The Top 35 Dive Bars Near Bizarre Guitar & Drums
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Rank 2. Sidewinder
Diner American
A Garfield diner swaggering in neon and Marlboro signage, all cow skulls and dive-bar swagger, where the kitchen turns out hot chicken and five-dollar sloppy joes with equal conviction. It's the kind of place that doesn't apologize for what it is, or what it serves.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Trendy Diner · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Trendy Diner · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Trendy Diner · Best of Phoenix
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- AZ Central 2026 · The 100 Best Metro Phoenix Restaurants
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
- Phoenix Magazine 2025 · Best Off-Label Use of Pickles: Dill Pickle Pizza · Best of the Valley
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- AZ Central 2025 · Best bars in metro Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Chicken Tecolota @ Requinto · The 10 best bites we tasted at Phoenix restaurants
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Rank 5. Chopper John's
Dive Bar
This black-and-red dive off Indian School Road has dollar bills papering its walls up to a ceiling strung with Christmas lights, and a regular crowd that feels like the place's natural furniture. Local rock bands play the intimate stage most nights, and the pool tables, bar stools, and patio smokers keep things humming whether you're here for the music or just the company.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Dive Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Rock Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 6. Cobra Arcade Bar
Arcade Cocktail Bar
A rowdy arcade bar where local murals and vintage games on coin-op machines set the scene for weekend DJ sets that amp the energy to near-chaotic levels. Geeky cocktails like Garbage Pail Kids and Punch Out keep pace with the crowd, and when things get too packed, Hi-Score Club next door offers a calmer anime-themed refuge with Japanese import games and fugu-shaped mugs.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Bar Makeover · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 7. Rips Bar
Dive Bar
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Rank 8. Swizzle Inn
Dive Bar
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Rank 9. The Boom Boom Room
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 11. Bar1
Cocktail Bar
A neighborhood gay bar with candlelit booths and pinball machines where people actually talk to each other, Bar 1 trades the usual nightlife theatrics for a genuinely relaxed vibe. The rotating drink specials (beer busts on Monday, Long Island Wednesdays, 2-for-1 Thursdays) and craft cocktail list keep things lively without the attitude.
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Gay Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 12. The Little Woody
Dive Bar
Red-lit dive with darts, pool, and a game room where young crowds gather on weekends to dance and play until 2 a.m. The cocktails are sharp—try the bourbon Gun Shy Sour—and the kitchen turns out flatbreads and hot dogs that hit the spot.
- Foodist Awards 2025 · Winner: Genuine Concepts · Outstanding Hospitality Group
- Foodist Awards 2024 · Winner · Outstanding Bar/Nightlife Experience
- Foodist Awards 2025 · Finalist · Outstanding Bar/Nightlife Experience
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Rank 13. The Dirty Drummer
Dive Bar
A longtime Phoenix dive that shuttered and roared back to life in 2019, The Dirty Drummer serves wings and burgers alongside a rotating slate of country, rockabilly, and touring acts that might have you line dancing one night and catching back-to-back sets the next. Sports fans and folks hunting a no-frills good time will find plenty of reasons to return, especially during happy hour.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Bar Food · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Country Bar · Best of Phoenix
- AZ Central 2025 · Best bars in metro Phoenix
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Rank 15. Jt's Bar & Grill
American
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Rank 17. Nutowne Saloon
Beer Bar
Nu Towne Saloon has been Phoenix's oldest gay bar since 1971, surviving fires and decades with the same kitschy spirit—a narrow room stuffed with a seven-foot plaster rooster, Eiffel Tower roof replica, and grandma's attic memorabilia. Regulars come for cheap draft beer on Tuesday nights, pool games, and the kind of campy, low-key vibe that doesn't take itself seriously.
- Phoenix New Times 2024 · Best Gambling with Gay Men · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Gay Bar Decor · Best of Phoenix
- AZ Central 2025 · Best bars in metro Phoenix
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Rank 20. Rusty Spur Saloon
Dive Bar
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Rank 21. The Dubliner Irish Pub
Irish Dive Bar
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Rank 22. The Silver Pony
Dive Bar
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Rank 23. Devil's Hideaway
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 24. Irish Wolfhound Pub
Irish British
An expansive Irish pub in Surprise where bartenders know regulars by name and strangers turn into friends over pints, complete with Guinness signs and maps of the Emerald Isle scattered across the room. The kitchen does proper pub food—fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, weekend Irish breakfasts—while live music, karaoke, and trivia nights keep the calendar packed.
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · Best Irish Pub · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 25. The Chill Room
Coffee
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Rank 26. Longbranch Saloon
Dive Bar
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Rank 27. Low Key Piano Bar
Cocktail Bar
Head down the basement stairs to a quirky amphitheater where dueling pianists lead crowds through singalong standards and jazz covers, the energy raucous and everyone well-lubricated on fish bowls. It's the kind of place you go with a crew to stay until closing time, and the mango mule doesn't hurt.
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Piano Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 28. Palo Verde Lounge
Dive Bar
At this dark, cash-only Tempe dive, the crowd swings wildly—construction workers at happy hour, ASU students, neighborhood regulars—and so does the vibe, from pool-and-TV quiet to packed dance floors to metal bands in the parking lot. Owner Chuck Marthaler pours drinks strong and cheap, and remembers what you drink.
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Dive Bar · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 32. The 480 Bar
Dive Bar
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Rank 34. Roosters Country
Beer Bar
A longtime country honky-tonk with a checkered dance floor, pool tables, and a bar featuring 12 taps mounted in a repurposed fire truck, Roosters has anchored the Valley's live-music scene since 1972. The crowd is unpretentious and welcoming, the patio sprawls across enough space for a second stage and smoking station, and the jukebox never stops spinning local acts and karaoke nights.
- Phoenix New Times 2023 · Best Bar for Country Music · Best of Phoenix
- Phoenix New Times 2025 · The Top 100 Bars in Phoenix
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Rank 35. The Buffalo Chip Saloon
Texas-Style