I can't add more info that other reviews already provide but be aware that this is a smoking bar and you will reek when you leave, even after just a few minutes. I still can't believe that this place got an award for best gay bar in the US but hey, it is what it is-a casual dive with mostly friendly people and employees. read more

Small gay bar, but it packs people in and it is always a good time. Lots of lesbians! Has two levels and a small dance floor. Good music and cheap drinks! Love the back patio area. read more

My favorite bar in Atlanta. I'll get my only gripe out of the way immediately, its really smoky. That said, its still my favorite bar. Very diverse crowd - bears and twinks, emo and preppy - something for everyone. Its refreshingly free of the "stand and model" attitude at lots of other bars. The bartenders are all awesome, get to know 'em! Music and theme nights vary, but Friday and Saturday and always great nights to dance on the tiny dance floor. Weeknights the themes vary and are always fun. Their Facebook page gives you the latest on the theme nights - from rock to hip hop to indy pop. read more

They don't call it the best gay bar for nothing! Good times, come for the dancing! Everyone very friendly.

When I first arrived, I thought...what a tiny little bar a drink then I'm outta here, but somehow with an amazing bartender who never let my drink get empty...I stayed all night. Beware drinks are strong. Due to my love of the drinkie, I sang and danced all night. The gays are very friendly and not rude:) Saturday and Tuesday are karaoke and the most fun. I also may have fallen in love with a smokin homosexual....if he ever decides he wants the ladies back in his life, I'm so there! read more

Over the years Mary's has been a little place in EAV I stumble into, never planned, and always have a mind blowing time, unexpectedly of course. There is a friendly mix of people here. Yes it's supposed to be a gay bar, but it's really an interesting mix of everyone. Through the years, I am most impressed with the bartenders. No matter if the place is busy or slow, the Mary's bartenders are the best. They're always attentive, cool, and for some reason, always can hear me. These bartenders are the best to be found in all of East Atlanta Village. read more

amazing place! i came here on new years with my friend and was super nervous i wouldn't fit in because i'm a straight guy but everyone was super cool and i had a blast! super fun environment and lots of people participate in karaoke! honestly i'd rather be at gay bars than straight bars from now on read more

Great bartenders however, the karaoke was subpart. I guess being from Nashville I had high standards, but the dj was no where near what I am use to. He was rude and not friendly, and did not bring any fun vibes to the place. Also, I asked when I would be up and he did not give me a correct time because I ended up waiting for more than he said and had to eventually leave without being able to sing. I would go on a night when there's no karaoke. I guess Nashville has spoiled me. read more

Went there for the first time with my bf mark. Fukkin awesome place. Great drinks. And the best lil blonde bartender ever, friendly. Caring and knows how to make drinks. U go girl. I believe her name started with a B. Small blonde hair glasses. And tats. There was a tall dark haired guy w tats who works there also. They are great the place is cozy and Funn. U can't go wrong here.... Will be back to see u read more

One stop during a girl's night out in EAV and very fun. We went for karaoke, but sadly, they weren't doing it that night. We still had fun dancing with the boys:) read more

I've been with a friend a few times now and I like the place. They have weird "smoking" hours though. Yeah...I can see the look you're giving me now. Sounds crazy right? Well there are times you CAN smoke in the bar and times you CAN'T smoke in the bar. I'm sure it makes sense to some one;-) We had fun...had a drink and then were on our way. But the people were nice and laid back so all in all...yep. Cool place to go. PS we went on "off" nights so as to not have to fight a crowd. read more

I am biased in my love of divey bars, but Mary's could easily be my favorite bar in Atlanta! Fantastic karaoke, diverse crowd, charming bar staff, stiff drinks, cheap shots, cheaper beer, outdoor patio, smoking; an all round A+ from me. read more

Last weekend was my friend's birthday so we decided to go bar hopping in the East Atlanta Village. We tried a few bars, but kept getting drawn back to Mary's. Mind you, we were a group of 4 attractive young straight females. It was so refreshing the type of people in there. We didn't have old biker's hitting on us like we did down the street. Everyone just packed out and danced, and if you ran into someone, so what. Everyone was having a great time. The music was a lot of classics which was nice. The drinks were so good, and pretty inexpensive. I will definitely be going back to Mary's! read more

Wished they would go back to no smoking. Also wish the bartenders were nicer to new people. had a friend meet me here and she ate her dinner and never talked to anyone. Drinks are good if you keep it basicm read more

Best Gay Bar in the City! Ben and Bill run a great bar with and awesome staff. I always have a great time when I go. read more

Cheap drinks, great atmosphere, cool bartenders, hot patrons, fab karaoke. Mary's rocks!

I've never been treated so rude in my life. The bartender gave me a drink that I did not like so I politely asked him to remake the drink. Not only did he not make the drink but he intentionally ignored me. After patiently waiting a while I then asking him very polite to remake the drink after I offered to tip him and pay for another drink. He had a horrible attitude toward me because I didn't tip him ( which he specifically told me was the reason he didn't redo my drink). Instead I just left the the establishment after I offered to tip him and pay for another drink. My intention was to stay there a while so I was going to tip during my last round (which is my right). This was my first and last time there. It just blows my mind because I was not rude to him at all and I was apologetic because I understand but it was still no reason to be that rude. read more

Sooo, I love Mary's! The drinks are cheap, the people are awesome, the bar staff if friendly, and the dj's are always awesome! I never have a bad time and I never turn down the opportunity to go! Only drawbacks are that it is small so it can be a bit crowded on the weekends and at these times it can be a bit smokey. Neither are reason enough not to go! You're sure to have an excellent time!! read more

