Brady's Bar

Stopped in while visiting from OH. It's a great place for a younger drinking crowd. Pool tables are busy and should have better lighting. Food is your average bar food but, the salad had brown gross lettuce. Chips weren't crisp as promised basically a C-. Not highly recommended.

Classic classic TC bar. Don’t go here if you want something fancy. This is an OG Michigan bar. They have 2 pool tables and they will for sure be used when you get there so put your name down on the board. Play it safe and get straight liquor or beer. 🍺 Got the fries only but the food did look super good. Standard bar food menu.

I do try to avoid leaving critical reviews, but I wish someone had warned me about this false advertising. Looking at my order, you'd assume I'd ordered the fish and chips with a side salad, right? It turned out that ordering a side meant I didn't order the fish and chips, just fish and salad. Despite it being in the name of the order, and the explicit description stating "served with fries," I didn't get them, and when I asked, the employee told me that ordering a salad deletes the fries, despite that not being listed anywhere through the online order process. If you're only going to include fries when added on as a side, maybe don't have the "and chips," or the "served with fries" in the title and description, or state somewhere that the fries are already the side and not included automatically, like any other restaurant. Again, I try to leave positive reviews, and I was looking forward to trying out this place after a long day downtown, but I was very disappointed with being charged $15 for two small fish fillets and a small side salad, not worth it at all, and I was still hungry after. They also gave me the coleslaw when I ordered "no coleslaw." Not to nit-pick. After a back-and-forth phone call, the employee claimed at first it was "a misunderstanding on your part," which it took a minute to mutually clear up that it was in fact, not on my part, and instead of offering a comp on a side order of fries, like I ordered, they tried to upcharge me $7 for a whole extra side. Not ideal. Just be aware of this, I wish I had been. I hope they update the online menu soon. editing down to 1 star because of the doubling down reply after they already admitted fault and with photos to back up that they were wrong. not a good look, just call the entree fish if it doesn't come with chips by default, then have an option to add/exchange the side clearly labeled, would be much simpler and not false advertising. do better

Cool little neighborhood pub! We stopped for in during our 11th Anniversary trip here...Clean and nicely stocked with all your bar foods and brews! Very good menu selection, we tried thier everything pizza, it was delicious! The staff are friendly and accomodating... Light and airy feel too! Two pool tables in the adjoining room with a nuke box and plenty of booths...feels so cozy! Check out the hugestuffed fish on display, amazing catches! Stop in and enjoy! There are happy hours here, check the web page for the deets.

Used to be a good dive bar to watch the game until Saturday night when the manager decided that crappy recycled music was better after one "complaint" was more important than allowing the other forty Michigan fans in the bar to listen to the game for a few hours. I just wanted to enjoy the game with some fellow sports fans andl it was ok for 30 minutes until this act of pacifying one unreasonable customer was more important than losing a customer for life. It makes no sense to have 20 tvs with the same game on but refuse to have any sound!!!??! So much for spending time with some of my favorite locals to have a drink and watch the game. Never going back there again, hope it was worth it...

One of those classic up north vintage bars that make you feel like your bank home. They serve great food that will keep you warm in the winter. Our bartender Wayne was the best bartender of the whole trip. The beers were cold and the drinks were strong. We will be back.

Best service. Amazing food. Highly recommend the wings!!!

Longtime neighborhood bar for locals. We stopped in for lunch to get away from festival crowds. Unfortunately they had one bartender and one server for the whole place for a Friday lunch. I bussed a dirty table so we could sit down. Food was decent but very bland.

I went to Brady's after easing the great reviews on their wings. Midday and the dining side was nearly full. Single waitress for the dozen or so tables, but she did a great job keeping up. Definitely a locals place, but we felt welcome. The dining area is separate from the bar. I ordered the Mexican wings, which are traditional buffalo wings (no breading). Wings were very large, but well cooked and flavorful. Bigger wings aren't my favorite because they can be chewy and undercooked, but Brady's did a great job.

