The Manhattan Cafe is a cozy dive bar in downtown Athens. It's not much to look at from the outside. If anything, it looks a little sketchy from the outside given the bars on the window, but it's not a sketchy place at all. Believe me when I say this. I stopped in on a Monday night for a nightcap. It was nice and quiet, which is exactly what I was looking for that particular evening, the following day being a travel day for me. As you can see from my pics, it's a nice little place. Drink prices were very reasonable, and the bartending was very good, too. I will happily stop in again when I return to Athens next year. Cheers! read more

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Manhattan is a fine spot for a drink before a show in downtown Athens. We stopped for a quick drink and enjoyed some hot selections from their holiday menu on their patio- mulled wine for her and spiked ginger tea for me. We followed that up with a couple Lone Stars, a nice touch for these two Texans. A bit of a dull interior on the inside, but probably a nice spot for conversation, with a few added touches that take this spot past a normal, scuzzy dive bar. read more

Mid. Stale popcorn, cool ambiance, overpriced drinks. Subpar espresso martini that cost me an arm and a leg read more

Manhattan bar - Espresso martini subpar at best - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Best dive bar in Athens, by far. Bits nearly unknown to most, despite sitting in the middle of town. Grest prices, friendly staff, and nearly always inhabited by a cool crowd, not a bunch of trendy posers or kids trying to act cool. read more

Nice old school bar downtown, I met some really nice down to earth people here. This is my kind of place and I would have to say it is now my favorite bar in Athens by a mile. Don't change anything ! read more

Manhattan bar - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Athens, Georgia

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Thank you for kicking out anybody affiliated with Nathan Thompson. The guy that posted below. He is trash and anybody that walks with him and follows him are the same. Great bartender. Next time, I'm in there, he gets a big tip!! read more

Manhattan bar - Nathan Thompson - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Really should stop in and check this spot out. Yelp calls hit Hipster but I say awesome Dive Bar read more

Manhattan bar - Spiced Pear @ $5 can be VERY dangerous - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Cool tavern with so many options. I love how there are signs all over the place advertising the different drinks available. I'd love to be able to visit often and try out the different drinks. Last night, I enjoyed the PBR pints which were only $2 a piece. I had a concert to go to at the theater and ran out of time but that Makers Mark with spicy Ginger ale looked like something right up my alley. read more

Man, I really wanted to like this place more than I did. They have a good atmosphere and free popcorn with a drink order, but goddamn, their drinks were horrible! Not only that but the seating options were just uncomfortable. They need to get rid of that old couch by the door and put in something that doesn't hurt to sit on. read more

Great place and I like it even more for kicking out flat earthers and other cracKpots who harass their customers with stupid conspiracy theories. Great job kicking them out. read more

Here to support a bar that doesn't let it's patrons harass and abuse it's employees or other guests. Flat Earthers are a negative force. Be the light. read more

Nathan T can suck a big Wang, this bar is awesome. Don't let crazy conspiracy theorists put your bar down. Hands down the best thing to fight ignorance is to not let it spread its misinformation. Keep up the great work!!! read more

Great place to hangout with friends. Friendly staff. Good food and drinks. Highly recommended.

Love this place. The bartender is scientifically literate, so no flat earthers or anti vaxxers allowed. Drinks are great too.

Love this place! They kicked out this dumb shit flat earther scumbag preaching that useless ignorant garbage/harassing people. Thank god sanity, decency and a little intelligence showed up! Bravo folks for not catering to these social cockroaches!!!!! read more

This might be my favorite bar. Ever. I miss you, Manhattan. I miss T, my favorite bartender. I miss buying single Camel cigarettes for 25 cents (now 50! oh how the times have changed). I miss the ridiculous and gorgeous artwork. I miss Friday happy hours that last til 10 pm. Blenheim's extra spicy gingerale (cut it with Maker's Mark for a house special). Free popcorn with a shaker of nutritional yeast. Cheap strong drinks and a variety of beer on draft. And now they even have Cheerwine! Pretty much the awesomest place ever. read more

Manhattan bar - Nubian Queen. My favorite of the crazy amazing art here - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Athens, Georgia

I'm in love with the spiced cider and spiced chai. In love. Perfect spot for good company, conversation, and drinks.

A great place to stumble into in Athens that has absolutely amazing decor and really great cocktails. They have free popcorn for bar patrons with an old school machine and some Zapps Chips if you really need some snacks. I have this place to thank for introducing me to blenheims ginger ale which comes in their amazon makers and ginger in addition to st. germain which they have in a number of drinks here. Its pretty divey but a great old school place to hang out at. read more

This is a fun spot with a whimsical, Western vibe. I always get the spicy whiskey ginger. It's a whiskey ginger made with an all-natural ginger beer that's extra spicy. Highly recommend. read more

Although I'm still pretty new to Athens it's safe to say this is my favorite watering hole. There is an outstanding selection of beers and some really great cocktails. All at a very reasonable price. It's nice and dark in here with a real mix of people (age, race, economic strata...etc). It's what real bars used to be, but never are anymore if that makes sense. Great for meeting a couple folks to chat or pondering your own existence alone. The juke box is a real 45rpm / 7 inch based juke box with a host of classic tunes in a couple of different genres. The staff is the cherry on top. Good friendly service all the way around. There is also some snacks that can be purchased for a very small fee and a popcorn machine for free popcorn. read more

After cartwheeling through the nightlife menagerie of Athens, my droogs and I turned in to this little spot, chill by definition but with a bustling patio. Drinks were cheap, bathrooms were non specific, t shirt merch was on point. Sure is nice being so close to the Creature Comforts wellspring; in Atlanta it's easier to find meth and AKs than a pint of Tropicalia, and cheaper to buy. Here it's just flowing in the gutters like Rome. But it's not Rome, it's Athens. Being almost geriatric, I prefer this flavor of bar to the turn up insanity of Flanigan's et. al. Sometimes it's nice to drink beers and not smell puberty all around you. Keep doin ur thing Manhattan. read more

