Absolutely beautiful place that looks like it was built around 100 years ago. It has a lot of character and nostalgia. I had a nice visit with the original bartender and the vibe was great at first. Unfortunately, when the manager showed up the whole atmosphere changed. She was pretty rude to her employee, which really killed the mood. Honestly, she might have been better off staying out back having another cigarette. The back patio area looks like it could be super cool if it were cleaned up -- right now there's a lot of junk and trash lying around. On the positive side, they have darts, a pool table, and even a dance floor, which adds to the nostalgic feel of the place. Just a heads up: they don't serve food. read more

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Always a super fun time. Historic bar with tons of space. Would recommend for events, parties or just a night out.

This place has such potential if a new owner were to come in and do a major league overhaul. The lack of basic cleaning is staggering. The entire place is absolutely disgusting-everything has a layer of filth from the bathrooms to the barstools. I would never order or consume food from here since I'm sure it would never pass a food inspection. Not sure how this place even passed a building inspection because there's no way the plumbing and electrical are to code. (That's an entirely different review) Mary states she's the owner, but after some fact checking-it does not appear to be the case. She is considered more of a "manager"-(I use the term loosely) for an elderly gentleman that actually owns the bar. Clearly a legitimate owner would recognize major changes need to take place in order to turn a profit. First of which is not allowing Mary and her friends drinking the profits. Keeping regular hours and maintaining a social media presence would be key to bringing patrons in. Hiring help that are pleasant, skilled and younger than 70 would be a strong recommendation. Hosting events that appeal to locals during the week would also be another stream of revenue. When we've come in, Mary is always behind the bar or nearby-her demeanor resembles that of a bitter prison guard waiting for retirement. The "entertainment", appears to be a group of retirees that have a limited skill set and do it for kicks with the exception of rodeo weekends where they hire actual working bands but charge $10 at the door. This property is such an unfortunate rundown waste of space that could be something special and highly profitable. Someone with business savvy, and a cleaning crew could breathe new life into this place and give Payson something to be proud of rather than a sad embarrassment. New Years could be a great time to host a big event, but this seems to be lost on them as well. A total of 8 people in the bar lady year. It's been for sale for years, but the amount of $ needed to address the extensive lack of maintenance and upkeep is staggering on top of the unrealistic price tag they are asking for it. Hopefully the owner is not letting Mary negotiate the sale of this property or we will be watching the place fall down before it ever sells. read more

The place stinks like old cigarette smoke! Food was horrible. It was not a good experience will never go back. Rude staff!

I like this funky bar. They don't serve fancy booze and it's sometimes not very busy but Karaoke nights are really fun. Sundays I guess they have dancing music. Mary the BarTender is fun once you get to know her. She knows her customers. There us no food but popcorn. Fun place in a fun mountain town. read more

For a "historic location," it seems to be nothing but a lame dive bar. You think it's going to be a cool, neat place to visit, and it has just been trashed over the years. The owner should not be drinking from the bar supply They do NOT serve food. I ordered a drink, and it was all alcohol and no soda at all. VOMIT!! People here are all over drunk. One night, on June 21st, I was kicked off the premises by Mary and Kevin (who is not qualified security guard and has no guard no badge), because they were "closed," but yet they were throwing a "gay only" party during hours outside of operation. Plus, my boyfriend had a "penis," so we were not allowed in... There were plenty of males there. read more

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Yummy Yummy Yummy get some of their food in your tummy!!!! I absolutely love their ribs, pulled pork tacos with Cole slaw and pork nachos. Great Job Mary and Staff. Mickey the cook does a great job and Falecia is an AWESOME bartender. DJ Jamie is a great DJ and does Karaoke on Friday nights 7pm- midnight or so. Variety of bands normally on Saturday nights and Jam session every Sunday believe 1pm-6pm. Be sure to try out this historical place with lots of history there. We have meant so many great people over the years going there. Enjoy!!! Debbie and Randy Nelson read more

We were coming here to have some drinks and dance after the rodeo... upon arriving we were greeted by a table with like 8 people standing behind it. The bar was pretty dead since rodeo wasn't over, however I was asked to pay 10 each for cover........... because covid most bars in Payson had to close at certain times and these people took full advantage of it. For a second I thought I was wearing a shiny affliction shirt, hair full of Gel, walking into a Scottsdale nightclub..... nope when I came to I realized it was a semi run down outdoor bar in Payson Az.... I tried to pay with my card and was told cash only....... cool, closest arm was 2 miles away... needless to say we went back to our camper and had .50 cent drinks all night! I'll be avoiding this place, you don't take advantage and price gouge like this.... read more

Sad, sad very sad. Super generic food. Place was dirty and dark. Outside look like it hadn't been touched for months! Freaking ants everywhere! Nice people but why are you in business? Place has a ton of potential, but super neglected! The food was horrible, don't even have tap beer brought me can beers!! Wont go there again dont waste your time huge disappointment! read more

What a waste...Such a historic building yet mops and filth everywhere!!?! Disgusting The food is pathetic..not a chef just a lazy person in the kitchen. Sad to see such shambles and disarray..it has such wonderful potential... Clearly running on a shoestring..blatantly obvious, sad to say read more

This place was fun! Bartender (maybe owner) was humorous and fun loving. The band was entertaining and overall had a great time. Limited menu but considering what Covid did to small businesses, they are doing a fantastic job coping. Will definitely be back next time we're up here. read more

