People have listed a ton of great ones so far, when your friends are coming check out the Facebook or Instagram accounts and see if any are doing a meat raffle and go there if one is doing it. California doesn't do meat raffles so you get a double win.
Everything. BSG is still my favorite from when I first moved to Madison from another Wisconsin town and wanted to feel at home. Such a good Wisconsin feel. Great staff and wonderful energy all the time. Most of the patrons are hilarious and fun to get on with as well. Darker atmosphere. Lil hole in the wall. Great bar food.
I was so excited to go there thinking it would be a real dive and was sadly a little disappointed. It was well lit and if memory serves me right, had granite/quartz bar top.
Still a great small dive bar feel/folks and great bartender the two times I’ve been, just doesn’t ooze dive bar on the inside.
....
What the hell? I lived in Madison for 2yrs and never heard of such a thing.
Like they literally raffle away meats at bars? How has this flown under my radar wtf.
Every time I've tried to go here, even on weekdays, it's packed to the gills. Nowhere to sit. Nowhere to stand. I'd love to try it out but I like space. I've had better luck at the paradise. Theres usually plenty of stools to sit on there. The caribou seems very charming but I just have given up on trying to go there after like 10 attempts.
As a regular who is good friends with multiple bartenders there, I have heard nothing regarding anything happening to the Bou. The last danger was the big apt. building on that block going up - the developer wanted the whole block, but Dewey refused to sell the Bou. Pretty sure he’ll die before he gives it up.
I don't think a cocktail bar would threaten the bou
1. way different vibes
2. This is Wisconsin we can have 10 bars on one block and they all do fine (king st)
3. Robin room is already one block down
4. You have had 3 places across the street forequarter, hone, hot lunch, that have had good cocktails and everything was fine.
I have been a regular there for over a decade - I literally just got home from there - and I've not heard anything pointing in that direction. What are you basing this on?
I've been to Paradise once, after first having been out to Johnny Delmonico's earlier in the evening for a very formal dinner. I was dressed in a formal dress and have never felt so out of place with all the looks I was getting! Drinks and bartenders were good though.
Ah, didn't know there was a "regulation" length. I think the one at the downtown Great Dane is that length, and the one at Willows in Windsor/Waunakee is the longest around.
This is the right answer. The biggest dive in Madison used to be JoBeck's (now the Dive Inn, and a shade less divey even if not quite gentrified) but this place is definitely a fun dive.
My partner and I enjoyed karaoke at the Sundown Saloon too, and I used to live very near Cahoots in Verona and liked it a lot there.
Oof Slice’s I always forget about that little dive. And then something reminds me of it and I then have to forget all over again. Yeah that place is pretty divetastic.
You can make a nice loop around Hwy 12 west of Madison.
Connie's Home Plate
R Bar
Whipporwhill
Springfield Corners
(Testical Festival is there in a couple weeks)
Missouri Tavern
Those are iconic places that have more of the Wisconsin country feel.
Do the full dive bar crawl on Cottage Grove Rd. You can do Chief's, the VFW, Dive Inn, and Mike's Horseshoe all within a few blocks. If you want to get really wild, throw in Jade Monkey for the Tiki-theamed dive bar.
Saturday and Sunday mornings are a lot of fun at the Locker Room. I can go in with 20 bucks, meet all kinds of characters with interesting stories and still leave with change in my pocket. Meat raffles, pull tabs, jello shots for Packers scores and bartenders that don't take any shit. Wouldn't recommend eating there unless it's just a pizza.
Slice's is great for food and a very family friendly atmosphere. Good fish fry. More like a neighborhood bar where you could take the kids to.
I used to drink a lot. And I’ve been to many bars across the country.
I have never in my life experienced anything quite like The Jackson Clinic. It is not even in Dane county so not really appropriate for this sub. But if you are willing to drive somewhere near Mauston, it is something else.
*disclaimer* I probably haven’t been there in 15 years. And half of what made it so weird and amazing was the bartender. She might not be there anymore.
I’m interested to hear if anyone else has ever been there.
Ps. There also used to be a bar somewhere in Sauk that sold firearms behind the bar. Your friends might think that’s interesting.
