It is with shame in my heart and tears in my eyes that I must admit I have been in Augusta for over 13 years and not once stepped foot inside Soul Bar. Was it proximity? Of course not. It's on Broad Street! And it's near Stillwater Taproom, Nacho Mama's, and now The Book Tavern. Was it the appearance from the outside? Of course not. It looks so cool in the front windows and I knew there was a billiards table in the back. I also knew the history of (circa 1995), but somehow my feet and love for all things bourbon and rye did not draw me across the threshold. Until that fateful afternoon. Thankfully I have a mentor who spoke of its greatness (and his nostalgic connection from years gone by) and knew he must right the wrong that was my lack of patronage. We met up during Happy Hour and within moments I had entered a new world. Movie posters (authentic, not cheap replicas) everywhere. Art from front to back. The bar was lit up and one of the televisions had Mortal Kombat (the game) setup. We walked the length of the place, which will surprise you the first time you venture inside), and I learned more in depth the history of this bar. As if the assorted seating, plethora of drink choices, and the presence of an actual dance floor wasn't enough we went out the back door. There I learned about the "smoking section" that holds about 30 folks. Tables, umbrellas, and benches all await. But honestly it looks like the cool kids table I remember from school. I'm told the place can get packed when a DJ is onsite or a popular band. After a couple of drinks and good conversation, he asked me what my thoughts were on the place. I explained it like this; this is the kind of bar you go to regularly or not at all. Like, I don't see a bunch of new people wandering in every night. Just the usual crowd. And downtowns need more bars like that. Just as a coffee shop has a unique vibe from the others, so do bars. And all reach a certain demographic. So the more we have, the more people come which is just plain out good for the local economy. I'll also add that the bartender seemed to be having fun. I only mention it because some bartenders are never having a good day. Just saying. read more

This place is always developing something new for Augusta like live music nights, themed dance parties, and more! For a divey time portal, everyone can get a taste of everything quirky, funky, and fresh. Takes me back to New York City and I enjoy the different programming and cocktail menu's. Alex their bartender is a freaking genius and has made me several custom cocktails! They take cash, card, and even apple pay! Cover isn't always and isn't expensive when it is. Bathrooms could use some love but other than that I really do enjoy coming here for happy hour or an evening. read more

Love this place. Love the dj they had in there Friday. It was super lit . Also the doormen was really nice. It was a good night

I go in here sometimes. Just sometimes though. As far as bars go, this has got to be one of the most populated of all the Broad Street bars on First Friday. Otherwise, not too busy. If you dare to head in on a First Friday, be warned of two things. First, there will be lots of people. I repeat; THERE WILL BE LOTS OF PEOPLE. So many, in fact, that the claustrophobic might actually want to avoid this place all together. Second, if you are a guy shorter than 5' 10", you might want to make friends with someone to buy your drinks for you. The bartenders here have a tendency to overlook the short among us more in this place than any other bar on Broad. This is not a talking inside bar. If you meet someone inside that you want to have a conversation with, head towards the door. This IS an I'm-so-drunk-I-have-to-be-carried-out place though, so be forewarned: drunk people are EVERYWHERE and this is one bar that the Richmond County Sheriff's Department doesn't place a Sheriff at all the time. A good time no matter what, just be careful about the ability to lose total track of time and reality while inside. Ultimately, with an above average selection of bottled beer, decent domestic taps, and liquor, no one goes wrong with a trip to the Soul Bar. It is, after all, the bar that keeps MCG going... read more

Am I seriously the 1st to review this gem? Really?? I'm honored. Augustans where have you been drinking--and why aren't you spending your liquor allowance here? The only negative thing about the Soul Bar is the fact that you have to force someone in your party to stay sober enough to drive your drunk ass home. Good selection of draft and bottle beer (and liquor of course)--good music--good people. There's even a pool table. Watch out for the high school reunion factor kids--if your former classmates aren't at home with their brats (I mean sweet baby children) they're likely here. You've been warned--don't go here looking schlubby. read more

My favorite bar in America. Hands down. No pretenses, excellent music, excellent shows, and a great crowd. Plus, $1 PBR bottles on Monday and Tuesday night. If it weren't for this place, medical school would have driven me to insanity. Definitely hit the Halloween Disco Hell -- one of the best parties you'll ever be a part of! Also, great place to get away from the crowd during Masters Week -- and you can get dinner at Nacho Mama's next door! read more

