Caves is probably getting a fourth star for nostalgia. Â It may deserve it anyway. Â When I think about Caves, I feel like one of those "I Liked That Band Before They Were Cool" guys. Â It's been around for quite a while now. Â It's the old Skippy's Mistake. Â The car is still there, but the bus is gone. Â The parking lot probably still has the same potholes, but bigger.
I used to be here constantly in my college days. Â You can't go in without seeing someone you know. Â That's still the case today. Â This may be what brings the clique comments out. Â Everyone else in the bar already knows each other. Â It felt more like a family a while back, but once again, this could just be me waxing nostalgic.
The beer list is pretty good. Â Mixed drinks don't usually skimp on the alcohol. Â Prices are usually fair. Â Franconia Brewing makes the Osbakken Dunkelweisse for Caves and Ozzie Rabbit. Â It's pretty good.
On the downside, it's incredibly smoky and around 5:00 they crank the music all the way up to where you can't hear yourself think. Â The drink line is in the middle of the back door and both restrooms, so the line backs up almost immediately and you never know if you're next or last. Â There's also just not enough seating. Â When the place gets going it gets very crowded and you won't find a place to sit.
The patio out back is great. Â It's been evolving over the years. Â There's a backyard bar, but I've never seen it open. Â Occasional movie nights out there are usually pretty cool. Â Trees and landscaping have finally taken to the area and look pretty good. Â And I don't know about y'all, but I actually kinda like the train.
Holy smoky shit.
Do you remember when Dallas was still smoking friendly in bars and Cosmos was so smoky it was like a cloud hung over the whole place and your no matter how hard you tried you smelled like smoke for days and your eyes burned and you had to throw away your shoes? Do you miss that? Well! Friend, head on over to Caves Lounge! ;)
Really, smokiness aside, this is exactly the type of bar I would frequent. I had a beer and a shot of jager and we listened to some of the 4 weirdest conversations I've heard ever. I even joked maybe we were at some portal into some weird underworld where we'd be skinned and eaten alive. The place reminds me of a bigger Cosmos, all set with 70's looking furniture and even a fire place-- with a TV running with fake fire in it. My shot of jager was about 1/2 the size of what I'm used to. But the dranks were cheap and it was definitely an entertaining spot to chill for a few! I'll be back.
I like my bars dank with a fantastic jukebox, and this is the one in Arlington. It's my go-to spot. Leather chairs, smokey red lighting, obscure films silently playing on small TV's hidden in the corner, and a killer music selection. The drink specials always lend to a festive evening. You can bring your dog, which is just plain awesome and the patio is huge. I avoid the weekends though, gets packed and sometimes karaoke is afoot. It's a well designed dive. Come for the ambiance, stay for the random vendors delivering tamales and pulled pork sandwiches.
Review Source:Oh man my head hurts just thinking about this place. Â I was in Dallas for a few days and decided to check out the local bar scene. Â Walked in sober, went to brush something off my cheek, and it was the floor. Â
Cave's Lounge is the last of a dying breed of dive bars. Â Smoking is allowed inside, the Golden Tee machine has been clearly beaten with a baseball bat and sprayed with sticky substances, and they offer $2 wells on Tuesdays (just what I needed on a weeknight). Â So yeah ... I had a great time ... I think. Â I'll definitely stop back by for a $4 double of Pepe Lopez fire water if I'm ever back in town.
Great dive bar with terrible management. I was assaulted while sitting at the bar by someone who just wanted to pick a fight. He was taken out of the bar but after leaving I found out that he was allowed back into the bar. He apparently works there. Never going back again. It was absolutely ridiculous.
