For sure this is one of the legendary places in Carbondale. It has been a long time favorite for cheap drinks, food, and music. PK's is popular with both locals and students. A surprisingly good amount of stuff on the menu including plant based. This place may be a dive, but it's better than it looks. A lot of history in this bar. It's known for the cheap ass happy hours. There's also the cheap ass weekly specials. Be sure to check out the list in the bathroom. It's $2 for whiskey on Wednesdays. Among the many cheap drinks. Burgers are most popular among the food options. The food menu also has a lot for vegans. It's $6 for the Impossible Chicken. This comes on a bun topped with lettuce, onions, and pickles. Has to be one of the places you go to when visiting this college town to check out the local flavor. It's on Illinois Avenue at Walnut Street. There's lots to get for meat eaters such as burgers, and there's also healthier options, including many things for vegans and vegetarians. read more

PK's - Inside - Dive Bars Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

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Pks is always been our bar we love it. It may have to change some but still a good place to go

Dive bar vibes with surprisingly great burgers! Also good place for brunch food on Saturdays/Sundays read more

PK's - Inside bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

Went to PKs after the annual hog roast, thought it was appropriate. Hungover and hungry. Had the dawgpile and it was very good hangover food. Cheap drinks same atmosphere since the 80s when I first went there. The bartender seemed to like intentionally ignore me, not sure why but reminded me of a he 80s as well. Positive experience but"don't they know who I am?" read more

Stopped in for lunch. Best cheeseburger I've had in a while! It's the smash burger type of burger, crispy but juicy with a nice beefy taste. Had a very straight forward, unfancy Bloody Mary which was delicious. My friend had the PKs patty melt with grilled onions which was also delicious.You can't beat the prices - all in all it was a pleasant surprise! The staff was very nice and the atmosphere was nice low key dive bar. Now I want to try their brunch! read more

They play LOUD music that keeps the entire neighborhood up at night. Not something that is enjoyable at all.

I remember playing pool at PKs in the 80s so we went there on Labor Day Monday to reminisce and have a drink before hitting Mexican for dinner. We were out of options for food because we had tried 5 or 6 different places only to find everything closed. Yay for them it was Labor Day. When we walked into PKs we were pleasantly surprised to find a big food menu. Of course, as the only vegan in the group, I was happy for my friends but knew I would be limited to fries (maybe) and a salad; hoping they had an oil based dressing. I would love to have a picture of my expression when I saw Beyond burger on the menu and then to make it even better they have vegan cheese (follow your heart I think) AND vegan bacon. I don't know when the last time I had a bacon cheeseburger! What an amazing experience we had here. The rest of my group had the "cheeseburger in paradise" special to honor Jimmy Buffet. I also need to comment on the price; how rare it was to eat dinner for 2 with a beer for $20!We made sure to get a pic under the original Pizza King sign. The service was amazing! read more

PK's - Dive Bars Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

Nice place, good happy hour prices, friendly staff. Can sit in or outside. Will return!

Pour too much Jack Daniel's in my drink got me f***ed tipsy I wouldn't recommend to go there

amazing service! i love pks so much they're the best staff you should always go to pks when you're around in southern illinois #dad

A must stop! Staff is awesome! Enjoy the nostalgic feeling! SIU Alumni! Enjoy a beer at the bar!

Mama can cook!! Fabulous Food but the menu does change! Lisa is the best Chef! Love the bar too!

Cool dive bar. Best prices I've seen in a long time. Not very up scale. But I think that's the charm of this place.

Finally got to try their weekend brunch...and omg, it was amazing!! The menu changes, but I can't imagine anything being less than delicious. Plus, you can't go wrong with their bloody marys and awesome atmosphere. They do make you pay as you go - FYI. read more

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I stopped here on a random visit to Chicago and fell in love with this place! Super cheap booze and cool people. Pool tables are a nice touch and the jukebox had a very good selection of music. I got to listen to some of my favorite not so well known songs! Thank you for the good time, PK's! read more

PK's - The bar and their collection of personalized mugs for regulars! - Dive Bars Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

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If you need a good bar to get you fuckered up quick and inexpensively this is the place! Live music fri sat that's usually free

