My love/hate relationship with Sidebar is leaning towards love more and more each and everyday. What I once described as "the turd of my law school life," is now a turd in my life on the whole. But like coperlite (fossilized poo) is to paleontologists, this turd of a place is of special value to me and my entire 1L class. I mean who else will give you a pound of chick(en) wings for $9 when the clearing of your financial aid check look iffy at best? Who else will nurse your unhealthy addiction to "Golden Tee" (you know who you are)? Who else will run out of toilet paper when you REALLY need to blow your nose? Hem,hem.... Also, I retract my previous comment about fizzy yellow beer not getting you drunk. While I still don't like beer flavored water, I certainly have had more Sidebar brownouts than I can count on two hands. On a related note, I'm sorry to all the people from whom I've stolen a pitcher/plate of wings/guzzler from...but hey we're all family right? read more

Sidebar is one of those places that is what it is and does what it does. Go there after work with a few people. Order a couple of cheap pitchers and enjoy yourself. The crowd is an odd lot but not bad. I wouldn't recommend ordering real beer here. Just stick to anything that is lite and advertises way to much on TV. Now on a very important note. Buffalo cheese fries you are wonderful I would like to thank my editor and Buffalo cheese fries why would they put bacon bits on you? The straight-pitchers, apps, money in my pocket leave. What's good-Buffalo cheese fries, pitchers of beer, staff The slap-bacon bits, they can't afford a stamp at the door and use a sharpie, bathrooms down stairs. read more

Side Bar. Cause it's next to a law school. Get it? Honestly, this is the narrowest bar I've ever walked into. Good thing I went to Catholic school, so I know how to form an orderly single file to go to the rest room. But the lack of space is offset by the quirkiness of the dual entrances to the bar. There are literally 2 sides to this bar and it is shaped like a U. The food is nothing special but for those prices, I'll pretend I'm eating filet mignon. If you want to pound a few pitchers with burned out law students & young professionals blowing their meager paychecks on light beer, come on down! read more

Our waitress was super cute and nice. She had a sleeve tattoo which I thought was really awesome. I had the veggie burger which was delicious. For a Thursday night, it seemed pretty empty. They also close at 1a.m. which was kinda early. read more

The food at Sidebar always manages to disappoint me. I know it's pub food, but the burger was gross and the nachos not anything spectacular. What keeps me returning is the super cheap pitchers of Bud Light. Girl's on a budget. I do like the way they split the bar between full seating and a sit down bar. I've been for lunch and right after work, and haven't had a problem finding a seat. read more

I am completely disappointed by the unnecessary behavior of the bartender tonight. Considering that I have been pretty ehh about the mediocre, frozen store bought "food" that they serve (I have had the mozzerela sticks and different types of burgers, even customized), I wished the customer service outweighed the poor food selections. I was a new patron, who liked the very casual atmosphere of this hole in the wall and enjoyed the crowd and entertainment. The $2 Budlights and $7 pitcher are a steal but not enough to make up for the bartender's unnecessary verbal digs. The bar was not crowded nor were there any popular sports games on at the moment and poker was on. I simply asked the bartender if it was too much to turn the captions on; didnt know asking was a big deal until he loudly said among his coworkers right beside me " the bar isn't breathing and its being greedy", after making a point to change the channel to a random cartoon show and say "we wouldnt know whats going on, we need captions for this". Essentially, all of the above was absolutely unneeded. The food is below mediocre and now I no longer feel comfortable going to this bar. I find it shocking that after having security fail them by allowing at least ten underage kids in with obvious fake IDS, to treat a patron like myself as such, was just plain mean. -- All of this after I decided to turn the cheek, when my wings never came and were given to aomeone else after waiting 20-30mins and when I did receive my order, there was a long hair in it that definitely was not mine. read more

So I came here last night and what am experience. .first off I sat down with freaking william Dafoe...the"GREEN GOBLIN" I had 3 pitchers which where 7 each ..awesome price. .my partner had wings which my the goblin picked the tab up and Paids what an awesome night read more

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This bar is a little piece of heaven on earth. I live in central MA and I can't even buy a beer for $2 out her but RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF BOSTON YOU CAN GET $2 PINTS OF BUDWISER AND BUD LIGHT???? $7 pitchers of beer.... and the foood is amazing!!!! Stop in and enjoy the great food and service! read more

If you like Dive Bars, this is a good one. I recently moved to Boston and this was my first stop in the city. Everyone was SUPER friendly. Good food, cheap drinks. I definitely recommend it. read more