The Soul Bar is a solid spot in the Augusta bar scene as evidenced by the fact that it is probably one of the oldest watering holes left downtown. It's super divey, the bartenders aren't overly nice/talented/efficient and your clothes will reek of cigarette smoke once you leave regardless of there are 5 people in the bar or 50. That being said, why do I (or for that matter its loyal following) keep coming back? It's ridiculously cheap! $2 bottles Tues-Thurs are a crazy good deal. I guarantee you will find no other place in the city that will sell you Hoegarden/Abita/Sweetwater etc. at such a price, much less their $4 Grey Goose/Crown/etc. This alone makes it worth it! The people watching is also top class...you see everything from hipsters to trust-fund babies and homeless dudes and everything else in between here! Pro tip: If you are a guy and you need to drop a deuce here, don't! If the lack of door lock or toilet seat wasn't a big enough warning, they don't have TP or even paper towels of any sort. Now you can't say you haven't been warned... read more

This place is super cool. Such an awesome crowd-- really diverse, but everyone seems to blend right in. Very unique. Good music that really sets the tone for the bar (DJ). Lots of people dancing around-- they were fun to watch. I just watched them for about half an hour for entertainment. I felt good the whole time I was here. It's a happy place. read more

I love the Soul Bar. I love checking out the live bands. Rubio offers versatility so there's great music and events for all genres.

80's night on the second Friday of every month may just be the greatest thing to do in all of downtown Augusta. SO much fun. It gets packed though, so you might want to do some pre-gaming at a less crowded bar. Other than that, it's hit or miss. I'm not a fan of hip-hop so I generally don't hang out there. They do have some great bands there though so if you're in the area looking for a drink, it's worth sticking your head in the door. read more

Soul Bar is an edgy, quirky place that I was pleasantly surprised to find in a place like Augusta, GA. I came here once, shortly, on a saturday night around 1030 and found great DJ's and friendly bartenders. The music was awsome. My only complaint- the place wasn't exactly packed, which in my opinion it should have been for such a sweet little spot. I guess it has yet to be discovered by most people. read more

Drinks were good and Jackie the bartender was friendly, hospitable, and welcoming. She was amazing. Drink specials were out of this world. $1 PBRs to $4 single ooyrs of ANY bourbon!?!? Yes, please! Will definitely return. read more

More grunge then soul, The Soul Bar is a great spot to hang out and mix with the locals. I have noticed that every restaurant, and every bar in Augusta suffers from some sort of identity crisis. In every restaurant the menus seem to try to encompass every cuisine, and here at Soul there seemed to be the same desire to appeal to everybody. The name suggests Soul, the decor punk, the music was a DJ spinning 80's pop and dance. The crowd here was also very diverse, with about every demographic represented, Service at the bar was okay, but not good. A real bar in Augusta, and probably the funnest spot. Lots of fun posters and memorabilia on the walls. The ladies bathroom is very cool. (Don't ask how i know!) read more

These idiots gave my credit card to someone else when I went to close my tab. Then they tried to blame me ("we already gave you you're credit card but you're just too drunk to remember it"). I seriously had three beers over 2 hours. Stay away read more

Stopped in here with some old and new friends for the is themed night, and drinks. I loved the James Brown theme, and the music was on point. My only disappointment was that they allow smoking inside. The cloud of smoke took away from my overall experience. read more

The Soul Bar - Bars Near Me - Augusta, Georgia

See all

Soul Bar! Awesome! I like the James Brown themed decor. It's a fun bar located on the popular end of downtown Augusta. Good drink selection. Good music Thursday, Friday and Saturday. No cover most nights. They have indoor bar seating and outdoor seating, I think. You can hop from bar to bar because they're next to several other popular area bars. The staff is nice. I always get drinks quickly. read more

Downtown Augusta's dirty punk bar with high ceilings, eye contact and strong drinks. No need for golf shirts, ankle socks or sharp baseball caps, but no one cares what you look like if you want to drink and hang out. A nice dirty break from chain bars in new buildings with no one around. I liked what I saw, drank and witnessed- holds it down Augusta style, the Augusta style that likes art and imperfection. read more

Great friendly dive bar. Authentically soulful- and a good local watering hole type vibe during the week early in the evening. Small stage where local and touring bands play (indie, and heavier kinda stuff mostly) lots of different DJs on different nights-- variety of music depending on the night but usually some of the best music in town. read more

