My husband and I live out of state but we visit the North Shore a few times a year to visit family and friends. Â This past Friday we were in town for an event and decided to swing by the Lucky Dog after our party wrapped up.
We hitched a ride with some friends, parked in the lot and walked in through the back door. Â There was nobody at the door checking IDs. Â I take a seat the bar with a friend and order a drink. Â I was not asked for my ID and was given a drink no questions asked. Â A few seconds later my husband comes up to me saying the bartender refused him a drink because he had an out of state ID. Â
I turn back towards the bar to ask the bartender if  my husband can stay while I finish my drink or if he has to leave immediately.  Keep in mind I had just paid for the full drink sitting in front of me.  Before I open my mouth to speak, the bartender shouts at me "DON'T DO THAT!  HE'S BEEN WARNED!"  I'm confused and ask the bartender what he is talking about.  He just repeated "he's been warned" and walked away.
At this point my husband leaves the bar area to find our ride and let them know we have to leave. Â I turn back to the bar to have a few sips of my still full cocktail before we go. Â Less than 10 seconds later I turn to see the bouncer laying hands on my husband, grabbing him by the collar and forcibly pushing him out the front door. Â I run over and ask him what the problem is and say that if he has an issue he doesn't have to be rude. Â
The bouncer starts shouting that he has told my husband to leave "14 times", which is an exaggeration seeing as we had been there less than 5 minutes. Â He then proceeds to grab me by the arm and try to push me away from the door. Â He says "he's out of state, he has to go" as he is gripping my arm and pushing me back into the bar. Â I tell him that I'm out of state too yet I was served, and he forcibly pushes me out the door. Â Up until this point I had not raised my voice, cursed, or done anything to warrant this man laying hands on me.
We have been to the Lucky Dog approximately 6 times over the past few years and have never had an issue. Â We are in our thirties and don't look like we're underage. Having our IDs turned away is an annoying issue we sometimes run into when we visit. Â We understand that certain places have policies and while it is annoying, we know we have to abide by the house rules. Â If the bar has changed its policy, no big deal. Â This is not the only bar in town. Â We can move on. Â But to take such drastic action against one person with a valid out of state ID while not even checking the ID of others is unfair and unprofessional.
I am very angry at the rude and hostile treatment we received at the Lucky Dog. Â This was only made worse when the bartender, Russell, posted a false report of the incident on FaceBook. Â Read his exact words below: Â
"Ok... When the bartender refuses your ID. 1.you are not getting a drink. 2.do not tell them you're just gonna have your friends order you a drink. 3. Don't actually attempt what is stated in number two. 4. When the bartender tells you to leave, leave. 5. If you don't and the bouncer tells you to leave, leave. 6. If you still don't, you will be assisted. 7. If you throw a 12 year old temper tantrum, grabbing chairs and tipping them on your way out.... You are banned.
Besides a little napoleon complex, he seemed alright. Just wanted to be tall for a night. My favorite from last night, when I refused an out of state; I told him "trust me it sucks more for us than you"....answer- I doubt it. 'So a cpl less drinks in your liver and more money in your pocket is worse than me making less $$'.... The few are starting to ruin my opinion of the many."
Russell's cheap shot at my husband's height makes me want to say something nasty about his portly, unkempt appearance, but I will refrain. Â The fact is none of this happened. Â I witnessed the incident and no chairs were thrown over, nor was there any temper tantrum. Â I don't know whether Russell has my husband confused with someone else or if he is trying to make his evening sound more exciting than it was. Â Either way this is completely untrue and I am saddened to see that he chooses to badmouth patrons online.
Bottom line: out of towers beware! Â This place does not want your business and will go out of their way to make you feel unwelcome. Â This was an incident that got completely blown out of proportion by 2 staffers who wanted to be tough guys. Â Unless you want to be mistreated by a couple of small minded jerks, stay far away from this place!
the juke box is dope and filled with perfection. the popcorn is salty and plentiful. if that's not enough, you can bring food in with you from elsewhere to eat while you play the titty games on that screen thing. sometimes there are hipsters being super ironic (you know, ruining pabst for the rest of us, etc.) but i feel like it's not too often. i think the lucky dog kicks ace. i could probably wear sweatpants here and have it be alright, except for with the g.d. hipsters, unless they're wearing sweatpants with elastic ankles, in which case my fashion choice would be appropriate.
Review Source:One of the first bars I started visiting when I moved to Beverly years ago. A local dive bar, filled with cheap beer, cheap mixed drinks, and all the homeless weirdos you can shake a stick at. I say that in a loving way. The place was seldom crowded, except for the locals, and the bartender Scott was very cool and laid back. I'd usually be there every Friday and Saturday, with a small or large group of friends. They have free popcorn and a couple of oldish arcade games. Sure the popcorn smells like farts, but it fits in with the atmosphere. Still, farty popcorn aside, It was awesome, we drank like fish, played David Bowie and The Cars on the jukebox, and had endless conversations about 80's cartoons and Indiana Jones. Then something odd happened. The word got out that this place was a great way to get a cheap drunk on, and the college kids flocked to this place like sweat on a fat person. Soon the place was thick with meat heads and tribal tattoos.
Things I've witnessed at the Lucky Dog.
1. Fist fights.
2. Older drunk woman peeing her pants.
3. Old homeless guy getting surly/too touchy with one of my less tolerance inclined friends, and watching the homeless person getting tossed out of the bar by his jacket by said friend.
4. Girls throwing up on the floor.
5. Girl throwing up on my sneakers. (admittedly, she was with our group)
6. More fist fights.
7. Racist jackass giving the only black guy in the place a hard time. That guy was a douche. If I remember right, he got tossed.
