Oh, Ships...you are a treasure. Don't ever change.
It's definitely a time capsule in here. Don't come in expecting fancy things like credit card processing or mixed drinks. It's cash only and they do cheap set ups if you bring your own liquor. Highlights include the kitschy vibe, friendly staff, super cheap beer, a pool table that is magically almost always open, and a jukebox with the best collection of tunes I've seen yet. It's a come as you are type of place - no need to gussy up, which can be really refreshing in this city. There's usually an interesting mix of people that can lead to interesting conversations if you're sitting at the bar. I always know what to expect when I go to Ships, and it's consistently a laid-back good time.
Ships, I love you. Forget introducing a new guy to my friends as a test. Ships is and always has been my cool-ass friend who gets along with everyone and if you have shit to say about her then it might as well be over.
I'm serious.
It's always Maritime-Christmas, the music takes me, the bartenders delight and the rows of Christmas lights twinkle magnificent in the reflection of a beautiful friend's glasses.
Go here, get lost and be real.
J
Haaaay Ships. You cool.
This was stop 4 (my stop 2) of the early morning pub crawl of '13. Epic, it was. It was great the way all 15 of us rolled in, were there for 17 seconds before we realized we didn't' have any liquor, and then all decided to pile into Chris E's van and head down to Goody Goody. And then roll back in, buy setups and drink. Gah that was fun.
Thank you, Ships people, for not throwing us all out on our asses. We were loud. We were rude. We were debaucherous. We cussed. We hustled them for our bill when we decided we had to GO right then. I'll be back and in better behavior soon. I promise, Ships.
Going to ships is like getting into an awesome time machine where you're not actually going back in time, but folks act respectful like you did. The bar itself is alley style, with a bar along most of the left side, pool table at the back, and jukebox on the right. I think Wednesday night is free chilidog night, but there is usually someone in Ships celebrating a birthday or other accomplishment with free cupcakes or cookies to give out to friendly faces. Only beer, and not many, but they are cheap, and the owner and wait staff are easy to talk to, friendly, and make you feel at ease. I love Ships for a low key lone star and a conversation with a friend or a quick game of pool. Do bring cash and your own liquor if you want to drink anything other than beer, soda, or chili.
Review Source:my new favorite bar...
I moved here from seattle. Â Seattle is teaming with varieties of neighborhoods with various cultures brewing within them. Â This is what lacks here in Dallas. Â I can't say that its missing entirely just not to par with what I'm used to. Â In Seattle I spent most of my times going to dive bars rather than the newer flashier ones. Â Here in dallas amid the concrete, corporate logos and office parks. Â I finally found a truly awesome bar that gives Seattle bars a run for its money.
BYOL = I'm there. The bartenders are awesome, and you feel like family immediately. Â The jukebox jams feature the crooners and swooners of the 50's and 60's. Some nights they have potluck stuff. Some nights the chairs are full. Some nights no one's there. But all nights, you can expect magic to happen. Bring your besties aboard: Ship's Lounge is the best dive in Dallas.
So bring your cash! No plastic people or cards allowed.
Five stars based on ambiance alone. When you walk into Ships, you can tell that you're entering a time-warp. This place is the real deal. You won't find a more authentic, classic watering hole in Dallas.
I love the nautical theme also.
The owner is great. You can tell he's a lifer, and that adds a certain charm to the place. The patrons are unpretentious and really friendly.
You MUST try Ships out! You deserve it!
ships...haha more like shits. I will start off by stating I typically really enjoy a good dive bar. Soon after parking, i was confronted by a bum who asked for 20 cents, than proceeded to get pissed off and tell him how he deserves it for serving our country. Upon entering this first class establishment I was overwhelmed by the scent of b.o., old people, and mildew...quite an astonishing scent. I sat down and order a lone star, the best beer they have. Then the mid 40s slurring drunk next to me started to harass me. Theres a lot better dives than this place out there!
