This place is great. They have live music on the weekends. I'm a big fan of their draft beers, and their happy hours are 10p-1a, which is awesome because I don't know many other places in Ann Arbor that has a happy hour at prime time every day. They also have fantastic bartenders who make phenomenal whiskey/bourbon mixed drinks. Sometimes it's hard to find, but there is usually chalk lying around to use to write on the walls which are covered in chalk writing. It makes for a pretty unique atmosphere. read more

Came for New Year's Eve. Short line that moved fairly quickly, but not quick enough for the freezing cold. No cover which was awesome. Got the Honey Mash which was really good, and tried my friend's Ginger Mash which was also good. Live band downstairs, not overly crowded, good ambiance/decor, crowd consisted mainly of grad students and young working professionals. Looks like there's a good happy hour- would come again. read more

Mash is probably one of the best bars in Ann Arbor. From its live music, no cover charge, to great drinks where you can taste the alcohol but still savor it- Mash offers a unique and fresh experience. From the looks of the customers, its attended by undergrads and grad students alike. My only wish is that they had at least some drink specials during the weekend, but this bar is so much better than any other in Ann Arbor that its still worth the 5 stars. FOOD: Get the biscuits - If you're drunk and need food or are looking for something inexpensive, these bad boys are the thing you want. DRINKS: I'm a personal fan of a good whiskey sour but the Wild Mash Buck is good and the Suffering Bastard is good as well. Bouncer and security staff are friendly but firm. Dennis the Doorman is the man. I'm clearly an avid fan of Mash. read more

We were there with our friends, their first time going. We loved the band, but was cut off service because they said inappropriate behavior. The staff was overly flirty and got scared when we flirted back and lied to management. The college kids were lame and couldn't get off the phone, just standing in front of others wanting to see the band. We had very little drink service and had multiple waitress changes, which all had great tips dispute lack of service. We are long time patrons and are considering never coming back. This was one of our waitress from that night. We have spoken to the bar manager already but one bad experience can ruin a lifetime of fun. read more

I'm a BIG fan of Mash. First, they have a wide range of whiskeys, bourbons, and cocktails, most of which are at (mostly) reasonable prices. The staff is consistently prompt and friendly, and the drinks here are delicious. I particularly enjoyed the old-fashioned (which they use fresh brown sugar cubes for!) and the whiskey-mango-foxtrot. I also appreciated their homemade brews, which range from lagers to ambers to citrus IPA's. Best of all though is the vibe of Mash. It feels like a local watering hole in the best sense: dim, old, but bustling with life, both from the multiple patrons and frequent live music. This is exactly kind of place I want to go to unwind after a long week. read more

Prelude: lazy Sunday evening, craving a craft cocktail and great atmosphere. Ypsi? Depot town? Nah, no one does it better than downtown AA. Now where to choose? JP? Aventura? GP? Mash? ... Mash Review: it's definitely a quiet rainy Sunday evening downtown. Mash is quiet and lovely. Our bartender is friendly and nice and definitely gave my indecisive soul some direction in choosing a quite spectacular drink. Bottom line: it's a great place (ok, I might be biased because I also had a short lived obsession with Habana before Mash came in). As a craft margarita concierge, I appreciate complex flavors and the recommended ginger mash was exactly what I didn't know I wanted to cure my craving for something unique and delicious. Fun add-in: um, their wings! Yeah, I found my new go-to place. Normally I appreciate a crispy standard buffalo wing but Blue Tractors bbq sauces are amazing and their wings didn't fall short! Recommendation: get down here and treat your life to some good food and find a way to love a bourbon or whiskey (or scotch if you're feeling frisky) with their creative cocktails. Ps: honey mash tastes like a life saver gummy candy and the wild mash Buck is very fresh and summery. Mashattan was good too. You're welcome. read more

I went when they had a live band in the basement, and I was shocked. The band was SO talented. It was called the Chris something bad, sorry don't remember. But I will remember how talented their guitarist is. My waitress was super nice, friendly, and accommodating. She always checked on me, even when it got super packed. Here's where this bar really threw me away and gets 5++ stars: there was two young, drunk college students that were groping chicks and obviously made two women uncomfortable. My waitress (tan young woman with dark hair) told the bouncer (I believe the only black bouncer in the bar) about the two young men, and he walked over and told them to act right immediately. He didn't make a scene, he didn't become aggressive. He made sure they knew that they needed to stop making people feel uncomfortable or they'd be kicked out, and there were no problems. I was impressed at how the situation was handled, he wasn't on a power trip even though he was a big enough bouncer to take them both down, he calmly went over handled the situation and everyone was allowed to continue having a great night. I don't know what happened to the two young men, I believe they left shortly after. Kudos to you bouncer! read more