I was looking for a comfortable dive bar with local atmosphere, and I was directed to this place. Stopped in about 6:30 in the evening and this place was bumping. The bar actually has two sides one is the older bar which is crowded and full of regulars, and the other side is more of tables in groups. Both sides were packed. They must be doing something right in the neighborhood. We stood at a bar rail on the old side, the bartender the sauce there and actually came over, which I I'm glad because we probably never would have gotten close to the bar to order. If you go here, put on your patient cap because it is loud and proud.

We'd just finished dinner at Forrest, A Food Studio, and wanted a nightcap before heading back to our Airbnb. I love a good dive bar, and it sounded great after a fancy, multi-course dinner (that's my version of balance I guess). We asked our local friends for the "best dive bar in downtown TC" and they immediately responded: Brady's. So off to Brady's we went! It wasn't super busy so we found a spot at the bar. I noticed right away that the music was at a normal level, where you can talk to someone without having to yell in their ear - amazing. As I've aged I can't handle so much loud music at bars and yes I know I sound old. We were greeted and ordered drinks - Nate got a coffee cocktail and I got a jamorita (margarita made with Jameson). The jamorita was pretty sweet but I like really sour stuff. The coffee cocktail was delicious. We didn't eat any food but they had blue gill which is my favorite - definitely want to try that next time. A good dive bar!

Best little hidden gem in Traverse city. Cold beers, best wings, fresh pork rinds and funnel fries. What else can you ask for ! We ate there x2 in one weekend. We came here after our dinner out on the Main Street. This is a local bar and grill so do not expect really fast service there was 1 waitress ( she was great) . So if you want fast and not the relaxed atmosphere this is not your place. If you want to feel like you're at CHEER's, this place is like eating at your best friend's house. Probably even cheaper than your friends. Do not over look this wonderful little bar, it's beats any Bar in Traverse city!

Came to Brady's for a birthday outing. Left extremely unhappy due to the world's rudest server. Do you even know what customer service is? This woman in the striped sweater with the greasy hair called our group "those bitches" audibly while pointing. Who wants a person like this working for them? I recommend your establishment does something about this. Your bar has never had good service in the times I have been here. I don't recommend this place to people who expect kindness and good service. I felt extremely disrespected. Don't give these people your money.

Good food and responsive z Neighborhood Bar Staff. Highly recommend for locals and tourists that a good experience during their visit to NW MI!

Great food and good vibes. I love the atmosphere and people. The food is amazing and the drinks are super cheap

Food: Many fried options, but there are soup, salads, burgers and wraps too. Service- better than you'd expect for a busy place. Ambiance- bar-none. Kidding, great. Ordered: pretzel bites and beer cheese, hard cider, coffee and Kahlua. Server made a point to brew fresh coffee, sir you are a gentleman.

Brady's had excellent food, drinks, and service! Always a treat to come in here. Highly recommend if you're in the area.

The Brady Burger is one of the best I have ever had. Every time I visit I think about ordering something else but after reviewing the other items I still fall back & order the burger. The staff are a delight . The ambiance reminds me of the famous "where everyone knows your name". I always feel welcome. Henry B.

Tried to stop in for lunch on a Friday and was treated so poorly by racist and screaming staff. Sat outside and the sign directed clients to let the bartender know if you were outside and needed service. one ever came and when my husband went inside to get a water the bartender (older, blonde) screamed at him to go back outside or she would kick him out of the bar. Seriously stay away from this place.

I have been going to Brady's for many years because I live a block away, but the last time I went a bar tender treated me so bad I wont go back. It was parade day but that has nothing to do with the way they messed up my order and then treated me like ****. I ordered 12 chicken wings a pizza with veggie items and an order of fried dill pickles. When my order came 50 minutes later there were 6 wings and a kitchen sink pizza (that has meat) with dill pickles on it! When I looked at my friend and said I should have ordered from the other bar tender the bad bar tender (with the goofy eye shadow) came over, took my beer and said get out! Blue tractor a hundred feet down the road has great food!