I used to go to this bar a few times on Fridays after work with co-workers, including my managers. The good thing about this place was the $7 pitchers filled with cheap, watery beer. The food was okay, I ordered a cheeseburger with fries and I thought it was decent, nothing too special. I also had some of the appetizers, such as the fried potato skins and they were also okay, nothing spectacular. I usually do not look forward to going to this bar on Fridays because by 6:30 PM, it is really crowded, and tough to find a spot to sit down and chill. I have been to better bars in Boston than this,I would only come here if my friends or coworkers overwhelmingly want to come to Sidebar. Although it is at a great location in Downtown Crossing, and you can get a pitcher of Bud Light-quality beer for only $7, the food is kind of mediocre and did not like the selections too much. I would rather go to a bar with a better selection of good beer and good food as well. read more

Went in here on a whim while on a little shopping spree in the area. We were promptly greeted and directed to a nice large booth. The bartender came right over and asked what we'd like, the birthday girl decided we should do a shot to make shopping more fun, so we ordered 3 shots of Patron and salt and limes. We thought we should prob get a bite too, since we were starving, so we ordered a pizza too. The girl was funny and friendly, a hot shit. The pours were generous, the pizza was yummy and she comped us our next shot! Turns out she was the owner, she was cool, and so was Adam the bartender who it turns out had stepped out for a minute. We were going to go back, but ran out of time as we were meeting people for dinner on the North Shore. Fun dive bar, good people! You should def check it out! read more

$7 pitchers? yup. Big Buck Hunter SAFARI? yup. juke box? yup! Sidebar, did we just become best friends? YUP! seriously though, this has become my new favorite dive for several reasons. first of all, i love dives. if you don't love dives, don't bother. second, super cheap beer downtown, a rarity. third, it's a 2 minute walk from Park Street and 10 mins from my office. win! one thing i have to note is the HUGE difference between SideBar in the summer and SideBar when school is in session. A month or two ago i could stroll in after work on a thursday or friday and find an open table easily. This past friday I attempted to go after work and they were actually at capacity. I don't hold this against them though, not even a little! i've found the staff to be awesome, bartenders and bouncers alike. they are part of why i like this place so much! well, them and $7 pitchers... and the big buck hunter... is it the weekend yet? read more

Another five-star review. You know, when approaching these, I've found that employing the Roger Ebert method of review the best. You're judging them on the merit of what they're intended to be, not against what the pinnacle of all culinary achievement is. So, when I'm looking at Sidebar, I'm not judging it against Locke-Ober or Mer or Radius -- just as I'm sure, when Roger Ebert gave "Minority Report" four stars, he was grading it against "Star Wars" and "Blade Runner," not "Citizen Kane." Thus, it deserves five stars for what it does, because it does it so well. Cheap drafts and pitchers, efficiently and quickly served. Plenty of flat-screen televisions blaring the Red Sox. A wide menu serving nothing but bar standards, all priced nominally and all reliable for a alcohol-influenced stomach. The double-sided bar area even provides a notable bit of quirk. You'll leave there feeling full, happy, entertained and without any pain, save for if you've whacked your head on the overhang leading down to the bathroom. That's about all I need for five stars. read more

This place was awesome! Hands down the best burger of my life (I got the 420 burger and added bacon) #WorthIt The fries were curly fries and they were delicious. The staff was a little weird and since it was an off time they were walking around talking to each other and being silly. It didn't really bother me, it was just interesting to see with customers there. The person I was dining with got the 3 cheese bomb and loved it! I recommend going at an off time because the place is kind of small and you seat yourself. I would go back here! read more

I wish I could rate the food, service and social atmosphere separately; unfortunately, I cannot so I will give the Sidebar a four because the food and service were awesome ! The Bacon Cheeseburger, Onion Rings and Caesar Salad were awesome ! My only qualm about the Caesar Salad was that there appeared to be a lot of Iceberg Lettuce which has no nutritional value. I'm a big proponent of Romaine Lettuce which has a lot of Vitamin A. The patrons at the bar were losers-loud, drunk and obnoxious. One guy kept knocking at my table as he was constantly entering and exiting the bar. I'm a stoic so I didn't think much of him, but when I look back, he was annoying. The people entering the restaurant seemed like alcoholic, unemployed, loser bums who do nothing but drink all day and the bartender seems to accommodate them. This restaurant-as good as the food and service are-needs to monitor who they serve alcohol to as well as attract a cleaner clientele. Too many dirt bags. read more

