Friendly's has remained the same friendly, inexpensive watering hole but they have had a few face lifts of their own. Most recently Friendly's doubled their size both inside with the addition of a game room, and outside by adding a quiet corner to their infamous beer garden. If you haven't spent an evening in Friendly's beer garden, you should add it to your "must-do" list. As any regular or casual drop-in will tell you their selection of lawn games has no rival in the city. The first games you notice lined up and begging to be played are the washers and sandbag pitching games, which are not to be outdone by the Hoosier (or Ladder if you must) Golf set quietly sitting by the side lines. All of the lawn games are first-come, first-served and free and you don't even have to miss watching the big game to play since there are three televisions beneath the garden's pergola.
So you've got games outside and cheap drinks all around (including a daily happy hour from 3pm-6pm), but if that doesn't convince you that the search for Friendly's is worth it perhaps Ski-Ball will? Friendly's just opened their second game room and a second bar that doubled their size. A cheaper and more laid back Dave n' Busters is what awaits you on the other side of the wall. In addition to the standard touch-screen game console, shuffleboard games and pool tables they have Ski-Ball and a motorcycle racing game. And, of course, what bar is complete without a dart board? Maybe bars where the fancys like to hang out, but not your comfy corner bar. Friendly's has the obligatory dart-boards and a popular league on Wednesday nights.
Friendly's Sports Bar & Grill is located at 3505 Roger Place in Tower Grove South. They are open seven days a week from 11am until 1:30am.
St. Patrick's Day might not be until next Tuesday, but we all know that the real celebrating starts this weekend in St. Louis. And while Bailey's, Jamison and Guiness will all put you in touch with your inner Leprechaun, nothing puts you in the mood for St. Patty's Day like a frosty mug of green beer. Since we care about you and the color of your brewski this season, here are a few of the best places in St. Louis to score an authentically Irish beer.
Babe's is as welcoming and comfortable to me as my blue-jeans, especially when I am on overload from stuffy bars and high drink prices but not feeling a dive. Inside there are TV's, a fireplace, and rich wood work reminiscent of an English pub - and it is definitely a clean place with dive bar prices. It is storied that the interior was replicated from a Brit pub, and outside there is a heated and covered patio that is open year round to house private parties, bands, and bar overflow.
Schmidt says that during the week the bar is full of the usual suspects, and he pretty much knows who is going to be there before he arrives. On the weekends Babe's gets a little busier and it is a different crowd with a variety of people in their their late 20's to later 40's. I have visited a couple of times, usually on weekends, and the crowd really is a mixed bag. You will see anything from Cards fans camping at a table in front of the TV and ordering pizza in (Babe's doesn't serve food, but doesn't mind if you get delivery or carry in) to bar-hopping crowds mingling on the patio.
It is not uncommon for the smell of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs to waft down Brentwood Bloulevard as bar owners Rick and Donna Wideman fire up a BBQ pit outside the front doors and greet partons as they make their way in the doors of the Double D Lounge in Brentwood. The bar has long been a haunt on the busy artery running from Manchester to Clayton roads, and is not only an inviting happy hour spot but a place that has designated barstools as well.
