A fav. summertime spot for sure. It's a hidden gem. The back tiki area makes you feel like you're on an island rather than a bar on park st. Very chill vibes in here. Sometimes there's a dj, Open mic, Bands, or Accoustic. Check their events page. They even have BBQ's on the weekends sometimes.
Review Source:I, Duchess of Sullys, do declare it to be a fun place to drink, see all different kinds of bands and djs, and sing karaoke. Â It's especially great in the summer when the tiki bar is open. Â The crowd is friendly and diverse, and the drinks are reasonably priced. Â However, if there is some form of live entertainment going on, you have to pay the cover even if you just want to kick it outside, so be prepared for that. Â Enjoy a slice from Lena's while you're there!
Review Source:Sullys is a great hang out spot on a warm summer night. You can catch a band playing, people singing  karaoke or just watching the game out at the tiki bar. - there isnt much of a beer selection if your a big beer drinker. But they do have all well drinks. Its connected to Lena's So grab a slice head out to the tiki bar for a drink and celebrate the evening!
Reading Anthony P's review i never knew about Freestyle Thursdays. So I will bookmark that to check it out. Â and Add on to this review later on.
When I'm in Hartford, visiting my in-laws, there aren't all that many places to hit up at night.
Although Sully's can be fun when you actually know someone whose playing, its really annoying that they charge a cover just to get in to drink and hang out. Â I don't want to pay $5 or $7 to see really crappy cover bands of people I don't know. Â I just want a freaking beer at the bar. Â This shit doesn't fly in NYC. Â If you want to drink at a bar, then you should be able to get in regardless of whose playing. Â If you want to see the band, then you can pay the cover and deal with it from there. Â
I guess because the set up is a little weird they can't separate the bar from where the music is, so they'll charge everyone a cover regardless of the quality of music. Â
What makes me mad is the fact that we called on Saturday to ask if there was a band, to which they said no. Â After spending 20 minutes looking for parking, turns out they had a band and they wanted $7 to get in. Â Needless to say I didn't need to pay money to have my ears bleed while drinking a beer at a bar that seemed too full to begin with. Â
So its hit or miss w/ this place. Â I guess double check with a few phone calls before coming here, unless you don't care about parting with your cash at the door.
This place is more of a venue than a bar to me. Granted that they have a few good beers on tap and bottle, it's the stage and musicians who rake in the dough for this place.
I've seen many types of musicians play here. I'm an avid Hip Hop listener and fan of the Underground/Indie sector of it, so the Hip Hop shows are pretty dope! There use to be a Hip Hop night aka "Freestyle Thursdays" and the motto was "Every Thursday with Heavy Wordplay." this would be a night where emcees, local artists and populars would get on stage and either perform written songs or improvised (aka Freestyle) rhymes.
Depending on what group is there, you would get a Hip Hop version of 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' where the Lyricists on stage would ask people in the audience to give them a word or topic and those lyricists would then make a whole song about the word or topic.......right on the spot! Trust me, this grabs many people who hang at the outside Tiki Bar to swarm in and push to the front.
Besides Hip Hop, there are other musicians who make it a great time there. From Jazz to Funk to Bluea to Reggae to Rock, these group of artist have people jamming and smiling all night long.
Sully's seems to track a wide range of people. You can catch middle to older age people, watching in awe of the emcees on Freestyle Thursdays. Then you can get a nice hippy or punk crowd, or college kids from University of Hartford and Trinity College. I mean all ages, all races, men, women, etc. it's awesome for diversity.
The staff there I guess I can say can vary depending on who is working and what night. For the most part, I think the staff are generally friendly. The outdoor tiki bar is cool for people who don't like feeling either cramped inside or just enjoy the weather or fresh air.
Sully's is good times!
Very Cool Spot, in the middle of Park Road, Hartford!
I am a native of the Hartford area, and never found myself at Sully's until Big Sam's Funky Nation was playing. I am a huge fan of this New Orleans funk band and had to go.
The place was easy enough to find, however parking was a little more difficult. I found street parking, and made my way inside via the super large patio.
The bar was big and easy to find, and the tenders were super friendly behind it. I got my PBR at the right price, and found a place to sit with my buddies while we waited for the show.
There were two stages, one inside and one outside on the patio. The inside was smaller, but had another bar, and a generous dance floor, which I made good use of. The show was awesome!
Here's how I usually end up at Sully's...
"Hey! We're hammered! Now what?"
"Let's go to Sully's and hang out at the tiki bar and do shots of tequila!"
"Ugh. That sounds like an awful idea. Count me in!"
I'll put it this way: Generally I'm not feeling my best when I wake up in the morning after spending a portion of my night at Sully's.
They always have live music, which is enjoyable some of the time and annoying most of the time. The crowd is pretty young, and mostly single, so if you're on the prowl, this is a good place to go to find some company for the night. They have a pool table upstairs, as well.
Nothing special about the bar otherwise. They have your typical garden variety selection of beer and alcohol. Although, they do own the pizza place right next door which is actually pretty tasty and a nice bonus!
Sully's has bands like Zox and new neo hippy groove stuff. Gets crowded fri sat especially if a larger band is playing. Don't get me wrong I like the place and the Guinness is ok, it's just another regular hangout for a town like Brooklyn. thing is hartford ain't brooklyn. the deck is cool and lena's has the tastiest stuffed pizza ever. worth checking out but if you've been to a bar or 2 in your life nothing to get too excited about.
Review Source:I love Sully's! My band played here for the second time last night and it rocked! Such a cool hometown pub kinda vibe, but they also have a really good sound system so that bands can do their thang.
The bartendars are awesome and basically pour until you say when. Robin is the coolest and makes the best drinks. She hooked us up last night, and me and my boys can DRANK!
There's also a pizzaria attached called Lena's which is perfect for those pre and post gig munchies.