Review Source:If I passed out somewhere else and woke up in this place, I would think I was in Austin, TX somewhere on 6th Street... (Cheer Up Charlie's??). Its right by UTA so that explains the eclectic group... I saw people dressed to impress, hipster folk, and even some crust punks... Â Needless to say, this place was PACKED when I got here. Jukebox selection is neat. While I would wanna call this place "avant-garde", it is probably best to just say that this is a dive bar that happens to be close to a university. What more can you expect? Now, I don't mind big crowds, but if you're gonna be busy, then step up your game at the bar... Only 2 people working it on a muggy Saturday night made for a congested area and a 10 min wait to get a drink. The patio is cool (again... very much ATX vibe, in my opinion). Ah, but as other Yelpers have mentioned... Parking lot was a pain. I don't mind parking on dirt, but potholes suck and people can be real Douchelord Supremes when it comes to getting a spot. I personally did not dig this place all that much, but it definitely seems to be "a place to be" for many. Therefore, it seems more than evident that they're doing something right. So keep at it, I suppose.
Review Source:Great place for Arlington. I actually ended up here twice in my last pass through DFW. A little hard to find as it is behind another bar (Sunshine) Great beer selection from local to international and a very nice patio. I was super happy when the guy came through selling homemade tamales. They were great. If I lived in town, this would be a regular stop for me. You need to understand this is more of a dive/hipster bar and set you expectations accordingly. If you do I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Review Source:I've been coming to this bar for 6 yrs now. I was introduced to it by my college buddies at UTA. I LOVE IT! It's casual and has great outdoor seating. Really loud , dark and smokey. The bartenders are really chill. Infact, writing this review makes me want to get out of my jammies and head overthere with my hubby :) It's like 7 minutes from my house so why wouldn't we?
Review Source:Who would have thought that a cool dive existed in Arlington. It is located in Central Arlington very close to the University (UTA).
I have become a fan considering I've gone just once. It has a hipster feel, and the good thing is that the people who come here are not trying hard to fit that profile.
Most of the cons actually add more to the super divey persona of this lounge:
Driving into the parking lot, watch out for pot holes
Very smokey
In the guy's bathroom there's no mirror
The lack of mirrors in the bathroom was a bit of an issue initially, because when I got home I realized there was chewing gum on my lips but then it occurred to me that nobody really cared about appearance.... Amen!
Come with friends, drink beers, and converse.
FYI: This dive bar has a HUGE patio
When I'm in Arlington, find me at the Caves. Â The wonderful, swanky, dive bar it is.
In a sense, off the beaten path since the building sits some 100 yards off the main road. Â If driving by you wouldn't notice it unless driving slow or really turning your head. Â The building is red stucco (I want to say) and it's got this paper mache looking replica of a car one could find in the town of Bedrock once technology finally came around. Â My Yelp app on the Droid picked up this place in the vicinity and we stopped in the other night. Â Can't remember what night it was, maybe a Friday. Â In Arlington it was warm for January. Â Something like 70 degrees going into the night. Â What a great night to get a feel for this place.
The smell of stale cigarettes, (maybe) some water damage left over from years before. Â A carpet stamped into the floor from years of wear and tear. Â Dimmed lights with few spot lights giving way to motivating round. Â Red and pink neon hues coming off domestic beer signs washed against black painted walls and funky decor. Â The most random of furniture. Â Like in one area find this standing, silver knights armor, it sits a few feet away from an overly abused pool table. Â A pool table I should add that is (surprisingly) level. Â Though it's run and carpeted top could use a good cleaning. Â Next to the pool table is a standard, high backed piano that I so wished would've gotten some play that night. Â But back to the armor, when not paying attention you'd think someone is standing nearby watching you take your next shot. Â When I should be minding the cute, curly haired college co-ed that's been eyeing me ever since I walked up to grab a cue. Â Sorry my dear, I would've responded your interest if Jason ( a local) hadn't challenged me to an interesting one handed game of pool. Â I wondered if he'd been sipping the night away on their $5 well specials. Â I too partook but of the draft special on Shiner, $2.75. Â
The place was half packed with all kinds of people, though the many were probably hipsters.  Lots of triangle shapes and skinny jeans, looking of the younger twenties variety.  A few scattered locals and ladies looking to dance.  A great place to have a beer with friends, celebrate a birthday or meet a new person to have a drink with.  You don't have to llama too long before catching the right  curious gaze of hello.  If I was a local, this would take up at least two nights of the weekly hangs.
