Tin Can Tavern And Grille

I typically enjoy dive bars and so when I was invited to visit the Tin Can I didn’t want to miss the opportunity! I went for a birthday celebration on a Friday night; it was packed! Literally, I couldn’t move, and even though there were tons of people it was still pretty chill and relaxing.
It was fun mingling with strangers and hanging out with friends. The atmosphere is great and I love all the cans of beer available! I wanted to try to snap a photo, but there were too many people in the way. I guess I’ll have to visit again another day when it isn’t as crowded.
The bartenders were working their asses off! I mean seriously, they were all busting butt trying to please their customers. My only complaint is that 1 bartender was too busy mingling with friends to recognize that I was there waiting to order! I was a little pissed off, especially because when he did leave that conversation he helped another group who had literally just walked up to the bar… he knew I was there because he put his finger up at me! What a jerk… then to follow it up, when my friends and I were trying to get his attention he said… and I quote, «give me a f’n second»; I was like WHOA!!! What the hell!!! I’m a paying customer. What a jerk. I know it can get busy behind the bar and I know what it is like to be in the serving industry, but seriously dude!!! Customer service is the #1 priority in the business. I was not happy at all.
Other than that, it was a fun night and I had a pretty good time. I’ll probably go back, but I’m in no hurry.

I dropped in here on a Monday night for a Free Improv comedy performance. It’s kind of in a forgotten section of Downtown-​a lot like Washington Ave, was 10 years ago before it got all glitzy and over run with future Stepford Wives.
Tin Can Tavern features awesome micro beers in aluminum cans. They have drafts too, but the plethora of fine brew in handy cans is astonishing! Before you get all «Brew Snob» it’s a fact (and brewers will tell you this) that cans are the BEST way to seal in the flavor and subtle notes of good brew. I love Boulder based Avery beer. I was able to select a «White Rascal» for a very reasonable price. The secret is to decant the beer into a glass to get max flavor. But since this place has a «Divey» feel I just drank it straight out of the tin can like Dad used to do with Falstaff.
The bar is long and roomy, and there are pool tables up front. The place feels blue collar, but the patrons and staff are more the Artist and Musician types. Very laid back but intelligent vibe. We ordered food at the bar before the Improv. They have dinner specials each weeknight evening for 6 bucks. Monday night was batter fried catfish with a side dish and salad. This is an old St. Louis Bar food staple, especially during Lent. My fear was I’d get some small, soggy fried fish bits. Instead I was rewarded with Catfish like Mom used to make. The filets were HUGE, and the batter was light and crisp, with that subtle egg flavor from kitchens long ago. Honestly I have not tasted fried Catfish this awesome since I was a kid. The mashed potatoes were hearty; they were mashed right in with the skins so be aware if you don’t like that. I loved it! The standard is white or brown gravy on the mashed taters. But the bartender was happy to oblige me when I requested good old butter. The side salad was nothing special, but had a good vinegar/​oil dressing.
After food we went upstairs to the Stage area for Improv. To get upstairs it looks like you’re leaving the bar. GO to the front door, turn left and you’ll see another door and a steep set of stairs. There is a bar upstairs in the first room and some chairs and to hang out. It’s a fairly big area. The stage is a decent size, but not much standing or sitting room. I liked this; you feel like you’re right there hearing the music or seeing the performance up close. Comedy Improv is sorely lacking in StL, but Tin Can Tavern downtown will be having it on a regular basis. So check their website. I had a great time and really loved the vibe and atmosphere of this place. The Food special was incredible for $ 6! I’ll definitely be back soon.

I have been to the downtown Tin Can location on two different occasions and had an enjoyable experience each time. The marinated chicken sandwich is great, and so are the corn flake breaded chicken tenders with gravy. The macaroni and cheese was very tasty and seems to be a pretty big favorite for tavern patrons. The tater tots are nothing extraordinary, but compliment the menu choices very well. The wait staff has also been very pleasant and quick with refills and requests. We asked to watch the Blues game on one trip there and she was quick to turn all the TVs to the game and turned up the volume so we could hear the action.
I’ve only been to Tin Can for lunch, but I can imagine it is pretty lively in the evenings. There is a lounge area at the front of the place, along with arcade games and a pool table. There is plenty of seats at the bar if you don’t want a table. If you want some bar food kicked up a couple of notches, definitely give this place a try!

Grilled cheese with tomato soup is ahhhh mazing!

I somehow have the best times at dive-​like bars. I think because they’re the last place my friends and I stop at after our usual bars close after our usual drinking sprees… ;)
When the jukebox is going (except when a hipster chooses some mellow song or when the jukebox has a mind of its’ own and starts playing Tim McGraw), there’s always a dance party within my group. And I always meet some fun, interesting people I legitimately want to hang out with more. Blame it on the alcohol, but I wasn’t drinking that night. I just love to meet people at this place. And to plug my friends’ thing, upstairs is where they have long-​form improvisational theater (
) every 1^st and 3^rd Thursday. Come check them out.
On top of all that, this was the place I first tried Billy Goat crisps made locally in St. Louis! Holla!

I really like the location and the food is fine and cheap beer is always a plus DO NOT GO THERE FOR TRIVIA!!!
We had been going for trivia night that is supposed to start at 9 pm, but inevitably doesn’t begin until 9:30 pm because the host of trivia either shows up late, or is busy hanging out or listening to music.
Then the guy doing the trivia takes about 10 minutes in between each question. It becomes boring really fast and started making all of us so irritated that we have decided to find a new spot to play trivia. Since it gets started so late, trivia then doesn’t end until 11:00 or 11:30 at night which is past my bedtime.
Sadly, the host of trivia night takes way too long in between questions and seems more interested in listening to his music and speaking with the wait staff and going outside for long smoke breaks then actually asking the questions which is why it takes 2 hours to get through all the questions.

The Tin Can on Locust is a pretty great spot downtown. I rank it high on my «places near Wash Ave where non-​Tap Out gear wearing guys can go to grab a beer»
It’s not a tap house, it’s canned beer, and they don’t sell brisket, but they do sell a delicious pot roast (the pot and kettle is comfort food at it’s best, try it out!), chicken fingers have a cornflake’ish almond crust to them that is as tasty as it gets when it comes to my favorite fried poultry snack.
They have live music on the weekends, shuttles to games, etc. I’d highly recommend this place as a more lax destination.

I have been to the Tin Can Tavern on Morganford a handful of times. It is okay. They have a good selection of beer and a decent menu but despite living like four blocks from there I was never super hot on the place, not exactly sure why though. Well I was home on leave from Iraq, and staying downtwon so I decided to give the downtown Tin Can a try.
Very pleasantly surprised. It was a Wednesday night and I was like one of three people in there around 7:30 PM. I ordered a grilled chicken and bacon salad to go along with my PBR tall boys. Amazingly good salad, especially coming from a bar.
I really liked the feel of the place, part of that being that is a bar downtown that lacked pretention. They played some pretty good music in there during my visit there. The gal bartending was super nice, and was fun to talk to (at one point I was the only customer).
I will definitely be back to visit when I return.

I’ve been back almost every Thursday for trivia — and I think last night was my last!
I always get the same server and she’s awesome! She remembers that I like Strongbow and seems to know exactly when I need another, so no complaints there!
It’s the smoke that pisses me off! Seriously… I left a few rounds early ’cause I couldn’t stand it anymore. Last night’s weather was perfect for standing outside and having a smoke — why couldn’t people go outside? Or why doesn’t the bar go non-​smoking?
Two stars for the grossness!

This bar holds a soft spot in my heart. Mostly due to the fact that would probably cause some people to give them a negative rating had they of been there on the same nights as my friends and I.
Let me explain. I go here every so often with my fellow
friends on Saturday nights. One night the bar was filled with dude bro’s. We took our table in the back corner where we ask people for hall passes to use the bathroom and heckle anyone that comes close enough. We finally ran abunch of the guys out by making fun of the way they flex while drinking their beers. Ok, we ran almost everyone that sucked out. Bad form you’d think. No, our bartender/​waitress bought us all a round of scotch for our heroism and for my beastie boys karaōke skills.

This place reminds me of a line in its a wonderful life, «we serve drinks for guys who want to get drunk. In a hurry.» This is that same type of place, nothing for show, just cheap cans of beer. It was a bit disappointing to see such a limited selection of draft, i know i know its the tin can, but a few more never hurts.
Worth going in and drinking some pbr with your friends.

The beautiful wife and I had the fortune of coming here late on a Saturday afternoon, so it wasn’t particularly busy.
The décor is standard dive bar, including missing tiles on the floor, which can turn your bar stool into a homemade pendulum or something.
I’m not sure if they have a printed beer list (I didn’t ask, nor was offered) so I did the next best thing and walked up the wall of beer and browsed the cans that way (and in the cooler). I was impressed to see some items in the selection (Lion Stout! Get it, it’s a great Sri Lankan beer), but otherwise, you get that definite vibe of «bring a $ 20 and get a bunch of crappy beer.»
And reading their website, that’s how they want it to be. Which is sort of a weird motif for me. Do I really want to pay $ 2.75 for a can of Keystone Light just so I can remember how crappy it was to drink this back in high school? And on the flip side, do I really want to drop $ 5.25 for a can of Guinness knowing for a bit more, I can get a great pint elsewhere?
And they have a really uninspired draft list. Yeah, this from the guy that freaks out at any place that has PBR on tap, but can places move away from the Boulevard/Schalfly/O’Fallon trio for at least one of their taps?
I think we need to return at night for a Cheap Beer Night and to try their food so I’m in the right spirits (no pun intended). Until then, they’re at 3 stars.

What a weird place! Let’s get the cons out of the way right off the bat– I’m rating Tin Can Tavern a 3-​star «A-​OK» because it’s in the middle of nowhere on Locust, and was also pretty dead when we stopped by late on Memorial Day last weekend.
These things aside, though, the place was definitely fun. It felt lived in, yet not filthy, which was nice, and the narrow long set-​up of the place made for a unique atmosphere. The ‘tiered’ seating, with booths up along the far left wall coming in and bar tables in the center, would have made for a great time had the place been crawling with all of your buddies.
As it was, though, it felt a little eerie, and could have been a third of the size for the people inside. As I downed two $ 1.00 PBRs and a dirt-​cheap Olympia, it sunk in that this would be a great little place if it were on the corner, but not so much a car ride away.
(We munched on the basket of mini corn dogs, too. Not bad at all.)
I’d think about stopping by again if I found myself in the mood for cheap beer, a casual, no-​frills place, and a little bit of quiet or to watch a sports game. In the meantime, though, maybe I’ll just invite friends over and open up a case of Schlafly canned Summer Ale in the meantime.

So a group of us ended up here as it was seemingly the only place open on Memorial Day. Tin Can is a bar, their schtick seems to be serving a large variety of canned beers (um, hence the name). The menu is quite interesting, serving oddities such as popcorn on the cob, fried bologna sandwiches and something called a pork steak. (my understanding is the pork steak is quite the St Louis specialty but I didn’t order it).
What I did order was the special of the evening, called a Pulled Pork sandwich. Honestly, there was nothing «pulled» about the way this entrée was served in any way. It was thick slices of meat set atop a piece of Texas Toast. The meat had been seasoned, but the BBQ sauce came on the side in a little cup. The sauce was OK, maybe a tad too sweet for my taste. It came with small cups of baked beans and coleslaw. The coleslaw was nothing to write home about but when mixed with the BBQ sauce on the sandwich it added a nice extra dimension of crunch and vinegary tang. The meal went awesomely with the beer I chose, which was called Moose Drool. I know, say what you will about the name, but that was some damn fine beer. Packed a punch too, after 2 I was a little looped!
Oh the interior also sports a number of vintage beer cans on the wall, a Ms Pac Man game (so awesome, I wish I had time to play it) and other various video games. Music was a bit on the Emo side, but they did turn up the TV’s at Andy’s request to see the Blackhawk game which was nice.
Service was attentive, although the place was pretty empty when we were there. I would definitely try this place again next time I am in St. Louis.

I went for drinks. They have a good selection of beers. Many cans… although it’s odd to go out to drink cans of High Life, PBR, or Schlitz. There was a DJ playing music off of his computer, but it wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t carry a conversation. The place filled up and got very smokey.
The menu highlighted some different bar food… fried baloney sandwiches to name one.