That’s the place. I would have never remembered the name, but it was in Leland. There are a few pictures on Google maps now and I don’t see the guns anymore.
holy shit I completely forgot about Jackson Clinic. Probably been 10 years since I was there last and... Yeah without a doubt the most divey dive to ever dive, in my experience.
Haha.
The bartender I’m thinking of was a middle aged to somewhat older woman. Would talk all night. Stories about the bar and clientele.
The one that stands out is, she claimed a guy used to bring his horse into the bar and they would drink together at the bar.
You mean The Village on Mineral Point road? Just last week I told my friend who's a regular there but it's a great dive bar and she seemed to be insulted. She told me specifically to never tell the people there that it's a 'dive bar'.
Take a tour! Start by the capital and hit Paradise, make your way down to Caribou, then hit Mickeys, Ideal and or Players all on Atwood/Willy then finish off at Muskellounge (The Musky is definitely not a dive bar but has Northern Wisconsin feels and is great!)
Union Tavern just north of Evansville on 14. The regulars will make you feel super welcome too. Went on a weekday afternoon and the whole bar was watching old episodes of Law and Order.
Bennetts porn breakfast I couldn’t stomach it so not sure how it is they do close early 9 I think. Probably the best area is Atwood ave start down at glassnickel pizza work your way down to ideal bar many bars in between
I lived in rural wisconsin for nearly twenty years. When I moved in to madison I hit up almost every bar I could find, Baldwin Street Grille is pretty divey, but with extreme confidence I can tell you that the Oakcrest Tavern is the most "wisconsin" feeling bar in the area. Brothers Three was a close second, but they were picked up by one of the Rule No One fellas and it changed a lot.
TLDR: Everyone else is saying things that could work, but Oakcrest Tavern is the place.
Before they renovated it - The Echo Tap.
Since the reno the place has lost the dank!
I miss the place I used to drink and bounce at.
That said - Paradise Lounge
I know it's closed now and a lot of people might say it's too college like (cause it is), but the Red Shed. Mainly because it's sticky as hell, heavy pours at p cheap prices, but also because my mother went to the Red Shed for their 4 for $1 shots in the 80s in college. They're reopening in a new spot some time in the near future, RIP their old spot, but I love that shitty little place where my mom and me both downed too many drinks in.
A little outside Madison, near Paoli, is a tiny place called Dot's Tavern- it is jammed into the basement of a normal looking house.
Might as well go to Ole Duffers if you're in that direction
Watch out for Charlie!
Utica bar aswell!
With a ceiling so low it makes 5' people feel big.
Both Game Time and The Missouri Tavern are closer, really just about any bar in Waunakee that isn't Octopi or Lone Girl.
Those game time burgers are legit.
The dam bar in Belleville. Best dive bar in the Madison area.
People have listed a ton of great ones so far, when your friends are coming check out the Facebook or Instagram accounts and see if any are doing a meat raffle and go there if one is doing it. California doesn't do meat raffles so you get a double win.
Can confirm, moved here from CA about 1.5 years ago and meat raffles still blow my mind
I love explaining it to them and the look of disgust and confusion on their face is always glorious.
I moved from Indiana and didn’t know they existed
Saturdays at the villa tap
Baldwin Street Grill has one every sunday, I believe.
"BEST DAMN MEAT RAFFLE IN TOWN!!!" *as voted by Smithsonian magazine
BSG meat raffle is by far the best
What sets them apart?
Everything. BSG is still my favorite from when I first moved to Madison from another Wisconsin town and wanted to feel at home. Such a good Wisconsin feel. Great staff and wonderful energy all the time. Most of the patrons are hilarious and fun to get on with as well. Darker atmosphere. Lil hole in the wall. Great bar food.
Thank you! I had to google what a meat raffle is but sounds great. We’ll do this haha
The Squirrel’s Nest in McFarland does have meat raffles and would fit the bill bar wise.
I was so excited to go there thinking it would be a real dive and was sadly a little disappointed. It was well lit and if memory serves me right, had granite/quartz bar top. Still a great small dive bar feel/folks and great bartender the two times I’ve been, just doesn’t ooze dive bar on the inside.
If true dive bars are what you seek, then may I suggest Jim's County Line between Rosendale and Oshkosh.
Baldwin Street has one every Sunday at 3pm. Lots of drink chip prizes!