Review Source:I thank the immortal god of dive bars...who I will call Ralph.. for creating and protecting Ships Lounge. Â I have heard so much about this place and my expectations were so high that the most likely result was disappointment but Ships met and surpassed my lofty expectations. Â In most ways this place is the classic American dive bar. It is small, intimately unassuming and totally unpretentious. Beer was cheap on my mid afternoon Sunday drinking session. Domestic bottles were $2 a piece. Unlike The Pastime a tavern, Ships is not a Texas honky-tonk but a universal American dive bar that could be found in LA, Chicago or just about anywhere. It is cramped space with a longish bar and booths. There are a couple of flat screens(only real mod-con in the place), tiny bathrooms, a great old school cash register and a few old decorations on the wall. Ships would be timeless but it beautifully does not belong in the information age. the great surprise to me that it was both more well light and cleaner than I thought it would be. At first I was not pleased but honestly the light and lack and filth means that this place does not have to try and live up dive stereotypes because it simply is a dive without trying.
This bar brings to mind post war LA as the plain strip center and classic interior reminds me of a spot that Bud White in LA Confidential would have taken a drink in. People drank in this place when all men, not just pretensions hipsters wore hats. On Sunday afternoon there were plenty of old guys around who remember times not too far removed from the time of hats. There were some younger people there but the bar was largely dominated by interesting older guys and I struck a long conversation with one of them who was just drunk enough to talk to. The place felt welcoming and felt like a working, living place not like an exhibit in a dive bar museum. Â
I love the place for what is but remember this is a cash only place that has only beer and wine. You can BYOB and buy backups. The only two beers they have on tap are Shiner and PBR and what little wine they have most likely comes from a box. If you are uptight and pretensions you don't want this place and it doesn't want you. If you want to experience a piece if Americana, talk to some interesting old guys and
drink some cheap cold beer; you gotta check it out.
Oh Ships, you had me at bring your own liquor and then won me over with your fabulous juke box and cheap boxed wine. (Im a classy broad, ya know.)
I went here after a show with a date and we both pretty much instantly fell in love with this place. Its low-key, it's unpretentious and it's cheap.
Friendly staff, cash only and interesting crowd. I will definitely be back, next time with a handle of vodka and a group of friends.
I love this Bar, I drank a good portion of my youth away here 1995-1996. I always imagined it to be the type of place bukowski would hang out at. I used to live on Munger and my friends would meet here nightly. I intend to be one of the old drunk guys waisting their lives away in a couple years. It has been a dream of mine for the last few years.
Review Source:This is a surly, dark bar for empty shells of men who have been utterly defeated by life.
Located in a dilapidated strip center in the lowest of lower Greenville at the corner of Ross, Ships is welcome proof that some joints are -thankfully- hipster-proof. Â There are no skinny-jean clad college kids, no laptop weildling pseudo-intellectuals with fake nerd glasses, no messenger bags, no carefully sculpted faux-hawks looking ever so perfectly disheveled, and absolutely no irony. Â Sorrow and despair hang in the air and coat the walls as much as the residue of nicotine and tar of decades past. You will not find spoiled suburbanites, obnoxious frat "bro's", vapid sorority girls, or any other form of undesirable here. Â
The offerings are limited and prices are low. Â Cheap beer and wine only. Â You can bring your own liquor, but don't dare pull out a bottle of Grey Goose or Chateauneuf du Pape. Â At Ships, whiskey and heartache are all you need.
Cool joint. Very cool. In fact, it's kind of an oasis of UNcool in a sea of pretentiousness.
Yes, it's a dive. The second we walked in, the very nice and helpful waitress made sure we knew it was cash only and BYO Liquor... (had we not been eyes deep into a night of beer, this would have been an amazing way to have a few on the cheap, since they provide the setups). There was a cheese & cracker tray in the back - appropriately low rent, right off the rack at Tom Thumb. Still, it fit.
It's funny - the whole "no cussing/cash only" thing would come off as a shallow, transparent gimmick at most any other place on Greenville, but at Ships, it struck me as legit.. they're really not trying to be cool in any capacity.
It wasn't full, plenty of seating, nice folks, cheap suds, bring your own heavy stuff. What's not to like? Ships feels like the college dive bar we all wish we had. Dig it.
I've been to this place only a handful of times, and it gets better with every visit. I stopped in last night to hang with a group of friends and have some beers. The lady at the bar was very attentive, and made sure we always had drinks. She even put money in the jukebox and told us to pick some tunes. Pretty nice of her!
The jukebox has the best tunes in Dallas, I think. I have yet to hear anything in there that sucks. Probably because there isn't much to choose from that is under 40 years old. Totally up my alley!
