It's a shit hole. A remarkably clean, balanced pool table, free darts, fresh juice for cheap cocktail with heavy pours shit hole. Stay away so I can take my rightful seat at the oak.
It's also a self-proclaimed beer can museum, as much as the ring of empty handles in a college dorm kitchen is a museum to consumed firewater. Free to see every day, though, so take that BoA First Fridays or whatever-the-hell.
The only foods they sell are bar snacks, most bottles are under $4 (priced in the cooler if you're looking for cheapies) and the air conditioning runs cold. If there's a Bruins/Pats/Sox/Celtics game on, it's being shown on both flat screens.
Just to remind you of what I mentioned six sentences ago: orange and grapefruit juices are squeezed to order. Go 'head - get that Salty Dog.
both bartenders were so nice. Â they managed to pay attention quickly to everyone despite the bar being slammed. Â young crowd, early 20's. Â good music. Â we especially liked the fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit juice that they mix your drinks with. Â they could use a few more tequilas but they had a great selection of vodkas, craft beers, etc
Review Source:Okay, so I've been living above the Watering Hole for about a year now, so I give this review based on my collective visits during that time.
If you're looking for a great bar with excellent drink prices, the Watering Hole is a fantastic place to start. Beers range from $2.25 (black label) to $6-7 for some of the cans and 22oz. Peoples Pint beers. The draft options change regularly enough, and they always have Pabst as the cheepo option.
Mixed drinks are about on average for the area, and sometimes change depending on if you change out the rail liquor for something specific that is more expensive. Hands down one of the best deals has got to be the greyhounds/screwdrivers, which cost like $6 and juice is fresh squeezed right in front of you. The only thing I'd say about these are don't order like 6 of them when the bar is insanely crowded because thats just sort of a dick thing to do.
In the interest of being concise...
- Free pool M-W, decent house cues and the felt is new (April 2013) *Don't put your drinks on the tables! It's so annoying!
- Jukebox is has a good selection, a bonus is that it's a real box and none of that touch screen garbage every bar has been switching to.
- People are friendly for the most part, and if you're sociable I've usually found it pretty easy to end up talking with people I don't know.
- This is one of those "dive" bars that mainly has that classification because people just want to sound cool. It's true that the inside has things like old beer mirrors and wooden walls, but if the watering hole is a dive than its way nicer than any dive I've been to before.
Overall, just go check it out. One of a few bars in Northampton that is open until 2am as long as you are in the door by 1. The people who hate on the Watering Hole probably spend most of their time at Tully's, and should just be ignored.
Go check this place out!
*One more note: If you are talking outside the bar, know that tenants above and to the side can hear basically everything you are saying! If it's 2am, shut up and go home!
I have a radar. Yes, if you've read my other Yelp reviews, you know I have several: I have the wine radar, the bar radar, the foodie/restaurant radar, and of course, the sweet tooth radar.
I tend to go to NoHa once or twice a month. I have awesome friends who live in the area and Northampton has got to be on the top of the my list of places with so much to do in a manageable and walkable area.
Last winter, a friend of mine wanted to hit up the dive bars on your way into Northampton center that you pass on the drive from I-91.
Alas, it was late, I was tired, and I regret having missed the experience because one late December weekend two months ago, I ended up here with my friend who lives in town. And I kick myself for not coming earlier.
First off: FRESH SQUEEZED JUICE for you drinks. Right there in front of you. Orange or grapefruit or get the two mixed.
Secondly, the prices are cheap. I mean college student cheap. The place also only takes cash.
The dive bar atmosphere is in effect: great melange of townees, hipster kids, college students and those of us smart enough to read Yelp and get our butts into the seats at the bar.
The bartenders were super friendly. We met some interesting characters that night. Everyone for the most part were friendly. I felt like anyone could walk in here and feel at home. No one cares who's hanging out. This isn't one of the uppity  places you go to be "seen". Nope. You come here to chill out with your peeps and drink good cheap booze. Aaaaaah,it warms the cockles of my little bargainista heart.
YOWH, you've won a fan for life. I will definitely be stopping again because the experience is one that was authentically beautiful.
How have I never reviewed this bar before?! Â WTF!
Ye Olde Watering Hole was my favorite place to go when I was a student at Smith. Â During my senior year I had a shit-ton of spare time, as I completed all my major requirements early and didn't have all the crazy seminars that everyone else did....so I was here with my BFF Jim most nights. Â Whenever I'm back in town for a visit, I insist that Jim and I head down for old times' sake again. Â I was back this past August and had the chance to revisit for the first time in a while and I'm happy to see that nothing has changed in my absence. Â The dusty-assed beer cans from around the world (it IS a beer can museum, after all) are still found along the perimeter of the whole place. Â The floor is still sticky, it still smells of dirt and spilled drinks and regret, and it's still frequented by people who give you the stink-eye just for existing. Â It is DIVINE.
