Seven Daysies Awards: Best dive bar, 2023

Seven Daysies Awards

Best dive bar

T. Rugg's Tavern

click to enlarge Best dive bar
Luke Awtry
T. Rugg's Tavern

T. Rugg's Tavern— There's something special about a bar located across the street from a graveyard. Maybe it just makes you appreciate your drink that much more? The century-old headstones you can spy from the pool table are only one of the many strange charms of T. Rugg's Tavern, a dive bar in Burlington's Old North End that isn't really a dive bar.

What's a dive bar that's not a dive bar, you ask? It's a spot where you can have a nice, cheap drink by yourself in peace, if you so desire. It's also a perfect place for a crew of friends to grab a table on the patio and post up for the night. The bathrooms are clean, the bartender will air-fry your drunk ass some Yummy Dino Buddies nuggets, and there are sports on the TV — but it's not in your face like a sports bar.

T. Rugg's is a unicorn bar, a place that can be your favorite dive whether you're a boomer or a Gen Zer.

Other Finalists

  • Charlie-O's World Famous
  • Finnigan's Pub
  • JP's Pub
  • The Other Place