The "No Cussing" thing must be either a rule by one bartender, or it's a great Dallas myth. We cursed all night and it didn't seem to bother anyone. :)
My friend Billy K would probably hate that I'm writing this review. Â He has been a long time patron of Ship's and thinks that Yelp let the little secret of what a gem this bar is out to the world. Â There's not much else I can say about the bar that hasn't been said already. Â Bring cash, feel free to bring your own liquor, and don't cuss. Â We ended up here yesterday afternoon. Â I took note of the decorations this time and realized it felt like Christmas at your Grandma's in the 70's with the wood paneling and all. Â Or 4th of July with all the patriotic stuff hanging around. Â The $2.75 Lone Star's really hit the spot and chatting with the regular afternoon bar patrons was a lot of fun.
Review Source:What the SHIP?!?! I shippin love this dive joint! My friends and I enjoy bombarding this place with our rowdy shenanigans any chance we get. It's old, dirty, a little smelly, and they have a killer juke box! In twenty ten it's hard to find dive bars of this caliber. It takes a strange combination of atmospheric aptitude to create a place like this.
Please note that the owner here DOES NOT allow cussing in his bar. Yup, you heard me. Hence the... what the SHIP. Any time my friends and I hang here we replace our regular potty mouth words with "ship" and things turn out fine! Ha! No seriously, I have witnessed the owner telling people to stop cussing or he would kick them out! Personally I find this strangely fantastic. Â
Also, they are BYOB. This spells trouble and a cheap tab. With $2 beers it really amazes me that this place stays in business, BUT I'm not complaining. I can only hope they stay in business for many years to come! Remember to bring cash! No cards accepted. You are welcome to bring a bottle of your favorite liquor and they will give you cups and sale you ice to top off whatever concoction you plan on creating.
The staff has worked here for years and I mean YEARS. The décor is pretty amazing... old, faded and dusty with a nautical theme. They have a pool table in the back and like I said... an awesome juke box. It's the real deal. Not one of those modernized juke boxes that hold 100,000,000 songs. The music selection consists of blues, old country and classic rock and roll.
Like I said... this place is the perfect combination of tacky and amazing all rolled into one. If you are NOT interested in visiting a place that is super trendy and over priced I suggest you try out Ships. I'm sure you'll have a ship of a time!
Ships is BYOL...Do I really need to say more?!!!?!?!
This is one of my favorite bars. They only serve beer and wine, but if you bring in a bottle of liquor, you can buy a set up for like 3 bucks. It is cash only. Â Also the juke box is the best, there is a pool table and the cliental is great entertainment, as well.
But WATCH YOUR MOUTH! The owner does not like cursing and will say something to you about it if he hears it from you enough.
It's 2010 and my New Years resolution is to go to more dive bars. But no, I need to take it a step further, as I am not one to half ass anything. I have gathered a group of my favorite hoodlums ( aka- friends) and we have decided to try 1 -4 new dives each weekend on a mini crawl through DFW. We even came up with a rating system based on 10 criteria: Drinks, Games, Entertainment, Decor, Atmosphere, clientele, food, bathrooms, Music, and Miscellaneous.
This was bar #4 and the final one of the evening.
1. Bar- beer and wine only. Cash only.
2. Games- one crowded pool table and a slot machine for show only.
3. Entertainment- none to speak of, but you could entertain yourself for hours watching the cracked out bartender or talking to the crazy as all get out owner.
4. Decor- slightly nautical to coordinate with the "Ship's" feeling.
5. Atmosphere- tight, crowded, dim, very thin bar, few tables, but loud and boisterous.
6. Clientele- Holy shit. The people here were incredible. Upon our entering, we were asked if we were with the pirate party. When we said no, we were immediately asked if we would like to be. No sooner had we said "hells yeah" then we were whisked inside, and adorned with eye patches, bandannas, hook hands, telling pirate jokes and taking pictures with randoms. Apparently it was some guys 25th bday and that was his theme. I became his best friend immediately.
7. Food- Again, I saw some some chips and some Tums ( random?)
8. Bathrooms- gross and small small small.
9. Music- 1 old jukebox
10. Miscellaneous- when we were leaving we were stopped by the owner who said he had never seen us before. He then gave all 4 of use Ship's Lounge key chains and proceeded on a 10 minute diatribe about people using the word "MF". I loved him, I wanted to put him in my pocket.
