Alley Bar

Please bring back the guys with the cube on weekend nights! This was an aspect of character at the bar that we really valued, it made the place unique. Love the drinks and general atmosphere here but this has definitely kept me from coming back more often recently :/ Also miss the couch that used to sit near the entryway! Would’ve been 5 stars prior to that switch up!

I would give a 2 star only because mixologist was complaining about how busy it was and did not want to check what customers are asking when it comes house favorite cocktails. “Sorry we are busy to help you with it” was the response. Ambience was good.

Come find the Alley Bar next to the... Good n Plenty Alley! Or find the round AB neon sign. A simple no frills bar with great service and a great place to have amazing conversations with friends. This was our last stop on our bar hopping adventure, and I'll say it was one of the best of the night. Thank you Alley Bar!

Best bar around. Can't beat um' So join um' Everyday drafts are $3 from 7pm-9pm (pretty late for happy hour!) Wednesday hip hop night with dj graffiti dance party Craft cocktails are $6 every Monday all day Tap Tuesday all taps are half off! Saturday's is $6 manhattans Sunday ALL LIQUOR is HALF OFF Amazing cocktails, amazing staff. But seriously, it doesn't get any better

Authentic, fun and gritty! Usually a great DJ on Wednesday. Unfortunately the new DJ is not main stream so fewer people out partying! Tonight we had a different vibe hope it continues! Unfortunately they continue to have no vibe. This first video is before and the rest are before

Good choice of cocktails and ales, plenty of booth style seating. Wasn't over busy.

Go early if you want to chat with a date. They blast the music around 10. Very good pricing on good drinks! Great atmosphere and staff are awesome. Try the pickle back shot, yum!

Pretty typical dive bar. Not a bad place to grab a drink, and they're open late (or early, depending how you look at it)

DO NOT order beer on draft here. They must never clean their lines in their taps because the beer always has off flavors. It's happened literally every time someone else has dragged me here.

8/7/24 Just got back from a fairly dead night at Alley Bar, where I went to the bathroom for like 5 minutes, to come back and see that the bartender had dumped out the remaining 3rd of my absurdly expensive, stingily poured drink. Upon asking her about it, all she had to say was "it was all ice", which is complete BS. Don't go here, your money will be better spent at literally any place in Ypsilanti, where the pours are generous and cheap, and the bartenders won't jack your drink and make up weak excuses for their F ups. Be better. *spits*

Traditional dive bar that's authentic to the spirit of dive bars. Loved it. Very cool booths & bar to sit at.

Great service and vibes from Ben and Stacy. We are from Texas and highly recommend this bar to come have some drinks and good conversation.

Pretty good bar, definitely for an older crowd than college students. They have a fun cocktail menu but it's not too big. However, the drinks are not too expensive. They have a lot of comfortable booths' My friend and I came and had a great time so would recommend!

Just a good old school bar. Bartenders are excellent with good conversation. The price was right.

This place is a TIGHT fit! It's a very narrow locale and it gets packed. Packed enough that there was a waiting crowd one time we walked past it. Our group got in on a slow night I guess. We found a nice couch area by the entrance and hung out there. Loud music of cool genres playing. Very dim lighting. A kind of "come as you are" atmosphere. Overall a cool vibe. We ordered a couple of cocktails. I got the Smoke Signals. It was ok, but too sweet. I had to let the ice melt a bit, to water it down a bit. That also watered down the experience for me a bit. Next round I stuck to my usual coke and whiskey. Preferred not to take a gamble with another cocktail. The cocktail experience and the tightness cost my review a couple of stars. But aside from that, the vibe is cool and it's s nice place to come drink late night when in the city.

Came here for a night cap and some music. Wait staff was very accommodating, drinks were outstanding but it just a tad to warm inside on the hot and humid night for us. Pickle Backs and Bourbon Bramble are highly recommended!

Came here bar hopping with my husband. He went up to order drinks while I sat at a booth. A server came up and asked for my order and I informed her that my husband was ordering and I did not know if he was at the front of the line. She said no worries I see him If his order is in I'll forget about yours. Sounds like a plan. My husband comes with drinks. Great it's handled he opened a tab. Suddenly the bartender comes up and accuses us of trying to get drinks for free and distracting her from making drinks by pulling her from the bar? She demanded we pay for the first two drinks. She was a red head. If they brought us all four drinks we would have paid. As far as I knew my husband opened a tab? It was an extremely confrontational encounter for absolutely no reason. It was a miscommunication we had never been to the bar we were unsure of the ordering system. We did not know there were servers to begin with. Someone needed to just ask us for a card and we would have handed it over. The entire encounter was not necessary. It was escalated to a degree that I have not encountered in the high end bar scene. Ultimately, I couldn't even enjoy the drink and dropped it off by the bar. I would be careful with coming into this bar as a newbie. Wait for someone to speak to you and follow their lead. Either way the drinks are a bit lack luster to risk that kind of encounter.