SETTING: Especially because you need to follow a stairway downstairs, it feels like you're walking down into a cave. With the yellow lighting, and chalkboard walls with people documenting their names and journey, the only thing missing are those stalagmites. Or maybe they had those at one point, and it turned out to be a hazard. But then, maybe they should hand out hard hats with those head lamps on them! Still, I'm liking the vibe. Mostly grad students or working young professionals. DRINKS: Got the Suffering Bastard. Mashed orange and lime slices with bourbon, gin and ginger beer. Nothing suffering about this drink! And what does it say about the person who orders it?! I'm a bit offended! If I was supposed to start crying and feeling incredibly sorry for myself, then this drink failed because I was feeling pretty good! SERVICE: Typical bar service. They can get busy, but they do their best going down the line. IMPRESSIONS: I like the venue and atmosphere. Very laid back place with a diverse crowd of young adults who just want to have a good time. read more

What to say about mash? I've been here twice. Once for a happy hour and once to meet some people around 9PM on a Friday. Mash is: hard to find, in a basement, usually crowded, LOUD and has decent drinks and food. Mash is not: a good place to get drunk cheap, or go if you want to have a conversation. Get the fried pickles.. read more

If I feel like having a cocktail, mash never fails to be my top choice in AA. This place serves up exquisite and deliciously refreshing handcrafted cocktails, my favorites being ginger mash and honey mash. Other stuff I'd also recommend getting are lipstick on a pig and the picklebacks (shot glasses ingeniously served in muffin tins!). Mash can get pretty crowded especially from Wednesday to Saturday evenings though. Every so often you may have to wait to get inside (and even after getting in, wait for a seat to open) and experience slow service (sometimes they seem to be understaffed). Yet, the drinks and chill atmosphere are enough keep me coming back. read more

This is a very cool brew pub/bar with some very tasty craft beers and cocktails. Always love a place with live music and huge Bourbon list how can you go wrong here one of my wife's and my new favs. read more

Eh. Promising but needs some refining. The space is dark and while I love the chalking that goes on everywhere eventually it's going to be either smudged or impossible to read or getting all over my clothes because there's not enough room on the ceiling beams. The bartender we had was very knowledgeable and put together a flight for us - how this isn't an option on the menu is beyond me. It should be. The food is great, definitely get a snack or two while you're drinking. If you're not a whiskey/bourbon drinker stick to the cocktails to start or get a flight to discover the type of bourbon/whiskey you like. Needs better music and more staff on hand. read more

We came here as a group of six on a Wednesday night for a celebration. Ashley's was grossly busy, Red Hawk was closing depressingly early... and so we thought, 'Hey, let's go to Mash'. SO glad we did! The music was so nice this time around. Some light live acoustic stuff that came through the speakers but was never painfully loud... and there was lots of space. While there were plenty of people there, it wasn't crowded to the point of annoyance. So it just ended up being very pleasant. We sat in a big booth and kicked back with a couple of pitchers. The drinks, I'm afraid, are still a little uninspiring. The beer has too much of a bite for my taste. read more

I really wanted to love this place, but I just kinda like it. We came in here for drinks and trivia last night. I don't know if it was because it was a Tuesday, but there was service at the bar only - no waitstaff. There was a decent-sized party in the bar (probably 15 people or so) and it was moderately crowded when we got there. The service suffered a little. I only noticed two guys working the bar the entire night. A fairly heavy load for two people to tend to about 60 people's needs. Plus they had to run food, etc. The atmosphere was very cool and it is a place where I could definitely see myself wanting to spend a night catching up with friends over drinks. The trivia guy was a little over-the-top for my tastes, but serviceable nonetheless. The game did drag on a little longer than I like though. I really think adding one server to go around and tend to the tables would do a lot for the overall enjoyment aspect at this place. Really enjoyed the beer though. And the whiskey selection was unreal. read more

I tried the Spring Fling, Le Bouchard, 44 Degree lemonade, and thyme biscuits. The cocktails are clearly aimed at the college crowd rather than the craft cocktail crowd. They feature flavored vodka and schnapps and names like "Fo' Swizzle". Which is fine, just not what you might expect from a place that prides itself on its whiskey. I was hoping to find a nice house OF variant, perhaps with thyme syrup to complement the biscuits. Anyway, the biscuits had good texture and thyme flavor. But they were also slightly spicy, which we did not expect, and the butter did not taste much of orange or honey. The Spring Fling was sweet and tasted like berry. The Le Bouchard tasted like canned grapefruit juice. The lemonade tasted remarkably like gummy bears, which made it a big hit. The live music was good. I'll come again and maybe order off-menu. read more

Slow table speed. Needs better waitstaff.