Truly excellent bar.
If you look up Ships Lounge in the dictionary, you will get "THE quintessential dive bar"
The basics: Beer / Wine only, Cash only, pool table, jukebox, plenty of parking, smoke-free since the ban
What can I say about this place.... My friends and I came in here on Mardi Gras and were greeted by a plume of smoke and a smokey-voiced bartender wearing a Vegas-style cocktail dress who seemed drunk and spunky all the while a sad cowboy and hipster kid shared a spot at the bar. The place is lit by string Christmas lights with Nautical themes. At the back is the world's smallest pool table and at the front is the world's BEST jukebox with all the vintage country and doo-wop you'd never think you'd hear at a bar.
So they only serve beer and wine but if you bring your own booze they charge you a $3 "bottle fee" and give you a very generous bucket of ice and plastic cups.
Anyone every see Trees Lounge? I wouldn't be surprised if Steve Buscemi hadn't spent a few nights in this joint before directing this movie.
This is by far my favorite bar in Dallas. So why is it only getting 4 stars, you ask? Well, because of a particular incident where I had to boycott the place for a few months: Specifically, my male friend was thrown out for wearing a wife beater with nothing over it. Apparently, the joint has some super old-fashioned rules, in terms of cussing and what guys can wear. (But, don't worry, ladies, you can bare just about all.) I've never gotten in trouble for cussing here, but I've heard from friends that you can. And that's silly to me, but old-fashioned rules for an old-fashioned-type place, I guess.
So, on to the good stuff! It's BYOL, it's right near Greenville but has a free parking lot, it always has the same sweetheart bartender, and setups are only $3, so you can get pretty toasted for not very much dough. Also, best jukebox EVER. Seriously. Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Sam Cooke...they're all right there with you as you spiral into a drunken stupor.
And the bartender is super attentive, always bringing more ice or asking if you need anything, even when it's pretty busy and she's the only one working. And most of the time, she puts songs on the jukebox and then lets customers pick 'em. Also, I've had some less than glamorous nights here, and she's always super nice and understanding about everything. She makes this place the kick ass joint it is.
And, bonus, they sell chips now! Not the best choice of bar snacks, sure, but it's a start!
As others have said, it's small, but it's cozy, and I've had some really great times here with friends. Definitely a unique place for the Dallas scene.
I remember my last time at Ships through a haze... I mean fog... I mean, let's just say I had an ample amount of fun and didn't have to worry about driving.
I've never been into Ships when it was crowded. Â I always seem to luck out with a great balance of older and younger people strategically placed throughout the hallway of a bar. Â I love that I can still find a chill bar in Dallas; most every other place on Greenville is jam-packed, wall-to-wall, elbow-to-elbow with pretentious "aggressive men", a.k.a. douchebags. Â
When they say NO CUSSING, they mean it. Â Oh yeah, and hand gestures, like the finger, are not allowed either... found that one out the hard way after failing miserably at Mahjong's Tiles. Â And they have an ATM inside in case you forget that Ships is CASH ONLY. Â And if you want to BYOL (Liquor), that's acceptable; Ships only sells beer and wine at the bar. Â
If you're looking for a great place to watch a football game, look no further. Â I particularly like it because no one hardly ever yells and you're not allowed to cuss. Â Bonus for me!
Intro:
Saw the padded blue door and had to see what was on the other side. I'm a changed man because of it...
Ups:
Dark and cozy, in a 1970's kind of way. Super friendly people, mostly regulars, were happy to have a new face in the bar. One of the best jukeboxes in Dallas. Original decor is like something from the movies: a completely authentic bar experience.
Downs:
Not many. There's no food, but that's not a big deal. It's a small place, so don't go with 20 of your best friends. No cussing allowed... kinda hard if you're prone to that kind of thing.
Final words:
This place feels comfortable all the way around. Friendly bartenders and waitresses that will know your name by the time you leave.
For what it is, this place deserves 4 stars. Ships Lounge has the same appeal as that pair of fat jeans many of us have stashed away -- Â I don't think I'll ever need to bring my own bottle of booze into a bar, but it's nice to know it's there...just in case. Â
This place is f'ing awesome. Â Great jukebox, and the waitress was a sweetheart and totally hooked me up with a free shiner on my b'day.