If a dive bar and a tourist trap had a baby, it would pop out as Sidebar. So, not much in the way of atmosphere. However, they have some of the cheapest drinks in town and are located just steps from both the Downtown Crossing and State T stations, so...eh, I can dig it. We wanted a quick, cheap shot before heading back to our hotel, and they came through perfectly. read more

Went here on a Friday evening. A nice place to hangout, good beer and especially, good music was on. Had interesting conversations with some people. Only bad thing was the bartenders of the main entrance bar seemed kind of rude. read more

This is a nice low key area to come to grab a couple drinks and lunch. The bartenders are nice and friendly as well. We went midday on a weekend. The place was quiet, not too many patrons around. I got a sandwich with some onion rings. Whoa, were they greasy, but they do hit the spot!! Would go again. read more

Oh Sidebar. Your cheap wings and your nasty beer smell draw me in, while your occasional $2 beer specials make me stay. Honestly, the only reason to come here is to drink. Don't come for the wings, do NOT come for the crowd. Come for the pitchers. read more

Great spot that really gets over looked! Came here last night with 5 friends for drinks after my birthday dinner. Kaitlyn was working the bar in the back and really made our time! She was funny and engaging and made me a special birthday shot! Make sure to check out the summer sale section with different liquors for $5! The best deal in town! Beers are also super cheap! You can get a pitch for $7! Didn't have any food last night but solid menu choices! read more

Cheap Beer in Downtown Boston, need I say more? All you need to know is $7 pitchers of Budlight making it a good place to grab a cheap drink before you go somewhere that will charge the same price for a single beer. read more

Cheapish beer and a decent choice and they do pitchers. The food is average edible pub grub. The lady bartenders can be sassy & funny. Not a bad place to go when it's not too busy or before going to a gig around the corner. It does get jammed after work on a Thursday or Friday evening. read more

This place is pretty decent. I haven't been there on a weekend night but some nights after the gym when I'm too lazy too cook I ruin all the work I did with a burger and a bud or some wings. Burger and Bud is like 7 bucks - cheese is free on the burger I think...comes with fries with are also good. 10 cent wings too! I know on the weekends it gets really crowded and it's pretty small, there are two sides so that helps a little bit. read more

I've never had drinks here, but my coworkers and I have had lunch here a few times. It's kind of dark and dingy and very much your local dive bar, so I didn't really expect much as far as food goes. The food's ok--they have some pretty good sandwiches. I guess if you're looking for a place conveniently located (if you work in the area), it's not a bad choice, but there are a lot of other places in the area you could try instead, so it's a solid 2 stars. read more

Huge platters of tiny flavorful wings + cheap beer + 90s hip hop + a surprisingly cool crowd in what seems like it would be on the douchier side of dive bars = win. It may have something to do with the fact that it was right before the Wilco show, so the crowd may have been a little hipper than normal, but i can't think of a better way to kill time pre-Orpheum show! read more

CHEAP beers and good bar food... what more do you need? Ambiance is nothing great, it's basically a dive bar, but who cares... I suggest ordering a pitcher and fries. Service is not so great, but whatever. read more

Been here a couple times but service and quality has drastically declined. Plenty of better bars in the area. Extremely poor service, especially from the short, stocky bald bouncer with glasses. Even tho we have all been here before, we were appalled at the bouncer's behavior - similar to other reviewers on here, they have some sort of shady operation going on here. Made up lame excuses to reject us entry even tho we are all of age with gov-issued IDs, apparently my friend didn't look 6ft, his 100% legit Mass ID wouldn't work with a 'high tech scanner' (which they don't have) and he was 'not comfortable'. Just reject us instead of falsely claiming our IDs are fake! His moral turpitude is evident, especially as one reviewer mentioned he asked for a 'kiss' for entry. Thankfully he did not confiscate our IDs, that would have been illegal and we would've called the cops! The state authorities should launch an investigation into SideBar's suspicious practices. read more

I give it a 4 for office lunch take out but a 1 for after work socializing. Not to be cruel, I gave it the 2 stars. The office lunch was really good greasy, fresh indulgent food. Go there after work however and you will be really disappointed. I met up with a group of about 15 people and rather than being happy to have the business they acted like we should have warned them. The bar tender was really rude to the girl right next to me at the table and completely told her off in front of everyone. Why, you ask? Because she had gotten the girl's order wrong for the 4th time and she asked politlely, once again, that she get what she ordered. It was not complicated - a HAMBURGER. The chili cheese fries that are so arterie clogging and delightful during the day totally sucked. The drinks were weak. No one's food was good. I am a generous tipper, yet when it came time to go I actually wrote "NO" where the tip would go and "You are so rude" along the top of the receipt to make sure the manager saw the credit card slip. That's how bad the experience was. read more