8. Group singing of Foreigner songs
9. Drunk girl jumping on her friend's back, too drunk to hold on, and then falling back and cracking her skull on the floor.
10. Bathroom with more urine on the floor than in the toilet.
I never go here anymore now that the crowds have taking over, but it was good for what ails ya on a Friday night, and they always have a Red Sox, Celtics game, etc on the tube. For that, I give it three stars.
This place is full of creatures. Seriously. Jim Henson couldn't have come up with a better cast of characters than the faithfull regulars who slowly rot away in this place.
I am a firm believer that you can tell a great dive by two things: The jukebox and the smell. This place passes on both accounts. First: The jukebox. It is stuffed to the gills with the perfect balance of songs that get half the bar ready for boozing, and absolutly annoy the shit out of everyone else. For my dollar, I'm going to bump "Better Be Good To Me" by Tina Turner until you and I end up in a fist fight. Deal with it.
Second: The smell. It fucking stinks. And that's perfect. I want my dive bar to stink. It's not like human/non-human poo stench or anything. It's kind of a blend of stale beer, sweat, old take out, homeless people and sadness all jumbled together in a mules ass. Yet, it makes perfect sense.
The drinks are strong and cheap, the staff is scruffy and awesome. They have Galaxia for Pete's sake! Go get drunk here and enjoy an evening of not a single soul judging you, because honestly, they ain't so snappy either...
Horrible now that they have tried to introduce live music. This was a place to go and get away from all that crap. A place to just hang out with friends and shoot the shiat. Now I have to listen to people FROM the lucky dog SING??? Don't think so. Bring it back to a regular place to just grab a drink and watch the game or you will lose business from a least 5 regulars I know.
P.S. Watch out for one of the girls behind the bar, she likes to assume you are giving her a tip and just take it out of your change. This happened to be twice in the past month.
Biker Friendly... We just started stopping here for a cold one but haven't eaten here yet. I will say I've met some really nicest people and the bartender is a sweetheart.
All the food I've seen come out looks pretty good so one of these days I'll have to order some and stop treating it like a watering hole... Â Although its a great watering hole on hot day... Love the Green Monsta Ale... Only place I've ever seen it.
Love the lucky dog. Show up with a few friends on Thursday nights for Trivia. Â It's the funnest trivia I've played, thanks to the host, Lee. Has darts, a few old school video games, cheap beer, and nice bartenders.
They don't have food at the bar, but you can always cross the street and bring in some Siam Delight or go next door and get some Rantoul Pizza. However, sometimes they do have food, it seems to vary like the seasons.
The last of a dying breed of dive bars in Beverly. Â Where once the town had a handful of low class drinkeries, it has now dwindled to three.
I don't go here often, but this is one of my favorite "You know, I haven't been there in a while" places to go to. Â Drinks are cheap, pitchers are cheap, music is good enough, and it lacks the 'dude-guy' and shrill obnoxious club going girl types.
I like to get the Modelo Especial bottles and the shots there are pretty cheap. Â Good spot if you can get in a bit early and snag a table. Â Otherwise be prepared to be cramped standing up all night.
Don't let the "Sports Bar" moniker throw you, The Lucky Dog has more of a neighborhood, corner bar feel. Small storefront sized room, long, straight bar to the left, low ceilings, neon beer lights and Keno screens abound. Only the ginormous flatscreen opposite the bar and a couple of extra wallmounts tuned to various sporting events belie it's sporty aspirations. Somewhat of a bar in transition (as is the neighborhood) as townies, and hoodie-wearing construction workers rub up against the encroachment of ironic hipsters from the local art college "slumming it" with their PBRs. Despite the somewhat terse bartenders (hey, sometimes they gotta be) it's always a friendly feel in the room even when packed (weekends and/or any local team playoff game). Decent (and cheap) beer and drink selection plus a great jukebox full of classic rock and punk that isn't cranked up to 11 until you can't  hear yourself think (like some places we know). There is a somewhat dodgy looking communal popcorn machine and (I think) micro-pizzas on offer but folks are really here for the suds - pitchers are a hit. A nice alternative to the (s)wanky "upscale" bars popping up all over the area and not a "OMG. I just turned 21!" bar (again, like some places we know) while not being a complete dive (head over to Rantoul St. for that). Tip: big parking lot out back w/rear entrance to bar but beware the dart games that are in progress on the other side of that door!
Review Source:i'm not sure why but i love this place... maybe 'cause my dad would bring me here on sunday afternoons for cheese popcorn & cherry cokes while he played pinball, back when it was barney's and saul worked the bar. well, nostalgia aside... it's delightfully sketchy. the amazing jukebox has the perfect balance of 80's, metal, classic rock & punk. the crowd is like a united nations summit of the north shore. Â the drinks are reasonable. i usually only wind up here at the end of the night, you might see me, i'm the one in the back hording a pitcher of pbr and punching the clash into the jukebox.
Review Source:What a dump! Â I love this place!
Almost a literal hole in the wall, the Lucky Dog is a great dive bar. Â It is consistently loud and crowded and there are always drinks spilled on the bar. Â The first time I was there I got hammered after the Patriots lost the Super Bowl. Â Pretty good selection of whiskey for such a little bar. Â The next time I went, I switched to an amaretto sour after my first scotch and, unbelievable, the beefy bartender behind the counter didn't give me crap for ordering such a puss drink - he'd have been well within his rights to do so. Â
The drinks aren't very expensive and I haven't tried the food yet. Sometimes it takes a little while to get the bartender's attention, but that's as it should be in a place like this. Â I want surly in my dive bars!
Next time, it's a pitcher of PBR and a six dollar pizza, I think. Â
Oh, lest I forget, added bonus: the men's room is located in an actual dungeon. Â Excellent. Â I love this bar.
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