Open early in the morning? Check.
Juke box full of great music? Check.
Mini pool table that makes me feel like a man when I break? Check.
Erotic photo hunt and other awesome bartop video games? Check.
Nice, old bartender that reminded me of grandpa? Check.
Bring your own liquor policy? CHECK.
No swearing policy? Che. . .what the hell?
It's true, you can match up pictures of naked ladies all day while sipping on a bottle of Jack that you brought from home while enjoying classic songs by Johnny Cash, The Temptations, Willy Nelson, etc. . .but you sure as shit can't do it if you swear.
Ship's is an anomaly of a bar. It's dingy, it's dirty, it's dated. . .it's a dive. However, they don't care if you want to serve yourself or let the bartender do it. Ship's is content with having people in the door having a good time. Saying it's 15ft wide is probably being generous, but it works for them. . .and for me.
Don't want to bring your own booze? No worries because if you can scrounge up $2.50, you can have a beer. I'll credit the cheap drinks here for the eventual rugby tequila shot courtesy of Grant L. we had a couple more bars down the road.
Ships, I love you. You're like an old dog. You may be a little stinky and maybe you've seen better days, but you're thrilled when I walk in the door and that's all that matters.
That. . .and the fact you serve me alcohol.
If you know me, you'll know I'm a cozy atmosphere....a cozy booth......cozy cozy cozy. Well, you cant get much cozier than a dive bar that's whole width is barely 15ft wide, part of that is taken up by the bar...the other by these VERY COZY 2 seater booths....equipt with the royal blue faux velvet lining. Pool table in the back. Long inviting bar. Old timer behind the bar serving up whatever you like.....the regulars looking you up and down to make sure you're Ships-worthy....
There is one rule in this local haven.....NO CURSING!! Â They will toss you right outta there for being a foul mouth...there's just no room in this place for that vulgarity...so get your beer, grab your booth, shut your mouth and take in the atmosphere.
I'm pretty sure Ship's was stop number 2 on our morning pub crawl. Â The regulars were already in full swing and Tom the bartender didn't bat an eye at serving up 10 water setups. Â He even gave us 3 or 4 bowls full of ice in case we ran out. Â What a guy.
Playing Erotic Photo Hunt (I could have sworn someone dropped the C-word) was the highlight of this stop, especially as the game switched from giggling over half nekkid women to racing to see who could find the differences first. Â Looking past a garter belt to find a missing wrinkle in the bedspread takes skill, my friend.
Any bar that lets you bring your own booze - at 10am - gets an automatic 4 stars from me. Â Ship's may be cash only, but I don't really remember. Â Go figure.
After playing catch up at the Goat by downing two Bloody Mary's in less than an hour, we all heading over to Ships Lounge where my mouth could not stop itself from both drinking and cursing.
The bar was exactly as Nickie says... dark... skinny... and at the end of the run there is the tiniest pool table you ever did see. Â My size! Â The girls bathroom left a bit to be desired. Â I'm not asking for 5 stars here, just a toilet that flushes properly. Â Oh, and the sink outside the bathrooms was a bit odd, but at least if you only wanted to wash your hands... then hello.
So you can totally play some erotic photo hunt, but you can't curse. Â Hrmmm?
I decided that I would leave a couple extra bucks for my potty mouth on the way out. Â The gentleman bartender told me that I could curse all day if I wanted too, if I was going to hang out and tip him for it. Â I think? Â After two drinks there in an hour... I was well on my way to not remembering much of anything.
All that said, we all had a good time and just for putting up with us all at such an early hour... bam... four stars.
By the time we hit Ships on our Good Morning Pub Crawl, we had one mission and one mission only: To Keep the Drinks Flowing.
Nickie busted out her flask of sweet tea vodka and requested water backs with ice for all of us. He slowly but carefully poured H2O across the length of the bar and we drank in happiness. The flask ran a little short, so Leigh and I ordered Miller Lites at $2.50 a pop. Not bad! Even the regulars there got a a kick out of our early morning debauchery.
I'd miss the place if I didn't know EXACTLY where I was going, but that's part of what makes it so special. It's like a secret hideaway...just bring your own Purell. You never know!