Received the worst mixed drink of my life, which I didn't think was possible, considering how many random water bottles I drank out of in high school. Music was lit read more

The CBGB of the south, and by far, the best bar in Augusta. In a mid-size town, it's easy to stumble into a club that's all bad music and people who just cannot make a decent drink. If that is what you're looking for, this is not the place. I've never met anyone here that I didn't like, and there's always a good mix of people. Great for after work with friends. read more

The music is good. It's nice to dance to a fun mix, probably the best in town, but the place is a dump. It's super cramped when busy and you can forget about getting a drink in a timely fashion. If you've gotten your drinks in before then you can enjoy yourself. Also, you will go home smelling like an ashtray possibly with burn marks to match. read more

Probably one of the best bars in Augusta, but that isn't saying a whole lot. Augusta's bar scence is lacking in general, but this place can actually make you feel like you are at a decent place. I am not a fan of charging cover unless it is for an event where there are a gazillion people in town. I went on a dead Friday, when there was about 50 people in the bar, and it cost $5 to get in as a dude. That said, it was still worth it as all the other bars in Augusta blow pretty hard. read more

I went to the Soul Bar on a Friday, and it was pretty great. I had a wonderful time.

Monday through Thursday this is a pretty calm bar with live bands/djs on certain nights. Weekends around 11 this place turns from bar to night club. Very fun place with nice bartenders. This place is very tightly packed and is basically a long hallway. read more

Good Pupu (hapa appetizer), tasty entrees, dessert selection. Staff creatively innovate new hapa. Dining section separate from sports bar. Hapa fuse Asian, Southern favorites like deep fried grits with jalapeno bits, seared ahi oozing from a rice bomb with eel sauce. read more

This bar IS the Soul, And Heart, of Downtown. Anyone bashing it because James Brown isn't always playing or says it's misleading in the name and imagery needs to get over themselves. Soul is beyond color and genre. So is the Soul Bar. I dig it the most. read more

Dj seriously sucked. The bartender told me it was the owner DJing. Dont ever let that guy DJing again. Just because you have control of the music doesn't mean you change it whenever you want. read more

I went to soul bar with some friends last night. It was a Tuesday so we expected every bar to be a bit dead but we wanted to celebrate anyway. We dressed to impress in hopes of having a fun time. We get to Soul bar and It was dead as we expected maybe 15 people were in there. All we wanted to do was dance and drink. But the music was not dance and let loose worthy. My sister approached the bar and asked the bar tender if it was at all possible to change the music because we really wanted to dance. The bar tenders immediate response was "why?!" A man sitting at the bar (who we soon after found out was the owner of the establishment) chimed in and said to my sister, "You've been here all of 10 fucking minutes and you think you know what type of music we play!" So we asked about the DJ. And we were told that the DJ wasn't there and that the music was on shuffle and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Our friend was further down the bar talking to a girl about the music situation. She told my friend where the DJ booth was and to go up there. So my friend went up to the DJ booth but obviously found no DJ. On her way back down to the main floor, the owner started flashing on and off the lights. I guess it's their signal that we needed to be kicked out. The bar tender looks at us all smug and in the most condescending voice says, "Oh... the lights are on. that means your being kicked out. You have to go. Bye!" Owner keeps flashing the lights at us. And then walks over to our friend and starts yelling at her that she needed to leave or he's going to call the cops on us. The bar tender starts yelling at us that we are being disrupting and harassing people about the music. We hadn't done anything wrong and were having the cops called on us. The ID checker then comes in and tries to man handle us out of the building. My sister and our friend still had their beers. Obviously, being caught out in public with glass bottles would be cause enough to get arrested. So we refused to be set up, and wouldn't leave until the beers had been finished. All the while the owner, bar tender, and Id checker man yelled at us to leave. When we finally left we went to The Loft which is an awesome bar across the street. We started talking to the bar tenders at The Loft and we found out that a bar tender from the loft, went to Soul bar the other night, and the Soul bar tender refused to serve The Loft's bar tender. apparently, the Soul bar tender enjoys the male attention she gets, and if anyone threatens that, she will treat you in an unkind manner. Plus the owner of the joint is wrapped around her finger so pretty much anything she says goes. I refuse to spend money at any establishment that treats their customers like trash. I won't be returning. read more

