Anchor

Had a 45-minute wait at the fine dining joint across the street and I was in the mood for a dive bar afterwards so we switched our game plan & went Dive Bar 1st.. Best, 45 minutes of the evening besides the steak I ate next door an hour later. The Anchor did not disappoint. Walked in and saw a casual assortment of regulars. Young Affluent professionals that got hooked on the joint in High School (you know the type) there was plenty of Joy in the group. 2 merchant Marine maritime ship captains fellas from Chicago sitting at the bar head there every time they come into Port. Not long after, our newest friends from Chicago offered a shot of mallort and; .... when in Rome I said and glad to have SMASHED it the way I did. I got it out of the way, yet had to fight with the aftertaste for about 20 minutes. The Blanco tequila helped get rid of it. My buddy had an old fashioned and I felt right at home. Long expansive bar with plenty of booth seating. Just when you thought you were comfortable, you realized it was because of the tunes... A fabulous jukebox with the perfect volume playing Creed AC/DC Don Henley, Joan Jett and some of the Commodores... Great vibe. I'll be back

This place puts the dive in "Dive Bar." An amazing fossil from before the Bridge Street gentrification project. I hope this place lasts forever. Sit near the front if you can. The closer you are to the rest room, the more pungent the smell. Classic!

As always good atmosphere friendly helpful bartender ( I needed help with a phone charger cord) no problem. I am on bike so I have a backpack ( like many students in the area) no problem. Not like many Nazi establishments (steel cat ) in the area.

I can't get enough of this place. Best value in GR and they don’t make weak beverages. Bathrooms leave something to be desired but they work so who cares. Become a regular and you're VIP if you're a good customer. The staff is the best. It’s like a family.

I’ve been here a handful of times and always have had a good time! Today wasn’t any different. The bartender and other patrons made it enjoyable! We will be back!

Played “satirical” Hilter songs. This is not the climate to expect hammered people to sift through satire. When asked to shut the song off by at least 3 people. The bartenders said it was a joke and the group of us weren’t understanding why it was funny. I hope all the people walking out gave the owners an idea about why it’s not okay to defend facism.

It was extremely loud. The bartender was very nice. Great work Hannah!! Not a spot I would go to again. The parking was awful!!

Really great little bar. Was my first experience at a dive bar and didn’t disappoint. Bartenders here are extremely friendly.

4 of us Stopped in on Sunday 11/10/24 after having dinner down the street. Honestly - we were drawn in by the neon sign that had an anchor and the word BAR. Intimate spot, great drinks, excellent service. We would go back again!

Anchor Bar is the quintessential dive bar for Grand Rapids. If you haven't been, you definitely should! Cheap drinks (made strong as they should be) with good music and shows on TV. Plus great service and a surprisingly good Old Fashioned. AND dog (and cat!) friendly! Being downtown on Bridge, parking is limited to mostly paid lots or the few (paid) parallel parking spots.

Great staff, cheap drinks, favorite dive bar...it's dark and dingy and I love it. Full of regulars during the day but gets busy at night.

A great laid back and chill atmosphere. An awesome dive bar that lives up to the meaning of being a dive bar. Friendly and attentive bartenders mixed with cheap drinks. Was told it's the oldest bar in GR. Which only adds to the character of the place.

A classic bar in downtown GR, open well before many of the surrounding spots do. I was here for stop #2 of a bachelor party and they were more than accomodating for our large, loud group coming in for a couple of drinks. Most of the crowd inside appeared to be regulars and business people who headed out early on a Friday.

A local flavor with a hint of Marlboro. They have beers and drinks. They do have olives but not cherries or citrus. The craft part of their cocktails is that it all goes into a glass. We loved our bartender. Friendly and shared great tips and stories with us during our first visit. We returned later in our trip to let her know how much we enjoyed her recommendations. I worry places like this won't be around in the years to come. Support them now!

This is an old dive bar on Bridge Street. A lot of interesting people come in here. It's pretty small and there's no special cocktails. I ordered a beer to be safe and my friend got a margarita which he said was strong. We didn't get any food since we had already ate. Because of Covid, they close at 11pm but they didn't seem to push people out right at that time. The patrons didn't wear masks.

What fun ! Terrific bartender. Fun music night. A must when in Grand Rapids. Thank you.

Surprisingly, I went to the Anchor for the first time EVER! I know, I feel like I am letting Grand Rapids down a bit by never stepping foot in here until now. I will mention that I wasn't here for very long, so I can't really reflect on the whole experience. I stepped foot in here for a friend's birthday! Everyone did a round of shots here before moving on to next location. Walking into the Anchor it was very cozy and definitely a place I can see a lot of people hanging out any day of the week to throw back a couple. Total dive bar vibes that was a little dressed up still for the holidays. People are laid back, the prices are reasonable and it was everything you can expect. I would like to hang out here for a bit longer next time and really try and feel like what it would be like as a regular.