The best thing here though is the drinks. Â Nothing fancy or fluffy but they are fucking GOOD. Â If you order a cocktail such as a screwdriver or greyhound, the juice is fresh squeezed on the spot. Â The beer is colder than a witch's tit, and the martinis are perfect. Â And to top it off, the prices are downright cheap. Â I love and miss this place so much.
Best bar in town for a place to hang out. The drinks are cheap, the staff are friendly and there's darts and pool. What's not to love? The pool is always free during the week!
The cliental is a kind of strange mix between townies there for a cheap drink and to watch a game and cool kids and gays. I personally love this because these days it's so easy to self-segregate. All the crowds are respectful of each other.
Only thing, don't order a mixed drink. I mean. come on. it's a dive. Get a beer (they have a good selection including local beers) or a scotch or something.
Can't wait to go back!
I love dive bars. This place has a special place in my heart. Fresh squeezed screwdrivers and multiple pool tables always make me smile.
What keeps me coming back is the beer can museum. It's like being in the bedroom of a perpetually teen-aged OCD alcoholic. If only every collector on Hoarders was as meticulous as this curator.
best dive bar in western mass hands down. Â if you want a bar in noho that is a mix of students/locals/hipsters/queers - then this is the place. Â even though it can get crowded, it always feels friendly and welcoming. Â the bartenders are great, they have a decent juke box, huge bar, and pool tables.
the hidden gem at this place though is really the fresh squeezed screwdrivers and greyhounds - you have to be careful though because you could easily put down half a dozen of them in no time at all.
i don't make my way out to noho often, but when i do i always stop in for a few drinks at my favorite bar in western mass.
By FAR this is my second FAV BAR for drinks period! The drinks was so good! I got the half and half (fresh squeeze OJ and Grapfruite w/ premium vodka)!
The drinks were so cheap! it's like 5 bucks a piece for premium! Yeah! give me more!
It's like a whole in the wall place, located off the main street where all the restaurants and stuff are. The staff was friendly. They have pool there although me and my friends did not participate since the Thunder Basetball game was on!
If you are in the area! You should definitely try this place out.
My favorite bar in town! Â It's loud and fun on the weekends and a nice relaxing place during the week. Â Fresh squeezed juice is awesome and drinks are inexpensive. Â If you're looking for a fancy place or fancy drinks or fancy bartenders, go elsewhere. Â If you want a friendly place, friendly people (and friendly drinks) this is the place to be. Â Oh yeah, free darts, free pool Monday through Wednesday, and a kick-ass jukebox!
Review Source:What makes a perfect Neigborhood bar? Â Go here and you'll see. They know your drink the second night you visit. Â The regulars keep coming back, and they have a good reputation so its one of those places most people go to every now and then. Â The combination means they are busy, but not packed.
Review Source:I usually don't enjoy dive bars..The large percentage of hipsters and creepy men are my primary deterrents..However, a friend and I spent a good part of our Sunday afternoon/evening here. We came in to watch a baseball game, and the bartender even put it on one of the TVs for us.
It was a lot of fun. The bartender was incredibly friendly, and so were many of the other patrons. It was incredibly empty when we were there, but I imagine on a Saturday/Friday night it is a very fun place to be.
I hope to return and improve my pool skills, which were horrible compared to the local pool league team that was playing next to us..haha.
I went to this place years ago on a whim after driving by and seeing the sign. The beer was cheap, bar tender friendly and to top it off they had PICKED EGGS! Salty, weird, and perfect.
The beer cans on the wall were awesome to check out and it's refreshing to know places like this exist in a world where everything awesome seems to be plowed out of existence in favor of cell phone stores and banks.
Three cheers for a true local dive bar.
I'm an out-of-towner. friends have brought me here on a number of occasions for beers, pool, darts, etc.
Most importantly this place feels authentic. It's local and down-home and hipster but not too much and the bartenders have no attitude. There are nice touches like unwavering $2 PBR, Â fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, a good juke box and a nudey photo hunt game machine that make it better than other dives you'll go in.
The clientele is varied so you can be sure your night will be nice and random. for instance an old guy gave me and my gal friend free quarters to play pool, and noogies on the head.
Plenty of space if you have a crowd.
This is the only one of it's kind. and certainly the only one worth going to in Northampton. At times it's a fast paced, jam packed zoo, and at times a nice quiet place to talk with friends. It has all the games and excitement that a bar should have (Although they lost the foosball table a while back). And the bartenders are friendly at accommodating, especially if the Celtics are playing.