I've never been so disappointed in what I thought was my favorite LGBT bar in Atlanta. The lady checking ID's at the door was so incredibly rude to my group of friends last night. I had been talking about Mary's ALL day and I have been going there for 10+ years. She was highly offended when I said one of my friends had never experienced a LGBT bar and proceeded to tell me that "they" were not an experience and that the gay community didn't want people like us there. The LGBT community is extremely important to me and are people that I advocate for on a daily basis. I apologized to her and said that we just wanted to come and enjoy the bar, however, she still would not let us in or my gay friends. Then, she let's me know I discriminate bc I was wearing a notorious B.I.G.shirt and that I'm white. MANAGER DID NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED. However, the predominantly African American club next door i-Lounge invited us in with open arms and I plan on returning there with my gay, white, lesbian, black, orange, Hispanic, double headed, banana flavored, and multi colored friends. THANKS I-LOUNGE FOR MY NEW EXPERIENCE!! read more

Maybe it was just overhyped for me, but I was a little disappointed when I went to Mary's last night for the first time. I've lived in Atlanta now for a little over a year, and just never made it down to Mary's even though I love East Atlanta Village and I frequent the Earl. Well, last night my friends and I made a concerted effort to get to Mary's and I just was not impressed. Granted, maybe it was an off night, but the crowd was just a little off. Mostly older, slightly creepy men eyeing their younger prey. The space is tiny on the bottom floor. I much preferred the top landing which is a little roomier, but right across from a very awkward bathroom with Old Western Texas style swinging doors that do not offer the desired level of privacy that I would prefer in what seemed to me like a sketchy gay bar/club. I have to admit, that the music was great. The couch upstairs was nice to sit down on and hang and just big enough to hang out with my buddies and avoid the nastys below. But next time I want a night out with the boys I'll be satisfied knowing that with Marys I can take a "been there, done that" attitude and leave it be. Like I said, maybe it was an off night, so I'm sure I'll give it another chance. read more

Mary's used to be my favorite gay bar in the EAV some 4 or 5 years ago. Back then, me and my best friend would drag ourselves up to the bar around 2 AM, flirt with Jimmy, the bartender, and retreat up to the upstairs room to disappear into drunken oblivion. It was usually our last stop before hitting Backstreet, the 24-hour dance club. Great videos (they always had the most current dance music-- trance or gay club mixes-- on video), friendly bar staff and an eclectic clientele courtesy of the diversity that the EAV has to offer. Fast forward a couple of years, and the bar has gone through numerous bartenders and management changes. I give the new owners credit for breathing new life into the bar. It always seems to be crowded on Friday nights. However I don't like the music or videos they play anymore and I usually get bored after being there for more than an hour. They always seem to play some kind of disco hybrid or eighties music crap. One night they had strippers, and, no, it wasn't pleasant to watch. Anyway, my 3-star rating is probably more me than the bar since I got used to the way it used to be. To be fair, it's definitely better than the Red Chair scene, but I don't make the weekly Friday trek there anymore. read more

Look, I get it. I'm a girl, I'm straight, I'm of no interest to the clientele here. I really want to like this place. I love that they have theme nights. The djs and hosts are fun. And if I said I didn't get sucked into the videos they show on the tv's I would be telling a bold-faced lie. But I have never been able to get a bartender to pay enough attention to me to get a drink. One time I was there waiting for a friend at the bar and the bartender served this guy next to me 4 drinks. He didn't even ask if I wanted one. The rudeness is almost aggressive here. I'm not the bachelorette party girl. I don't think of gay people as a novelty. Sometimes I want to go out and not have a guy grind his junk on me as an excuse for dancing. And sometimes my gay friends want me to hang out with them at a gay bar. I'm not expecting hugs and rainbows or what not, but its a problem if I can't at least get a drink. read more

This is a GREAT gay dive bar in EAV- Super nice people hang out here - great bartenders and decor -- My only complaint is that there isnt great circulation here and most of the patrons smoke -- so it tends to get really smoky inside -- They have an outside patio in the back of the bar -- Too bad they dont make folks go out there to smoke like Sister Louisa's Church of the Living Room & Ping Pong Emporium- read more

Marys a place I can truly call one of my Favorites. I am indeed a fan. It may be small and a bit cramped when it gets packed, but its the best friday night youll have in town. The scene is unqiue with the kitchy paintings and cool morraccan lamps and the cool new upsatirs bar. The drinks are strong and poured but the coolest group of bartenders in the whole village. The crowd is what sells it. You will never find a more unique crowd that comes together so perfectly. You have the hip and trendy gays, emo gays, goth gays, nerdy gays, preppy gays, jock jays, and bear...gays and their straight friends that got dragged out or the straight friends that dragged them out. But it all seems to work and mix well with the best music you will here. Everything is covered from the 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond. Not your stereotypical gay club music at all. Try it out gay or straight it is a great vibe and a real true fun night out in Atlanta read more

My partner and I have been to this bar several times, and we have never been very impressed. It has been about one year since we visited Mary's, so we decided to give it another chance. Bad choice!! We went on a Wednesday evening about 9:00 P.M. The music wasn't too bad until the D.J. showed up and starting blasting rap music. What is even worse is that the bartender charged us $5.00 each for freakin' well vodka -- way too expensive for a place like this! So, aweful cigarette smoke, expensive, weak drinks, and bad loud music = a very bad experience. We will not be back! read more

As a straight male, I love this place! They welcome everyone who is there for a good time. If you don't want to have fun, then don't show up. read more

This was quite the night, very interesting, fun and met some great people. I really think they could do better with the finger foods. But overall not bad. read more