This is a whole in the walk type bar. Fairly small in size, usually jammed pack with lots of people. When I went they only had one bartender for the whole place. But she made great drinks and was as attentive as could be. You order at the bar and bring it to a seat. It's a fun chill out scene. They have darts and a popcorn machine. Drinks are reasonably priced and strong. They don't sell food here!!! bUT you can go next door to the pizza joint and bring it in to anchor bar which was really cool. I recommend checking it out!!

Great bar. Great Staff. Great prices. Always go here. Not the place to go if you have to take a poop. 4/5

If you are looking for a cheap drink or are a dive bar type of person, this is a good option. I am not a dive bar person, but I appreciated the drink prices and the service was pretty good for how busy it was. While I would not seek this place out, if I was in the area I would have no problem at all stopping in again.

This is rated strictly on the pour, bartenders, and juke box. Bathrooms are C O L D! Good bar to tuck away for a quiet conversation off-hours or to whoop it up during prime hours. City parking lots within 1 block. Booths and high-seated bar. Low-tables with more booth-seating and wooden chairs. Expect it to be loud with lingering, old smells from years past of smoking cigarettes. It's a low-class bar with humorous wall decor.

This is totally a local bar but if you're checking out the west side - you have to stop in! Whatever you do, don't ring the bell...

I feel like it's so hard to find dive bars in bigger cities (other than Detroit itself). The Anchor helps fill that void in Grand Rapids. It's everything you'd expect out of a good dive: dark, not a ton of seating, ordinary folk, cheap drinks, a no-bullshit bartender, ugly restrooms, jukebox. Ah yes. Home. Ok, so maybe it's not "Woohoo! As good as it gets!", but there was nothing I didn't like about this place. Also, people need to know there's a good dive option in GR, and I figure higher ratings might put The Anchor on some people's radars. Cheers!

First off you must love a five bar to understand why this place is great. Cheap stiff drinks and friendly faces. $6 for Jameson and a ginger beer. Boom.

Anchor Bar is a good little dive bar that's great for hanging out in a more low key setting. They have games and a popcorn machine along with some TVs to watch sports. It has a great location close to downtown and other restaurants so you can do a bit of bar hopping.

The Anchor is a great neighborhood bar! With the Westside growing like it has been recently it makes me appreciate the Anchor even more if that was possible. The drinks are solid and the prices are good. The two Bartenders that I'm familiar with are Molly and Timmy, they're on top of everything and if they have time are great to chat with with. *Order from the bar even if you have a table when there is only one Bartender working!* I think there's a newer crowd that isn't family with neighborhood bar etiquette.

I am SHOCKED to see all of the good reviews. First of all the bar is probably the dirtiest in Grand Rapids. You can tell nothing has been cleaned in months and the smell of cigarettes is overpowering. The waitress we had was one of the rudest people I've ever encountered in my life. I was stunned by the disrespect from the moment we walked through the door. Literally go anywhere else

I love a good dive bar and had heard great things about this place but was so disappointed. We were doing a little Saint Patrick's Day bar hopping and decided to stop in. There was a short line so we figured it would be no big deal. Unfortunately, right when my group and I got to the front of the line, the bouncer's sloppy drunk friends showed up and he decided the let them in first. When I complained he got really rude and defensive about having to deal with drunk people "like me" all day. I'd literally had 3 beers at this point. His friends were the ones stumbling over themselves trying to get in. I get it. Working at a bar on Saint Patrick's day sucks and generally I feel a lot of sympathy for people in that position. But maybe just don't let your friends in first when people have been waiting? Seems simple enough to me.

SO CHEAP! We went out as a group during an ugly sweater party. Mixed drinks were $3! My friend asked for a double, and the bartender straight up told her she wouldn't need to order a double in this bar. Cheap drinks, but still getting your money's worth! It was your average dive bar, but I really like that there is a big bookcase on the wall towards the back that's filled with board games. We didn't partake, but I definitely would in the future! If I were them, I would add Cards Against Humanity to the shelf, but the selection wasn't bad. Overall, a pretty solid dive bar.

One of GR's quintessential dive bars. Strong drinks at reasonable prices. It's just a great place to hang out. Some video games in the back. Free popcorn. Simple food on the menu. Nice location near other bars, including the soon-to-happen New Holland tasting bar.

