Dave F.
Yelp
I had a great time at this place, but it comes with a bit of a warning. If I, completely on my own, had walked into this place by myself, I probably would have tried to find a subtle way to walk right back out again, because I would have thought I didn't belong. And honestly, I don't. But that doesn't mean anyone in there would have cared.
We came here as part of the Red Scare South Boston bar crawl, and I'm so glad we did. Walking into this dark room on a Saturday afternoon, I saw a few gruff locals, one even gruffer (is gruffer a word? It is now) bartender, Apollo 13 on the TV, and graffiti everywhere. Graffiti is just part of the decor. There's a painting here that's essentially the John Wayne equivalent of a Three Wolf Moon shirt, and a witch marionette thing with a broken nose in the window. The bathrooms are broken in a myriad of fascinating and creative ways. If a Hollywood set designer were creating a bar for a late 90's Sean Astin to walk into wearing a cardigan, it would look just like Whitey's, just with a record player so the needle could scratch off the record when he walked in.
And much like its Encino Man equivalent, the most frightening patrons of this bar turned out to be the most welcoming. Everyone here was really awesome, and you will likely never get more alcohol per dollar at a bar than you do here. I ordered a rum and coke here, and it cost $6, came in a pint glass with about two ice cubes, and it had so much rum in it, it was yellow. The only problem with this drink is that it was so strong it was hard to drink. I considered getting a second glass just full of coke so I could sort of make two still pretty strong drinks instead of one insanely strong drink, but I thought the locals would look at me funny. Later, one of the bartenders told me he recommends doing exactly that, because their drinks are so strong. So I guess they wouldn't have made fun of me.
So if you're in Southie, looking for a VERY local place to get a drink, stop in, say hi to some of the regulars, get yourself a cheap cocktail and a 2nd glass of mixer, play some pool, and just have a good time. Just leave your ascot at home.