Review Source:how lucky are we that it's our neighborhood bar?! first and foremost, the amazing fresh-squeezed orange and grapefruit vodka drinks are divine. second, we are always so welcomed by the barstaff, although we are a generation older than some of hipsters that frequent the place. third, free pool in the early week. fourth, popcorn. fifth, pretty good juke box. sixth, it's a museum! honestly, this is one of the first places we take foreign house guests. it's just an outstanding american bar.
Review Source:As we drove into Northampton, we past a sign that read "Beer Can Museum".  And I said to my self I did "well gee golly Shawn A., I'm a gonna drink  there tonight." Â
And then I did.
And it was great.
Seriously great. Â Thousands of beer cans adorn this divey gem that features everything I need from a whole in the wall bar. Â From decent tap beers to a machine that I can play erotic photo hunt on. Â And they have pool tables and darts to boot.
This may be the best bar on the planet.
Stopped here after the Billy Bragg show at the Calvin. I drove past this place a bunch of times, always wondering what the "beer can museum"looked like. Although I think this place was on TV once! It was packed with people, I'd say the average age was about 25-30 which was cool for a local townie-type bar. Â Beer cans run along the perimeter of the ceiling and this place is pretty big!! They offer a bunch of beers on tap as well as many bottles. Cheap drinks!
There are pool tables, dart boards and ample seating. My friends and I sat at a table all night I didn't venture on the other side of the bar where there were even more beer cans displayed! Â The inside is nothing special, the decor rather old, and shabby but a cool dive type none the less. Â The bathroom freaked me out. It was like walking into someones basement, I expected to be peeing next to a boiler with Freddy Kruger or something... While smoking a cigarette outside, a fight must have happened. Needless to say we had a good time just hanging out.
You'll hear the killer jukebox before you get to the door. Maybe it's Ted Nugent with "Stranglehold" or Guns & Roses "Rocket Queen". Either way, within these gritty, hallowed beercan lined walls, lies the greatest Jukebox every thrown down in a bar. At least in the northeast.
You can't smoke, since it's MA, but it feels like there's smoke lingering in the air from years of Lucky Strikes or Parliament Lights.
The staff is a bit surly--and that's what you'd expect. Sort of like the waitresses at Durgan Park in Boston.
Then there are buckets of oranges and grapefruits. If you're already drunk, you might not be able to figure out why. Three words: fresh squeezed juice. They do it up right in front of you. I recommend the gin and grapefruit juice.
Yeah, this bar's a little gross. Yeah, you might see a fight. And yeah, the women's bathroom is more than a little sketchy. But if you are looking for a change, a little grime is far better than a lot of pretension.
Originality is hard to come by, and the Hole's got it.
This is the bar in Northampton where you finish up after a Herculean night of consumption... you walk in, they have foosball/darts/billiards and it's all awesome!!!... fine times had by all, everyone goes their separate ways and good memories...
Then you wander in here at some point before 12:30am one weekend and get a good look at and feel for the place... and you're crushed by the pathetic bleakness before slinking away shaking your head - only venturing back to prove to friends that such a dive sits within the province of Northampton or, as before, you've been tipping some major wrist...
If you legitimately found Norm Peterson a defensible icon or can't get enough of JVL type bartop gaming machines... this is your bar...
Otherwise, don't miss out on greatness by wasting even a moment of your time in this place...
wow teddy, i can't believe you were the first to write an ode to the hole.
congrats!
the memories flow....perhaps not as quickly as the drinks at the hole but just as good.
and those fresh squeezed grapefruit cocktails really are amazingly good.
things are different with the non-smoking ban - you can suddenly see the beer can museum and the people surrounding you and - well, sometimes a dark haze is nice, even necessary.
but the darts and music and birth of adventure are always waiting at the hole. any time of day. seriously.
Oh Ye Ol' Watering Hole, how I miss thee! Â A few years ago, I lived right around the corner from the Hole, and I can't begin to recall how many times I closed this place out. Â The bartenders are always friendly and accommodating, but (and this is a point that I always found charming, even though I found myself on the wrong side of it) if you were apart of the college population in the Pioneer Valley, there was just the slightest weariness in their regard for you. Â Truly, this place is a locals spot. Â You'll never lack for an challenge at the pool tables or at the dart board. Â The jukebox, at least unless they've changed it since I've last been there, is mostly classic rock fueled -- all of the hole-in-the-wall bar standards are there. Â Running around the entirety of the place is an absolutely awe-inspiring collection of (I hesitate to use this adjective, but...) 'vintage' beer cans. Â Beyond that, it's just a good place to drop in with some friends, grab a $3 Moosehead or BBC Steel Rail or three, shoot some pool, and lose yourself in a few pints.
Review Source:
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