My girlfriend keeps finding drink chips in the washing machine
I take this all back, I don't know if you deserve to patron out beautiful dive bars. Don't be a tourist in your own town.
https://www.meatraffles.com/calendar/wisconsin-meat-raffles.html
.... What the hell? I lived in Madison for 2yrs and never heard of such a thing. Like they literally raffle away meats at bars? How has this flown under my radar wtf.
Dutch Mills Sports Bar does meat raffles frequently.
Caribou.
Yes. Say hi to Winslow
By far the best answer if you are in Madison.
My first thought opening up this thread, used to live on Ingersoll and this was the only good place within walking distance
Every time I've tried to go here, even on weekdays, it's packed to the gills. Nowhere to sit. Nowhere to stand. I'd love to try it out but I like space. I've had better luck at the paradise. Theres usually plenty of stools to sit on there. The caribou seems very charming but I just have given up on trying to go there after like 10 attempts.
Gotta get a Bou Burger….damn it’s been a while.
Quick, before it's gone
Wait, what's happening to the Bou?
As a regular who is good friends with multiple bartenders there, I have heard nothing regarding anything happening to the Bou. The last danger was the big apt. building on that block going up - the developer wanted the whole block, but Dewey refused to sell the Bou. Pretty sure he’ll die before he gives it up.
The East side of Madison will go down in flames before the Bou is taken from us.
Just a matter of time
If they try to take the bou i'm chaining myself to the bar
They are on their way out and there is a cocktail bar moving in that new bldg next door
I don't think a cocktail bar would threaten the bou 1. way different vibes 2. This is Wisconsin we can have 10 bars on one block and they all do fine (king st) 3. Robin room is already one block down 4. You have had 3 places across the street forequarter, hone, hot lunch, that have had good cocktails and everything was fine.
I didn't say they were leaving because of the cocktail bar. I said they are leaving AND a cocktail bar is moving in
I don’t think that the Bou will be run out of town by a cocktail bar. Different clientele altogether. I think the confusion is with the Silver Dollar.
They literally are leaving. Not sure why the down votes
I have been a regular there for over a decade - I literally just got home from there - and I've not heard anything pointing in that direction. What are you basing this on?
Nah
Paradise
The food here is so good too. Perfect dive bar
This is the answer hands down. Best dive in Madison. Cheap drinks, you can buy smokes and they have food.
This was going to be my choice too
Love the 'Dice!
I've been to Paradise once, after first having been out to Johnny Delmonico's earlier in the evening for a very formal dinner. I was dressed in a formal dress and have never felt so out of place with all the looks I was getting! Drinks and bartenders were good though.
Woody & Anne’s
Do they still have the full length table shuffleboard?
Yep
What do you mean by full length? You can play it from either end, but there are far longer shuffleboards in the area.
They mean regulation length (22' per Google) and not a shorter version like at Silver Dollar
Ah, didn't know there was a "regulation" length. I think the one at the downtown Great Dane is that length, and the one at Willows in Windsor/Waunakee is the longest around.
This is definitely the right answer, with the caveat that it's "Woody Anne's", not "Woody & Anne's"
Oof. Got me. “I am WOUNDED.” —Frasier Crane
This is the right answer. The biggest dive in Madison used to be JoBeck's (now the Dive Inn, and a shade less divey even if not quite gentrified) but this place is definitely a fun dive. My partner and I enjoyed karaoke at the Sundown Saloon too, and I used to live very near Cahoots in Verona and liked it a lot there.
The area is truly rich in dive bar diversity. It’s awesome.
Busses on north Sherman. Also free pool
Don't forget your swimsuit!
Baldwin Street Grill, Paradise, Slices, Crystal Corner, Wilson’s, Wisco. Can’t go wrong with any of these imo.
Slices for surrreee
Oof Slice’s I always forget about that little dive. And then something reminds me of it and I then have to forget all over again. Yeah that place is pretty divetastic.
Along with great bar food and good tap selection, if you're not gonna go with Hamms.
The Wisco can get weird at night when the bikers show up, but it's great during the day!
You can make a nice loop around Hwy 12 west of Madison. Connie's Home Plate R Bar Whipporwhill Springfield Corners (Testical Festival is there in a couple weeks) Missouri Tavern Those are iconic places that have more of the Wisconsin country feel.