The jukebox that night went from Wu-tang to 80's classic rock to Skrillex to Biggie smalls, it was all over and full of good music. Â Don't let the record covers fool you, there are a lot of different tracks on each album. Â Three plays for your dollar.
As close as you can get to Dallas dive-dom and still stay in the mid cities! Â And I don't mean that in a bad way.
Set back significantly from the road on Division St. just  West of Cooper St., you are better served looking for the sign than the establishment itself (which is the former Skippy's Mistake, for long-time Arlingtonites).  And as noted by some, once located take care navigating a parking lot which had seen better days in the 1980's.  But once inside, you will be greeted with an intimate if kitschy setting, populated largely by UTA's  alternative scene (all of whom apparently smoke).  The jukebox reflects these leanings, but is filled with tunes from just about every era, from Joy Division to Minor Threat to Queens of the Stone Age.  The bar staff is friendly and competent (no waitresses, so keep this in mind if you choose a table), the prices reasonable, and there is an inviting patio out back if the smoke inside becomes a problem.
So give one of Arlington's most laid-back dives a try and head into the Caves!
What a shit hole! The decoration is cool, and sometimes good music is played but that aint enough for a good nightlife experience. The service is terrible. I was standing in front of the counter for a good 15 minutes trying to get a beer. Â The bartender would look at me and broke eye contact immediately. Kinda lame! But he was serving all of his friends a.s.a.p. though. Â Finally I get my beer, but I was very disappointed.
The music is jukebox controlled, so if some guy drops 20 bux on hiphop songs, then you will be listening to hiphop all night. Kinda lame!
The crowd here seems cool but cliquey. It will be impossible to meet any kind of new friends here if you show up on your own. The music is way too loud to talk so go elsewhere if you were considering meeting some new people. I might give it a second chance, but I really don't care.
This place was one of my absolute favorites when I went to UTA a few years ago. Anytime I went to Caves, I knew the vibe was going to be exactly my speed. I am starting to hear rumors that the vibe has changed to one that is a bit more poserish and that is really disappointing. The last time I went, I picked up on more hipsters and less punk people, but I never felt any real difference in the attitudes of the patrons or the bartenders.
Drinks- Want a strong martini to knock you off your feet? Yes, come here.They also have ever beer available from the local Rohr brewery. Lots of German beers if you're into that.
Either way, their patio is fabulous and the "lounge" is a mix of kitchy and stylish and nothing feels contrived about it at all.
It's a great place to take some friends and get drunk while shooting some pool.
Caves is hard to describe. It is a dive bar on paper, but it's more and less than that.
It has a lot going for it, though. It has a fantastic  beer selection for a dive, pretty decent drink prices, a phenomenal juke box, and it really feels like a real party every night of the week. There's a feeling of family at Caves, as well, and if it's too loud for your tastes the patio is phenomenal.
On the negative side, it can be way too loud on busy nights, and it sometimes seems like they have inattentive bartenders (see previous comment), the only food comes from  street vendors and a vending machine most nights, but the special occasions with authentic German food are to die for. The biggest complaint I can lob their way is the lack of seating. It's a crowded little place, and that both lends to and detracts from the experience. Same with the hipsters.
All in all, if you're looking to go to a dive bar on Division you won't catch Hep C at, and can tolerate blaring music, Caves is a good choice so long as you can find a seat.
I have friends that like this place but I'm just not a big fan. Â The service is sketchy at best. Â Even with two bartenders on a night that's not very busy, it takes too long to get a drink. Â And every time I've gone the door guy is a complete jerk.
I don't really see it as a dive bar. Â They have nice furniture, the back is landscaped, the drinks are only cheap when they're on special. Â It's more like a place for people who want to think they're slumming but don't actually want to go to a dive bar.