Food is incredible and service is great! Pork rinds are so good and so are the sandwiches and drinks! Will be back!

great place. been coming here for years its like a family environment and they treat their regulars great

Service was absolutely terrible. They were racist and yelled at my father to leave the bar. They were extremely unaccommodating to my disabled brother and wildly disorganized. Avoid this restaurant at all costs and take your money elsewhere. Couldn't even get food if we wanted due to the lack service. Ambiance was unwelcoming. Wish I could give it 0 stars!

It was Friday and I was in Traverse City. Needing a place to eat I thought of Brady's and Fish Fry. It was exactly what I needed, quick tasty and delicious.

Great little hamburger spot. The waitress was fast and friendly. The food was good I ordered the Olive burger and fries I was so hungry I forgot to take a picture of the food.

Worst waitress ever. Snide rude and pretending to be polite once confronted about it ... I wouldn't come back even if they knew my name.

Excellent service and the best bar food you could ask for! Amazing chicken wings. Great prices on pitchers of beer!

Patio music closed up early but was nice overall so yea would recommend, chill videos 8/10

I found this bar when looking for the best wings in Traverse City, and it kept popping up in the top #3. It turned out to be Just a spectacular bar, with an old timey atmosphere and feel, yet very warm ambiance. Great staff and delicious hot wings and pizza. Was a really nice place to watch some Monday night football. Bartender was funny to overhear, and waitress was very timely and super nice..and they have Bells Two Hearted on tap for $5, and a very good beer I've never tried that's from Michigan that's only..$2 on tap!! (Shorts local light). If you're intimidated by the Smokers on the outside, don't be. Come on in and try the wings and a shorts light. I was glad I did.

First of all... I do love Brady's. it's my neighborhood bar, not fancy, very popular, and I've always had great food. ..BUT... what happened to their burgers??? Last month I ordered a medium rare olive burger to go. I got home, unwrapped it, and it was at least medium well. not a hint of pink. very little olive sauce on it. inedible. Last night, I met a friend at Brady's. I figured- I'll order a burger to eat here- it will be wonderful. I ordered, and told the waitress, I really do want it medium rare! and extra sauce please. it came, looked like a burned up tiny hockey puck. I immediately cut it in half. it was medium well to well. almost zero olive sauce, and a less than fresh bun. (The buns used to be steamed, pillow soft and delicious!) I will not order another, nor will I tell anyone that the burgers are the best in town.

Don't go to the patio/outside bar if the young woman with braces is "bartending". We stopped by, and she was so stoned that she didn't know how to make one of their bucket drinks. So we asked what can she make. She wouldn't answer us. Can you speak? She finally said she likes to make "shot cocktails". We ordered drinks, but she used a can of opened sprite that had been opened, and sitting out in the heat/sun. When we asked about it, she again either couldn't or wouldn't speak. We left. It was very odd. I guess this is why there was NO one sitting outside, besides a man her age at the bar, who must be a friend.

It is a dive bar and most people seem to know one another. They have fish fry Friday's and it is plenty of food fairly inexpensively. Don't let the dive bar look scare you from having a great meal. Can be a bit hard to find a table on Fridays.

Website advertised Friday fish fry $8.99 so we tried it. Nothing great -- 2 pieces of perch (thought we were getting cod) overcooked, dry. When bill came we were charged regular price. Showed him web site and lower price. "That's not right, we'll have to get that fixed." No adjustment offered. Website has since been corrected. But they should have offered to charge us what their web site said. Worst perch we've ever had, too.

Guinness on tap and pool tables... what else do you need.