Great door service but very disappointed with my service at the bar, a brown curly haired barista was obviously dreading her job and didn't want to be there. After putting in my order she was silent and got our drinks and as I was finding my credit card she violently pulled away the drinks I ordered still without saying anything and after I found it and she saw it in my hand didn't get me my drinks for another 15 mins. Maybe was a bad night but for sure avoid if you don't want your vibes absolutely killed by a barista read more

This place is conveniently located in the basement underneath Blue Tractor. We came here because it was an hour wait at Blue Tractor, so while we waited on our table we ordered a few beers and apps. The beer list was pretty standard, nothing ground breaking. We ordered some wings - again, not ground breaking. Loved their pretzel with beer cheese and mustard. Went great with my amber ale. The service was a bit confusing as we weren't really assigned a server. They had live music - a guy doing Johnny Cash covers and such. All in all, it was a nice place and convenient for us at the time while waiting for Blue Tractor. It's nice they have this partnership going on. read more

This is a fun place to go and dance, drink from an assortment of beers & cocktails, and enjoy live music! They have live music every night of the week (for the most part) except on monday's. the crowd is a good (often even) blend of locals and students. I've been in here on nights and seen a lot of students or young professionals, other nights I'd see a lot of familiar faces I'd recognize from other local bars, and one time I was here and an officer was out with fellow law enforcement colleagues having celebrating a birthday. The place is great, every time I've been everyone is always nice and there is such a good positive vibe in the place its often a wonder why they even have security there :-) when you first walk in down the set of stairs, to the left is a nice area (if you can manage to grab a table) to sit and relax with more of an intimate feeling. If you walk around the bar there is a long bench against the wall with a couple of long tables set up there for big groups. In the room with the live music there are multiple C shaped booths with tables large enough for a few people to share. In the same room there is also a number of tables/chairs spread around for premium front row seating for the band! This is a certainly a hometown favorite that I will continue to visit and enjoy for as long as I'm in Ann Arbor. read more

Never going back here. They charge extra for ordering your whisky neat OR on the rocks and were incredibly rude when I asked about it. Their menu says, "Fine sippin' whiskey - on the rocks, over spheres, or up," and then lists their offerings with prices. When we asked about the price difference between our receipts and the menu, the manager came over and told us it was "standard practice" to charge more if a drink is neat or on the rocks and insinuated that if we were proper whisky connoisseurs we would know about it. When I said I thought that was a deceitful practice and when I order a drink from a menu, I expect to pay the price listed next to that drink, she became defensive and argumentative and said, "well what do you want me to do about it?" I asked that she charge us the price listed on the menu. Our new "revised" receipts came back and only some of them had been changed; a few still had an additional dollar tacked onto the menu price. We gave up arguing and left. If a bar wants to charge different amounts for different sized pours, I have absolutely no problem with that. However, it needs to be stated on your menu. If it's not stated clearly and a customer asks about it, fix the situation for the customer, don't talk down to them and don't get an attitude. This interaction came after I had to send two plates of nachos back that both came out cold. Our server was very prompt so I don't think she left the food waiting. Overall, a very unpleasant bar experience. read more

A popular meet up place for young people I've gone here a few times. Not the best bar in Ann Arbor but they get the job done, once you find it the interior is pretty cool, has a speak easy kind of feel to it. It does get a little loud when crowded but I've never had a problem finding a seat or feeling overly crammed in there. Beer selection is alright and prices are a bit lower then most of the other cocktail bars. Staff was always quick to come over and polite when I was there, never had a problem getting a drink. The cocktails were pretty disappointing; I've had a whiskey sour, their Ginger Mash and Southern Peach along with a few others and have been disappointed with everyone. A good place to meet up with friends and have some cheap drinks but don't expect to be blown away, a fun time but not the best Ann Arbor has to offer. read more

Mash is the go to spot for a Friday night of music and drinks. It does get a little crowded, but I've always been able to snag a seat if needed. I find it to be a good spot to meet with friends visiting from out of town because of the lively atmosphere. Pros- Live music (band varies) Good food Good drinks (local alcohol + great cocktails) Cozy laidback atmosphere (people literally write on the walls with chalk) Cons- Sometimes there are artificially inflated lines Can get crowded Hard to hear at time because of live music. read more

mash is just cool. Love the bourbon list. elijah craig = yes please. We also had some appetizers and some had the craft cocktails. There was live music and the place was full. It was a cool scene. I really love the atmosphere, and the bartender knew a TON about bourbon and whiskey. I highly recommend it! read more

Really disappointing drink quality for a "whiskey" bar. Still much safer going with a beer from the standard Blue Tractor options. Fun crowd and good music on weekend nights read more

This is a cool underground bar that I definitely recommend! It has a nice ambiance with brick walls, chalk board ceilings, and cool lighting. Around 10pm they have live music there, more blue grass stuff, it was nice. The service was good too. I hear there is usually a line outside when it get later in the night. read more

