Random Bars and Pubs

Home
United States
Columbus, OH
Random Bars and Pubs

We showcase bars around the world daily. Check the link to submit your favorite bar to be featured!

09/04/2026

🏆 Bartender of the Week
Nati

📍 Ray’s Bar Brooklyn | Brooklyn, New York

😎 Why They Deserve a Bartender Shoutout
For Nati, bartending is really about the connections. Seeing friends every day, meeting new people, throwing on her own playlist, and making someone a drink when they don’t even know what they want yet. Read the room, make something fun, keep the music rolling, and make the bar feel like the place everyone wants to be.

🍸 Favorite Drink to Serve
Nati loves making a St Germain Gimlet. But if the bar is slammed, keep it simple. Unchilled tequila shot. Done😂

📖 Funniest Bartender Story
One night, Tyson Ritter from The All American Rejects sang Happy Birthday to someone at the bar. Then she ended up playing pool with the band. Pretty solid way to finish a shift🎱🍻

🎯 Fun Fact
Nati is a Fernet lover. That alone probably tells you enough😂

⭐️ 4.7

📱 The first 5 people to check-in at Ray’s on BARWAVE and show Nati their check-in will get a special gift from the bar! 🎁🍻

🌊 Show Nati and Ray’s Brooklyn some love in the comments if you’ve ever pulled up for a drink 🍺

09/02/2026

🍺 RANDOM BARS & PUBS MERCH CLUB DROP #2 🐎

Introducing our second Merch Club collaboration with the FNL in Ellensburg, Washington 🌎

We started Random Bars & Pubs because we love showcasing the random bars, bartenders and watering holes that bring people together 🍺

We believe going to the bar, having fun and sharing a drink with good people is great for the spirit. The best bars bring people and communities together, and over enough nights, stories and beers, they become part of the memories that make a community🍻

We also love a great bar shirt 🏆 So this month, we’re putting the stories, memories and spirit of the FNL on one 🌊

That’s what the Random Bars & Pubs Merch Club is all about. Bringing people together, showing you guys the random bars people love and giving Random Regulars something they can wear to rep them. 🏆🍺

⏳ The FNL tee is only available through September 14th.

❌ No restocks. No reruns. Never reprinted. Never made again.

The featured bar gets a piece of every sale too, so every shirt supports the FNL and helps us keep Random Bars & Pubs rolling and showing love to random watering holes across the country!

Wear the memories. Rep the bar. Support the watering holes that keep bar culture alive 🌎🍺🐎

First & Last Chance Tavern
———————

Ellensburg, Washington USA

BARWAVE 4.6/5.0 ⭐

Reviewed as a tiny tavern at the edge of Ellensburg, WA with a ton of history dating back to the 1930s, with beer and wine, rodeo week shenanigans, a fantastic atmosphere and even better people.

The First & Last Chance Tavern, locally known as the FNL, earned its name from its location along the old Vantage Highway, serving as the first and last stop for travelers coming into or heading out of Ellensburg. For generations, this local watering hole has been a gathering place filled with stories, memories, and the kind of character you just can’t build overnight.

The FNL has everything you want in a true dive—low ceilings, wood paneling, pull tabs, neon, and crass, sometimes downright inappropriate signs. From “Hippies Use the Side Door” to “Drink You Bastards, Drink,” the Tavern is irreverent & unapologetically old-school cash onl

08/31/2026

Welcome to the FINAL ROUND of Random Texas Bars That Will Knock Your Pantalones Off! 🚨🍻

⭐️REMINDER: Winner of the final gets an event at their bar with Pantalones x Random Bars & Pubs⭐️

THE FINAL two bars who’ve made it through the gauntlet are Armadillo Den | South Austin Bar & Music and The Esquire Tavern. Vote in the poll below to decide the best in Texas!

Armadillo Den | Austin BARWAVE 4.6⭐️

Armadillo Den | South Austin Bar & Music sits on three acres and is a two-story bar. They’ve got enough oak trees to make you forget you’re only twenty minutes from downtown Austin. It’s definitely the place to party with their huge outdoor seating area and plenty of TVs for sporting events, but their live music occurs 7 days a week and takes the cake on entertainment. The bar is a nod to a city that’s been calling itself the Live Music Capital for good reason. Behind the bar you’ll find cans, cocktails, frozen drinks, and non-alcoholic options. Outdoor fire pits and heaters keep the beer garden going through the cold months, and you can even bring your pup so they can become a regular too. It’s part beer garden, part backyard party, part Austin concert venue. Order something cold, grab a spot under the oaks, and enjoy what Armadillo Den has to offer.

