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Does Boston-area nightlife better? Like, do Cambridge and Somerville have good nightlife or is it county / state level restrictions that make nightlife bad in Boston and surrounding municipalities as well?
Not much. The restaurant scene in Cambridge and Somerville are better than Boston for sure… everett has the Encore that serves until 4am, so the most exciting parts are definitely outside the city limits. Even Quincy has good restaurants and cheaper drinks.
But still pales in comparison. For Camerville, The quality of the food is outstanding, the nightlife? Not so great
I guess DC probably has better nightlife. Particularly if you are looking for LGBT or AA specific nightlife.
Boston's more traditional DT setup may give it more of a night on the big city feel with the Theater District/Bullfinch Triangle/Quincy Market. But
Adams Morgan and U Street probably feel a little busier.
I don't have a sense of how Allston, Cambridge,
Somerville are at night? My impression is they take a lot of the action from Boston's core.
Not much. The restaurant scene in Cambridge and Somerville are better than Boston for sure… everett has the Encore that serves until 4am, so the most exciting parts are definitely outside the city limits. Even Quincy has good restaurants and cheaper drinks.
But still pales in comparison. For Camerville, The quality of the food is outstanding, the nightlife? Not so great
Do you know if these neighboring municipalities have more open laws and regulations on nightlife in comparison to Boston? Or are these laws / regulations on a higher jurisdiction like county or state level which also put a ceiling of sorts on how much nightlife there can actually be?
Do you know if these neighboring municipalities have more open laws and regulations on nightlife in comparison to Boston? Or are these laws / regulations on a higher jurisdiction like county or state level which also put a ceiling of sorts on how much nightlife there can actually be?
Its state level for liquor laws like no happy hours or drink specials. Been like that since 1984.
That combined with Boston having the same set amount of liquor licenses since 1910, the city of Boston has exploded since then.. yet only has a little over one thousand liquor licenses. These licenses are such in demand because theres not many/any available, that pre COVID they were going for $600,000 a piece. To make for the costs of the liquor licenses, restaurants have to charge outrageous prices for drinks. And its extremely hard to get a license to serve alcohol with no food. This is a perfect storm for bad nightlife/poor dining experiences. Set amount of liquor licenses, no happy hours pr drink specials, high rents and the city unwilling to change.
Most suburbs and surrounding cities are extremely NIMBY too. Many towns only have like 4-5 liquor licenses, and many are BYOB with a fee. But even those are rare. However the inner core cities are changing. They cant amend a state law, but Everett and Somerville have been working on making their nightlife/restaurant scene better. The state is working on making the Mystic area by the Encore an entertainment district. There are 6 high rises over 300ft with 3 rooftop restaurants, and a harborwalk with stuff on it underway. The city of Everett approves buildings in months, not even a year ago we had all this proposed. Thats the last glimmer of hope for the Boston area.
So long story shot. State laws make it bad, city of Boston makes it worse and doesnt want to change. So there is very poor nightlife, but there is a small glimmer of hope for the surrounding cities.
Source: family owned a restaurant/nightlife adjacent to Faneuil Hall from 1978-1985 and then a prominent Boston restaurant until 2009
Its state level for liquor laws like no happy hours or drink specials. Been like that since 1984.
That combined with Boston having the same set amount of liquor licenses since 1910, the city of Boston has exploded since then.. yet only has a little over one thousand liquor licenses. These licenses are such in demand because theres not many/any available, that pre COVID they were going for $600,000 a piece. To make for the costs of the liquor licenses, restaurants have to charge outrageous prices for drinks. And its extremely hard to get a license to serve alcohol with no food. This is a perfect storm for bad nightlife/poor dining experiences. Set amount of liquor licenses, no happy hours pr drink specials, high rents and the city unwilling to change.
Most suburbs and surrounding cities are extremely NIMBY too. Many towns only have like 4-5 liquor licenses, and many are BYOB with a fee. But even those are rare. However the inner core cities are changing. They cant amend a state law, but Everett and Somerville have been working on making their nightlife/restaurant scene better. The state is working on making the Mystic area by the Encore an entertainment district. There are 6 high rises over 300ft with 3 rooftop restaurants, and a harborwalk with stuff on it underway. The city of Everett approves buildings in months, not even a year ago we had all this proposed. Thats the last glimmer of hope for the Boston area.
So long story shot. State laws make it bad, city of Boston makes it worse and doesnt want to change. So there is very poor nightlife, but there is a small glimmer of hope for the surrounding cities.
Source: family owned a restaurant/nightlife adjacent to Faneuil Hall from 1978-1985 and then a prominent Boston restaurant until 2009
Yeah, I was only in Boston for 3 days but it has the worst nightlife out of any city I've been to so far.
The lack of licenses makes sense, the amount of bars seemed sparse for a city of its size.
The density of restaurants is highest in the North End and Downtown.
But I agree
It also seemed like there was a lack of dive bars, which makes sense given what you said about the limited licenses + the difficulty of not serving food
It also seemed like there was a lack of dive bars, which makes sense given what you said about the limited licenses + the difficulty of not serving food
Yes this^ but that goes back to 500,000 liquor licenses, skyrocketing rents, and the inability to serve drinks without food. Dove bars like the Pour House and Whiskeys and Bukowski all closed just after covid. It didnt take much to make them give up. Like a dive bar would be serving 10-12 dollar beers just to make it work.
It also seemed like there was a lack of dive bars, which makes sense given what you said about the limited licenses + the difficulty of not serving food
I am surprised by this (although I've only visited Boston and Cambridge and not spent a whole lot of time in the area). Boston, along with New York, Chicago, and Philly are known for their "neighborhood" bar scenes. Heck, "Cheers" was based on that concept, lol. Although, TV doesn't make it a reality.
But I would think a NE neighborhood city like Boston would have plenty of dive bars. As a tourist you may not see them in the downtown area because I'd guess they'd be more hidden in the local neighborhoods.
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