Yeah, you walk downstairs and it's a cool dive bar with live music but those craft cocktails need some work. I ordered a whiskey cocktail and it tasted like peach sugar water. Aren't you supposed to be a whiskey bar? read more

I love Mash; it's a moody bar with rustic decor and a good selection of beer, cocktails and most of all whiskey. Came in on a Friday night and was not as packed as I normally see it but being able to find a table, I didn't mind! I had a wonderful bourbon cocktail that's a variation of a Moscow mule called the Wild Mash Buck. It had bourbon, ginger beer, strawberries and lemon. Very refreshing! Overall a cool place to hang out in AA for a drink. read more

I LOVE Mash. The drinks are amazing, so delicious, and strong too! The service is great. I just went with a friend who has a severe dairy allergy and they were so nice and very detailed with making sure the food we ordered was okay. I love the music here and it is a great atmosphere. read more

They would not let me in because they decided last night to be the only bar in Ann Arbor not to accept an Australian driver's license. Do they really expect people from overseas to carry around their passports 24/7? I'm 25 years old, and had a full wallet of cards bearing my name and DOB. Use some common sense! read more

I really want to give it four stars because Mash has great cocktails, but it's not quite enough. Maybe it's just the times I've been, but there's always WAY too many people packed in and the live music is a bit too loud for such a confined space. I feel like the quality of the cocktails isn't reflected in the ambiance. read more

Really enjoy the atmosphere and live bands. Plenty of seating and lots of room to dance along. Only giving it 3 stars, however, because the bar staff always seems to snap at us and seem annoyed to provide service. read more

Five stars only one visit needed!! Fucking cool place, cool look, cool bar tender, good fucking food what else can you ask for

Had the best bartender, Ellen, last week. She was efficient, patient and fun to talk to!

We stopped in on a Friday night around 10 and the place was hopping. The set up is a little weird, which wouldn't have really been noticeable if it wasn't so crowded and difficult to walk between rooms. They have live music though, and a decent selection of whiskeys. After a little bit of standing around we were able to get seats at the bar. Service was great, and my cocktail (the Suffering Bastard) was exactly what I wanted. We did a flight of four bourbon samples for $17 and tried some Michigan whiskeys, which was cool. Overall I recommend, but I'd like to come back when it's just a little calmer. read more

love the vibe of this place! it is so chill and welcoming. Recommend for anyone looking to just get a nice drink and have good conversation

Good selection of whiskies, bourbons and craft beers. However the prices are a bit expensive and service is slow and got a number of our orders wrong. Also very loud and crowded. Seems to not live up to its speakeasy reputation. read more

[3.5 stars] Back again with another group of grad students last night. Didn't eat any food this time. Got the Summer Lover again and actually had two. But tonight the back room wasn't closed for a reserved party so we sat on a booth and listened to live music! The Jake Lives Band was amazing! The did Stevie Wonder, AC/DC, John Legend, Black-Eyes Peas and more. People were really tryna groove and dance too. I want to give 3.5 stars this time. Still need to try their food to see if it improves and I'm not a fan of many of their few cocktails but the atmosphere is pretty good. read more

Good little place that features bourbon cocktails. Definitely the old Habana downstairs, reimagined--but only sort of. Mint Julep was way too sweet, but the cream ale hit the spot! Snacks smelled good, but we didn't taste them. I'd go back, but it's definitely only OK--not top notch. read more

Mash is where you go for live music, drinks that put some hair on your chest, and a good time with good friends. It's beginning to pick up amongst the Greek Life crowd on Thursdays, so beware. read more

Had a severe allergic reaction there a few months ago to something I shouldn't have had a reaction to while drinking here. It's hard to drink here with severe dietary restrictions in the first place as they seem to mostly have homebrewed beers and whiskeys. I decided to get something simple that I know I've had before, a vodka/coke drink with nothing crazy in it that should have posed a threat to my life with my severe food allergies to peanuts, eggs, milk, shellfish, and others. Well, wouldn't you know - 30 minutes into drinking my drink my throat starts swelling up and I leave the drink to my friends with zero food allergies as I leave - projectile vomiting down the street as I'm calling a ride to get to the hospital. Spent the night in the ER. I don't know if it's because they were negligent and put something in my drink that they shouldn't have (not super likely in my opinion), or if instead they (more likely) carelessly "washed" the cups by dunking them for a few seconds in some soapy water after them containing one of many common drinks containing egg whites, milk, or nuts, then giving me the "washed" cup to drink out of after informing them about my food allergies. I find this to be the most likely answer. Anyway, don't drink at MASH if you have severe dietary restrictions. Use my experience with them as a warning. You're not missing out on much anyway - in my opinion there are lots of far superior bars all over downtown Ann Arbor anyway. read more