Power Ranking Thursday - STL Bars

Short and sweet intro for this week's Power Rankings Thursday -- the best bars to go to in St. Louis. Nowadays I'd rather watch Love Island on the couch than pay the $100 Uber fees it'll take for me to get there, but everybody has their phase of wanting to hit Soulard and downtown. And there's no shortage of great places in the city to go for a good time.

One note off the top: no Ballpark Village on this list. I love BPV, but there's bars within it that are on the list, and full disclosure, I forgot about it as it's own bar. I'd probably plug BPV in around the 6-8 mark of the Top 10 if I hadn't forgot.

Honorable Mentions (Places I have been once or twice)

Up Down

Love a bar-cade archetype, but not a place I'd plan a trip downtown for.

Shark Bar (BPV)

I'd go into PBR or stay in the general BPV area over Shark Bar typically.

Duke's

Had a great time here on a bar crawl but have only been once - need to make a return trip.

Wheel House

Feel like we'd always lean Midwestern over Wheelhouse - have probably been there once and don't remember if it was fun (which means it probably was).

OB Clark's

I wanted to make OB Clark's #10, but feel like it's more of a restaurant than a bar. Here and Maggie O'Brien's are my two favorites in that category -- but didn't feel right to add them on this list.

Honorable Mentions (Places I've never been)

Kilroy's

Broadway Oyster Bar

Start Bar

Milo's on the Hill

Rooftop 360 (been to the Westport location never downtown)

The Top 10

#10 Tin Roof

Kicking things off with an STL Bar I definitely don't frequent, but have a good time at when I go. I should specify that I only have a good time in the moment -- the next day regret from Tin Roof is one of the highest when I realize I tipped the band all the cash in my wallet. Live music makes the beers go down quicker, ask anyone that's been to Nashville.

#9 PBR (PBV)

I've been in PBR many times at Ballpark Village, and I can confidently say I've never walked into or out of that bar not blacked out. Similar to Tin Roof in that respect. PBR accomplishes a lot of things that I don't like in a bar -- can't have a conversation cause it's so loud, dark as hell, feels like a college nightclub -- but they do have a mechanical bull which is good entertainment.

#8 Seamus McDaniel's

I'm always gonna be partial to an Irish Pub, especially one in the heart of Dog Town. Every St. Patrick's Day it beckons me like the Green Goblin Mask calls Norman Osborn. The last time I was there on a Saturday it was really dead, but when it's popping it's a great hang. Plus they had Kona Big Wave on Draft -- game changer for this Bean.

#7 Nick's Pub

Despite it never being where the night starts, a good night ends at Nick's Pub. Nothing fancy, they don't charge an arm and a leg for a drink, good TV set-up to watch the games, good beers on draft (we're not ranking on food, but they have solid bar food in my experience). It's the after-bars Karaoke spot, which depending who you are can be a flaw, but is a feature for a songbird like myself.

#6 Molly's

Molly's used to be in contention for my favorite Soulard bar back in the day. But then I was there on a Friday recently at 9:30 pm w/ 12 total people there (us 4 and a family finishing dinner) and said to myself: I'm either too old for when people actually go out, or Molly's has lost their fastball. Regardless of the answer, Molly's is still a fun place when the weather's nice and the outdoor patio is popping, but the inside's not my favorite.

#5 Tamm Ave

The Top 5 of this list are my heavy hitters. And the order can shake around depending on the vibe of the night/day of the week/etc, but these are my starting five. Tamm Ave in Dogtown is a great hang -- get to stay away from downtown, good vibe every time I've been, good drinks and relatively cheap. When it's overly-crowded it's not my favorite, but IDK the last time I didn't have fun @ Tamm. Also an auto-stop on St. Patrick's day for a Green Busch Light at 8:30 am.

#4 Paddy O's

My best memory at Paddy O's was in 2019 during the Blues' Stanley Cup Run. I went with my older brothers to Paddy O's for Game 6 of the Finals against the Bruins. Walked in behind my of-age brothers, showed the bouncer my ID with an incorrect spelling of our last name (fake ID guy gave me a double-W in the last name, for fuck's sake), Bouncer looks at my brother Ty like "seriously with this kid?" To which he shrugged his shoulders and let me in. Proceeded to pay $50 for a warm 30-rack for our table and watched the Blues lose.

Paddy O's is my favorite spot after a Birds game to get a few drinks, get a burger from the tent outside, and play some cornhole with the boys on the turf.

#3 Humphrey's

This is my homer pick. It's been awhile since I've been, and it's not talked about the way many other STL bars are due to where it's located, but Humphrey's will always be one of my favorites. I'm more concerned with the ball-watching set-up at a bar than anything else, and Humphrey's does it right. It's also unique from other bars in how it's designed, has an awesome back patio, cheap drinks (like Penny Pitchers on Wednesday), and is the #1 SLU basketball bar (at least in my brain it is). Plus, if you go on your birthday, you get a shot in a little plunger which is fun. Wouldn't be in most people's Top 5-10 I'm sure, but I'm nostalgic and like cheap beers and sports -- sue me!

(and my girlfriend's picture is on the wall there so bonus points - go SLU Swim)

(I haven't been to Hump's in a long while so if it's not as fun these days, I blame the youths)

#2 Midwestern

Going down to Main Street St. Charles a few weeks ago for dinner and they told us it'd be 15 or so minutes before our table was ready, so we walked across the street to Midwestern for a beer. And boy did being in there make me appreciate Downtown Midwestern even more - fucking snoozefest.

Middy's one of the staple STL Bars in my mind -- close to the stadiums, live music in the back area, enormous bar, random arcade games: it's great. I've been done dirty by Midwestern on several occasions, but the good times outweigh the bad (and the bad were entirely my fault for getting utterly buckled whilst there).

#1 McGurks

There's simply only one choice here, and I don't think it's even close. John D. McGurks is THE St. Louis bar. I mentioned earlier how much I love an Irish Pub, and Gurks is the textbook definition of one. The inside is great -- multiple bars, levels, areas to hang around (lots of bathrooms too). The outside area is my favorite of any STL bar -- 3 bars outlining the middle patio area with all the bushes and plants and shit. You're never too far from your next beer at McGurks, and they've got every beer under the sun on tap. Add in the fact that it's quite literally always popping and you'll see someone you know every time you walk in (but it's starting to get overrun with young people, which my boomer self hates), makes this the quintessential STL bar.