Tuesday, November 5, 2024

College Survival: Our Favorite College Bars

Sierra, Jayden, and Kara share their favorite college bars in Tuscaloosa.

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The College Survival Team is so excited to share all our favorite bars to hang out at. Sierra loves Houndstooth, Jayden loves World of Beer (WOB), and Kara loves Innisfree Pub. Of course there are many other great bars in Tuscaloosa, but we wanted to focus on the places we like to go. Shout out to Tweleve25, The Standard, Gallettes, and Unique. They were so close to making our favorites. Read along if you want to find out why we love WOB, Innis, and Houndstooth.  

First up we have Sierra sharing why she loves Houndstooth.  

Heading out to the bars in your college town is always an adventure. You never really know for sure where the night will take you. I personally tend to enjoy a less over the top night. I like to get a drink with friends and not have first-year students running around while the Dj plays beats as strobe lights blind you. At Houndstooth the age requirement is 21+. Which is exactly the type of place I want to be at. Not only do they have strict age rules, but they also have a great atmosphere and drink deals.  

The patio style seating area out front is so fun to sit on while drinking. There is the best people watching at those picnic tables. I have seen so much, maybe too much. I also love that the inside has traditional bar decor. Lots of sports posters, TVs, and pool tables. The amount of seating inside and outside is nice. There are booths, bar tops, seats at the bar, and picnic tables throughout the establishment. Most other bars on the strip don’t have much seating.  

The drink deals are a huge bonus of Houndstooth. During the week they tend to be running some sort of happy hour special. There is nothing better than cheap beer with friends. This is a great place to go if you are looking for a cheaper option on the strip. Especially if you like drinking beer. Though the drinks are flowing due to good deals I have never really had a problem there like other bars. I have not seen fighting or overly drunk people disturbing other tables, the bouncers do a great job. I have had nothing but good experiences at Houndstooth. 

Not only is Houndstooth a great place to get a beer on the weekends, or weekdays, but the watch parties are great. Anytime there is a major college sports event or professional sports game there tends to be watch parties. Lots of sports fans go out to Houndstooth to watch the games on the many different TVs they have available.  

I would say if you are looking for a good bar to chill at Houndstooth is it. There isn’t overly loud music playing and the people tend to be better company there. You can sit at a table and chit chat with friends while not breaking the bank. I would 10/10 recommend Houndstooth bar to you.  

Now for Jayden’s take on her favorite bar in Tuscaloosa.  

World of Beer (WOB) is one of my favorite bars in Tuscaloosa. They have so many beers to choose from and they always stock up on unique canned beverages. You can get canned wine, seltzers, beer, and other canned spirits. If you aren’t feeling a can, they also have pitchers of mixed drinks. The most famous one being the Dragon Berry Mojito pitcher. A perfect drink to split with friends. Not only are the drinks good, but they have decent food.  

The food at WOB is pretty good. It is not the best food ever, but it does the job. It is also great for UA (University of Alabama) students because you can now use BAMA Cash and Dinning Dollars on food. If you are going to get any of the food I would recommend the truffle fries, burgers, wings, and the WOB pretzel. Those are all solid food options at WOB.  

The best time to go to WOB is on Wednesdays (7pm). Wednesday is WOB Trivia Night. Trivia night is a great way to go out with friends without having to go to a club. You can sit down, drink and eat while testing your trivia skills. Plus, you get to come up with a funny trivia name for your team. Trivia night is also when the Dragon Berry Mojito pitcher is only $15. I think that is a good deal for a pitcher. I would say you get about four cups from the pitcher. That is a great deal in my mind. You can also split the pitcher with a friend, cutting the price in half.  

I would say if you are looking for a place to hang out and do something with friends I would suggest WOB on Wednesdays. This is also a great place to go if people in your group aren’t all 21. You can sit at WOB even if you are under the age of 21 when they are serving food. Overall it is a great little place to gather with friends. Good luck if you go on a Wednesday to play trivia.  

Now Kara will share why she loves Innisfree Pub. 

Innis is my favorite bar in Tuscaloosa for a few good reasons. One the vibes are just perfect to me. Innis plays good radio favorites, and they have great seating options inside and outside. You can even dance with the amount of space they have open. Also, who doesn’t love an Irish theme bar? The good vibes and great music are a start to why I love Innis.  

The Second reason I love Innis is because there is almost always something going on at the bar. Innis has so many percentage nights and days throughout the week. These events tend to include collectable cups, drink deals, and charity donations. I love anywhere that will give me a free cup (wink wink Gallettes). I also feel better about going out when my purchases are going towards a charity or fundraiser. These percentage nights also give me a reason to go out. If I don’t know if I want to go out or not, but I see it is a percentage night I will. Percentage nights bring crowds and make Innis so much fun.  

The Third thing I like about Innisfree is that they have one of my favorite things ever on Wednesday nights… BINGO. Wednesdays at 7pm you will find me at Innis playing BINGO. They give out prizes to the winners of the rounds and do Irish car bomb tie breakers. It is so lively and hectic on BINGO nights. I have maybe won a few BINGO rounds and lost a few tie breakers.  

I would suggest rounding up your friends and taking them to BINGO. My friends and I enjoy it, I think you will too. Or if you aren’t feeling BINGO, go to Innis for a percentage night that interests you. Or even go after class one day to get waffle fries and a drink. It is a great way to decompress. Overall, I give Innis two thumbs up and I would recommend it.  

We all hope that you found a new spot to try out in Tuscaloosa. These are our favorite college bars we wanted to share with you, and with that thank you for reading.  

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