The Esquire Tavern I San Antonio BARWAVE 4.4⭐️

The Esquire Tavern opened in 1933 the day
Prohibition ended, Esquire is the oldest bar on the San Antonio River Walk and is home to a wooden bar top stretching more than 100 feet. Inside, the dark wood, pressed-tin ceiling and old-school decor give the place plenty of character, while the cocktail program goes far beyond the usual River Walk drinks. There’s also Downstairs, an intimate cocktail lounge directly on the River Walk. With craft cocktails, Texas beer, elevated bar food and decades of stories behind it, Esquire feels like a true San Antonio institution.

Swipe to check out each bar, then vote below to decide who makes the final!

Brought to you by

08/30/2026

🍺 TEXAS, WE’RE DOWN TO TWO 🤠🏆

We started with 16 of the most submitted random bars in Texas, and after a whole lot of votes, we’re officially down to the final two👀

ARMADILLO DEN VS. THE ESQUIRE TAVERN 🍻

We put this bracket together for one reason. To show some love to the random watering holes, neighborhood staples, bartenders, regulars, and communities that make Texas bar culture what it is!!

You guys showed up for your bars, your cities, and your state the entire way. That’s what makes Texas so damn special. Appreciate everyone who voted, shared, rallied the regulars, and kept the friendly competition rolling 🍺

Now it’s time for the FINAL 🏆
Armadillo Den. Esquire Tavern. One last vote🗳️

Whoever takes the crown, we’re coming to their bar and throwing an event with Pantalones Organic Tequila to celebrate 👖🍹🏆

Rally the regulars. Tell your bartender. Fire up the group chat. Show your watering hole some love⚡️

Two bars left. One Texas champion🌎

WHICH BAR IS KNOCKING OUR PANTALONES OFF? 🤠🍻

08/28/2026

🏆 Bartender of the Week
Connor

📍 Nigel - Hound's Rest | Champaign, Illinois

😎 Why They Deserve a Bartender Shoutout
Connor loves bartending because every shift has its own personality. One night it’s regulars, the next it’s random characters, and somehow there’s always a story by the end of it.

He’s met some incredible people behind the bar, and that’s a huge part of why he loves it. It also gives him a place to be creative, build cocktails, mess around with new ideas, and bring some of his own personality into what he serves.

Between the loyal regulars, friends, and whoever happens to walk through the door, there’s never really a boring night at Hound’s.

🍸 Favorite Drink to Serve
Right now, Connor’s favorite is his “Champaign Supernova.”

The name is a nod to Oasis and the fact that Hound’s is right in Champaign. It’s made with locally sourced cranberry pear vinaigrette, dandelion syrup, honey gin, ginger liqueur, and topped with Champagne🥂

Definitely not your average bar drink, and pretty damn perfect for summer. 🍾

📖 Funniest Bartender Story
Hound’s recently hosted a Fernet Branca water pong tournament, and apparently things got very serious very fast. The bar was packed, the teams were locked in, the Fernet samples were flowing, and then halfway through the tournament… a tornado touched down in Champaign.

Sirens going off. Rain flying sideways. Staff telling everyone to pause and take cover. Nobody wanted to stop playing.

So naturally, the tournament kept going and Connor kept slinging Fernet while a tornado was happening outside. Absolute fever dream of a shift. 😂

🎯 Fun Fact
Connor also runs the Hound’s social media pages and hopes to eventually work in a creative role for a liquor brand or supplier.

Hound’s itself is loaded with character. Every back bar is an authentic antique bar curated from different regions and eras, so the place has a story before you even order your first drink.

⭐️ 4.7

📱 The first 5 people to check in at Hound’s Court on our BarWave app and show Connor their check in will get a special gift from the bar! 🎁🍻

🌊 Show Connor and Hound’s Court some love in the comments if you’ve ever pulled up!

Address

Columbus, OH
43017

Website

https://randombarsandpubs.app/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Random Bars and Pubs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your establishment to be the top-listed Bar/pub in Columbus?