It's not as divey as Sunshine, but the jukebox is better and the drinks are generally just as cheap. Â I like the seating and the patio is AWESOME. Â The decor and the art are also pretty cool and the bathrooms have been usually clean, even though they have that weird smell of sanitizer that can't quite mask pee.
But onto the bad. The ID guys sitting near the door usually cop an attitude though, which bugs me. Â Every time I've gone, except for a really late Tuesday night, they've been super crowded so if you manage to grab a seat, as soon as you go out to the patio to take a look, your seat is gone. Â Also, as great as the music is, it's always way too loud so I can barely be heard/hear anyone without shouting. Â The bar isn't very prompt and even with two bartenders, the lines get pretty bad.
I usually go to Caves only after Sunshine, which I like better. Â Also, on some nights, you can see precious stray kittens running around! Â If you're drunk enough, you can try to chase them for a snuggle. Â Beware: they're fast as hell.
I used to go here all the time as I was dating someone who lived in Arlington. Â It was a "dive" bar. Â They had a nice outdoor patio, the indoors wasn't too loud ("ironic" tv in the fireplace playing videos of a fire) and the martinis -while they occasionally took a long time to get, snagging the bartender's attention could be tough- were frelling fantastic! Â They had a martini menu and I steadily worked my way through it. Â My gold standard for martinis now is, "is this martini as good as a martini that I could get at Caves?"
Work sent me to Fort Worth recently and I went out of my way to drive out here to go back to Caves. Â I had my heart set on the After 8 martini (the one that tastes like Thin Mints) or perhaps the Bat's Blood. Â Maybe I would try one from the menu that I hadn't tried before. Â Ooh, or what was that one that had Chambord in it?
I hopped up on a barstool and miraculously snagged a bartender immediately. Â Gleefully I asked to see the martini menu. Â
"Martini menu?"
"Yeah, like, the Bat's Blood, the After 8, the martinis. Â You have a little menu with them?"
"Oh." He said, scanning the bar for other, more sane patrons, "We don't do that anymore."
WHAT?! Â That was the whole reason to come here! Â You get a martini, they give you the shaker in addition to the glass and you go out onto the patio to yammer at your friends and pretend like the dive bar attempt at jungle oasis actually hides the fact that there's nothing but a parking lot beyond the fence.
"Say it ain't so!" I pleaded, crestfallen.
"Sorry." He said.
Noticing my heartbroken liver he told me he still remembered some of them and offered to make me one anyway. Â I tipped him well and took the minty martini out to the faux oasis. Â Drinking it alone felt like break up sex or the drunken night out where you happen to run into and go home with your recent ex. Â It was good while it lasted but it wasn't right anymore.
This place is a legitimate hole. Â The real deal, swanky dive bar that you'll likely only learn about by word of mouth, because you'd never notice it if you were just driving though the seedy center of Arlington, as it's tucked in amidst rent-by-the-hour motels, used car lots, and bail bondsmen. Â
It's a rarity to find a bar in Tarrant County that seems real. Â Arlington doesn't have all that many bars in the first place, and most are more like restaurants that happen to serve booze. Â And Ft. Worth is 99% corporations--chain bars with 40 year old women dressed like school girls or modeled to look like an Irish pub.
I don't know what Cave's is trying to look like. Â Perhaps a cool lounge. Â In any case, it doesn't try to hard and may even fail, and it's all the better for it. Â The place does get crowded and it is filled with smoke...but it's a freaking bar. Â If you want peace & quiet & comfort, you probably shouldn't be in a bar in the first place. Â Complaining about smoke is almost as bad as saying the bathrooms aren't very clean.
Many people mention the jukebox, which is better than most and avoids the standard X-rock frat boy music for the most part. Â And the drinks are ridiculously cheap at times--even on weekends you can get a $2 drink.
