http://pamelafosterspeakerwriter.wordpress.com/ The Shanty is the inspiration for Victor and Davids (known locally as VD's) in the novel Bigfoot Blues. read more

A decent bar but crowded with a bunch of people that don't talk to you (and really, that you don't want to talk with). Definitely a dive - cheap and dirty. If there were other options I would probably go for them but it seems like this was it in Eureka. If it weren't for the patio I would have hated it there... the bartenders were nice though and that is worth at least 3 stars. read more

Best bar in Eureka, always a good time, good crowd, good space and good drinks.

Fun little dive bar. Strong drinks, fair prices. Always bums out front harassing you for change and smokes, but that's just part of Eureka.

The best dive bar on the North Coast. Everyone tends to be chill and drinks are always stiff. The juke box plays awesome tunes from the 80's & 90's. read more

The ONLY thing I miss from my time in Humboldt is The Shanty. Great bands, Atari video games, the coolest kids in Eureka and the finest Vodka sampler in four counties. Where else could you get shitfaced and buy a box of easy mac and a disposable camera? Priceless! read more

Awesome drinks, EPIC bartenders, fabulous bric-a-brac decor...plus me and the hubby LoOOOOove the portable stage they just built. (MORE SHOWS PLEASE!) Winner of The North Coast Journal's Best Bar, three years in a row http://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/2012/09/20/best-bar-2012/ Dog friendly! Sorry, but if you don't like the Shanty, than you jest might be a hopeless square. read more

Ahh the Shanty. If your looking for a college bar, this isn't for you. If your looking for the only bar in Eureka whos customers are under 30, then you've found the right place. Those who hate this place aren't looking very hard. Violence is extremely rare, and most the weekday customers are relaxed and happy to be drinking in this cool bar. The service is great unless your 21, loud, disruptive, and have never been there before. Then you get to wait impatiently for your drinks. The bartender won't try to get rid of you, but your the only one in the bar nobody wants to listen to. Luckily, you'll only go on a weekend, so you are easily avoided. Once you've gone a several times, and you aren't an idiot, then you can leave your ID at home because they will remember you and take care of your drinking habit with stiff, cheap, and awesome drinks. Secret Tips to having a Great Shanty Experience from a former regular: Go on the 25th of July. Go on a weekday evening with your friends for great ping pong. Order the Bloody Mary (It is the best I've had anywhere). If the men's room bothers you, then you need another drink. Afterwards you can get some food from Denny's or Amigos with the rest of the drunks from the other bars and you'll quickly realize why you choose the Shanty for your addictions. read more

The Shanty is a pretty fun spot. A lot of bars in Eureka attract an older crowd, and it is one of the few where you'll find a higher number of 20-somethings. The drinks are pretty good, but it can become pretty close quarters on the weekends. There is also a good-sized outdoor area with ping pong tables, etc. read more

One of the only reasons i would venture into eureka for something other than work, the shanty is good times. Its small and dark with plenty of fun video games, a kick ass jukebox, and ping pong out back in the smoking area. The drinks are strong and cheap, and the people unpretentious. I didn't go there as often as I would have had liked to. I lived in arcata, and a DUI is not something I would have missed about Humboldt. read more

I stopped in for super bowl yesterday and these people know how to throw quite the party. Booya! I was doing shots and they had a tricked out party going outback. There was even a guy dressed in a bunny suit. I guess he had lost a bet from a fantasy league or something. This is definitely the bar to be at! read more

Oh The Shanty...what a dive, what a dive. At first glance this place is worse than it actually is...but the bartenders are friendly and the drinks are good. They have an outdoor area with pool tables (as well as a pool table inside). The place definitely needs to be gutted and cleaned, but what can you expect from a Eureka dive bar? read more

This is my Eureka Dimples! I simply love it here! Elbow up to the bar, order your drink of choice, and throw one up on the board for your amigo. What's not to love? Wash your hands before you put them in your mouth or rub your eyes, mind your manners and your business and you'll be fine. It's really pretty standard. read more

Your normal dive bar. Super strong drinks for a good price though. Outdoor seating in the back is great too.