Ahhhh, a dive bar. A small grungy cheap dingy relaxed sports-y Table football pushing Not going to worry about impressing anyone Divey dive dive. A magical place where you can get embarrassingly drunk, pass out in a booth, make far too much noise, Riverdance to save your life, drop inappropriate gestures and references... on a Tuesday evening at 10pm mind you. Bartender Maegan: Awesomeness......... She's boisterous and that's a good thing. Oh, how I dig me some dives... Stop by and smell the disreputability!

Pretty decent Dive Bar. It was my first time going to this bar with my cousin who goes here quite often to hang with friends. So I figured why not try it out. We went on Christmas night, and it was surprisingly pretty busy. The crowd is really a mix from young twenties, to mid-aged, to pretty older people. Anchor has a good atmosphere going on here, super inviting, good music playing, good people, and all in all an awesome Dive bar!

I was home for five days. I was at the Anchor four of them. The only other place I visited more often than the Anchor was Sayfee's... what a great spot! Strongest, finest beverages available in town along with the best window seat in West Michigan. The view of all the folks across the street on a breezy warm Sunday afternoon is a nonstop joy... walks of shame and the like. Greatness!

One of my favorite dive bars in GR. Stiff drinks. Great prices. Awesome dive bar feel. What else do you need?!

Had to wait in line for a drink. Female Bartender decided to take tip without change coming back to me for a drink that wasn't mixed well. Disappointed indeed. Plus taking drinks behind the bar I thought was illegal if they're not paying for them?

Great drinks and happy hour. Low key bar. Everyone is friendly but Corey is our favorite bartender.

Perfect dirt bar. Strong drinks made cheap. They'll get you where you want to be. Go in with the mindset that you're going there for one purpose, to drink, and you'll be happy. If you expect anything fancy, don't waste your time.

This was a fantastic bar! The drinks very worth every penny, they definitely didn't skimp on the amount of alcohol. The bartenders were extremely friendly and remembered what we had ordered when we came up for a refill. If you're looking for a small hometown bar this is definitely it!

I'm a fan of this place because they make VERY strong drinks for cheap. If you don't have a lot of money, start here, have 3 mixed drinks, and then you are good to go for the night. The only issue I have (and I know this has happened to other people), is that the prices are inconsistent. I've been charged everything from $2.50-$5.00 for a rum and coke. Mind you, $5 isn't allot and yes, you get your liquors', worth but you just don't know what you are going to pay. I've been charged two different prices in the same night only because I went to a different bar tender.

Number one Grand Rapids bar. Classy enough that you won't have to step over any bodies on your way to the bathroom, enough of a dive to keep out the gel-haired riff raff.

It's OK if you like your bars the size of a shoe box. I've been there about 10 times because a friend liked it. Every time we went. I got such a negative vibe from the patrons, like I was invading their turf so I was never very comfortable there.

Love this place... Don't pick up dates here... Just a good buzz without the chance of meeting someone functional. ;).

This bar is a great local bar ( if you're a local). Spent three hours there and had to ask for drinks every time and we sat at the bar. There was a big breasted young blonde which came into bartend and spent every minute while we were there with her friends in the booth. This could be a gem of a place of it was managed right. For now we'll spend our money at O'Tooles.

Wow. If I could I'd give this bar a lower rating I would. Walked in an immediately felt uncomfortable. Waited at the bar for about 5-10 minutes while both bartenders walked by and never gave me a second look. Everyone in the bar was yelling an screaming at one another. Good luck in a nice place like this.

If you're a John Waters fan (film director: HAIRSPRAY, PINK FLAMINGOS, SERIAL MOM, PECKER) lookin' for some teabaggin'? Well, you won't find that here. If you're an aesthete, or film location scout? The Anchor is arguably _the_ coolest-looking bar in Grand Rapids -- from the outside. Inside, no so much. Bartender Tim is an extraordinary figure. And some very cool people hang out here, sometimes even local celebrities. But . . . The Anchor is not for everyone; in certain aspects it's almost more like a private club-- 'Nuff said? A neighborhood bar with its own dynamics / unspoken rules; bravely / resentfully resisting gentrification, and doggedly wary of even its own regulars, much less newcomers: a place with a chip on its shoulder-- Why four stars? It's part and parcel with the RED LION neon sign next door: retro, "real," West Side relic. An antidote to Ionia Avenue "Beer City" politesse-- And, yes, an historical landmark rough bar soon to be taken out in trade by New Holland Brewery etc. mega-gentrification of the entire block-- I dislike the term "dive bar," as close as it apparently is to my heart. But this place is genuine.

Great prices. Good drinks, friendly staff...appears to be a good local little gem.

The beer is cold, the popcorn is stale, the jukebox is loud, and the old guy is always there. There is no place like the Anchor.