Cactus Bar

No cheaper place in town to get trashed. Always a good time. Only request would be fix the disgusting bathrooms.

Work here, love it. I don’t drink. I am sober. But I love the atmosphere and the people that come in range from young to old, normal to weird. Great dive!

Cheap and strong no nonsense. If you are high maintenance, go somewheres else. If you want to visit a dive, come on in.

Great dive. Cheap strong drinks and a flirty funny bartender. Lots of drink specials, ample seating. Only drawback is cash only.

The Cactus used to be a bar that no one under the age of 30 would be caught dead in, now I guess its cool to be in a dive-​type bar. When you can get in, the place has good, stiff drinks that are fairly cheap (beware they only take cash) but most of the time you can’t get in because of the cool kids crowding the place.

I’ve always been a fan of hole in the wall kind of places. The drinks are stiff, the crowd is rowdy and mostly relaxed. People watching head quarters for a sure.
I would never recommend going to this place on the weekends, it gets crowed and people get dumb quick. Personally I’ve always preferred coming to the Cactus on a lovely Sunday afternoon or a mid day drink through out the week.

Very smokey — low key older people bar scene.
We only went inside because we had a mexican theme party going on.
We did not stay.

Cheeeeaaaaaappppp. And they’ll serve you till you piss yourself, which can be a good and bad thing. We witnessed one gentleman fall over, several times. Bartender was great, though. Good joint.

This Bar is the bar of bars. If your 21 or your 50 there is some for everyone. During the day you got the regulars but they are great people and welcome newcomers. Then once about 5 o’clock hits its a completely different crowd. Especially on Wed, Fri, and Sat its anyone from 20 to mid 30’s. I love the bar because its my pre-​funk place before going to the other bars and its my ending place after the other bars. And the other times I spend the entire night there. The bartenders are great! (Even Brad… some people think he is a jerk but once you get to know him he is a great guy) And that’s the thing most of the bartenders there have been there for 7+ years. The best thing is that recently they put 3 new smoke fans in to clear the place out of smoke. Its not bad at all anymore.

The last time I was in, I saw that the toilet in the men’s room had been ripped out. I chuckled and figured it pretty much adds to the overall trashiness of the bar.
However the Cactus serves as a valuable piece to the downtown night scene. It’s THE place where you go to get trashed before you head out to the other bars or nightclubs. This is not a destination bar. If you want loud and smoky and unpretentious and want to stick around longer to play pool or whatever, head to Mulligans. I only get vodka cranberries there because they’re consistently strong. They used to be $ 2.75 and were down to $ 2 on the last Friday night I went. You can get a great buzz on two drinks for $ 6 (tip your bartender!) and be fairly set for the night and not need to worry about paying for drinks at the next bar/​club you go to.
If the bar is packed, your clothes WILL reek of cigarette smoke after you leave there. You can run to the back patio as soon as you get your drinks to minimize it, but you won’t be able to completely avoid it.

This is usually where I’ll start my night. Cheap stiff drinks are what this place is about, and they serve them up with no pretense. The one reason I don’t give this place 4 stars is the smokiness of the bar. It’s pretty intense and I always leave smelling like an ashtray. Otherwise, the laid-​back atmosphere is great, and the bartenders are fabulous.

One of the few places actually open on Sunday in downtown Boise. It’s definitely for the down to earth and unpretentious. If you’re just looking to drink away your sorrows, go here. If you’re just looking for cheap drinks and a laid back time go here.

I used to live in Tucson and there is nothing Southwestern about this bar but I love it! Who doesn’t love where they name a drink after you and you aren’t even a regular?
The bartenders are amazingly friendly or maybe their heavy pours just make me think they are friendly. Either way, it works.
Only downside is the bar is very smoky. I always hear people complain about the bathroom but it’s no worse than any other bar in the area, yet includes a full length mirror! (Does that sound shallow?) This is the type of bar you go w/​good friends, get way effed up and then laugh about the good times for days.

The Cactus is a bar that belongs about 300 miles to the south of Boise since its décor and atmosphere are that of the desert. They mix up some nice drinks with happy hours and nightly specials. Get there early because every time I get there it’s packed! Friendly bar staff and great service mix with the atmosphere to create a unique southwestern experience in downtown Boise.