Fun! The grippy artwork is my favorite - and food service workers get discounts on Mondays! Or Wednesdays?

Ok, third time in Eureka, 2nd time with the girl and first time here. Rainy night and this place just fit us perfectly for the girl's 21st! A safe spot with a great bartender and the usual conversations with random peeps. The jukebox is just fine. Thanks Mike, we will be back. read more

The Shanty is an okay bar. I normally like less hipster places but the shanty does okay with cheaper than average drinks that are made strong. I will say that if you go on the weekend or a Friday night expect to wait a while to be served at the bar unless you know the bartender on a personal level. read more

Simply the best dive bar in Humboldt County. Never found a better juke box than the one in the Shanty. The atmosphere is friendly, the drinks are strong, and all kinds of people mix. Love this place! read more

Awesome dive bar with a ping pong table! Some customers are to be wary of: I did get a drink that had been "tampered" with but I didn't pay for it I found it, win some loose some. read more

I know every local will have their own opinions of the Shanty, but it certainly is the best dive bar in all the land! It has friendly no-bullshit staff, outdoor seating with free ping pong and a juke box with old and new great to play tracks. The crowd there is always willing to start up conversation and join in a game of pong or pool. I like the vibe, the occasional live show and the drinks that are made. Best bloody mary in the area, hands down! read more

Part rickety shelter, part song of sailors, the shanty is everything you want from a bar. Unselfconscious, easy going, attractive yet a bit hungover...this bar is like the best people. I could post up here for hours drinking $1 High Life's and watching nature programs. Something about this place...of the people. Efficient friendly service is the order of the day. As an added bonus, the tagging in the bathroom reminded me of home. I'm glad I'm friends with a local or I may have never experienced this god damn gem of a dive bar. read more

The Shanty is a magical waterfall of laughter and rainbows. They really just have the best jukebox in Humboldt... What I really came here to say is this: Stacy is the best. read more

This is the bar I go to when I want to run into friends, or when I want to make new friends. They pour strong and the bartenders are nice.

Another of my favorite bars. You get more of the "off-crowd" here and you can enjoy your drinks in peace. HUGE smoking deck, and I enjoy the fact that the bartenders take the time to recognize their regulars. Wed. are $1.25 pabst pint nights, and they have many other specialty nights. Overall a great bar that I make a point to visit regularly. read more

Place is outstanding. That being said, I cannot appreciate anything with my senses indoors at this place. I am overwhelmed with the stench of fecal matter. It is really unbearable. Makes it hard to enjoy anything you drink there. I may be too stuck up, and this place maybe smells like that too keep people like me out of there. I have no idea, 3 stars for bar tenders that have to deal with old towns many issues, and a laid back clientele. read more

Great spot to hang and chill. Good drinks and great prices. I went when the dark haired chick with the tattoos was working and she was horrendously rude. Snobby attitude and made snide comments to my friends and I. Great place but ms thing needs to find another profession because she sucks with people. read more

Oh, The Shanty! For a night that you'll remember until the Valtrex kicks in. The first and last thing I noticed about my recent visit wa that the men's room gave me a rash that won't go away, no matter how much mayonnaise I put on it. If your looking for a good place to get a drink, and you haven't had a shower in the last 5 days, this is a good place to go. Not only will the patrons refrain from judging you, but they will embrace your stench as a complement to their own odorous auras. When the smell inside becomes too much to bear, and the grease/KY Jelly/Kessler slick on your barstool makes it too hard to sit comfortably, you can always take a short stroll out back to The Pit, where you must navigate through the mounds of cigarette butts, mud puddles, and defunct heat lamps to arrive at the holy ping pong table. You might have to wait awhile before you can play because there will be a crew of people manning the table that have more pride in their ping pong skills than they have in their own sex life. You know you've hit rock bottom when the light of your life is the ping pong table in the back of The Shanty. As far as drink selection goes, if you only drink whiskey and coke, they should have everything you need. Welcome to Humboldt County. read more

This place always has those people that work way way way to hard to be "different" its annoying, it's dirty and slow and the jukebox has alternative music from the 90's, ugh. The ping pong table and pool table are about ready to just collapse from being outside for 50 years, lame. Go to Steve and Dave's it's way better. Drinks are strong but its not worth the dirty feeling you have when you leave, plus the gaggle of homeless druggies you have to dodge coming and going isn't fun! read more

