Just a jaywalk away from campus lies a strip of bars on University Avenue like no other (except for, well, the bars in every other college town). They’re quirky, rowdy and so much damn fun.
Ah, sweet Midtown.
Midtown is a place where boys that have already become men quickly revert back to boys. It’s a place filled with cheap bars, cheap drinks, cheap kicks and expensive Michael Kors watches.
If you’re a Mid veteran, let this guide muster up your collegiate nostalgia. If you’re a freshman who is too afraid to use your newly minted ID, let this guide blaze the trail for you.
The Swamp Restaurant
The Swamp is the spot for the quintessential old school Gainesville vibe. On the corner of University Avenue and 17th Street, Swamp provides the perfect laid back environment to grab a pitcher of brew, watch a game or take part in some quality conversation (or quality people watching). As one of the biggest bars in Midtown, Swamp can fit a massive amount of people in their upstairs balconies, downstairs high-top tables or their sought-after front lawn. Twinkle lights give the white picket fence around the lawn a quaint feel and most weekends you can find an acoustic guitar player singing smooth covers of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” or R Kelly’s “Ignition Remix.” In 2011, Playboy named The Swamp Restaurant as the best college sports bar in the nation. It’s not quite as popular these days, but will always be a fun midtown staple. Happy hour is from 2 p.m. (yes, 2 p.m.) to 8 p.m. with $5.50 Rolling Rock pitchers or $5 doubles.
Salty Dog Saloon
There are two kinds of people in this world: people who call it “Dog” and people who call it “Salty.” Since 1962, Salty Dog has been serving up laid back vibes, cheap drinks and a classic SEC college atmosphere. (It was named one of the best college bars in America by USA Today.) The juke box spews songs that everyone can sing along to while buzzed boys and girls carry on with games of pool and quarters. Happy hour is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. each day and who can really turn down double wells for $2.40?
Rowdys
Where else can you pretend you’re back on Bourbon Street during LSU game weekend? Free shots if you flash the bartenders, a basketball hoop in the center of the room and chalkboard walls make for a mismatched night of drunken debauchery. Also, the two-toilets-one-stall situation in the girls’ bathroom is an experience not to be missed. (If you haven’t checked out their creepy Facebook posts, please do.)
Grog
Grog is not to be attended half-heartedly. Friday “Beat the Clock” specials start at 25¢ pitchers. It’s loud and it’s crowded. Everyone is singing, half of the people are dancing and BOMOs (blackout makeouts) are abound. Different social circle park themselves at Grog on a different night of the week. It’s 18+ and the crowd is a little younger, but two freshmen going at it while you and your squad observe is priceless. Sloppily hunting for your own match for the night is just part of the Grog experience. Music shifts from 90’s alternative rock songs (Blink 182 and so on) to booty shaking music as the crowd fills out.
101 Cantina
Cantina is a hazy land of EDM, queso and accidental Tinder dates. This Mexican-inspired bar is fully equipped with an outdoor Tiki Bar, tequila you either can’t afford or can’t stomach and ridiculously potent fish bowls. You can find people taking laps around the bar to check out who’s showing face or attempting to dance on the booths. It is definitely a place to get wild, so friends, leave your fucks at home. If you’re curious about their game day vibe, we’ve got you covered.
Balls
Balls is Midtown’s hole-in-the-wall bar covered by drunken graffiti. A juke box rests in the back of the bar and the tables are perfect makeshift dance stages. The drinks are dirt cheap and the staff is small enough to become your new friends (shoutout to Squirrel). Wednesdays are $7 all you can drink until midnight and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Your night either starts with Balls or ends with it — there’s really no in between.
Shuck
How did a raw oyster bar end up in the middle of landlocked Gainesville, we’re not sure, but if you’re looking for a bar where you can shake what the good Lord has given you, Shuck is your bar for the night. You don’t leave Shuck without your hair in a sloppy, sweat soaked bun and burning buns and thighs. Fridays are $1 Long Islands (bless your soul) and Thursdays are your chance to shine via karaoke. It’s a place to get weird. You’ve been warned.
Gator City
Known fondly as “Gator Shitty,” Gator City serves up extended happy hours from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day and ladies night drink specials on Wednesdays. This Midtown book-end features a back game room complete with cornhole boards, pool tables and enough ACR’s to form a tiny town. If you want to feel like you’re in an MTV music video, Envy (the attached nightclub open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) is where you want to be. Whether you’re watching a game surrounded by pitchers of beer and baskets of onion rings, or grinding to the Ying Yang Twins at Envy, Gator City never disappoints.
Fat Daddy’s
Fat Daddy’s is the only bar in town where having a blue tongue, a brain freeze and a blackout are all part of the normal experience. The slushies are potent, the Corona’s are loaded and the people are, well, wasted. You can sing karaoke, dance ridiculously to old school jams or simply find a companion for your post-game party of two. Their Wednesday ladies night is always pretty packed, so get there early and, for the love of God, tip the bartenders.
Want to know what a typical night in Midtown is really like? Check out our Journey Through Midtown.
All photos courtesy of: Ellie Newman
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