Every fall another class of Boston students reaches drinking age and finds out that the bar their friends talked about all summer has closed. That is the college bar in one sentence: a cheap special, a loud room, and a lease that turns over faster than the student body. This guide is only for adults 21 and over, and nothing here helps anyone younger get in. If that is not you yet, close the tab.
The other warning is about the sources. Student bars live short lives, several of the lists below are a year or two old, and the hours are what each source printed at the time. Check the venue's own page before you go.
BU and Allston: life after Tavern
The big loss is Tavern in the Square, which BU Today reported in June 2024 had shut its doors effective May 20. Since 2011, BU students had been lining up there for a Thursday night visit after class. That habit had to land somewhere, and BU's own list points it down Harvard Ave to The Draft, which it sells on beer by the bucket. There is also a crowded dance floor. On Thursdays, per BU, expect a line down the street. In 2024 BU listed The Draft as open daily from 11:30 am to 2 am.
Down Comm Ave, The Avenue is the one Time Out calls an Allston institution. It sells itself on weekly drink specials, which is the least interesting thing a bar can say. Time Out's list also names a pool-and-trivia bar further down Comm Ave, but its website is gone and we could not confirm it is still open, so we have left it out.
Fenway: the ballpark rooms
Fenway Johnnies sits just east of BU's campus. BU lists it as open Thursday through Sunday, 4 pm to close, with a warning worth keeping: skip it right after a Sox game if you hate crowds.
Lansdowne Pub is the one with real numbers on its own site, and the best student deal on this page. It says it is open late every night. Live music runs seven nights a week. At full capacity the room holds 600 guests. Tuesday is College Night, a $7 burger and fries with a college ID. Note what that is: a food deal. A college ID gets you a cheap burger, not a drink, and the ID at the door is a separate question, covered below.
Cask 'n Flagon is the Red Sox bar, where Time Out says college kids rub elbows with multi-generational diehards. Bleacher Bar sits under the center-field seats and advertises a retractable garage door onto the outfield. Go for the view on an off night, not on a game night.
Boston College: one room, honestly described
The BC crowd heads to Newton, where Time Out calls Buff's Pub a no-frills sports bar. Its draw, per the same list, is cheap drinks and standout chicken wings. That is the whole pitch, and it is enough.
Harvard Square: the oldest rooms, the best deal
Harvard has the old bars, and one fewer than it used to. Whitney's was a staple for locals and students since 1953, per Time Out. That ended when it closed on December 31, 2024, after losing an eviction battle, so do not plan a night around it. Grendel's Den is the one we would send a first-timer to, because every evening from 5 to 7:30 pm, all of the food is half price. The catch is a $4 minimum drink purchase. The deal also only covers people posted up inside, not the patio. For karaoke near the Square, see our karaoke guide.
Tufts, MIT and the Red Line side
Davis Square's The Burren is the Tufts room, with a back room that fills largely with students from nearby Tufts University, per Time Out. We did not find a bar guide written for MIT students, and we will not invent one. The nearest sourced dance floor is Middlesex Lounge in Central Square, which holds around 120 to 150 people. Its covers run $5 to $15 on a regular night.
Downtown and the Seaport: the old and the expensive
Bell in Hand Tavern claims to be the oldest tavern in town, and Time Out says it dates back to 1795. At the other end, The Grand in the Seaport is a Vegas-style dance club. Even Time Out admits it is not known for having the cheapest drinks. Kings Back Bay is the alternative to both, a place where bowling and arcade games carry the night.
Our rule: pick the bar with the kitchen
Student bars sell three things: a cheap special, a late door and something to do with your hands. The specials that matter are the food ones. A cheap burger at the Lansdowne or half-price food at Grendel's gets you through a night at a pace you can keep. A bucket deal does not. That is opinion, not a finding, and every special on this page is a Time Out or venue claim that can change by the semester.
ID, cover and what to skip
The ID rule is state law. The Massachusetts statute lets a bar rely on a short list of IDs as proof of age, from a state liquor purchase ID card to a valid US passport, and a school ID is not on it. Our ID and cover guide walks through the list. None of the bars above posted their own ID rules on the pages we checked, so bring a physical government ID.
- Worth it: Lansdowne on a Tuesday, for the burger and a band at a weeknight price.
- Worth it: Grendel's early, for the half-price food and a table you can talk at.
- Skip the Seaport club unless the cover is the plan. See where to dance in Boston.
- Skip any bar that cannot tell you what it checks at the door.
Getting home
Student bars close at the same hour as everyone else, and the dorm is usually a long walk or a ride away. Settle the ride before the second round: the last train page has your line, getting home after last call has the rest, and late-night food has who is still cooking. Walk back with the people you came with. Never drive after drinking.
Allston's bar streets are covered in a night in Allston. Davis Square draws its own student crowd, and a night in Davis Square covers it.