Awesome! A "dive" bar in the SF sense - totally accepting, cheap drinks, friendly people. As far as I can tell from my limited research, the coolest bar in Eureka. read more

A dive in the true sense, not as in some artsey, coutner culture sort of way. Just old, stinky and a lot of local drunks. I will stick to Steve & Dave's where they are low-key, great pool tables, and the nicest bartenders in town. read more

More Hipster hangout than actual dive...heavy on cigarettes, low on beauty, perfect on drink prices. $2 PBR tall-boys= worth it.

Love the diveyness of this bar--good cheap drinks but not scary to walk into like some of the other (biker?) bars in the area. I never saw ping-pong at a bar before the Shanty...I may be horrible at pool but ping-pong is a bar game I can definitely get behind. read more

I would second the review that says "best dive bar on the north coast." I was just passing through and actually have no clue if there is a better one right next door, but... In that great zone where its just run down and dark enough and the crowd is just diverse enough and the bartender is just kooky enough to put you at ease without tipping over into some North Coast meth nightmare zone. Don't be put off by the blank facade (the outside isn't too inviting). If it were close to home, it'd probably be my regular. read more

Just went here and the male bartender told my friend it was her funeral because she didn't like the drink he made and didn't want to exchange it for something different. DO NOT GO HERE! read more

I love the Shanty beyond all reason! This is a really cool bar filled with really cool people. I know some people dog on the Shanty for being kind of a dive, but really it's not so horrible. The bartenders are totally awesome and prompt, and the crowd ranges from twenty-somethings to er, "older" types. There are hipsters, growers, straight-laces, roller-derby chicks, drunks, stoners, philosophers and everything in between here. Most importantly, I feel that if I was roofied (somehow) that people would notice and protect me. Feeling safe at a bar is worth all the nasty men's room stench in the world. read more

The drinks are strong and cheap. The bartenders are pretty cool as long as you don't piss them off by acting like an amateur. The clientele is interesting because there's a completely different crowd on different days of the week. I tend to avoid weekends because they get slammed. Arts Alive, music shows and after-Roller Derby nights are also slammed. If you like crowds you might like it, but I prefer the afternoons and Monday nights when it's a little quieter. One of my favorite parts of the afternoons is when people bring their dogs. Most people you meet are friendly, but I wish they did a little more to filter out the unfriendly elements (like the occasional homophobe or guy who has clearly drank too much). The jukebox selection is amazing! They also have Pac-Man, Megatouch games, billiards, and ping-pong. If you're in the mood to nurse your drink alone, it's easy to find a corner to hide out and stare at your phone. This bar is basically my home away from home, even when I'm not drinking. There's a different special every night of the week, and they're always trying new things (the "Daphne and Velma" shots, fruit purees, gin fizzes, various liqueurs). Ask for a "Shanty iced coffee" if you want a drink that tastes like a strong, sweet latte but gets you hammered. Enjoy! read more

This place smelled of piss from the first step in. The wait staff slow and unfriendly. I don't live in eureka so I thought I'd ask what the local IPA was. In response the waitress rolls her eyes points at the tap. If your not a local don't bother trying to converse. The drunk locals are won't give you the time. The sober one are even worse. Please avoid this piss stained, unwelcoming bar. read more

Best dive bar in town. I've been going here since I was 21 and I refuse to go anywhere else when I visit home.

Dive bar? Yes. Funky and always interesting place to hang out while in Old Town. Great outdoor patio with pool and ping pong tables. Lots of locals all into having a good time (usually). Great prices for drinks, observant and friendly bar staff. Scary looking hot dogs. Really the best end of night hangout in the area. read more

i guess I'm not cool cause i don't like the shanty. i don't hang with any of the bartenders so i end up waiting FOREVER for a drink, while they chat it up with their homeys. i don't want to feel like i am not worthy of their services i just want a drink. i guess i will just have to live on the outside and go to bars where you get good service and don't end up covered in dog hair. how i suffer read more