Paramount Bar

My buddies and I showed up to visit a friend and pub crawl.  We went to the Paramount and I was instantly impressed.  The place reminded me of a cleaner Blue Lounge from Wichita.  They had a live band playing, and the crowd there was lively.  
I was surprised, for the level of people they had there, the bartenders were on top of their game and made sure our drinks were never empty for long.  We left this bar to check out Big Nose Kates and Inferno.  I ended up missing this bar for the remainder of the evening.

I walked in this bar, and initially feared that it would be like Rendezvous just to the north; like that bar, Paramount has a more mature crowd, although there were also students here.

I was immediately impressed because they have more than a dozen beers on tap, including a decent cross-section of styles from Boulevard (the Kansas City craft brewer), and a selection of macro and larger craft brews. Not bad selection, especially considering that Paramount is smaller than most of Salina's downtown bars, and often has live music on its stage.

I get the impression that this is an older bar with a local following. It's the kind of place where old friends can see each other after years apart--in fact, that happened right next to me as I sipped my Boulevard Dry Stout.

Nice folks, and some fun music from the jukebox. Not too loud, so it's probably the best bar in Salina to talk with friends.

I docked 1-1.5 stars for their bathroom. It was filthy and smelled somewhat noxious, like pale ale vomit--early in the evening, so there's no excuse for it. Great place but for the bathroom.

A friend and I popped in here seeking refuge from a torrential rainstorm on a Saturday night.    

I don't normally like being in a bar that has a band playing, but this place did it right.   Not only was there no cover (a big plus), the music was as loud as it needed to be and no louder.   It was possible to both hear the music and be able to have a normal, non-shouting conversation.

More bars should take a lead from this when they have a band!

Despite the crowd we were served quickly and enjoyed the music and people while waiting to dry off.