we were here, she would say things like:
Don’t put your purse there, hon.
Don’t shoot the pool balls in my direction
Don’t put your drink there
Clean your room
You should dress warmer
You’re sitting too close to the TV
You could have called.
Ok the last few comments, may have not come out of her mouth and I just projected that but you get the gist of it. I don’t know about you but I kind of prefer my bohs without the kvetching. I’m sure she does it as a good, character-​building thing, bless her heart.
About the bar called bar. It’s a true dive. It’s not fancy. Very un-​Fells Point like, and a great place to escape the crowds.
I can’t even describe the décor it’s like 70s trailer park storage unit chic? Dude, the actual box that their toilet came in from however many decades ago is proudly displayed in the back corner. They have a pool table, basically you should come here for the cheap bohs, shoot pool and hang with friends.

A true dive! Just off the beaten path with an eclectic crowd and a pool table in the back. The mixers for the drinks are lined up 3 liter soda bottles — this is the real deal. Small place and the bartender was fairly friendly (I was expecting some eye-​rolling and whatnot, but got none). Would go again.

Well, if you are looking for a dive bar, here it is! Just a shitty little bar with a sometimes broken pool table. I love this place. Its a place for the regulars, most the customers know each other. Its dirty and cheap. It is a BAR.

Is what it says it is.

If you are looking for a dive spot BAR is it. That is what it is. A BAR.
It kind of has the vibe that you are in your older college friend’s basement. Definitely don’t go here expecting anything more than that. They have a pool table and an ancient tube tv that they tune to whatever suits them that evening.
We rolled in kind of deep and the bartender made some smart remark which made us kind of feel unwelcome. The regulars kind of snickered too. Something to the effect of
«hey was the bar next door packed?» It made me feel like they thought we were some posers trying to be cool by slumming it. Uncool. I am thinking you probably shouldn’t judge your customers… just a thought.
I probably won’t be back because dive bars really aren’t my thing but if you are looking for that this place is probably for you.

If your looking for a dive bar look no further. This place is perfect If your trying to slam down some booze and play some free pool. Music is great, bartenders are great, and people are great. My first time in the bar I racked a 9 $ tab and the bartender asked if I was gonna come back. I said yes and he covered my tab, pretty badass in my opinion.

So when you are slumming it in Fell’s Point and looking for a place to just hang out, listen to great music and enjoy a cheap brew then this is the place. Does it look questionable from the outside, yep. Does it look questionable on the inside, yep. Does it have a TV that works, sort of? What do I define as great music, most rock or grunge from the 90s, RHCP, Rage, STP, Nirvana, Soundgarden and they got it and more. This place has character and the people you meet here are always unique. I swore the one night I was talking to Slash. The beer selection is not huge but the fact that I was served a Natty Light bomber bottle just blew my mind. Look there is no sugar coating this, it’s a dive. But a great one. Give it a try and go with an open mind.

In terms best known as Dive, its a great choice. Want a grand carefree freeloving bartender? No payment to play pool? Casual locals who are always ready to include you in conversation? How bout cheap drinks? Well folks, you have it all here. Knowing its a dive, there are no thrills in terms of fancy nonsense, you got a bar, some flags hanging ready and teady, a constant crowd, pool table, inked bathroom walls, and a small hallway like internal atmosphere thats blasting wth what ever music the bar keep wishes. Its a friendly place as long as your friendly back to it. You want micro greens and Champagne, this isn’t your place– although im sure the tender at this bar would go search the seven seas if you wanted some as long as your grooving and happy to just be there.

This is where you go to get drunk. You don’t come here to see and be seen. You don’t come here to pick up anything except a hangover and maybe VD. You come here to get drunk and get away from everyone. It’s grimy and dirty and skanky and cheap. The perfect place to just get drunk. Did I mention you come here to get drunk? Because if you’re here for any other reason, you should leave. In fact, forget everything I’ve said. Stay the hell out. I’m here to get drunk and looking at your ugly face is making me sick.

Wow, so we went in here on a whim after going to Max’s for the trillionth time. It smelled like 1992 in this bar (the bar is called bar too, did you know that?), and it looked like 1992. A TV from maybe 1989 playing local 2012 news. The illegal-​beautiful scent of cigarette smoke getting more powerful as you get away from the front door?!
We asked the bartender, «what’s the address of the place? Is this Lancaster St?» She says, «It’s Lancaster yes, but I don’t know.» That sealed the effing deal on the complete and total awesomeness of the place (this place called bar). Random oddities strewn about on the walls. Baltimoreans at its finest. It felt like it was someone’s house when the bar wasn’t open, which is fine with me man. About five minutes later the bartender says to me, «it’s 1718 Lancaster.» That is service people. And a bartender willing to learn.
Did you know that Maryland is home to the smartest people in America?
We were there on a Wednesday night last week. Maybe the crowd that night was skewed toward mid-​forties, but we younged up the place. Various crowds and groups coming in and out keeping the vibe fresh. My pool partner and I won (twice) so maybe I am still high from that. Man I am feeling my biceps.
We paid $ 2.00 for our Natty Bohs which made me squint my eyes (I am shocked when Natty Boh is ever over $ 0.50 but some people that I know have recently begun to question my grip on reality).
I think people should come here more.

Ditto on what Mark M. says, but it’s not that scary. Scary is the 7-​Up bar over on Eastern/​Castle. BAR looks and feels pretty grimy overall. No real need to give them your business when there’s so many other awesome bars nearby, most of which are very low-​key, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Here’s a little history on the place: