Red’s Bar & Package Store

Red’s is a total dive, and I do love me some dive bars!
There’s not much to say, the liquor is cheap, the service is quick and friendly, the crowd is mixed and the vibe is chill. A good ol’ fashion watering hole of the simplest kind.

Well it’s quite the laid back fan friendly local pub. Cold beer and complimentary tacos suit me just fine. Celebrating birthdays is mighty important to the fine folks who run the place and that’s fine by me!

The only straight bar in Wilton manors. Cheap drinks. Diane is one of my favorite bartenders. I would give it a 5 star rating if they would fix the smell in there! It’s a small place so the smell is in your face. Smells like old piss mixed with cleaning products. Other than that I’m in!

What a great neighborhood bar! Prices are great & people are friendly. Great prices & a great lunch on Saturdays!

When I lived in Wilton Manors for a year, this was my Cheers. Went to this place probably twice a week during my first month in town, and several times thereafter.
The Good: Never too crowded, you can pretty much always find a bar stool and nuzzle up to the large U-​shaped bar. Free popcorn, peanuts, or chex mix, depending on what bowl gets placed in front of you. A good digital juke box with a ton of selections covering all kinds of music. Wednesday night karaōke — it’s HI-​LARIOUS.
The Great: Diane, the bartender. We purposefully only go on nights Diane is working. She is hilarious, and would have our drinks poured before we even had a chance to sit down. $ 1.50 drafts — ‘nuf said. $ 1 Jell-​O shots — ‘nuf said. The regulars — you won’t find a more «eclectic» group of individuals, each one with a story more crazy than the last.
The «Needs Improving»: Although the place is clean and smoke-​free (which is a HUGE deal for a bar in Florida), there is often a strong smell of cleaning product that fills the air. It gets even worse when you step into the bathroom.

A really nice, super friendly bar and just about the only straight bar in Wilton Manor. It’s also a great place to check out the tramp stamps that some of the middle age chicks are sporting. LOL!
The unique thing about Red’s is that it is actually the only «straight» bar I know of located in Wilton Manor. So it isn’t unfunny to see a bunch of «straights» huddled together as a minority group in what is an otherwise gay community.

I wish I had found this place before my last night in South Florida. Headed down to Red’s from Boca because it was more convenient for friends to meet at than some crappy cookie-​cutter Irish bar in a strip mall up in Boca.
Red’s the real deal: professional and friendly bartenders, a bar that takes up about half of the inside space, with stools that go all the way around, a good jukebox, and massive amounts of liquor. You can’t go wrong with Red’s.

Quaint local sport-​themed bar. Good for hanging out with a few friends for a low-​key unpretentious night of drinking and talking.
The owner passed out free jello shots for the women and the girls in our group were very pleased.
The bartenders were the nicest I’ve been served by in a long time and were very professional and made sure you were happy with your drink and that they got the order right.
Although the only food they serve is chili and hot dogs, if you ask nicely, they might let you have food delivered (we got a pizza from the Italian place down the street).
Went on a Friday night with 5 friends and the bar was full but not crowded.

A few friends and I were going to a nice meal for my birthday. The problem was that they only served wine and beer. So for happy hour I was looked for a good straight bar in WIlton Manors. I found Red’s Bar and Package Store where another Unilocal review said something about «free jello shots for the ladies». Am I crazy to suspect it was a dive fraternity bar? UGH.
Don’t get me wrong — there is nothing better than a good dive, but truth be told I was a little nervous as to what I was getting my well-​dressed birthday clan in to. In fact it was a real bar’s bar –big u-​shaped and wooden without any small tables or restaurant in sight. By the way, I highly recommend their jello shots.
I write about a bunch of other Ft. Lauderdale restaurants and experiences in my blog
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the knowledge of red’s was bestowed upon me a mere two months ago and i’ve since been back a handful of times for the following reasons:
1. my boy loves it (mainly for their parm margaritas)
2. its never too crowded (except karaōke nights)
3. the bartenders are the sweetest blasts from the past (whom sometimes give up free shots if you play nice; oh — and by the past, i mean bleach-​blond-​teethed-​bangs and white-​pink-​glow-​in-​the-​eerie-​red-​light-​lipstick) (purely amazing)
4. decent margaritas (‘Pamas’)
5. cheap draft beer (although nothing beyond bud or miller/​light)
6. definitely a local people watering-​hole/​watching bar
7. free jello shots for the ladies (delivered especially from red himself)
8. just b/​c it is in wilton manors does NOT mean this is a gay bar — it is far from a gay bar
the only problem: an interesting smell that hits you hard and lingers for the first 15 minutes you walk in. sometimes, some souls cannot get past the rancid 15 minutes.
i haven’t figured out what it is yet — cleaning chemicals? a pool of putrid water sitting somewhere under a lonely stool? or the salt of the earth patrons?
it doesn’t really matter because it is a part of the Red’s experience — tis what makes Red’s… red’s.