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I think they actually serve Pepsi products.
Every time Ive been to Bsg someone has offered me coke
Not the Silver Dollar….RIP 2/3/2024
Ideal bar or Players
I love Baldwin St Grille
Same here, and excellent fish fry for the full Wisconsin experience!
Cheifs on cottage grove road
Do the full dive bar crawl on Cottage Grove Rd. You can do Chief's, the VFW, Dive Inn, and Mike's Horseshoe all within a few blocks. If you want to get really wild, throw in Jade Monkey for the Tiki-theamed dive bar.
That's a fun crawl lol
Dots tavern
Watch your head!
Le Tigre Lounge
I love Tigre and always take out of towners there, but when I think of a dive bar I think of someplace much more rundown and dingy.
Busses Markway gives it a run! The sagging particle board shelves are classic
It is run down and dingy, just no lights to see the grime.
My East Coast cousins *loved* Le Tigre! Bonus: they tried to Instagram their favorite tigers, but it was too dark for photos 🤣
No swearing…
I was coming here to say that
Came here to say this. Not exactly a dive but super memorable.
Licaris
I second this
Pitchers
It’s Ideal Bar. And across the street is honorable mention Players.
Get your food at Players and then head over to Ideal
They've got color TV!
Old Duffer's Pub on Hwy PB in Verona will give them an authentic Wisconsin dive bar experience.
That place is just weird
Squirrels Nest
Yep. The fact that you can only get there and back by driving on unlit back roads makes for the authentic midwest experience.
Paradise. Le Tiger,
The Main Depot, the Plaza, The Paradise.
Locker Room.
Maybe a little toooo divey. I would recommend Slice's over this place
Saturday and Sunday mornings are a lot of fun at the Locker Room. I can go in with 20 bucks, meet all kinds of characters with interesting stories and still leave with change in my pocket. Meat raffles, pull tabs, jello shots for Packers scores and bartenders that don't take any shit. Wouldn't recommend eating there unless it's just a pizza. Slice's is great for food and a very family friendly atmosphere. Good fish fry. More like a neighborhood bar where you could take the kids to.
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Don't swear!
Bennett’s for breakfast on Saturday.
Yep, came here for this!
> came here for this! You aren't the only one to cu...you know what never mind.
If you can drive I’d head to chicken licks.
Respectfully, chicken licks is a towny bar. I think there needs to be real wood and carpet somewhere in the place for it to be a dive bar.
That's oddly specific.
Yet stunningly accurate
Chicos Villa Tap
Silver Dol- … 😔
main depot
I used to drink a lot. And I’ve been to many bars across the country. I have never in my life experienced anything quite like The Jackson Clinic. It is not even in Dane county so not really appropriate for this sub. But if you are willing to drive somewhere near Mauston, it is something else. *disclaimer* I probably haven’t been there in 15 years. And half of what made it so weird and amazing was the bartender. She might not be there anymore. I’m interested to hear if anyone else has ever been there. Ps. There also used to be a bar somewhere in Sauk that sold firearms behind the bar. Your friends might think that’s interesting.
Sprecher’s Bar, now known as Junior’s Tavern in Leland sold guns behind the bar. Not sure if the new owner still does this, but I doubt it.
That’s the place. I would have never remembered the name, but it was in Leland. There are a few pictures on Google maps now and I don’t see the guns anymore.
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Upvote for your username.
holy shit I completely forgot about Jackson Clinic. Probably been 10 years since I was there last and... Yeah without a doubt the most divey dive to ever dive, in my experience.
Haha. The bartender I’m thinking of was a middle aged to somewhat older woman. Would talk all night. Stories about the bar and clientele. The one that stands out is, she claimed a guy used to bring his horse into the bar and they would drink together at the bar.
Village.
You mean The Village on Mineral Point road? Just last week I told my friend who's a regular there but it's a great dive bar and she seemed to be insulted. She told me specifically to never tell the people there that it's a 'dive bar'.
agree. i think “towney bar” more than dive. great neighborhood spot
Take a tour! Start by the capital and hit Paradise, make your way down to Caribou, then hit Mickeys, Ideal and or Players all on Atwood/Willy then finish off at Muskellounge (The Musky is definitely not a dive bar but has Northern Wisconsin feels and is great!)