Great owner and old school dive bar on par with the best of Chicago! Lots of signs to read and great shirts. I don't drink, my wife does, and she loves the mixed drinks. read more

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Nice place and great drinks! High recommend the Spicy Ginger Maker. That being said, if you're a college student or look younger than 25 the staff will card you repeatedly. While I've had some great times at Manhattan, I'm constantly reminded of an experience I had senior year in which my friends and I were constantly asked to show proof that we were of age. While it makes sense considering the atmosphere of Athens, there were roughly 5 other customers and the same bar tender carded me 3+ times. Super wack read more

This is the best bar to end the night. It's not too crowded, the staff is mature, and there's popcorn to soak up whatever you overindulged.

Oh, yes, the Manhattan. Now that I live in Manhattan, I miss the Manhattan. That was one cool, cozy bar. I spent my last few days of Athens at Manhattan, daydreaming about moving to Manhattan in a few days, wishing I could take the Manhattan with me. Have I said the word Manhattan enough in this review? Not hardly--this is how much I loved Manhattan bar! read more

I decided to come here to try their winter drinks. I really liked the apple cider. It was amazing. However, the spiked hot chocolate can be a hit or miss. If you do order the hot chocolate, make sure to add kaluha instead of bailey's. Otherwise the bar was nice. read more

Manhattan bar - Cocktail Bars Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Not even sure where to begin to describe the awesomeness that is the Manhattan. Well first off, it's dimly lit with some retro lamps, light fixtures and scattered Xmas lights. There seems to not be any open space and the walls and ceiling are both pretty much covered with trinkets. There's little 8" vinyl records hanging from the ceiling, along with beads and various other indescribable pieces of art thrown in here and there. Mismatched tables, chairs, booths and couches are tucked throughout the inside of the bar. There's also a straight up bar seating area, which I totally love and is the best place to chat with random local folks. Part of the charm of the Manhattan is that you can totally go in by yourself, sit at the bar and end of meeting lots of interesting people. I was so glad to see that this had not changed a bit since I had been away for 6 years. Second only to my love of dives bars, is popcorn. And this popcorn machine really comes through after a long night drinking in a little dive like this. Even though there are windows, this bar is always dark (just how I like em) and you just lose track of all time. I was just there during winter break & was pretty jazzed to see a ton of hot rum and whisky cocktails. Perfect since it was super cold out. The Manhattan was always one of my fav & deliciously divey downtown drinking spots and so glad to see it still is. read more

Pros: Great place, good drinks, fast service. Cons: Some flat earth clown came in and started spewing incomprehensible gibberish - fortunately management dispatched of him quickly. read more

Great place. Glad to see they don't allow disruptive types in. Like the flat earth propagandist recently!

I would recommend this bar to anyone that wants to have a drink with friends without being harassed by flat earth crazies. Cheers to the staff for removing one of these cult worshiping drones. read more

This is a cheap, rough, Pabst Blue Ribbon type of bar. Come here to drink, be crass, and avoid any air of pretension. This is the type bar our fathers would have drunk in, and the type of bar I look for where ever I live. read more

God, how I miss you. I spent many a college day/night in this bar, drinking my brain away. I have not yet found a bar that made me more comfortable or served such exquisite (and random) cold, unfiltered sake. Mmmmmm... Every night I went there, my friends and I would compare and contrast the lamps we would want to take home and we would laugh, and be happy. Nope, not bitter at all. read more

No offense to those in college, but for those of us that are a little ways out of school the college bars are not a place to hang out. - due to the stereotypical college kids there. Therefore, when i went to see some friends in Athens, I was a bit concerned about the nightlife post-Terrapin. I was SO happy that we went to this spot, which I vaguely remembered from about 4 years and many beers earlier. This place rocks! Great ambiance, furniture, beer selection, pricing and clientele. It is a very cool neighborhood/dive bar that I would definitely recommend to anyone going to Athens. And the students that do frequent the bar were all very cool. Haven't eaten there, just wanted to say the bar itself is VERY cool. read more

Divey bar with a Pimm's Cup #1 on the menu? Awwww yeah! Makes me want to drive up to Athens now for a drank. read more

If you're looking for a bar that's not shy to boast a strong drink-- this is the place to come. Affordable and perhaps a bit of a dive, Manhattan has the character to attract some of the most unique Athenians in town. One drink you have to have the pleasure of trying is their Red Blazer (rye whisky, bitters, Cheerwine from the bottle). read more

I love this place. First bar that was ever a regular spot for me here in Athens. Good drinks, funky glasses, efficient & friendly bartenders, and many a familiar townie on the loose. read more

This place is awesome. Very laid back. They have free popcorn too! This place draws a very eclectic crowd so there are always some good critters to watch. The problem i have with this place is that they made me addicted to Blenheim and Makers Mark! I must have it all the time! read more

Kool (with a capital K), Kitschy and Divey!! My favorite kind of place! Manhattan does it well!! There's like 1 million and five things to look at in here. Great cocktails, beer and plenty of new friends you haven't met yet! For me this place captures the laid back, underground spirit of Athens...not to mention it's around the corner from Creature Comforts... read more

Oh man, I really miss this place. Such great character and the bartenders are really nice. Order the Maker's with Blenheims spicy ginger ale. DO IT NOW! read more

The Manhattan has a really great beer selection, interesting warm mixed drink options, a funky red-lit decor, an older-than-undergrad crowd and Unbeatable Prices!! A cozy alternative to most other bars in Athens. read more