Google is helping to misrepresent Buffalo..

Never Google "things to do in Buffalo" or you’ll end up following the advice of an outsider on what the “Best Bars” are, and even better, what they have that is special enough to put them on that list. I don’t know when this grossly inaccurate list was concocted, or what individual at 10best.com had the honor of creating it, but I’m taking it upon myself to correct it before more people hate our city.

“Best Bars”- according to someone who doesn’t even bother to make it to ten for a website called “10best.com”

1. Eddie Brady’s
2. Club Diablo
3. Club Marcella
4. 67 West
5. Buffalo Brewpub
6. Swiston’s Beef & Keg
7. Left Bank
8. Bar-Bill Tavern
9. Mohawk Place


There’s a second list, entitled “10 Best Buffalo Nightlife” but I’ll address that in a different post. One disaster at a time, please. Whoever came up with this list was clearly a lazy jackass who never bothered to actually research Buffalo. Not that I’m surprised, because given our reputation why would anyone bother, but if you’re going to talk about our bars, that’s one thing we can give pretty good advice on. But no, instead you Googled Buffalo bars and combined their results to make a “great list.” You loved it, your editor loved it, next thing you know it’s out there for the world to see. You didn’t do the worst possible job, some of the bars are a legitimate good time and could be contenders… sort of. For the most part you blew it and there’s one problem with that mistake- every once and awhile someone from Buffalo stumbles across one of these and decides to make you look like an idiot.


I may as well start at the beginning- Eddie Brady’s is the best bar in Buffalo?! Maybe 10 years ago when I was too young to go experience the wonder that is the best bar in Buffalo, but now putting it at #1 is almost a slap in the face. Eddie Brady’s may not be the worst bar in Buffalo, but they’ve definitely peaked, long before this article was written. The Eddie Brady’s I know is a mix between uber-cool 17 year olds and middle-aged men who try and fuck them. Ok, so you pretty much have that at any bar here, I admit it. But most bars don’t have a rapist’s wet dream for a surrounding neighborhood. On either side of the bar is an abandoned warehouse, ripe for the picking when one of the homeless men living across the street decides to wander over and “play” with the kiddies. Oh yeah, there’s a group of homeless people living in the abandoned store front across from the bar.


If Club Diablo is the second-best bar in Buffalo, our city’s interests are far more subversive than I thought. I don’t know how this writer decided on Club Diablo but the description they give is hysterical- awesome dance nights, alternative music, great drinks. That’s all fine and good but they failed to mention the hardcore biker groups that hang out there, and that Club Diablo proudly hosted Buffalo’s first fetish party. Not to worry, if you missed it, they have more than one sex-themed show a year. I happen to be in the age group that spends a lot of time in bars and I can tell you that no one I know has ever gone to Club Diablo because, frankly, it looks fucking terrifying. From the outside it looks like the entrance to Satan’s private lair, and that’s not exactly what I’d consider #2 best bar material.


Club Marcella came in at #3 and while I wouldn’t have put it quite that high, their Googling served them well. It’s the closest they’ve come to finding a bar worth labeling as one of our best. They described the bar pretty well and it is a fun place to be. It’s Buffalo’s premiere gay bar and it’s always busy with good music and good drinks. Not to mention they put on a hell of a drag show.

At #4, 67 West is another one that wasn’t a bad choice. It’s in the right location in the heart of Chippewa, drinks are cheap, and it’s always packed to the walls with people. But no matter how packed it gets, it’s always a good time. They do call it “unpretentious” though and I’d have to disagree with that. Swarmed by better-than-you private school kids who first hang out there and then bartend there, pretention can definitely run high on certain nights.

Buffalo Brew Pub is #5 and this is an interesting choice. I’m torn because the location is not at all where a good bar would be, but they have endless beer selections, throw fun Oktoberfest parties, and really know how to drink. I guess on the basis of a bar alone, they can stay on the list.


Swiston’s Beef & Keg is #6 on the list, and all I can say is, huh? This restaurant is known for delicious beef on weck sandwiches, not their bar service. To make matters even worse, it’s in Tonawanda. No one would put a bar that far away on their 9 best list, it’s just not close enough to where the majority of the worthwhile bars are.


The Left Bank is #7. They have delicious dinners but I have never heard of people going there as a bar. Maybe dinner and drinks? But that’s more like cocktails, not what you envision when you think of one of the best bars in Buffalo. The semi-formal atmosphere is not very laid-back even during dinner, and the fact that it sits in a horrible area of the city is just one more reason to take it off the list.


#8 is Bar-Bill Tavern in East Aurora. Which is roughly 25 minutes from downtown Buffalo, where any of the bars on the list worth going to are located. It’s a back-in-the-woods restaurant that my friends’ parents go to for a 4 o’ clock happy hour. It’s not even really in Buffalo, and by a Buffalonian’s standards would never fall under the best bars in Buffalo. Best in the Southtowns? Who knows. But not Buffalo.


Rounding out the list at #9 (they were too lazy to find one more, remember?) is Mohawk Place. They tout the exciting list of bands that come to play there as enticement to go see the bar. Ironically, a bar is never mentioned. Just the music and the bands. Hmm.. Am I missing something? Yeah, Mohawk Place has cool concerts, but I thought this was a list about bars. If not the title of the list is very misleading. Not to mention the majority of the patrons of Mohawk Place nowadays are grungy emo teenagers all angry over nothing.


I really wish I could give these people credit for trying or effort but really, your list sucked. It was half-assed, poorly researched, and by no means showcases Buffalo’s best bars. We’re a city that’s proud of our drinking, and we take things like that very seriously. Next time, poorly represent a city that doesn’t spend so much time drinking and maybe it will go unnoticed.

"Best Bars" list came from http://www.10best.com/Buffalo,NY/Nightlife/Bars/