I'll start on a high note; the cocktails we got from Alley Bar were so delicious! I got a gin cocktail (Netflix and chill) and my boyfriend got a Old Fashioned. They were fantastic cocktails for sure, and we both really enjoyed it. Now onto the room for improvement. The music was absolutely all over the place...it seemed like 5 different people were fighting for the aux cord. A Katy Perry song would play until the chorus then immediately play a slow Lumineers song then cut out completely for 2-3 minutes, then come back BLASTING some rock song. It was very interrupting and distracting. I know it sounds like something small to upset someone but it ruined the whole aesthetic of the bar and my experience there. I'll probably go back because the cocktail was truly a dream, but I'll brace myself for the audio chaos.

This is the worse bar I have been to in a long time. Ordered Rum and coke and it tasted horrible. Asked if they could remake and offered to pay for it, and got an attitude. One of the so-called bartenders were drunk telling us "what would we expect". What kind of answer is that?. I can go on and on, but will just leave it that this is not a bar I recommend...so many other places around the provide better service

I got the Galaxy Lemonade - which was actually a special drink for Pride month! It was a cute purple color. The bartender said there would be glitter in the drink but unfortunately there wasn't any....

This bar had mediocre service and absolutely vile cocktails! I'm someone who rarely dislikes a drink but the two drinks I had here were just so bitter and unpleasant. Not to mention being ignored by the bar tender for over 20 minutes. Would not recommend

It's trashy in the best way. I would highly recommend. I went on a random Tuesday night and it was popping! Definitely not the college crowd which is nice as well in this area.

Dark little locals' bar on Liberty, west of Main Street. They are only open at night, but this is an intimate little hang out. Bartenders are attentive, though a little wary and definitely skilled cocktail crafts(wo)men. If you want a smoke, duck out to the Alley and check out the artwork. Old wood and low lights give Alley bar a lot of charm. Nice space to grab a drink for your small group.

Keeping it simple. Damn good cocktails for a good price on a weekly basis. Great deals for happy hour and late night. Nice bar vibe as well. May get tight, crowded and a little musty on a busy night. Otherwise, on a not-so-busy night, great spot to drop by for a few drinks or more. Come thirsty.

Not a bad spot to grab a casual drink. Prices are a little high for the decor and vibe. If I could match the current 3.5 rating I would, but closer to a 4 than a 3.

I haven't been here in a few years but decided to come out into the world now that bars are open again. My friend and I got the last two seats at the bar tonight after being greeted by a nice male host. Bartender Stacey provided excellent, quick, and kind service even while teaching a trainee. She was efficient and friendly. We will definitely be coming back to be her regulars. I worked in the service industry for 12 years and Stacey is someone I would definitely hire to work for me.

First two times I came I didn't know what to think about the bar. Here is what's consistent: they make the drinks strong. We love that. Josh is also a great bartender

Amazing! Such an amazing vibe even on a Sunday night. Ben was the best bartender we could ask for! 10/10 recommend

Love everything about this place. convenient location, cozy retro loungy dive bar interior, friendly service and hip crowd. I wouldn't change a thing. Good time.

On my continuing journey to find outdoor spots where I feel much safer due to Covid-19, I tried the Alley Bar. Now usually the Alley Bar opens later in the evening but they have now put service out on the street during the day. We just went for drinks but found they also have food service available from the Old Town just a couple of doors down. Our server was very prompt and friendly and even though they are known for their craft cocktails I stuck with beer. They have a limited draft selection but it covers a wide range. There is a good solid barricade against the street but having cars zoom past is a little noisy and sometimes unnerving but what are you going to do in a quarantine. Give it a shot (and have a shot). See you there.

I visited Alley Bar with my girlfriend and a few good friends from work on a Friday night, and we had a really enjoyable time. I had never visited Alley Bar, but my friend was a University of Michigan graduate and insisted we pay a visit. We had been bar-hopping earlier that night, and Alley Bar was one of the mellower spots. The interior is dimly lit, and smells strongly of incense. We grabbed a booth near the entrance, and the outdoor air provided a nice balance. We ordered a few drinks that were reasonably priced, and listened to the great tunes the patrons were playing. At one point the bar sung back-to-back choruses of 90's hits, and we couldn't help but join in. Overall, I'd recommend visiting Alley Bar near the end of your night out to chill with some friends and enjoy their company.

