We knew we were in for a treat when we found this to be a neighborhood dive, surrounded by houses…read moreon all sides. We knew we were going to love this place when a neighbor came out to distract his pit bull as we walked by. And when we stepped in to head the bartender explaining to a couple of other customers how terrified she is of clowns, we somehow knew we were going to have more fun here than we'd had all day. It turned out that bartender's name was Becky, and she's 1/2 of the couple who owns the bar. The other half is her husband, Waylan, who showed up later at the end of our visit. "Having a name like Waylan is like having the biggest cock," she said. Or maybe it was B who said that, I don't remember and my notes aren't very clear. :) There is quite a collection of bras on the bar, a recent development. "A while back one of the customers just up and took her bra off, and said she wanted to hang it up. So we did. Then other ladies started doing it," Becky explained. "Now boxer shorts have even started to join the collection." We ended up spending out entire visit chatting with the bartender about their history with the bar. We really enjoyed our time here. In addition to the great personalities, this is a fun-looking bar all around and I'de love to visit again when it's busier. In fact, here's how good a time we had -- when we first arrived we noticed the Silver Strike machine and put a few dollars in it to play. But we never got around to actually doing so! :)

Great location! Service with a smile. Drinks were cold and affordable ;) the only food they had was…read morepizza. Don't know that Guy ever visited but maybe he will! If you are looking for a hole in the wall friendly bar, this is it!

Great place for drinks and meeting with friends , the owner Jason is vet nice and the djs are…read morealways playing good music Would recommend

We've been to this bar and grill twice since moving to town. Both times we fully enjoyed…read moreeverything! Bartenders/waiters were pleasant. Food was really good! Lots of large screen TVs. Tator Tots and chips are great! We've had their fried tacos, BBQ sandwich, pizza, wings and jalapeño poppers. Will definitely go back there try other things on the menu!

This bar screams hometown and was full of people that matched the description. It was a packed…read morenight when my friends and I visited, and like any busy bar it took a minute to get to the front of the line. The music was loud and fun, I liked the variety of genres. Their selection of beers on tap was limited, but they had a variety of beers otherwise. We didn't get food so I can't speak to that but if you are looking for a bar, it's a great option in St Joe!

American Tavern is a beautifl, timeless, classic example of a dive bar all-around. It is rustic,…read moredirty, and charming. This was one of my favorite finds of the day. Though they have draft beer, we decided to go with bottles for this one. Our bartender, Jessie, was very friendly. The main room features a long L-shaped bar against a wall of brick and detailed woodwork. The men's room floor slopes to one side and features a toilet mounted so that the bowl is partly under the sink and must be approached from the side. There's also a big back room that takes up the ground floor of the neighboring building, that room has pool tables, Silver Strike, darts, and enough room for live entertainment. We spent most of our visit back here playing Silver Strike.

One of the better dive bars in this city. The crowd of regulars are welcoming, the service is quite…read morefriendly, and the atmosphere screams of Midwest hole-in-the-wall. This is a great spot for a beer, but I'm not sure about the mixed drinks. I've found that few dives can make a good martini, but that's not what we're here for, right? There's also a pool table; a relic of one, but in good condition.

There was a little bit of tension in the air when we first stepped inside, and I'm not really sure…read morewhy. I don't know if they were nervous about us or what it was, the first few moments were tense. But then a little dog named Rosie walked up to greet us, and after we petted her the ice was broken and we were welcomed into the fold. :) We soon learned that Rosie had a special talent, she liked to sit on the shoulders of a guy named Mike while he shot pool. Mike happened to be sitting nearby, so B challenged him to a round. And they weren't kidding, that little dog happily climbed up on his shoulders and sat there through the whole game! It's quirky little finds like this that make me love going to these off-the-beaten-path dive bars. You never know just what to expect!

Nice little neighborhood bar. Good folk new owners!! Have a patio for nice Missouri afternoons and…read morepool table!

Great little local bar? Customers and employees super welcoming! Nice place to just hang out!read more

Great little bar been to most around the town, but this one is the best by far not even from here…read more The bartenders are very friendly, good atmosphere.

Beautiful day for a ride country roads with This place as the destination. Lunch's are packed. We…read more got there about 1:20 that crowd had just left. Immediately seated by none other than Jerry who was real helpful with the menu. Simple single page with a lot of variations. Not a bar, food. Oh yeah thats why its called a delicatessen. Had a simple ham n cheese n chips with an iced tea. Perfectly good. Then good ol' Jerry strolls by and says ya want cheesecake. Well twist my arm. It too was perfect portion and had chocolate and Carmel drizzle. Carb overload for sure. Its a destination for sure.

Very good. Tried 1st time. It is restaurant week. Had the special that day. Good food, good…read moreconversation with owner

This place has a great bartender, but it's a younger crowd. Lots of 20 something's, but not a…read morerowdy bunch. The beer selection is ok, and it's nice to see a place that has a full bar. I'm told that the happy hour is better for people my age. Perhaps I'll check back in here again and see for myself.

This place is a joke I have been standing at the bar for the last 25 minutes. The servers only go…read moreto those they know.. when confronted they will get in your face and tell you "there are only two of us" after they have only gone to the same people time after time.. not a great set of bartenders... good luck gettin good service

A dive bar does not get more divey than this. A dive in its purest form, not even the most…read morehard-core hipsters would go here trying to be ironic! Pop A Top is located in a remote semi-wooded area in extreme northern St. Joseph, far-removed from any other bars or restaurants. It is part of a tiny cluster of brick buildings surrounded by gravel lots of old or rusting industrial equipment, buses, trucks, and other vehicles. Aging mobile homes making up most of the remainder of the surroundings. It was originally a bank, but was converted to a bar in the 1950s and operated as Family Tavern for about 30 years. Family Tavern closed after the owner died, but later Pop A Top re-opened the space. There's no taps, so we got a couple of cans of beer. Either there was no air conditioning or it wasn't working. A pair of noisy and powerful fans were employed to attempt to ventilate the place. Despite the fans, with it being 100 degrees outside, it took only a few minutes for our beer to warm up to room temperature. :( It was quite a bit darker in there than my pictures (taken with a high exposure setting) let on. There appeared to be a back room that looked big enough for pool tables, but the lights were out and we could not really see for sure without risking tripping over fans. :) I'm going to assume that there was indeed at least one pool table. (Update: A later visit revealed a nice looking back room with a pool table in the center of it.) As rickety and run-down as the building is, the woodwork of the bar itself is beautiful. I started to give this bar 2 stars due to the heat getting my beer warm so fast, but I decided that the weather isn't their fault. Besides, the bartender was pretty nice to us. (Update: It was still hot inside on a second visit in September, but we went in the early evening so it wasn't as bad. The bartender was the same pleasant woman who served us in July. There were a few more customers in there his time.)

Fantastic ambiance. Cozy atmosphere with alcoholic and non alcoholic choices. Lounge type areas…read morewith niches and comfortable seating. Loved it. Music was quiet enough for conversation without shouting. Perfect for a relaxing drink and visiting.

When my friend and I were in the Saint Joseph area this past weekend, we wanted a really good…read morecocktail and this place was on a few lists so we had to try it. We both walked in and grabbed the comfy couch. We went up to the bar and ordered a couple cocktails, both were really good. The bartender was super nice, chatty in a good way, and knew his stuff. I think I would come back here again.