Blend
Typical beer $9
Blend is a gastropub and lounge at 1310 Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester where DJs spin top 40 Thursday through Sunday. Mayhem Saturdays are dance parties. The kitchen sends out pub grub, and drag shows are frequent.
Neighborhood
Dorchester
No single strip. Pick a village center.
Dorchester has no strip, so pick a village center and stay there, ideally one on the Red Line like Savin Hill or Ashmont. In our Beer Index a typical beer here is $9.
Top picks in Dorchester
All 11 places in Dorchester
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11 places
dbar
The owners of dbar took over an Irish pub in Dorchester. By night it shifts into a nightclub and lounge. The headline dish is Veal and Pancetta Bolognaise.
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Hours on the venue's site: Fri 5 PM-2 AM; Sat 5 PM-2 AM; Tue 5 PM-12 AM
Savin Hill · about 8 min walk (estimate)
Dorchester Brewing Co.
Typical beer $12.50
Dorchester Brewing Co., a brewery and taproom at 1250 Massachusetts Avenue, pours 20 lines of Dorchester beer. Its site says the Boston Globe named it one of the city's best breweries. The taproom also houses the Museum of Bad Art.
Drifters Kitchen & Bar
Beer from $9
Drifters Kitchen and Bar is a Quincy Center restaurant and bar at 1464 Hancock Street, in the space where Idle Hour had been. It opened on February 13, 2025. The menu lists chopped cheese nachos.
Eire Pub
Eire Pub, an Irish pub at 795 Adams Street in Adams Village, has been a fixture for more than 50 years. Visitors have included Presidents Reagan and Clinton. The kitchen serves corned beef sandwiches, meatloaf and American chop suey.
Typical beer $6
Landmark Public House, at 772 Adams St in Adams Village, Dorchester, is a neighborhood restaurant and bar. The site lists homestyle comfort food and South Shore-style bar pizza. The room mixes reclaimed wood, exposed brick and Boston sports memorabilia.
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Cedar Grove · about 9 min walk (estimate)
- locally owned bar and restaurant in Adams Village source
- comfort food and South Shore bar pizza source
- reclaimed wood, brick, sports memorabilia source
- replaced a restaurant open nearly 40 years (NBC Boston) source
- Gerard's: family-friendly neighborhood restaurant from 1977 source
- American classics and comfort food at opening source
- https://www.landmarkpublichouse.com
- https://nbcboston.com/news/local/landmark_public_house_soft-opens_in_dorchester_s_adams_village/57364
Liberty Tavern
Typical beer $9
Liberty Tavern, at 1647 Hancock Street in Quincy Center, serves a late-night menu from 10 PM to midnight every day. Its owner was counting on wood-fired pizzas and hand-crafted cocktails to draw a crowd, the Boston Globe reported in 2020. Weekly specials start Thursdays at 4 PM.
Lower Mills Tavern
Typical beer $10
Lower Mills Tavern at 2269 Dorchester Ave in Dorchester features $8 mimosas and a smoked salmon cake benedict. Boston Magazine's Best of Boston lists it as Best Neighborhood Bar in Dorchester. Live music runs Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.
Tavolo
Typical beer $10
Tavolo is an Italian-inspired restaurant and bar at 1918 Dorchester Avenue, serving Italian fare by the Ashmont T station, as the Globe put it in 2023. Time Out praised its pizza and pasta dishes. It also liked its sleek decor, friendly staff and strong cocktails.
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Ashmont · about 2 min walk (estimate)
- Next to Ashmont Station source
- Large communal table source
- Pastas, seasonal plates, artisan pizzas source
- Walk-ins welcome source
- serving Italian fare next to Ashmont T station (Globe, 2023) source
- pizza and pasta dishes (Time Out) source
- sleek decor, friendly staff, strong cocktails (Time Out) source
- crisp pizzas and handmade pastas (Boston magazine) source
- funky decor and family-friendly atmosphere (Boston magazine) source
- hearty and inventive Italian cuisine (Dorchester Reporter) source
The Banshee
Beer from $5.50
The Banshee, at 934 Dorchester Avenue in Dorchester, is the home bar of over a dozen international soccer supporter clubs, per WBUR. It is the most dependable place in town for rugby. Its own site lists 14 flatscreen televisions across two floors.