The music here was so badly managed (changing songs halfway through, volume all over the place and often so loud the speakers were clipping) that it was way too distracting to be pleasant. This place wishes it were a cool dive bar, but it is just annoying.

Just your typical dive bar that is a little dingy but always a good time. I don't think I've ever had a bad experience here with talented bartenders and even better happy hour specials. The music always slaps but have fun trying to find a seat. I wouldn't recommend it for a date because it's too loud, but definitely for groups who just want to vibe.

This place should totally have a much higher rating. I have been here several times since my last review and every time has been awesome. The bartenders are super nice and make fantastic cocktails. The crowd is good, especially on Monday nights. Still haven't been there on the weekend, but I avoid pretty much every bar on weekends. I'm happy to have this place as a hang-out! If they only had food...

Awesome hipster/dive bar that's only open at 10pm! This is such a great late night stop and spot in Ann Arbor. The music is always on point, the drinks are strong AF and they have specials on some drinks. I was there on a Saturday and they were having $5 Manhattans all night. Sign me up! It's pretty loud in there so ordering at the bar is a bit tricky screaming to the bartenders. If you can happen to snag a booth or table, you do get waited on by someone which is kind of nice!

I. Freaking. Love. Their. Pickle. Juice. The pickle juice that goes with the pickleback shots are amazing. Sounds super weird, but trust me, you need to try it. I never go to alley bar without getting at least one. The pearly cocktail is usually tasty (depending on the bartender). Also, the price is not bad at all! Love it. This place can get crowded on weekends though, and you'll find yourself having to hawk to get a table since they don't have a lot of seating. Music is decent, and they sometimes will have a DJ. It's a really good bar-bar to be at during the week. I recommend it if you want to be in a chill, slightly more mature atmosphere (in comparison to south u bars).

The best thing about this place is the service. All the staff is very knowledgeable and could rattle off everything from memory. I was also with a big group and they had no issues keeping straight what everyone got and it was really easy to close out. The drinks are decent, ribeye was a unique style, pickle back is a standard but the pickle juice could be a little better. Cocktails were decent, I've had better in Ann Arbor but they get the job done. The place does get pretty loud so it can be hard to hear but nothing too terrible. I'm sure ill be going here again, no major complaints but nothing to stand out as a must go when people from out of town stop by.

A dive bar with chill vibes (which I feel like is hard to find in AA??) Our waitress was nice and attentive. Cheap drinks. Favorite bar so far in the area!

Came from out of town and were looking for a fun time. Showed up at The Alley Bar. It was busy, but Alaina took THE best care of us. She as so attentive and personable. We had a wonderful time. Every bar needs an Alaina.

If you can get over the funky smell that hits you like a ton of bricks walking in this place isn't bad! I've never noticed this bar here, no matter how many times I've either walked or drove by this location. I must be blind. This was first bar of the night and man was it cheap! They had a happy hour going on on a Saturday night which unless you go to the Blue Lep on South U is pretty unheard of in AA. Two beers were like 6 bucks. Good deal. Bar is small, and no food is served, so definitely a departure from other Main Street options. But, I'd come here again in a pinch.

Amazing bar and amazing people Chelsea Brenna Megan Chelsea Stacey and Ben are amazing. I love it here. Zach also is the nicest. Good drinks and super happy atmosphere. Best bar to come alone and make friends with. I moved here 4 months ago from Cali and always feel welcome here. The employees make u feel like home in a world that ur alone in. Super welcoming staff and clientele!!!!!

I love this place. I'm a Townie, but I rarely go out but when I do this bar is always part of my evening. If I want to decompress after work I always check to see if my favorite bartenders are working and if they are that's where I am. So many choices and it's definitely the place where if there's a drink you've been thinking about wanting to try the bartenders can make it for you! Sometimes it's really busy sometimes there's a guy at the door checking IDs so if that's not your style don't bother for the rest of us, do enjoy!!

I won't be going back. The waitresses were barely friendly or personalable. I got a drink that was super gross and for $10 bucks, I was not happy to have wasted the money. We were there a while since it was too hot to find another bar. No one asked how we were doing or if we needed anything. We decided to find another bar. I didn't tip anything as I only got one drink and the service wasn't good what so ever. The next day I find that they decided to give themselves a $2 tip. Are you kidding me? That is definitely not ok. I don't care if you think you deserved it. I didn't authorize that. I WILL be speaking to a manager and my bank. $2 bucks isn't much but that's stealing nonetheless. And if someone is willing to steal a tip, trust me, it implies the crappy service from the person. I could have gotten over the meh of the bar, until this...