This is a great neighborhood bar. We have walked past this place numerous times on our stays in TC and finally made it inside on a Sunday night. The draw was the pizza and it did not disappoint. We sat in the bar and Brian, the bartender, waited on us and everyone else sitting at and around the bar! What a man. Excellent bartender and waiter. Our drinks never were empty! Pizza was delicious. Airy but not heavy crust with great toppings. Loved it and the local flavor. Everyone was welcoming. If you are looking for a great bar with good food and staff, this is your place. Will return here on our next trip to TC. Highly recommend

Bartender was pretty rude. Preferring to serve only her regulars. Unhappy and sharing it with ALL. Otherwise could be a good pub

This bar is open but want only locals to patronize, even through the gov of MI opened up TC. For many years I have gone up to TC for cherry season and have ate there, but this will no longer happen. I will also blacklist this business to all my friends.

I found this bar by driving by, as most places were closed by 9pm because Of covid. So I didn't read any reviews beforehand or knew anything about this bar until today, 2 days after my visit. I've traveled a lot and ate a lot of wings in my lifetime, and when I stumbled in at 12am, I had no idea I'd be eating some of the best wings I've ever had. I was welcomed right away and I didn't feel like I was discriminated against because I'm a tourist. The gentleman behind the bar was very polite and attentive. I bragged to everyone I know about how much I liked this place even though I was only there for an hour. Anyway, I would definite come back again. BTW, the fried pickles were delicious too.

I am a regular there. Been going for a couple of years now, but I went in last night and the general manager was working as bartender. She treated me with much disrespect and when I just decided to walk out, another regular there who thinks that he's entitled yelled bye! I walked out without responding to their bs. Many waitresses have quit because of this gm.

We ordered $80 worth of food including orders of battered pickles . What I got looked more like funyons - shaved pickles with batter instead of the quartered pickles dipped in batter Make sure you ask before ordering because it will be too late once you get home. The rest of the meal was delicious like always. Maybe because it Friday at dinner The pickles used to be excellent .- Maybe a new cook?

The waitress was very rude and pushy. Didn't want to wait for us to make decisions left our table before we were completed with our order, because her friend sat down at the table behind us when we confronted her about how that upset us she went. Nuts on us got us a different waitress. She was just as rude. We decided we weren't going to stay. We got up to leave. They started yelling at us telling us to get out would not recommend this place to anyone.

Looking for a great place to catch a low key drink. Staff was great, food was good. Great vibe.

My favorite local bar. Reminds me of my hometown bar. Friendly staff. Good parking. Clean restrooms. Food is great. Wings are awesome. I try to go here as often as possible.

The bar from the outside looks like a load of creepy old dudes will be panting on the other side of the door. But once u get inside and past the awkward entrance / bar area u can slither your way to the back where u can settle into a booth that feels Greasy and dirty. Best chicken wings in TC! Taco salad is as big as your head.

Could be better. Should put a bar area by the pool table so that you can drink and play pool.

Stopped in for a drink yesterday. Place was moderately busy. Bartender seemed to be really unenthusiastic about being there. Guys at the end of the bar were trying to playfully joke around with her and she wasn't having it. You work in the service industry. I don't expect you to put up with abuse, but sometimes you gotta suck it up, put a smile on your face and deal with it. Probably won't be back. Wings looked good though. This is the kinda place I might frequent if I lived here, but when I'm on vacation, I can't afford to burn the few stops I get to make on crappy experiences.

Best wings around, ANYWHERE!. Brady burger tastes great. Nice, local feel. Staff are friendly and welcoming. No need for the fancy places, a beer and burger or beer and wings is the place effect meal.

Service was terrible, the waitress was incredibly rude to me before I even had a chance to be seated. Made me feel like I was doing something wrong just for wanting to patronize their establishment. The food did not make up for the service. Plenty of other places to eat and drink in traverse city, don't go here.

A dive bar at its best. We were pointed here by a local for the best burger in Traverse and it did not disappoint. Delicious burger, great service, and cheap drinks. What more could you ask for?

