After making excuse after excuse that I was never "drunk enough" to go to Louise's West, I found myself here last Friday night. The run-down location (why's it in the middle of a neighborhood??) may look totally shady, but I found that I probably didn't need to be "drunk enough" to come here - it's a pretty standard college town dive with slightly-sticky tables, random holes in the furniture, and old school music blaring...what's not to love? Plus, they carry Johnny Walker whiskey.
Yeah, I probably wouldn't come here with the girls for a swanky night out but for the other more chill nights, there ain't nothin' wrong with a good old dive.
There is no better place to go in Lawrence on a nice afternoon. Period. Schooners of cheap beer, served ice cold by friendly bartenders, on an open porch. All you need is a bit of sunshine, some friends, and a gentle breeze, and you've the recipe for the perfect saturday. Or Monday. Especially the days that end in ... oh you know.
Review Source:I have never been nor will I ever be a fan of Bloody Mary's. I have even been to Frank's in Austin Texas where I'm told is home to the US's best Bloody Mary which despite their bacon-infused-vodka, I found to be lacking. I never would have believed it but Louise's West made me a convert even though I'll never drink them anywhere else again.
Review Source:Louise's West makes one of the best bloody mary's you can get a bar-- anywhere. I love me some bloodies, and I order them everywhere, usually disappointed by a Mr. & Mrs. T's/vodka combo. But LW's makes theirs from scratch and they are salty and spicy, just like they should be!! For $2.50 on Sundays, I can drink my day away. Sunday funday.
They have great daily drink specials and really great happy hour specials (6-7pm and then 11pm-midnight). Friendly bartenders who play their ipods so there is new music every time I'm there. TVs showing whatever sports are important at the time. A nice patio outside to smoke or just hang out. (There are TVs outside too.) Buck Hunter, pool, Ms. Pac Man, darts! And far enough away from Mass St that only real folks visit this bar.
It really doesn't get much better than this. Where Bloody Mary's call your name, this place is your home away from home type of establishment. Where everyone knows your name - Louise's West rests in the middle of a small-town residential area and is somewhat dubious on the exterior. Well, it isn't much better better on the inside, however the laid-back-ready-to-party attitude channeling through this tiny, dive bar is definitely recognized the instant you walk in.
Already aware of their fantastic, and reasonably-priced, Bloody Marys - I was ready to dive (drink) right in. Served with the 'good-kind' of pickle spear, a high-dose of Tabasco & worcestershire sauce, and pepper - they don't joke around with their vodka specialty. Enjoying the Bloody half-priced at $2.50, I was even more elated when I was able to enjoy it amongst fun-going college students and a lone pac-man arcade game.
One of my favorite things about visiting the Better Half's hometown of Lawrence is how cheap everything seems in comparison to San Francisco (the California dollar has a very favorable exchange rate in Kansas). We came to "West" to get moderately shitfaced on a Sunday night at the end of a long weekend, and for roughly $17.50 (excluding tips) I had a bloody mary (w/a dill pickle garnish! Sounds kinda gross. Isn't.), 2 shots of Milagro tequila, and 2 schooners of Boulevard Wheat (a local [KC] microbrew). Spending $17.50 at a bar in SF will get you exactly 1.5 drinks and a dirty look. Â At West you can rock chalk your socks off for a twenty.
They've got a great college/dive bar setup--pool & foosball tables, jukebox (which was playing mostly 90's-era NY rap the night I was there. Heaven), video games, outdoor smoking patio, affable bartenders, eclectic crowd, and beef jerky in jars behind the bar in case you need to have a quick munch. There is a shuffleboard table that runs parallel to the bar which basically serves as a huge bench for people to sit on and watch Jayhawks hoops on the various TVs (let's face it, basketball is the only KU team worth watching). I can only imagine how packed this place gets during big games, and speculate as to how many times the bathroom has been puked in.
If I lived in town I would undoubtedly become a regular at Louise's West. My only very minor complaint is that the barstools, which are bolted to the floor, are an awkward distance from the bar. Makes it really difficult to properly belly up.
Cash money only.