I came here with 4 friends on a Friday night. We sat in the couches at the front of the bar and were approached relatively quickly by a waitress who took our orders. Unfortunately, we had to wait about 20 minutes to get our drinks - in sweltering heat - was the AC broken? I don't care how the good the drinks are, I do not want to twiddle my thumbs for that long, especially if I am sweating profusely in an uncomfortably hot setting. In addition to the slow service, all our drinks tasted pretty bad. I got the Private Eye and it tasted like the drink was poured into an ash tray and then poured into my glass - it was undrinkable due to the ash flavor. My friends got a Dark n Stormy and a Manhattan and neither of those were good either. We literally left after only drinking half of our drinks. The bad flavor combined with the fact that it took 20 minutes to receive said drinks means I will not be returning or recommending.

I visited the Alley bar last night with my friends and had a great time. We arrived at about nine and there were only two other people in the place, but by ten the bar had almost completely filled up. The beer selection was good and there are multiple martini and cocktails to select from. I had a couple beers and was pleased with the selection and price: two craft beers for $11. Some of the other reviews mentioned the wait staff, and I can say that we had great service. Our first waitress was attentive without being pushy, and when she left our new waitress introduced herself and was the same. I appreciate that they did not ask to close the bill early. When we asked to cash out, the waitress split up the five people on the bill individually without even asking, which was splendid! There are a few televisions that were showing the baseball playoffs, and most people did not seem that engaged. Although I think you could try to watch a game here, there are other places in Ann Arbor that would be better. Overall, this is a terrific bar to socialize and I highly recommend it.

Actually, this place became a hangout for staff who just worked at all those restaurants you've reviewed. Still a place for locals though. SORRY HIPSTERS!! Don't get me wrong, the new Babs is great, I love tattoos, leggings are so cool, blah blah. Alley Bar was cool too, then big Andy got rid of little Andy and it really fell off.

I will start out with a limp and finish off with a sprint, I assure you. Alley Bar, I don't like your clientele of bro-nups and make-up-over-users after 10pm, and especially on Thursdays through Sundays. I don't like when 40 year-old men try to relive their fraternal days, trying to mingle with all the cool kids by buying tallboy PBRs. I don't like the thirty-something women who are looking for drinks to be bought for them and who expect Coors Lite to be on tap. I do like your roster of regulars on off nights and off days. I do like your 1) drink menu and quality 2) bartender 3) interior. One or two of the absolutely delicious, strong, and old-timey-esque cocktails expedites the process of letting the world slip away. May I take a moment to be a bartender-adorer? Phil. Is. Amazing. The man is on-point getting people served and attended to all-around. He makes sure every drink is perfect. Just be forewarned, his charm and skill make him the most pernicious and amazing enabler. You will find yourself exponentially counting the amount of sheets you are to the wind. And it will taste SO GOOD. And it will feel SO GOOD. The Manhattan kills here. So do the pickle backs. As do any modifications of classic drinks. They make their own ginger syrup (with bona fide REAL fresh ginger and sugar, boiled down to pure gloriousness). Some of their bitters are even house-made. I love the way this place schools me. I love the way it keeps roping me in for more. If only I didn't need a full week in between visits to recuperate...

For starters, Alley Bar isn't a trendy, "meet me here for a drink on the company card" kind of place. Nor is it a divey, cash only, Bud or Bud Light bar. And that's exactly what's great about it. It's a mesh between mixologists and their creations and everyone's favorite cheap beers. On the different occasions I've come in for a drink, they've always had some sort of music, whether live or a DJ. I've always been able to find a booth to sit in and a waitress has always stopped by the table promptly. Picklebacks were suggested by the waitress, but I stopped liking those once I moved out of Philadelphia. We stuck to tall boys of our favorite beers (mind you, on the cheap side - Miller Lite, ). But duly noted the PBR pounders. Side note - bathroom has always been fairly clean (for bar standards) each time I've been here.

Alley bar on a Wednesday night is always great with dj graffiti you can dance the night away. The bartenders and servers are pretty attentive. My only qualm is that I wish there was late night food and more space to dance.

Alley Bar is my personal favorite bar in Ann Arbor. If cocktails are your thing, AB is your best bet. Alley is located in a non-descript bar with little signage. Always dark, it gives off a speakeasy vibe and builds on that with a knowledgeable bar staff that make delicious, STRONG cocktails. Your alternatives in the area are Bab's (meh), Ravens' (has food, but pricey), Braun Court (good, just a hair behind AB), and Last Word (probably better drinks, but $/util far worse). Get a rye-manhattan.