If ever a star was appropriate for a unique concept for a bar, it would be well-​deserved here. Specializing in beers served in tin cans and decorating the walls with them is unique in itself, but this place incorporates a unique price structure where the beer begins the night at a discounted price and slowly rises at set intervals as the night goes on.
As I was writing the above, I realized that sounds like a horrible system. A bar that raises its prices every 30 minutes? That’s awful! But honestly, we’re talking about change here, mere quarters, especially considering the drinks start off discounted. And it adds a unique dimension to drinking. Have you ever devised a strategy for drinking canned beer? Do you begin with the super-​cheap PBR or the more-​expensive-​but-​still-​discounted Belgian beer? Do you switch beers? If so, when? Do you chug? Do you stock up before the prices go up? You will be forced to deal with these and other important questions at the Tin Can.
Oh, and service is great too.

Beer selection is out of this world, pretty much anything you want in a can.
The food was surprisingly good. Great comfort/​Amercana food. Country fried steak with Mac & Cheese or Green Beans w/​onions & bacon? Prices are all under $ 10 too.
Great dark semi-​quiet place before 9 as well.

Another hipster mecca. Gets five stars because I swear I saw cans of Stag. My main complaint is that it’s almost too clean. But maybe by the time you end up going there, there will be some junk cluttered on the walls and an ambient scent of unwashed clothes that have been worn for 4 days straight.

I just returned home from the Tin Can Tavern, and my eyes are still burning from the smoke. The ventilation seems pretty good in there, but I’m just sensitive to smoke, I guess. They lose a star for that.
I came to watch a friend play in their band (3^rd story — shameless plug, I know), so I arrived pretty early, around 9:15pm, before they started charging people to get in.
The service was slow, but I wasn’t expecting anything speedy on a crowded Saturday night. And boy did it get CROWDED. There were both old and young people there, but it definitely skewed more toward the younger, hipster set. Think sophisticated frat boys (is there such a thing? Burrrrrn…) and their girlfriends. Gosh, now I sound old. And bitter. I promise I’m not.
Diversity gets a huge fat F in my book. I felt like a raisin in a sea full of… marshmallows. Or something. It was a little surprising, considering I was in downtown St. Louis, but I’m from Brentwood — I’m used to it.
Okay, okay, the food. I ordered their chicken strip appetizer, which was pretty tasty. The chicken was coated with cornflakes and almond slivers, which made for a very nice crunch. It took about 25 minutes for my food to come out to me, but when it did, it was piping hot. The sauce that came with the chicken was quite disgusting, though. It tasted like warm clam chowder — I kid you not. I would have been much happier with barbecue sauce or honey mustard. It was much better with some ketchup.
All in all, it seems like a cool place to hang out if you’re in the area. I don’t know if I’d make a special trip back, though. I suppose I’m just not cool enough for this place.

If I came here any more often, they might know me on a first-​name basis.
I know their schtick is canned beer, but most of the time, when I come here, I do so for the food. They definitely make one of the best burgers in town.
PBR, Guitar Hero, free shuttles to Cardinals games… patio seating when the weather’s decent… friendly bartenders… PBR…
The only bad thing I can say about the place is that their mac and cheese is *terrible*. I read all this hype about it in Sauce and was gravely disappointed.
In all, a good, relaxed, unpretentious time, whether you’re eating… or not. :)

I like the fact that I can get a can of Schlitz downtown. This is almost identical in menu items as their Morganford location, so it’s always been very comfortable here. In my opinion, the service is better at the downtown locale. I’ve never had to wait long for anything.
The music is better here because you can actually hold a conversation while enjoying bands play on a real stage. The older location crams in two-​man groups, their PA systems, and blasts noise until you get up and leave. Downtown doesn’t have that problem, featuring large bands on a regular basis.
I’ve also taken advantage of their shuttle service to Busch Stadium during Cardinal home games. You can’t beat that!
Here’s a little bit of inside information: there’s a regular dating blog, based in downtown St. Louis called «My Dating Hell.» Think «Tucker Maxx» but more low-​key and tasteful. It’s written by some guy who calls himself «E!» and apparently (according to his blog) he hangs out at this Tin Can location frequently.
Another thing: walk all the way back, past the bathrooms. You’ll find a small, relaxing (and private) game room in the tradition of Tin Can Tavern, complete with a large TV screen and a Sega entertainment console. However, instead of hockey, there’s an NBA Jam cartridge in that machine… and Big Buck Hunter for all you bar room game connoisseurs.