On a recent trip to Lawrence, we came in here for a drink around 11 pm Saturday. Perfect place to avoid the masses on Mass Street! Â A few blocks off the beaten path, this place has pool, darts, fooseball, Ms. pacMan, and a decent bottled beer selection!! Â In addition to Smithwick's, Guinness, and Free State Brewery options, they have Great Divide Titan IPA! Â Saturday night is $3 imports and microbrews. Yay for us! Â The bartender was so nice and helpful. Â It was nice to feel like my business was appreciated. They also have an enclosed patio for warmer weather. Â This was my favorite bar stop in Lawrence.
Review Source:A token dive bar that is exactly what I like in a bar - cheap and cold beer, good prices, friendly service, and many regulars who are either great or somewhat creepy, but both are fun. This is one of the best places in Lawrence to just kick back with a cold beer on a hot day or after a long day/week at work.
Review Source:I had to try the famous Bloody Mary - glad I did. Â I ordered extra spicy and it wasn't as spicy as I like but still damn good. Â The dill pickle garnish was great. Â I didn't realize how well a dill pickle and a Bloody Mary go together but they do. Â
Overall, Louise's West is exactly what  I like in a bar.  The bartender was attentive and nice.  The bar is dark, had some sports on the TV and a Foosball table.  Plus the drink prices are incredibly cheap!  My hubby had a schooner of beer for $3.50.  It's a deceivingly huge glass of beer. Â
We have added Louise's West to our must visit spots when we're in Lawrence.
best real bar in lawrence.
OK...Lawrence is a college town and most of its bars require a shower and/or testing after leaving. But somehow west mixes a lot of elements about what's good about college towns into a nice stew of authentic townies, hip kids, ku athletes, party girls, party dudes, ku coaches, alums, and a few crazy stragglers every blue moon. Â
Bartenders are down-to-earth and most can make badass bloody marys (one of west's specialities). super cheap drink specials also abound in a throwback atmosphere that doesn't rely on drink specials to draw a nice crowd.
My college boyfriend lived next door to Louise's West my senior year. Every night I would hear all the craziness happening over there, but decided to stay away...that was, until one Sunday I had a craving for a Bloody Mary. Every Sunday they offer $2 Bloody Marys, so I figured why not try some tomato juice and Kosher pickle. Why I had stayed away for so long, I have no idea - it was amazing.
This place has since ruined me on Bloody Marys - I now request a pickle for my Bloody Mary whenever I order one elsewhere. Sometimes the bartender gets it and other times I just receive an odd look, but either way - very few of those drinks even compare to the wonderful mixture of spices Lousie's West bartenders so effortlessly create.
My roommate at the time (hello, Paige W.) and I even snuck out of the commencement ceremony and dragged our moms here with us for a quick drink.
The Bloody Marys at the dive bar make it top notch in my book.
I dedicate this review to the incomparable Max Power B., who so hates pickles in her Bloody Marys.
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I'm not sure the "dive bar" classification really captures exactly how divey Louise's West is, but we'll go with it, laughing all the while at Yelp's adjectival limitations.
My memories of Louise's West are equally limited in scope but certainly more vivid: $2 Bloody Marys every Sunday, all day. I'm a sucker for a good Bloody Mary, and when I heard this place had the best in Lawrence, I abandoned my Johnson County hangups and agreed to go temporarily townie for the sake of sampling my favorite Sunday-morning spirit.
Well, those odd-duck permanent Lawrencians didn't steer me wrong. I was doubtful when I saw the tiny, stripped-down wood-paneled room filled with pool tables, dart boards and a few tiny booths with tables etched by inkless pens and other sharp objects.
But the bartenders knew what was up. Bloody Marys were their thing, and no matter how many times I went there, I always came to expect the same spicy vodka-and-tomato deliciousness, laced with A1, celery salt and Worcestershire sauce, and garnished with a crisp dill pickle wedge. Perfection.
I came to love this place so much that on the day of my college graduation, instead of sticking around for the commencement ceremony, my roommate and I took our mothers out of the fray and through the door of our favorite dive bar for Bloody Marys. The bar was ours that day (the day and the night and the car wash, too), with the exception of a few sketchy bearded men from the surrounding neighborhood, and I can say with some certainty that the ordinary conversation the four of us had at those stools was better than anything our chancellor could've been saying to send us off.
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