We teased you about it last week, but the time has officially come to begin C'ville Bar Madness, where you the readers will vote each week to narrow down this field of 32 Charlottesville bars down to just one -- the King of the 'Ville! As we mentioned last week, the 32 teams have been seeded, 1-16, into two different regions, a Blue and an Orange. Each round of voting will last one week -- beginning Monday morning and ending Sunday afternoon. We'll keep cutting the list in half until we announce the King of the' Ville in early May!
To help you with your pools and because this wouldn't be much of a tournament if we didn't draw up brackets, we've set up printable C'ville Bar Madness brackets for you (PDF).
Did we leave something out of the description that is vital for that bar moving on to the next round? Does one of these places have an amazing pint night that's unbeatable? If there's anything we left out or you think other people might want to see, we do encourage you to leave comments to the post.
Without further ado, here are your 16 first-round matchups. There are a lot of polls on this page, so give it some time to load if it's struggling, and be sure to vote for all the matchups in both the Blue and the Orange regions! May the best bar win! Note that voting is restricted to just one time per computer, and since it uses flash, it may not work on the iPhone.
A UVA legend for over 20 years featuring Charlottesville's largest outdoor patio and beach bar (including corn hole, beer pong, and flip cup tables, the Biltmore is always packed. They recently renovated, but two things stay the same: their Thumbs ‘n Toes, and lots of college kids.
Located on the corner of JPA and Fontaine, Durty Nelly's biggest claim to fame is its proximity to Wayside Chicken. They've got a handful of beers on tap, but are a little off the beaten path to attract the undergrads.
Boylan Heights serves up some of Charlottesville's best burgers, making it an ideal Corner location to catch a game. Boylan also features two huge bars, occasional live music, and is a favored night spot for UVA student-athletes.
Formerly known mainly for its delicious breakfast offerings, Pigeon Hole recently realized kids walking down Elliewood St. like alcohol too. It's now breaking into the bar game with new drink specials and live music.
You're not coming for speedy service, that's for sure. But for some reason, it just works. Whether it's trivia, delicious pizza, or just to grab a brew, Mellow Mushroom is a great place to just relax with some friends at a table. One of very few chains that can survive on the Corner.
The Box might be a bit of a hipster scene, but they're still friendly to everyone who comes by. It's a cozy spot that has live music and serves food relatively late.
This student-centric Corner fixture is known for great music playlists and bumpin' dance floor. Formerly known as O'Neill's, hit up this Irish Pub either to catch a game or get your late-night dance fix.
Oh my god, the rice balls. You have to get the rice balls. Bang is Charlottesville's premier martini bar, which makes it a great place for a girls' night out, and not a bad spot for single guys to scope out either. They've got a decently sized patio area for those summer nights.
Don't be fooled by the name - when they say "sky," they mean "second floor." There is, though, outdoor seating and a nice view of the Downtown Mall, so perhaps it's as close to the sky as you can get in Charlottesville.
Helloooo shrimp ‘n grits! West Main is in a bit of a tricky spot - too far for the Corner crowd, and just a little shy of being a part of the Downtown circuit. It's one of the favorite spots to host a bar-night-for-charity, but the real fun fact is that they have over 40 whiskeys on their menu.
Nobody ever goes to Barracks just to kick it, but if you do, and if you want to hang out with a bunch of townies and bikers, BW3s is the place to go. Not to mention the plethora of TVs and average wings.
You can't beat their wings, plus their overabundance (read: perfect abundance) of TVs, including a giant projector upstairs. When it's nice, there's even an outdoor patio. Great spot to catch the game or to grab a bite post-game.
A "raw bar" is not exactly what you think of when you think "Charlottesville bar scene," but still, it's the best in the ‘Ville. Drink-wise, they have lots of local taps, and is a popular spot among the slightly older / more mature crowd (read: young professionals in late 20s or early 30s).
Coupe Deville’s
This haven for a much ...younger crowd has been closed for most of the school year with rumored promise of return. In its heyday, Coupe's offered a huge outdoors area, live music, and free bar food - that's hard to beat.
Few places in Charlottesville offer a place to get your grind on - Rapture, or "Club R2," is one of those places, especially if you like being packed in like sardines. Still, we hear there's also tasty food.
A popular place among Lawnies, the Virginian is a year shy of celebrating its 90th birthday. The mac ‘n cheese, we hear, is amazing. The beer selection is pretty good too, but you'll have to elbow your way through the overcrowded lines to get there. Described as "a quintessential college diner, bar, restaurant."
Frequented by fourth years, grad students and older, South Street has approximately five million beers (rounding up) on tap, many of which are brewed right there (though not on the spot, because that would take a long time and not be particularly good).
Former home of the Coaches Corner, Chili's might be way the heck down 29, but you know exactly what's available every time you're there. So we like this place if for no other reason, then for consistency. That, and they'll sing happy birthday to whoever you tell them to. Free cake!
Alums may miss Buddhist (or whatever its called), but The Backyard still features the Corner's largest outdoors space, three bars, and an impressive nightly list of drink specials. It's an ideal spring hangout that also quietly serves great burgers and sandwiches.
The downstairs has tasty Italian food, but this isn't C'ville Restaurant Madness we're talking about here. Fellini's is tucked away in one of the side streets downtown, and the speak-easy bar is tucked away even within Fellini's (it's upstairs).
Huge outdoor patio, tons of TVs inside, great beer specials, and indoors shuffleboard! The only thing holding McGrady's back is its out-of-the-way Preston location. That, and the fact that we won't let ourselves go there because they have fried Oreos. Sweet, delicious, fried Oreos.
So many draught beers, so little time! You instantly feel classier when you leave the Corner and enter Michael's Bistro, which is made possible by the tiny presence of undergrads inside.
Um. They have tater tots. Isn't that reason enough to vote for a bar? Aside from that, they've got a few TVs and 12 rotating beers on tap. At night, if you're wondering where that club music is coming from on the Corner, it's from Three.
With outdoor seating on the Downtown Mall, Miller's is a great spot to do a little afternoon daydrinking, if you can handle what sometimes appears to be a hipster vibe.
The food can be a "only when the ‘rents are in town" situation, but the beers will do just nicely, not to mention the outdoors space and the cool "old downtown" feel to the whole place.
In the interest of full disclosure, one of STL's writers, Tim Mulholland, is a part owner of the newly reopened Maarten's. Tim writes about sports, so you know one of the first moves he did was install TVs at this popular Corner spot that attracts college kids, alums, and townies alike.
They have lots of fancy drinks, including one with a jalapeno pepper in it, which makes this place a pretty decent date spot at night (the fancy drinks, not the jalapeno).
One second you're in Charlottesville, the next second, as you enter The X Lounge, you're suddenly in the middle of the Meatpacking District in NYC! This bar has two stories and lots of space, but can still get pretty crowded on 80s night or if there's a big event.
Their karaoke is so popular, they do it twice a week, and right smack in the middle is all-you-can-eat taco night for $5.00, which we're pretty sure spells trouble. You know what else it spells? T-E-Q-U-I-L-A.
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