I finally made it to Ships after all this time living just around the corner. Â I made it, at 10am, already drunk, on the yelptastic Good Morning Pub Crawl.
Dark, long, and skinny describes this bar as well as the way I like my boys.  hehe  The tiny booths along the wall made me happy.  The older bartender who was quite literally overwhelmed with about 15 already drunk partyers right at opening was a sport.  He made water setups for our flask of sweet tea vodka without batting an eye or even saying "What are you people doing this wasted already at 10AM?"  The regulars were already there as well...God love people who are bar regulars in the AM.  And none of them kicked me out when I simply could NOT, could NOT stop cursing.  Sue me, I was fucking...errr freakin...drunk!! Â
I will most definitely be back and bring my bottle of liquor, sit in one of those cute booths, drink, and try and remember not to curse.
Sooo. P.S. I just noticed that the only picture of Ship's Lounge is of me taken from Kevin N. Let's work on that. I need pictures of Ships, people. I promise I'll take more pics next time too. I guess I was just distracted by...
Ship's Lounge = Happiness, world peace, unicorns jumping over rainbows, and cuddly teddy bears.
Ya know what's awesome? When a fellow community manager comes into support ya at a Yelp Elite party. Ya know what's also awesome? Is if it's Kevin N from Austin! Not only is he a super Yelpman, but he also shares the love for a good dive bar. Well to the dives we go!
After showing Kev one of my favorite spots (The Libertine), I was on the hunt for another fave. But what would it be? I started to make the drive down Greenville, back towards the East side (represent!) and almost pummeled into a tree when I saw Ship's Lounge. SCRREEEEEEEEEEECH! "I know exactly where we're going!" I screamed scaring the crap out of Kevin I'm sure, and having him wondering if I should be operating a vehicle... ever. (P.S. The answer is no.)
I had read some reviews from a couple peeps I respect, and I had been dying to amp my street cred from visiting this true to the name hole in the wall, and tonight was the night! I was also interested to see if I could go through the night without cussing. I'm a bit of a sailor these days. Ahoy!
The outside doors and windows have ships painted on them. Score. We walked in to find a semi deserted thin, but long bar full of regulars who might have been going here before I was born... or before anyone was born. This was around the holidays (what took me so long?!) so the walls were covered with wreaths and xmas type of shiz. My favorite wreath was decorated by a past employee who definitely had a taste of the finer things. Mini bottles and cans of Wild Turkey, Budweiser, Skyy vodka, a box of Marlboro to be exact. Now THIS is a wreath.
If you're a jukebox lurver like myself, then you need to visit this spot. (You need to do it anyway--probably my favorite place in Dallas) Some of my favorites offered were Neil Diamond, Patsy Cline (EFF yes), Willie, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Tom Jones (you know it), Ray Charles, Lightning Hopkins, Celine Dion (WTF), Sam Cooke, Dean Martin, sentimental 60's (baha), and Merle Haggard of course. Is this Heaven?
Some other funny things I noticed:
An ad in the bathroom for Plan B that read, "Anything can happen tonight... not all of it planned."
A regular walking down the bar balancing three beers and a mixed drink while announcing, "My gigolo business is going great!" In this economy? Cheers to that, my friend!
Another regular sitting at the bar shouting at another regular across the bar (just like they do in old country songs) saying "Let's go buy something. It's a buyer's market now. Let's buy houses, buy cars, buy everything!" The other old dude's response was, "Hell, I want to sell something!"
This is the dive of all dives. I would put this place up against any new hipster (stop calling me that p.s.) wanna be dive any day. Why? Because this place is legit. The owner has been sitting in that same corner for decades drinking that same bevvie... actually he switched to Bud from whiskey years ago. That SWEET bartender/waitress has been charming the pants off of everyone (not literally I don't think) for decades. That woman who has mastered the art of balancing a cigarette on her lip has been playing that slot machine for years.
Do yourself a favor and up your street cred. Just watch that sailor mouth of yours.
Honestly? Honestly. The best thing about a truly cool, epic, nay, storytelling worthy epic dive doesn't have anything to do with what might exactly portend to be going on in the present. Â Sure, there's a jukebox with absolutely killer tracks from the Louis Primas (all of them, you know) to the zydeco wonders to the blues, jazz and assorted wonderments that adorn the descriptions found to that end important. Â Impressively so. Throw out the rumor that this used to be Jack Ruby's place (really?), and you still have the quintessential stopover at hand.