I try not to go here often so that I don't end up hating Caves like most people I know. Â The place is smoky and the bar is too busy to get a drink quickly, especially on the weekends. Â They have a fun Oktoberfest and the drink specials are cheap. Â There's a patio, the best juke in Arlington, and a small pool table. Â I am officially too old for this joint, even though peeps my age kept it open in the beginning. Â It's full of young scenesters, so the sister bar Ozzie Rabbit is better for geriatrics like myself.
Review Source:Cave's, is it fair? Is it fair to compare you to another bar? Even if that bar is yourself? Fairness be damned! Here I go. I still patronize Cave's. Cave's was/is great, but it was better before it was invaded by the frozen and uptight. Â Ok, I mainly do this, because it is one of the few bars that breaks the honky tonk, sports bar, truckerish, biker bar format that so prevails in Arlington. Imagine this, a young ex-punk....ish man comes back home after college. He was glad to get out of the school he was at because it didn't have much of a bar scene or people scene for that matter. He finds his mecca, a jukebox that would make Matt Pinfield cry, great drink specials, patrons from hipsters to indie kids to punks to punk....ish kids like himself. The decor is jet black and deep reds. An Xbox sits in the corner and kids play Halo 2. I mean it's great he feels at home. Then he leaves for a city that will in good time be described by most as Godforsaken.
Cave's now: Cave's has good prices, a jukebox that gives you selections off the beaten path, and a unique look and atmosphere. Most nights I enter Cave's it's to the beat of a song I've never heard or reminds me of a more indie me years ago. Smoke stings the eyes a bit, but that's OK.
I'm not one of the "they sold out crowd" when it comes to music, but there is something pure about a scene when it starts or is still below the radar. When I first came to Cave's I liked the punk...ish atmosphere for punk...ish me. One thing I have always liked about that scene is the friendliness. The people are always open and willing to just come up and talk to someone random. Yeah punks can be mean assholes, but not to other punks, or punk....ishes? Cave's still has some of the best drink specials in Arlington. Every night is some kind of drink special beyond happy hour hours and including weekends. To just say the drinks are cheap and the jukebox is great is not...enough. Let me clarify. We can all drink cheaper at home, that's not why we go to bars. We could just get some friends together and drink our Schlitz on the back porch. We go out for the social stimulation. As for the jukebox, we got that too. Thanks to the miracles of the internet we can bit torrent or itunes our way to music heaven, whateva your anti-establishment pleasha. Not only do I go to bars for cheap drinks and good music but....well... atmosphere. I know, I'm a heterosexual male, atmosphere???!!! but Cave's used to have it, now it doesn't. The bartenders seem a little less friendly and frankly they seem more at home at Cave's sister bar Ozzy Rabbit's Lounge off of Lancaster in Fort Worth. The crowd at Cave's stopped being like the interesting passionate kids you bump into in the mosh pit or at the merc table at the concert. It seems to have gotten a bit more poserish. Everybody seems to be strutting their flat ironed hair, and skinny jeans. I usually don't have a problem with this...when I go to Dallas. This is Arlington folks. Cave's can be a breath of fresh air in this city, but not put on airs. I know this seems petty and discriminatory of scenesters and hipsters, but damn it, a bar shouldn't be so damn cold. That's what happened to Cave's my former favorite bar. The vibe is like a funeral. I don't expect boisterous or even fun. I do expect life though. I don't think I'm the only one either. I notice the bar isn't as busy as it used to be when I went there first. Also a lot of familiar faces (not names, i'm horrible with names) are no longer there.
Well here are the brass tacks. Caves has a dark black and red decor, cool and sleek. It has interesting paintings cast about the wall. A great patio deck from which I hear a DJ sometimes holds court. Also, if I'm not mistaken and things haven't changed there is free barbecue on Sundays(early afternoon and first come first served, get there quick). Cave's sporadically has bands play. They also have some interesting and slightly disturbing anime playing on the tubes there. The Xbox is gone. People there are not too open and overly friendly, they seem to keep to themselves or their small tight knit groups. If you are going with a group you already know, not by yourself, with a buddy or in a small group then its probably not going to bore you. The jukebox is still great, but more of the selections seem to be pretty slow and more like funeral dirges and sad bastard music. Where have all the concert kids gone???
