Alibis Cafe

best bar in west chester . great bar tenders

Went to a new years celebration here, and the value was great. $45 bought a ticket for the entire evening 8pm-2am with full open bar and buffet. Typically these new years deals don't get you everything you expect, but here, open bar includes mixed drinks and a wide selection of bottles. Drinks were easy to get as there wasn't much of a line at the bar. The local band was great. The bar was full, but not so crowded you couldn't move around or sit if you felt like it. Free party favors. The food stayed out until midnight, and my favorite part was the free Philly soft pretzels provided after midnight. All in all a great deal.

I visited this location (formerly Hardware Bar) with some friends on its opening night, and we were immediately confronted by a $10/person cover charge.  We eventually got in for considerably less, after balking at the cost and turning around to leave.  Luckily, someone paid for me, because I refused to do so out of principle.  I'm still in disbelief that a bar would charge anyone to enter on its first night in business.  

The layout was ok.  There is a gigantic dance floor downstairs (populated by flailing, inebriated morons), and a balcony which overlooks it upstairs.  There was enough room to walk around - which is rare for a West Chester bar - but that was probably more the result of no one wanting to pay to get into this dump than anything else.  The patrons were garden variety frat-boys and whores.

I ordered a rum and coke.  The bartender was completely inept and spent a long time trying to prepare it.  After receiving the drink, I took a sip and detected no alcohol - none, zip, nada.  Seriously, it tasted like a "straight" soda.  I passed the drink around to my friends for verification before abandoning it on a table still over half full.  I subsequently begged everyone to leave.

When I went to pay my tab, the bartender couldn't find my credit card.  It was finally located, probably up her ass where her head was.  She then couldn't figure out the process to run the card, so another bartender had to come help.  This took at least 10 minutes, and I began to wonder if Alibi's was sponsoring mentally retarded people for job shadowing or something.  When I got my card back, I stormed out - wanting to kick the bouncer in the balls for charging us to get in - and vowed never to return.