Neil's Bar & Grill

Location: 1835 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
Phone Number: (901) 278-6345
Cover Charge: No cover
Food: Full Menu - great drunken appetizers
Entertainment: Frequent live music, Pool Tables, Shuffleboard, Darts, Game Room, TV
Crowd: Mostly college age with some older folks too.
Service: Good service
Cleanliness: One of the cleaner dive-bars. The bathrooms could use a little work...
Drink Specials: $5.00 domestic pitchers, cheap liquor.
Smoker Friendly: Yes
Review:
I would call Neil's your "Steak & Potatoes" of the Midtown bars. It's a very popular place among college students in the area, and has everything you need in a bar and not much more. Neil's is located on the corner of Madison and South McLean and has plenty of parking on the same block. It has an outdoor patio that's perfect for the warmer days, a main bar room, a game room, and a music room.

One of the first reasons to enjoy a night at Neil's is its prime location. If you don't feel much like fighting the downtown crowd and live in the Midtown area, Neil's is just a few minutes away from a cold beer. The second reason to enjoy Neil's is that as long as I have been going there, I've never been charged a cover. So if you don't like it, you're not $5 in the hole. The last reason among many others to have fun at Neil's is their $5 domestic pitchers. They have very fairly priced drinks also. If I'm feeling like getting drunk fast and cheap, I'll order a long island iced tea and they'll load it up with alcohol. It might not be the best tasting beverage, but it sure does the trick for $8.00.

The live music is entertaining also. They usually feature pretty good cover bands at Neil's. While listening to the music, you can order a batch of fried pickle chips (which are amazing), fried mushrooms (which I have heard were equally as good), or you can order any of your typical bar entrees. If you don't feel much like eating, they have plenty of pool tables - if you keep your eye out, you'll be able to snag a table without any troubles.

There is plenty of seating in the main room. They have a handful of bar stools on the bar, a nice size of green booth seats, and some other tables scattered around the room. If it ever fills up, people usually spill into the back music room which has equally as much seating.

The service is very friendly as well. The bartender made an effort to remember my name after only seeing me for the second time. She also remembered my drink and food order from two weeks prior. If you're not sure what you'd like, just ask the workers and they'll be glad to recommend you their favorite appetizer.

If I happened to make Neil's sound like a sparkling gem, I didn't give it proper justice. Consider it a dusty quartz crystal half-buried in the ground. It's not the fanciest place, but it is a lot of fun.


Anything Else: Get the fried pickles.
Website: N/A