Caves--probably the perfect bar minus the smoke. The cigarette smoke was atrocious, but I suppose that's to be expected in Texas bars. Â My first impression--big and red with wonderful sounds.
The service was wonderful--friendly bartenders who know their beer and we went on the RIGHT night--any bottled beer from anywhere in Europe--$2.50 some exclusions applied but nevermind the excusions---when can you get a newcastle or a fancy Czech beer for the price of a PBR ALL NIGHT LONG?! Â At Caves on Monday nights--wonderful juke box to boot.
This place is amazing.
It is also tiny, smoky, and cool with camp value. Its basically a small, dark room with red walls, a pool table, some lounge seating, and Betty Boop on a corner TV on loop. They don't have a lot of variety as far as alcohol goes, so I settle for a Shiner every time. Karaoke Night is a must. The night I went, everybody that sang sounded professional! Seriously, it was like hearing Oasis and Frank Sinatra live. It made mere mortals like myself not want to participate.
The patrons were also friendly. In fact, its the only bar I've been to where no one creepy approached me- just normal, college-age people. Normal people wearing trendy clothing, that is.
And if this place doesn't float your boat, the Sunshine Lounge is not even a 30 second walk away.
This place is full of 22-25 year olds wich is great compared to sherlocks wich is packed full of old people. I recently went on a pub crawl from this bar and it was AMAZING. We started here went to five other bars and my friends and i had an absolute blast when we got back they had tons of pizza ordered from mr jims. The only thing keeping this place from having the 5th star is that this place can get packed full of smoke and they don't have very good air circulation so you can end up wreaking on your way out. On thursdays they have .25 cent beers and it gets pretty busy. they have good drink specials every night though.
Review Source:Pretty cool. I've heard they're famous for the jukebox, but I've never hung inside - I just go straight to the back patio (with a quick stop at the ever-so-speedy bartender for a dunkelweizen) and basically hang out like I'm in someone's backyard.
Had some fun nights with friends. And almost always something to drink is dirt-ass cheap.
Plus, I'm a ho for a gimmick, so that leopard-spot chimney makes me smile every time I pull into the (bumpy, totally pot-holed) parking lot.
This place blows. Â And yes there are hipsters in Arlington. Â I hang out at the Sunshine across the way when I'm in town. Â Hipsters posing as punk rockers. Â Lame. Â I will admit that the patio area in the back is cool. Â The people inside are pretty lame though. Â The decor is fucking stupid as shit. Â A TV in the fireplace playing those mood video tapes of an actual fire. Â Really ironic guys. Â That's fucking gay. Â It is possible to have a good time in here, but not very easy. Â My suggestion...go in the back patio area so you can get away from the gayness that is the inside. Â They do have cheap drinks usually though so I will give them that. Â That's why I don't give them 1 star...even though I wanted to. Â My suggestion is go to the Sunshine across the parking lot...way better!
Review Source:The Swankiest Dive in Arlington.
I've heard the best place to take someone from Austin is the FT Worth Zoo.
While that may be true for your Aunt Judy, if you have friends in town, this is the place.
It's dark, smoky, delicious.
Try to find a better jukebox.
All of the bartenders are great, very fast, efficient, and cool.
AND THE DRINK SPECIALS are the best in arlington.
Wednesday karaoke is hard to beat , and if you can ever catch a live show there- your lucky, it's a small venue for bands and it works.
But...they lose a star, because it's about time to fix the parking lot. If it's rainy- get there early, cause the parking lot floods badly in the back.
you can also grab a Caves shirt that says on the back:
DIVISION ST... not just for bums and prostitutes anymore!
a bar with a sense of humor. i like that.
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