But net-net? The case, as so often is what's interesting, is to be had in the countenance and opportunity found by the folks who spend time parting the clouds of conversation, eager, boiling, friendly for that next glimpse of momentary greatness, even..perhaps..unintentional.
I believe the first time I went to this bar I was something like...a junior in high school. Have been going there off and on ever since (long time ago). Ships is the quintessential dive bar, as the other reviewers have stated. Year-round Christmas lights, best jukebox on EARTH and the ability to bring in your own booze...great place! I haven't been in probably a year or more since I moved out to Oklahoma aka Plano, but just thinking about this place makes me want to go again.
Also, one side note - the restaurant next door, in the past, has delivered food to me over at Ships, or you can just get some food from there to go and bring it into the bar. They've never been bothered when I've done this. Something kind of good about hot Tex-Mex and cold Lone Star beer.
i was told that i was using the f word too much in a padded bar thats located in a strip mall. Â i really dont know how to deal with that.
aside from the shame of the elderly woman telling me to cool it with the cussy words, Â its a pretty solid bar. Â great jukebox, cheap beer and all the diveness it takes to really cut loose and let the dark in.
This has to be one of my favorite places on Lower Greenville Ave; the best way to describe Ships is that if this was the "Central Perk" from the show "Friends" they'd all be alcoholic crack heads. Â
Besides the obvious, cheap beer and a great jukebox, I love the clientele of this establishment I actually heard a guy tell my friend, "Get a haircut hippy." And this was in the late 1900's.
Also, this is the place where I almost got into my one and only bar fight, me and a few buddies went in to play a game a pool, the table was open and I put in a dollar worth of quarters, when I finished rack'em up this guys pops out of nowhere and says "I guess you're playing me." I went on to tell him that I just wanted to play with my friends, he told me that he "Owned" the table and I had to play him if I wanted to play at all, house rules. Finally I said okay?
He went to break and dropped the Q-ball and in my wide world of Pooling playing that's an instant loss. He didn't see it that way and starts to throw a fit and gets in my face. I say "Look give me my money and the tables all yours, he gives me the money and being a dickhead I then scoop all the balls in a pocket. This is when we got into each others faces and did "The Dance" where you both walk around in a circle like a huge jack-ass saying "Do something." "No, you do something." "No, you do something." "I'm going kick your ass." No, I'm going to kick your ass." That's when the bartender said. "I just did something." Â I said something cool like "You're lucky I don't like going to jail." And we left.
To this day I still wonder, do you lose the game if you drop the Q-Ball on the break?
Ahhh....Ships....how I love your "no cussing" sign behind the bar, your jukebox full of old country and R&B selections, and your laid-back, welcoming atmosphere.
On the lower lower end of Greenville Avenue, Ships is a true definition of a dive bar. It's small, and I'd image this is the place Charles Bukowski would choose to drink in if he was alive in Dallas.
The clientele is usually an older crowd than found in other Greenville bars. And they're probably a more interesting crowd, too, offering stories and compliments and a chance to dance. Yes, I've seen many an over-the-century-mark gentleman ask a just-hit-21-year-old dance. Not in a creepy way, but in a polite, let's enjoy together this Ray Charles song playing on the jukebox way.
The bar only sells beer and wine. You can bring in your own liquor and purchase a set-up (e.g., Cola, tonic, OJ, etc.). Â Also, the bar is cash only. I repeat: Cash Only.
I went here with a friend late Saturday night. Â It it is a small dive bar and they only serve beer. Â They do have schlitz in a can and I decided to try it. Â I knew it would be bad, but didn't expect it to be undrinkable watered down piss in a can. Â (That doesn't count against them, I wanted to try something new) Â Lori is right, the jukebox really doesn't seem to have any music before 1974. Â I loved it. Â It wasn't crowded when we went, some older neighborhood types, a few college students and a copy artsy types in the booths. Â One couple seemed to have brought their own bottle. Â Are you allowed to bring liquor here? Â Â No food is served.
The bartender kind of freaked us out at first. Â An older lady, but when she smiled she was missing half her teeth. Â It added to the flavor of the place once we got used to it. Â I'll go back when I'm looking for something a little more quiet on Greenville.
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