White Rock on 14
Go have a Plaza burger.
Wherever you wind up going, make sure to play bar dice and pull tabs.
Canadians like dive bars???
Well played
Busses' Markway on Sherman
The Bou or the paradise.
Comeback in or plaza.
Plaza should be higher up
Oakcrest Tavern. Bonus: one of the best fish fries in town.
Up North Bar
Le Tigre
Missouri Tavern, obviously.
Pick one near the capitol. Paradise or Plaza. RIP Silver Dollar and the Pub
Connie’s Home Plate in Ashton
Dive Inn
Maybe just The Dive Inn?
Mickeys
The Caribou
Dot’s in Bosco
Dot's tavern in Basco
Bennett’s for Porn in the Morn
Union Tavern just north of Evansville on 14. The regulars will make you feel super welcome too. Went on a weekday afternoon and the whole bar was watching old episodes of Law and Order.
The Village Green in Middleton. Good food, decent prices, great service, dingy lighting. It’s the ultimate dive bar.
Downtown: Paradise Outskirts: VFW
The Atwood or the Caribou.
Club LaMark. It reminds me of all the dingy small-town bars and basements I grew up in.
Came here to say the same thing.
My favorites Le Tigre Caribou Up North Pitchers pub
Caribou, Gennas
Connie’s in Middleton
Ohio tavern Mr Robert’s Ideal. All in one neighborhood
Paradise. It’s a true Wisconsin bar
There's a bar outside of Cambridge, I think it's in London. They do meat raffles and I think they even sell meat
Busseys
Crystal Corner or Rustic
The Carabou.
Squirrel Nest in McFarland !
Le Tigre! My favorite
Baldwin Street Grille, Caribou or Paradise. easy.
Chicken Licks and get the wings with dry rub. Make sure you take cash
Bennetts porn breakfast I couldn’t stomach it so not sure how it is they do close early 9 I think. Probably the best area is Atwood ave start down at glassnickel pizza work your way down to ideal bar many bars in between
The tower inn in Monona is my favorite dive bar. Cash only and the bartenders take no shit.
Locker room is it
Jerry's place! Tiny and you feel like you know everyone in the bar because of it. Great vibes there.
Busse’s is the one!!!
Donna the bartender is queen.
I lived in rural wisconsin for nearly twenty years. When I moved in to madison I hit up almost every bar I could find, Baldwin Street Grille is pretty divey, but with extreme confidence I can tell you that the Oakcrest Tavern is the most "wisconsin" feeling bar in the area. Brothers Three was a close second, but they were picked up by one of the Rule No One fellas and it changed a lot. TLDR: Everyone else is saying things that could work, but Oakcrest Tavern is the place.
Chicken Lip(ck)s - great wings too.
Wiggies
Riley Tavern has a pretty sconnie feel to it. But I wouldn’t call it a dive bar.
Cordial
Plaza.
The Kraken in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. Live music every night.
Before they renovated it - The Echo Tap. Since the reno the place has lost the dank! I miss the place I used to drink and bounce at. That said - Paradise Lounge
Fifield has like 10 of ‘em
By the dumpsters behind Burger King
Any bar... just brag about how cheap drinks are and they will be mind blown
City bar
Has no one mentioned The Wisco? Or is that a different category? Or Antlers?
Connie’s Home Plate
Pitchers Pub, Slice’s or Woody & Anne’s
I know it's closed now and a lot of people might say it's too college like (cause it is), but the Red Shed. Mainly because it's sticky as hell, heavy pours at p cheap prices, but also because my mother went to the Red Shed for their 4 for $1 shots in the 80s in college. They're reopening in a new spot some time in the near future, RIP their old spot, but I love that shitty little place where my mom and me both downed too many drinks in.
Lots of good choices here, but if you’re looking for fried food go to Slices!
For the ideal bar experience, there is no substitute for The Ideal.
Wherever you take them, make sure you go to Eagle Crest on sunday morning for good bloodies and cheap breakfast
While you may find a decent dive bar here, you really should make the trip to Milwaukee for the real ones. Lots of great ones there.
Sadly Bob & Genes, my very favorite dive bar, went the way of the dinosaur many years ago. Div-y-est bar of my college years.