USA TODAY released its first-ever 2024 USA TODAY Bars of the Year list on Monday, tracking down some of the best beach bars, dives and swanky cocktail lounges across the country. Perdido Key’s famous Flora-Bama scored a spot on the list. But if you’ve lived in Pensacola long enough, you know there are plenty more weird and wonderful bars to explore.
From a retro arcade bar to a secret tiki bar on the sand – we’ve compiled six of the most memorable bars in the Pensacola area to add to your local bucket list. Cheers!
Sneaky Tiki Bar
17 Via De Luna Drive
Self-advertised as a hidden gem that takes you on a “good treasure hunt,” the Sneaky Tiki is just hidden enough to capture the feeling of being stranded on an island somewhere. But this stranded island has cold cocktails and comfortable swinging beach chairs.
The bar first opened in 2018 as Island Culture Tiki Bar, but Sneaky Tiki was a nickname given by the locals that stuck, according to the Sneaky Tiki website. While it’s surrounded by popular beach bars that operate as tourist magnets, Sneaky Tiki slides under the radar as a local’s slice of paradise for sunsets and dolphin sightings.
Island Culture may no longer be in the beach bar’s name, but it’s embodied in the warmth, hospitality and giant “love” sign that serves as a favorite photo-op.
On the drink menu, expect to find your fix of tropical drinks, like the Tiki Mama with coconut rum, banana rum, pineapple, orange juice, pomegranate-hibiscus syrup and a spiced rum floater, or the Malibu Coco Bay with coconut rum, coconut cream, lime juice and ginger beer.
The Grid Arcade Bar
2414 N. Pace Blvd.
The Grid is illuminated with neon lights and ‘70s inspired nostalgia. Owner Daniel Demeter purchases and restores arcade cabinets of decades past for customers to drop a few tokens in and spend the afternoon attempting to obliterate strangers’ high scores.
Luckily, cup holders are screwed onto the sides of the pinball machines. So, if you decide to camp out, at least you have a drink hand. The Grid has close to 100 alcoholic options, with six draft beer selections rotating out every week, and cocktails made with wine-based vodka, tequila, rum and whiskey.
There’s no pressure to get something fancy, and $2 PBR aren’t only offered, but welcomed.
The Grid is delightfully nerdy and one of the west side’s best kept secrets. Once inside you’ll be surprised by how quickly the hours pass by.
Sister Hen
415 N. Alcaniz St,
Sister Hen, Pensacola’s prohibition-era styled speakeasy, creates a lasting impression for reasons of its own. The parlor, adjoined to USA TODAY'S 2024 Restaurant of the Year Brother Fox inside Lilly Hall, promises expertly crafted cocktails, patterned ice stamps, low lights and lively conversation. With the backdrop of wood accents, velvety red sofas and ornate mirrors, consumers snuggle up to make out the drink names and descriptions under candlelight.
You have to pick up the telephone to get granted access inside from the corner of the building, adding to the intimacy of the seating area inside. You can expect to taste a hand-crafted cocktail you’ve never tried before, dreamt up by one of the minds of the resident mixologists. The menu is meant to be as mysterious as the venue, so don’t be surprised to see ingredients like white balsamic, earl grey vanilla cold foam or a strawberry-orange champagne reduction added into your beverage.
Seville Quarter
130 E. Government St.
Seville Quarter, which first opened in 1967, brings seven rooms of entertainment historic East Government Street. Each room holds its own stories – from the late nights of requested songs to be played by the dueling pianos in Rosie O’ Grady’s to the salsa dancing done in Phineas Phogg’s – there are endless ways to experience an afternoon or evening in Seville Quarter.
Rosie O’Grady’s, originally named Rosie O’Grady’s Good Time Emporium, is where it all started for Seville. However, instead of the Dueling Pianos, you’d find peanuts and Dixieland Jazz, per the Seville Quarter website. The building dates back to 1871 as Pensacola Cigar and Tobacco Co.
Seville Quarter has continued to be a go-to spot to soak up some history, partake in debauchery, dance to music or grab a beer at a barstool.
Elbow Room
2213 W. Cervantes St.
Hands-down the most eclectic bar in the mix, Elbow Room has spent over 60 years creating its irrefutable legacy as a Pensacola icon. Whether it’s the moody red lighting – a look originally manufactured by lightbulbs spray painted ruby red by founder Jim Flynn – the “Star Trek” memorabilia or the musty, black women's pump filled with alcohol that’s passed around to take a swig out of on New Year’s Eve – the Elbow Room’s has sealed its reputation as a cherished dive bar.
The Elbow Room obtained its liquor license in 2022 after 59 years of being beer and wine only after years of inching toward the liquor license, such as playing around with champagne fruit juice “cocktails.” To the owners’ delight, it didn’t change a thing, except provide more options.
You can find patrons playing board games, stealing some fresh air in the courtyard or hand-selecting a record to spin on vinyl night.
Wisteria Tavern
3808 N. 12 Ave.
The story of Wisteria Tavern - affectionately known to locals as “The Wis" - dates to the late 1920s to early 1930s. The bar, nestled under the tree canopy in the East Hill neighborhood, started out as a grocery and supply store that would sell beer to customers late in the day after they returned from a day of hunting and fishing, according to the Wisteria Tavern website.
In 1935, the Wisteria Tavern was issued a “beer only” liquor license by the state of Florida and has been in continuous operation with only four owners ever since. Even as the area around it has been changed to residential, the Wis remains grandfathered in, as long as the building doesn’t change in size, per the website.
The Wis represents the old-fashioned, friendly neighborhood watering hole it started as a century ago. Owner Terry Abbott hand-selects each of the 100-plus beers that the bar has to offer, offering drafts, IPAS, pale ales, sours, wheat, lagers, blonde ales, stouts, porters, ciders and more.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola area bars: 6 of the most unique, from a secret tiki bar to a 70s inspired arcade
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