1. Booger Red’S
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 624-1246
Address: 109 East Exchange St.
Description: Attached to the Stockyards Hotel, this favorite with tourists offers saddles as bar stools and a wealth of cowboy decor. The especially popular Buffalo Butt Beer is served in its own iced bucket, but the bar is known for a good tequila selection.
2. Flying Saucer
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 336-7470
Address: 111 East 4th St.
Description: The original in a growing but groovy chain, this beer bar serves more than 100 brews on tap and 150 in the bottle, with choices from around the world. Find it in a charming building downtown, with thousands of plates covering the walls. Food includes pizza, sausages, and sandwiches, and there’s frequently live music on the patio.
3. The Ginger Man
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 886-2327
Address: 3716 Camp Bowie Blvd.
Description: A renovated cottage in the Cultural District holds a swell little beer joint serving 67 draft beers and more than 100 bottle choices. A fabulous patio sits in front, and there are two dart boards and cozy seating areas inside. On Monday, it’s $3 Texas drafts by the pint, Tuesday you can keep the glass with your pint purchase, Wednesday offers a $3.50 special, and Thursday is trivia night.
4. Library
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 885-8201
Address: 611 Houston St.
Description: Bar hoppers like this downtown mainstay for after-work sipping and the daily specials, which range from $1.50 domestic drafts and well drinks early in the week to $3 Long Island iced teas on weekends. People like the hangout vibe with kickin’ music in the background.
5. Snookie’S Bar & Grill
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 207-0788
Address: 2755 South Hulen St.
Description: Happy hour happens daily at this popular grill, where the bar scene takes over in the evening. Wednesday brings the karaoke crowd, and it’s a fun place to watch a game pretty much any day of the week.
6. Ten Martini Bar & Lounge
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 850-9900
Address: 835 Foch St.
Description: Regulars liken this unto the Sex & the City–style bars, where martinis are quaffed by well turned-out patrons. This is part of the booming West 7th development, catering to a growing crowd of chic folks not interested in the cowboy bar scene.
7. The Covey
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 731-7933
Address: 3010 South Hulen St.
Description: Locally owned, this restaurant features an on-site brewmaster, crafting a number of handmade beers. The best option is to order a flight of beers, allowing you to taste each of the products from lightest to darkest, influenced by brewmasters from Washington State to Bavaria. The staff can help you pair each with a particular appetizer, as well. There’s a full bar, too, if you’re into cocktails or wine.
8. Four Day Weekend
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 226-4329
Address: 312 Houston St.
Description: A nightclub with an in-residence comedy troupe has been the delight of Sundance Square for nearly eight years. It’s improv at its best, with two showtimes on Friday and Saturday evenings. A bar area welcomes you for a pre-show nip.
9. Hyena’S Comedy Night Club
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 877-5233
Address: 605 Houston St.
Description: A popular club for stand-up routines, this nightspot offers two shows each on Friday and Saturday night. A comedy defensive driving school is offered on-site, too.
10. Bass Performance Hall
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 212-4200, (877) 212-4280
Address: 525 Commerce St.
Description: While this astounding hall hosts everything from the Fort Worth Opera to the world-renowned Van Cliburn Piano Competition, it’s also a venue for such visiting musical acts as Lyle Lovett, Steve Winwood, and Julio Iglesias.
11. Billy Bob’S Texas
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 624-7117
Address: 2520 Rodeo Plaza
Description: Possibly the most famous honky-tonk in the world, it’s also the world’s largest and a place to find first-rate acts like Willie Nelson, Pat Green, George Jones, and other country music stars. Inside, 127,000 square feet of space with a massive dance floor, 32 individual bars, live professional bull riding, souvenir and clothing shops, and a couple of food stands. There’s no mechanical bull, but there is a fake bull on which to have your photo taken.
12. Pearl’S Dancehall & Saloon
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 624-2800
Address: 302 West Exchange Ave.
Description: Western Swing is the music and dance specialty inside this two-story, redbrick building dating from 1928. Note the long copper bar with the ornate mahogany back and the tin ceiling. Wednesday night offers $1 top-shelf margaritas for the ladies, and there’s happy hour early Wednesday and Thursday evening, too. Interestingly, the name comes from a bordello opened many years ago by Buffalo Bill Cody, who spent time in town with his Wild West Show.
13. Rodeo Exchange
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 626-0181
Address: 221 West Exchange Ave.
Description: Show up on Tuesday evening for free dance lessons or sign up for an eight-week course at this favorite in the Stockyards. On Saturday, happy hour lasts until 9 p.m., and there’s live music Friday and Saturday night. A pool tournament happens every Thursday evening.
14. White Elephant
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 624-8273
Address: 106 East Exchange Ave.
Description: Almost as old as Fort Worth itself, this landmark in the Stockyards district has been hailed as among the best bars in America by Esquire magazine and has been used on location for filming Walker, Texas Ranger. Live music features good local talent nightly, and there’s always good people-watching. Burgers from the adjacent Love Shack are exceptional.
15. The Aardvark
City: Fort Worth, TX
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (817) 926-7814
Address: 2905 West Berry St.
Description: A fave with the TCU student population, this creaky old club hosts talent that hasn’t hit the big time quite yet. Amaretto sours are the house specialty, and there’s food to soak up the liquids, too.