Well, my friends, no trip to Carbondale is complete without not just one, but a few stops to PK's....as a "visitor" to this quaint southern college town I could not express enough how unique my visit(s) were. No one, I mean no one was a stranger, between the hugs, and more hugs and friendly conversations, the pool games and BANDS, this place was the place to be. I have traveled the country mind you but never in my day did I receive such a warm, friendly reception by the locals, "family", "you belong here" was all I could feel. Too many smiles to count and fun had by all, no matter what you were doing....I have to thank way too many people for turning me on to this place because, to quote good ole "CHEERS", everybody knows your name and I was caught up in the "cool cats", great discussions about music, art and who knows what, it didn't matter, I never smiled so big and bright. ) Check it out! Life is Short, STAY Happy! read more

Visited this place from Austin, TX, what an awful experience. The weekend of September 6th, I was visiting Carbondale to see how it changed (SIU Alumni, 1992-1996). On my last night there, I was in this place, talking to the patrons and playing a slot machine, when it became disabled. As you can see from the photograph the machine had $252.69 of my money. The manager called a gaming technician, and they tried to fix it, but couldn't. I waited for over four hours before finally demanding my money, and they refused to pay it. When I told them I wasn't leaving without the money, they called the police. I explained to the police that I just wanted my money and informed them the establishment was required to pay it under Illinois Law (Illinois Video Gaming Act) and that I was reclaiming my property. I further explained that I had a flight out of Veterans Airport the next morning, and didn't want any trouble. The Carbondale Police didn't care and the establishment had me arrested for trespassing (and later for calling 911 regarding this in a related matter). I was taken to jail, booked, and tossed into a cell. I ended up missing my flight and spending thousands of dollars in legal fees to defend these ridiculous criminal accusations in court. A lawsuit was filed against this establishment for their poor handling of this situation. Fellow citizens and tourists, this place does not deserve a dime of your money after doing something like this. I look forward to the day that they will have to answer for what they have done here. read more

PK's - Photo of disabled machine with $252.69, in PK's - Dive Bars Near Me - Carbondale, Illinois

Came out from St. Louis to see Ha Ha Tonka at PKs Sunday. The house P.A. was surprisingly good, the band was set up on a stage in the corner, which works out well, sound-wise. No bikers in sight, not that I would have minded. Can't remember the name of the opening band, but they were smokin' good. Beer was cold, place was charming, staff was unbelievably cool, had such a great time we brought home PK T-Shirts that's we'll wear about town proudly. Wish this bar was in St. Louis, I'd see shows there as often as possible. It's gratifying to see an establishment that's really interested in bringing more original music to the people. Um, no fights while I was there; I am getting suspicious of the bad review. read more

Not sure why this place has such great reviews. It's more of a locals bar- so if you're from out of town and are looking for some drinks- pass on this one. Pretty sketchy and dangerous in my opinion. Watched two guys argue over a game of pool and one guy threw a ball at the others head- knocking him out, leaving him laying there in a pool of blood. Not the classiest of establishments, but they did have pretty cheap drinks. Loud music, and nowhere to escape it. Probably a good place to score drugs if that's what you're looking for. read more

I guess you call it a dive.... Not my cup of tea anymore but it's a good place to drop into for last call- after you're already too drunk to realize what poor life decisions you're making. I personally like my dive bars to be a little less overrun with pissing/puking/pooping college dropouts who drink PBR because it's cool. If you wanna meet every hipster in Carbondale this is the place to go I guess. If you want a real dive bar check out Key West or venture into surrounding towns read more

Thee best spot in Carbondale if you're not a douche bag. What a gem. I spent many an afternoon in PK's during college and I make a point to get there whenever I visit. If you want to see carbondale in all it's glory, do yourself a favor and stop by PK's on a Thursday for $1 you call its. Can't beat that. Also a solid place to see some of the better local acts play. Let the locals teach you a step or two. read more

What you see is what you get here. It's indeed a biker bar with some very interesting customers. A buddy of mine bartended here, so I came by once in awhile. It's a small hole-in-the-wall place, and it's very much a dive bar. I've never seen any fights there, but I imagine it could get pretty physical there. If it's not your scene, definitely don't go. If you don't mind it, the drinks are pretty cheap. read more

PK's is by far my favorite bar in Carbondale. They have a jukebox, 2 pool tables and a foosball table. Live music most nights. They're open all the time and i hear they serve food during the day. The atmosphere and the crowd are whats great about this place as well as the cheap hooch. $1 PBR and $3 Newcastle everyday, Dollar Night on Thursday, it doesn't get much better than that. read more

Scary place for this old lady. Fighting just isn't my thing. Too many fights at this place.