By the name, I thought this was a bar that played Soul music. They even had James Brown posters out front. Instead they were playing 80s music and it was not Soul or R&B. The clientele were mostly white bearded hipsters who looked like they rummaged thru a dumpster for their clothes and smelled like they had not bathed in several weeks. The place was filthy and definitely had that hipster dive bar look. I am generally in to 80s music but I was expecting Soul music and the DJ did not know how to mix. It was as if someone just hooked up their ipod 80s playlist and hit play. Drink prices were reasonable, but served in these tiny plastic dixie cups. If you go here expecting a "Soul" bar you will be greatly disappointed. read more

We wandered in after a long afternoon of rubbernecking the town. It was early evening, hot and we were glad the joint was finally open. Having earlier admired the pics in the window of James Brown from his "Famous Flames" days and Miles Davis blowing, the sandwich board now advertising $3 Fat Tires was the kicker. Promises of excellent, inexpensive beer and of tales of 60's r&b and cool jazz hurried us in the door and into the narrow, dark tunnel mysteriously called "Soul Bar." Mysterious because once inside, we discovered the joint had as much soul as Dover Sole. And with Augusta being the birthplace of the Godfather of Soul, we expected better. It does get two stars though, for the atmosphere, the cool bartender and its vibrant alternative music scene. It gets a minus three stars because that music scene has little or nothing to do with soul or Black folks in general. The joint's ethnic "come on" reminded me of the old days when it was commonplace to exploit someone else's culture for a fast buck. read more

This place is such a vibe. I came here with my fiancé on one of their themed nights, 80s and 90s night I believe. It was packed! Although it's a tight space, we still had a great time. The DJ was on it and the bartender kept the drinks flowing. I cannot wait to go back again. read more

this place was packed !! great friday night spot to kick it and get drunk... but it gets packed !!!!

The Best in Augusta! always fun. Great Music! Great specials- $2 bottle beers & $4 shots(big) on Wednesdays. Good Bands! i would five stars but you wiat too long fors drinks they need more or faster bartenders. read more

You Got to have SOUL (bar) in your life! The walls covered with movie posters, music concert posters, and album covers ooze with soul from a time when having a soul was common amongst the people. The place is very quaint and edgy at the same time. As you enter the bar, the hardwood floors make a squeaky noise as to welcome you back to a place you haven't been before. The memorabilia on the walls takes you down memory lane like an old friend you haven't talked to in years as the music in the background plays out like a soundtrack to your best summer ever. The bar doesn't have any taps, just bottled beers from all over the world. If you can make a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night, all beers are 2 bucks. That's right 2 bucks for a beer that would cost you 5-6 bucks anywhere else. Need I say more?? The weekends are when the quaintness is out the door and edginess is in full control. As you wait like Job to get a beer, the DJ is controlling the masses with the vibes from the huge speakers like a master snake charmer, and then you realized, there's no better bar than the Soul Bar! Cheers.... read more

well been a very well know and liked local music star from augusta,georgia my self will give the soul bar *****stars i very much like this place very cool with cool peps cant wait to have a chance to perform at this bar with my great new songs called now watch me james brown an like deion grant two of my best songs i ever wrote check out my songs on you tube and on facebook or goole augusta,georgia stankdog now watch me james brown ....!!!antonio stankdog brown on facebook....!!!! augusta georgia stankdog on facebook ....!!or see me in the bar on a fri,night or on a sat night an ask me for a cd read more

Service is HORRIBLE! It was a group of me and my friends (about 10 of us) that came to this bar. We were at the far end where we found an open space. We wanted tequila shots but they were out, we then asked if they had fireball shots and they were out. As we decided on what else we wanted to drink the male bartender who was waiting on us left and started waiting on someone else. There were several bartenders behind the bar but they were working the other end of the bar closest to the front door, leaving us standing there for over 20 mins. I attempted to get someone's attention by turning on a light on my phone, it worked but the female bartender with black/dark brown hair came over not to take our order but came to give attitude! She didn't apologize for our wait, she aggressively said "don't shine that light"... What? I explained why but she was still nasty so I gave back what she delivered and told her I would if I wanted to, it's my phone. Her reply was I will have you kicked out. If this is the kind of staff that they have then this is NOT an honorable place to spend your time or money. Besides they should probably be kind and considerate to everyone who walks through their doors or at least be able to recognize famous faces because my entire crew works in media/entertainment industry locally in Auguata. It probably wasn't the smartest thing for them to kick us out! Lol ... I can laugh about it now. But I truly do not recommend anyone go to this establishment. read more