I came in during lunch hour on a Saturday. The waitress came to take our order and while I was discussing with her the $10 I paid last time for a bloody Mary (because I had to order another shot at $3 just to make it a real bloody mary), she interrupted me and said she had to run a food order and she'd be right back. She then proceeded to wait on 3 other tables while my friend and I sat there. I wanted to walk out but my friend insisted we stay. I then had to walk up to the bar and then she finally took our order. When we got our drinks, I had to go back to the bar and ask the bartender to put more kahlua in my drink. Since the place has been sold, it's already gone downhill. The bartender doesn't know how to mix drinks. The prices are too high for what you get and the service is lousy.

Our bartender, Gianna, was taking multiple shots with customers. She was so drunk that she was having to hold onto the bar to keep herself up. She also was extremely rude to some of our friends. Very unprofessional and trashy. We will not be coming back here

People that work there are amazing, owner is always there and visits the table to say hi, best burger in town, and the drinks are cheap. Don't pay any attention to a single negative review on here, this place is legit. And most certainly kid friendly on the non bar side.

This is a dive bar in essence. Drinks are strong (if you don't like your cocktails with a splash of mixer, order them tall, otherwise they're a bit overpowering at times) and cheap (around $3-4/ea), food is simple but amazingly yummy. I usually go with my boyfriend pretty late at night since they're one of the only places in TC open past midnight, and the staff is always attentive and more than happy to take care of us.

A brief history... Brady's has been etched in my memory going wayyyyy back. No, my parents did not take me to the bar. Not this one, anyway. ha! Every Cherry Festival my dad would get down to the intersection where Brady's has taken residence for the past few decades, and park the 76 powder blue conversion van, the "Blue Goose." Prime parade watchin' right there folks perched above the masses, accessed by the kickin' sunroof. The uncles could easily access good ol' Brady's for a cold brew or 14 during the festivities...after all, there's only so many clowns and cherries grown men can take. Plus, they let us use their bathroom... Anyway, I had never legally set foot inside the place until a recent Friday night. Lookin' for some libations late in the evening, we headed here in hopes of missing some of the younger folk (crap, am I old? I think so). Bingo, this place was it...perfect to settle in for a few pitchers and a dozen shots for the birthday boy. Bill was reasonable, seating was comfortable, service was adequate, and the shamrock was still shinin' when we left... Rumor has it they serve Irish breakfast 7am-11am...I'd think that'd be worth a stop in. Judge a book by its cover, Brady's is as shoddy as it looks, and it's all the to better for it. Certainly doesn't try to be anything its not. Just good honest people and cheap drinks with deer racks and smoke rings hanging on the walls...

This is the kind of bar that I like. Even if they don't know you, they still treat you like a regular. The room that has the bar in it is kind of narrow and has some booths. The other room has a jukebox (internet), two pool tables, several more booths, round tables, and some long tables. The food is slightly more upscale than typical dive bar food. The wet-burrito, seasoned fries, and chicken wings were excellent. In the past I've had the fish & chips, which was also good. Drink prices are good considering the touristy area. The service from the bar, and from our excellent server Lori was exceptional. I don't know how she was able to keep it all straight. We were kind of demanding. For some reason, a small Scottish drum corps popped in and played a few songs for us. There was a bagpiper, a snare drum player, and an upright bass drum player. Plus they had a leader to conduct them. The whole thing was a little surreal, but somehow appropriate. I'm a fan.

For anyone that's lived in Traverse City, there are plenty of other places you can go. There is nothing here that sets it apart from any bar you'll find anywhere else in the world. Typically its filled to the gills (during the summer) with locals that want to be out of towners, and out of towners that want to be locals. Service is pretty bad (summer time). Selection is meager. If your down town and want to meet some friends, sure why not. If your driving in and making a night of it, I think not.

The layout of this place isn't great, but who cares! It's not the actual building, decor, whatever, that makes this place special. It's the people working and the regular patrons that make it that way! If you had to order anything off the menu-look no further than the Za! The Pizza is probably the best in town, no joke. Thick crust, hearty sauce, perfectly melted cheese, and any combination of toppings you could possibly conjure up in your mind.