Never pay a cover for live music! $1 PBR in a frosty mug ALWAYS! Dollar night on Thursdays! Love this place. This is the epitome of Carbondale. Oh yeah: they also serve food during the mornings. Check it out read more

This is my favorite little hole-in-the-wall of Southern Illinois. They usually have great bands playing, such as the Whistle Pigs, and PK's never over charges. The bartenders are always friendly and serve some of the best rum n cokes I have had. ;) Whenever I come to visit family and friends, we always make it to PK's for drinks and good times. read more

The best bar I've been to in all of my travels. I'm sure that will change once the "Cheers" feeling of everyone knows your name starts to decline. Still, after five+ years, there's always at least one old friend ready to throw a couple back. Truly one of the most memorable experiences of my life due to the stellar staff, entertainment, and great downtown Carbondale location. A must visit, and I can't wait to come back to the dirty dale and have a frosty $1 pbr. Nothing but great memories my friends. read more

Good God, what a dive. Three stars just cause I have great memories of this place in college. I think it smelled better when smoking was allowed. Pretty bare bones. Pools tables, stage, long bar, nasty bathrooms, good music. I have seen some really cool shows here. Cheap crappy beer, strong gin and tonic, what more do you want? read more

After a disappointing night at Hangar 9 we decided to head over to PKs and stayed til closing. The drinks were great and they had a live band that was playing good music. The bartender was very attentive. I liked the more relaxed atmosphere and there wasn't a huge crowd, which for me is always a plus. We had a good time. read more

Ayo, best place, don't wanna go nowhere else. Yelp forces more letters to be typed this is where you should hang out.......................................................................................................! read more

Best dive bar in Southern Illinois. Cheap drinks made strong. Customers are friendly. Definitely some interesting characters. My favorite bar in Carbondale. read more

Anyone who likes dive bars will love this place. It's the Cadillac of dive bars... but '70s Cadillac not the piece of crap Cadilac cars they make now. Great music. Cheap drinks. The joyous vibe you find when lots of drunks find a place to buy lots of drinks within budget. Used to be better before they paved the little park next door and turned it into a parking lot. Used to be a great place to step out and have someone pass you a joint. read more

WARNING --- WARNING --- WARNING --- WARNING --- WARNING My son and two friends spent less than $20 each at PK's on 09.29.2010. Upon leaving, my son was assaulted outside of PK's in the parking lot. He was taken to the ER in Carbondale where he was treated for a head injury/possible concussion and an injured shoulder. We're not sure when he will be able to return to work. We filed a police report. When contacted, PK's manager would not give us the name of the owner of the bar or the name of their insurance company. He said that they only own the building and not the parking lot. He also said that anything that happens outside of the building is not their responsibility, but the responsibility of the city of Carbondale. Customers, please, please be aware of the danger at this establishment. You are not necessarily safe there. read more

My favorite bar in Cdale hands down. Good people, cheap drinks, and great bartenders. I don't know how many times I said I was going to PK's for "a beer" and ended up staying for 10. Again awesome bar. read more

PK'S is a Carbondale institution. Free bands, good cheap beer plus love the assortment of people that you find here. There are students, farmers, hippies, geeks, artists, intellectuals and your average Jane and Joes of all ages and races. Heard their food is top notch by several people, I just don't do mornings, even late ones. read more

Some great bands here and every Thursday is a holiday (dollar beers and rails). M-F lunch from 11-2. Sat. Breakfast. Legendary foosball games. Buy Pat Kelly a drink and your sure to have a great time. read more

I first went there in 92'. I started going there regularly in 95'. I met one of the best friends of my life there. Jim"Rehab". People know me as "The Irish Highlander." I miss you guys and gals. read more

Easily one of the best bars in town, especially if you want a break from the college scene.

one of the few carbondale bars worth visiting. it could really use some outdoor seating, but given its location that simply doesnt appear possible. read more