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JFK/UMass · about 6 min walk (estimate)
Typical beer $7.50
The Chester Tavern on Dorchester Avenue in Savin Hill centers on a 47-seat bar with 360-degree access. The bar has 24 draft lines and 9 TVs. The menu includes a short rib and oxtail chili baked in a bread bowl.
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Savin Hill · about 6 min walk (estimate)
- opened the week of May 11, 2026 source
- 6,000-square-foot space with a capacity of 216 source
- 47-seat, 360-degree-access bar source
- 24 draft lines and 9 TVs source
- short rib and oxtail chili baked in a bread bowl source
- https://www.thechestertavern.com/menus/
- https://www.dotnews.com/2026/05/09/get-a-sneak-peek-inside-dorchesters-next-hot-spot-the-chester/
- https://corbettrestaurantgroup.com/insights/hawkeye-hospitality-the-chester-dorchester-savin-hill-may-2026/
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Map: venues and train lines
Map © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap. Lines and stations: MBTA. Venues without a confirmed address match are not pinned.
About Dorchester
Where to start
Savin Hill is the dance-floor corner. At dbar, the smoke machines and lights come on after 10pm on weekends. The bar posts Friday and Saturday hours until 2am. The patio has bamboo shoots, day beds and string lights, so have dinner first and dance second.
Ashmont is dinner and a drink. Tavolo is next to Ashmont Station. Its site says it has plenty of space for walk-ins.
Dorchester Avenue is for watching soccer. The Banshee calls itself the number one pub to watch domestic and European sports. It has 14 flatscreen televisions across two floors. It is also home to seven Official Supporters Clubs. Weekend hours start at 9am, or 7:30am for EPL matches, so it works as a morning stop as much as a night one.
Mass Ave and Adams Street carry the rest. Dorchester Brewing Co. houses the Museum of Bad Art in its taproom, free to enter. Time Out counts 20 lines on the taps. You can also bring your own food. Eire Pub has been a fixture for over 50 years. Presidents Reagan and Clinton have both visited. The pub recommends a reservation. Lower Mills Tavern has live Boston music on Thursday evenings. Its site lists no cover. In Adams Village, Landmark Public House sells South Shore-style bar pizza.
Getting there and home
Savin Hill and Ashmont are on the Red Line. The Mattapan line starts at Ashmont. Dorchester covers more than 6 square miles, so plan the ride home before the last round. Check Last Train.
Late food
None of the venues above publish a late kitchen. The Banshee's bar runs to 1am. Eire Pub closes at midnight, so eat first. More in Eat Late.
Prices
Our Beer Index lists a typical beer at $9 across 7 bars with a listed price (range $6 to $12.50); how we count.
History and background
The Infatuation calls it a neighborhood with its own neighborhoods. It is also Boston's largest officially designated neighborhood, which is why nights here run on local bars rather than a destination district.
Cannabis
9 licensed stores in the Index cover Dorchester / Roxbury / Mattapan, and an eighth runs about $21. Adults 21+ only. Consume only on private property, and do not drive. See our Cannabis Index. Data: Glass (glassintel.xyz).
Getting around
The Red Line's Dorchester stops are Savin Hill, Fields Corner, Shawmut and Ashmont. Ashmont is also where the Mattapan line starts, running through Cedar Grove, Butler, Milton, Central Avenue, Valley Road and Capen Street to Mattapan. For corners off the Red Line, routes like the 22 and 23 run from Ashmont Station to Ruggles. Last trains differ by line and night, so check Last Train and the MBTA Trip Planner before you commit to a far corner.
Sources for this page
- https://www.mbta.com/schedules/Red
- https://www.mbta.com/schedules/Mattapan
- https://www.mbta.com/schedules/22
- https://www.mbta.com/schedules/23
- https://api-v3.mbta.com/
- https://www.theinfatuation.com/boston/guides/where-to-eat-and-drink-in-dorchester
- https://www.timeout.com/boston/bars/dbar
- https://tavolodotave.com
- https://www.bansheeboston.com
- https://www.dorchesterbrewing.com
- https://www.timeout.com/boston/bars/dorchester-brewing-co
- https://eirepub.com/
- https://www.lowermillstavern.com
- https://www.landmarkpublichouse.com
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester,_Boston