Dive bar with a pretty good atmosphere and a couple of TVs to watch the game on. I had a beef with the young pretty bartender, though. My (girl) friend and I sat down for a couple of drinks -- she ordered a gin & tonic, I ordered a draft beer -- and I thought the bartender was changing the keg on the beer I just ordered. I said "oh, no need to change the keg for me, I'll just get something else". Bartender replied "we serve ladies first in this bar, and I'm getting ingredients for your friend's drink". WTF? Did I say I that I wished you would pour my beer before you made my friend's drink? No I did not......I was trying to be nice to you, you freaky chick! I didn't say anything (I rarely can think clearly in situations like this) and just kinda sat there, chagrined, with my mouth wide open in pure astonishment. I felt better after I realized this bartender is just plain bat-shit crazy. 5 minutes later a young dude rolled in and walked up to the waitress station (right where the bartender was standing) and asked what kind of beer the bar had in bottles. In one motion, bat-shit crazy bartender handed him a bar menu and said (and I'm not making this up) "here's the bar menu -- but you can't sit here because this is a waitress station and I need to keep this area clear". The Dude (who was standing, and not trying to sit) turned around and saw NOBODY behind him because 1) the only people in the bar were me, my friend, this Dude & bat-shit crazy bartender, meaning that 2) no waitress was even on duty yet. Bat-shit crazy then continued "oh sometimes I over explain too much" meaning, I guess, that she realized that she probably INVENTED, in her head, that Dude had stated how he really wished he could just pull up a stool and sit right in the middle of the waitress station. Ugh. OK, I feel better. Just had to get that off my chest. Beware of very pretty bat-shit crazy socially awkward bartender chick!!

$5 cocktails on Monday. Bros with tall boys of PBR on friday. Take your pick.

This is was my favorite spot of the night! Drinks were amazing... We tried the Kentucky Mule, The Corpse Reviver #2, Vesper and the bartender Joshua made my friend "Blueberry smash", blueberries, lemon, mint, simple syrup muddled add bourbon and ice!!!! I don't even like bourbon and it was fantastic

I would call Alley Bar a dive bar as in it's hard to notice, but the atmosphere and such were very nice. This place has no signage, so I'm sure a lot of people have passed by it without realizing that it's an actual bar. The drink 'menu' is just some sheets of paper on some clipboards. Kind of cute, kinda cheap, kinda dive-y. They have 24 oz PBRs for $3.50, which isn't too bad. They have one of the video entertainment systems for people who want slight entertainment, and they also have a Spiderman pinball machine. Which is why this place gets 4 stars. I don't know if they don't charge for coke, or if the waitress just put it on my friends' tabs, but she was great at coming around and asking if we wanted more drinks. Really good service! This place is really cozy and they have some tvs.

Alley Bar has friendly staff and a unique menu. Their house drinks sounded great, but I was craving something I hadn't had in a long time - a Mojito. Not just any Mojito, but one without simple syrup and/or sugar. Believe it or not, this request elicits strange stares to downright refusal from wait staff at some bars and restaurants; I guess everything really is in pre-made mix form these days. At Alley Bar, not an eyelash batted. My drink arrived perfectly made - even with extra mint leaves, like I asked. Beautiful. Thank you for keeping something uncomplicated...uncomplicated.

I love Alley Bar! It's one of my go-to spots, especially for later in the night. It's a fairly small, dimly lit, really cool spot. The bartenders are great! Super friendly and knowledgeable. They have some wonderful specialty cocktails, plus a great selection of whiskey. The cocktails are actually on special every Monday night... all the "front page" (specialty) cocktails are $5. It's quite the deal and goes all night. That's definitely my favorite day to go. They're known for the pickleback, but I've actually never had one. Maybe I'll do it sometime. Overall, just a great spot for cocktails and a good time. I'll surely be back very soon.

I'm super surprised to see that this bar only has a 3 star rating. What the hell? I guess it's kinda dank looking, but some people like that, okay? The drinks are spectacular. We went here with a friend for (her) birthday drinks. The bar was packed (probably because of Top of the Park starting that night) but the service was fast and friendly. About 15 minutes into our stay the Detroit Party Marching Band busts in, which was awesome, but surely not to be replicated on future visits. One issue, which is not related to the bar or their drinks, is that the trombone player from the DPMB dripped spittle on my face and probably caused the cold sore I got in the following days. Aside from giving me herpes, this bar was tops.