You can't possibly beat $7 pitchers (Bud/Bud lite) and 50 wings for $8 in downtown Boston. What you can beat is the bad music (ok, I'm old) and the 20 inch flat screens. There are a lot of TVs, but most are small and not really suitable for watching sports. I'll go back when I'm in town, but that loser Yankee fan better not be there again or I will never step foot in there again. The prices warrant this place 3 stars. read more

Small bar, but CHEAP! There's also Karaoke, first time going so not sure of the schedule. read more

Our waiter/waitress never came by once in 2 hours, ridiculous. Food is good but chicken related items tasted like heavy sauce, nothing special besides cheap beer. read more

This place is super cheap for DT, which is always a welcome addition in my book. Only problem? Everyone knows about it. I mean, how can you help not to.. it's right on Franklin St. And because everyone knows about it, it's always god crowded. As in, oh hi, I like my personal bubble as well, but here, you take over 85% of it. Once I get over my initial fright of bumping shoulders with everyone and their mother, I enjoy this place. Cheap beer (pitcher much?) and great location. Can't speak to the food. Yet. Considering i've never been able to get a table, don't know if I ever will. read more

Disclaimer: I came here and got take out late at night on a Monday when I got back from work. Just reviewing the food: I got the Jack Burger. It was pretty overcooked, and had weird "bacon". Also, not enough of the JD sauce. The curly fries/onion rings were good though. read more

Went here with my boyfriend on a Friday afternoon for a quick, inexpensive lunch before going to a movie. Loved the cheap pitchers! The food was only okay, not great. We had a veggie burger with onion rings and a buffalo chicken pannini. The veggie burger was kind of bland and a little on the mysterious side in terms of what was actually in it. The onion rings were definitely great. The buffalo chicken pannini came on a deli roll which was a bit odd. Overall, the prices aren't too steep and the pitchers are good. Wouldn't come here all the time, but wouldn't rule it out if I happened to be in the area looking for a drink or two. read more

SideBar is a cool, small bar near Suffolk that I went to mid-week with a handful of friends, celebrating one of their birthdays. We were able to get a table to fit all of us (about ten people), and overall it was a good time. The bartender was very efficient and friendly, and the food we ordered was also really tasty. I enjoyed the music as well, a good variety of upbeat tunes. Plus, the Bud Light pitchers are only $7 and they're good-size pitchers! My only complaint about Sidebar is the smell. I started to ask my boyfriend if he thought it smelled like urine near us and our friends who come here often chimed in that yes, it does! Apparently there is a vent in the floor by the window where the smell comes from. We kept putting on scented hand-lotion and perfume to try and cover it up. It's a little bit of a turn-off, for a bar that is otherwise fantastic. read more

Stopped in with some friends on a Friday night. Was pretty busy although we were able to grab a table. No waitresses so you had to order at the bar. We got a couple pitchers. We also split some pizzas, the app sampler and nachos. All were good bar food. I would say the pizza was the best option. We had both the pepperoni and bbq chicken. I'm not sure how a dinner there would be but I enjoyed the place to get drinks and some food for a group. read more

Mediocre food and service took a while. It was a fine meal but I probably won't be back.

Side Bar is really an interesting place. It's actually two-sided bar, with a doorway separating each side. We come here after a bad day when we need cheap booze. It has $2 Rolling Rocks and I'm pretty sure the Bud pitchers are under $8. We come after 5 and eat the "pigeon wings". No they're not made from real Boston Common pigeons but they're pretty tiny, although who cares after you've had 4 or 5 Rolling Rocks. Basically I walk in this place and my taste goes out the window. Seriously. I drink the worst and eat the worst and love every second of it. Oh, also there is a $10 minimum credit card and no waitress service during busy times. They won't bring you your food - collect that at the bar! They also have Mike's for under $4 which makes my non-beer drinking friends very happy. read more

We ordered two steak and cheese subs. One with fries and the other with onion rings, specifically stating no chips. So what did we end up with....chips and curly fries. We called back to say we didn't get what we ordered and the guy literally said I couldn't hear you and decided to put what he wanted....and to make it worse he said they don't carry onion rings which was never made clear..the order was restated like 3 times ..after hours of studying for law school finals that sucked and will not order there again... read more

This is legitimate bar! What I LOOOVE includes 1. Great location 2. Great prices (hard alcohol not included) 3. Great bartenders (except one greedy girl that charges $7 for a $5 special) 4. Great "bad" bar food 5. Great crowd. Financial district + students+ homeless read more