Richmond, VA
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In season through February 15part of Game Day in Richmond
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Be the first local to put Dive Bars in Richmond on the map. Your Top 5 anchors the City Consensus for everyone who comes next.
Start a Top 5 for Dive BarsEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Style Weekly and Richmond Magazine. Updated August 2026.
Bamboo Cafe · Oregon Hill
A neighborhood bar open since 1974 and largely unchanged since, sitting inside the Oregon Hill boundary. Style Weekly's June 2026 readers' poll named it first for dive bar and also first for bar overall, a rare double win for a single neighborhood room.
Joe's Inn the Fan
A Fan neighborhood restaurant and bar that has served the same spaghetti a la Greek since 1952. Richmond Magazine's 2025 Best & Worst tied it for second place in its Best Neighborhood or Dive Bar category, a fixture across generations of Fan regulars.
Fuzzy Cactus · Northside
A Brookland Park bar and music room with a kitchen that stays open late, placed second for dive bar in Style Weekly's June 2026 readers' poll. It anchors a stretch of Brookland Park Boulevard that has become a small nightlife corridor of its own.
The Locker Room · Forest Hill
A Forest Hill Avenue neighborhood bar named third for dive bar in Style Weekly's June 2026 readers' poll. It draws a regular local crowd from the surrounding Forest Hill and Woodland Heights blocks rather than a citywide destination audience.
Patrick Henry's Pub & Grille · Church Hill
A Church Hill pub with a walled garden patio, set inside a house dating to the 1850s. It tied for second place for dive bar in Richmond Magazine's 2025 Best & Worst and was a runner-up in the 2024 edition as well, a consistent neighborhood favorite.