Best baby back ribs we've ever had! Super friendly staff. We had a great time. Can't wait to come back. read more

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It's a little dirty and grungy. Clientele sort of rude and arrogant. Location is good and parking is readily available. Took a long time ( 15 minutes) to be acknowledged by waitress and about 30 mins before our water and drinks came. read more

i wish i could put 0 stars. the staff was inattentive and rude. don't even get me started on the owner... so unprofessional. we got the bill for our meal, we ordered three things off the specials menu. the prices for said meals were literally posted on the board right next to us and yet they attempted to upcharge us on every meal. it was about $15 overcharged. we attempted to talk to some girl who apparently was our waitress although we hadn't seen her the entire time we were there, and she proceeded to argue with us about the pricing. that's when the owner came over and escalated the situation further. a very unpleasant experience. which is very sad since it seemed like a fairly cute little place to check out. i wouldn't recommend wasting your time and energy visiting. take your money and business to a better staffed and owned establishment. read more

Not a "bad" bar, but I am pretty disappointed. First of all, they serve no Budweiser products, yet the bar is littered with Bud swag. Ordered 4 Bloody Marys and they ran out of mix after just making 2. (Its only 4pm). Lame attempt at entertainment with dressed up western actors. The bartenders really are doing their best, but management is not giving them the tools to be successful. They have a lot of work to do to get this place in shape. The bartenders were super cool though and I think this can be a super fun place, live music was pretty good, but they have work to do. read more

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We stopped here today to have a beer and a snack. The bartender (owner?) was fabulous. She was warm and friendly and the barbeque was to die for. read more

This is the cutest saloon! The history about this place is great. I sat with the owner and some locals chatting for hours about it. I got a tour of every room. They are trying to bring this place back to life and they're doing an amazing job!! I live in the valley and this was first time down. I will be back for sure!!! read more

Ok drove all the way up here from San Tan Valley to try this place....Guess what web site said open... It's 2:30. NOT OPEN!!! This just sucks.... read more

Always a great time! Staff is friendly, beers are cold, drinks are refreshing, music is good and lots of dance floor. A must visit for Main St Payson. read more

Had a great night at the Oxbow last night. Played pool, listened to live music and everyone made us flat landers feel welcomed.

Love the historical value of this place. Lots of history. Talk to Ernie about a tour and the history while he pours you a cold one. He has pictures of the ghosts that haunt the place. He runs and operates the place. Good live entertainment and dancing as well on friday and saturday nights. http://distilleryimage0.s3.amazonaws.com/3449063a31f411e3a5bc22000a9e2899_6.jpg. A must go to when in the rim country. read more

We like the Oxbow drinks are reasonably priced and the food is pretty yummy too. Good bloody Mary's

Do NOT plan to attend the Oxbow Saloon for any important gathering! My wedding dinner reservation was completely ignored by Mary, the owner, and my group of 20 people could not even get into the restaurant for our 5:00 p.m. dinner reservation on September 4, 2021 because the doors were locked and no one was there. We waited until 5:15, and the restaurant still had not opened. It took a month of attempts to even make the reservation as no one answers the phone at this restaurant. We had to drive (15 miles from our home) into Payson four separate times to even make the reservation because we had no other choice but to go in person, and even then two different times the doors were locked at a time the website advertises that they are open. I did finally speak to Mary in person two separate times to arrange the reservation for our wedding dinner. She was surly and rude. I asked her twice if I should change our reservation to 6:00 p.m., as I was concerned we would arrive at 5:00 to find locked doors. She promised me that 5:00 p.m. was fine, and there would be a table ready for us, though she was impatient and sarcastic with me as she spoke. I almost chose another restaurant just because of her poor attitude and unprofessional behavior. But we really wanted to have our guests enjoy this historic saloon. Mary guaranteed that when we came at 5:00 p.m. that she would have her BBQ menu available to us at that time. But she could not tell us whether there would be a live band or not until 10 days before our dinner reservation. It was a very stressful procedure to even make the reservation. This was all very disappointing and embarrassing in front of our guests during the most important event of our life. Because of the lack of consistency with the website and the actual times this restaurant is open, and because of Mary's gruff attitude and poor business practices, I was so nervous that something would go wrong, so I had made reservations at Rim Country BBQ down the street as a back-up. Our entire wedding party celebration then went to Rim Country BBQ, and they were ready for us, polite, and had wonderful food. After we enjoyed our dinner, some of our wedding guests still wanted to see what the Oxbow Saloon was like, so we went back there for a drink. Mary was near the front door as we entered, and she greeted me, but she did not recognize who I was or acknowledge what had happened. When we sat down, a waitress came over to our table and explained that she was the only one working that evening, and that we should go get our own drinks at the bar if we didn't want to have a long wait. In addition, no paper towels or toilet paper in the dirty bathrooms. I can only imagine how rude and defensive Mary could become if I attempted to speak with her in person about this incident, but I will never go there again. A saloon like this has such potential for the city of Payson, but because of the owner's very poor management of this restaurant, it is doubtful that it will ever be successful. Mary's response to this review...no apology at all. She said it was a busy Rodeo weekend (it was NOT rodeo weekend), and that I never told her it was a wedding dinner (I specifically told her it was a wedding dinner). read more

As a bartender, I loved this place! It's a cash only bar but we showed up with only debit cards. The bartenders here let us drink while holding a card "hostage" and told us to come back n pay tommarow. They made us feel welcome n at home. They pore a nice drink with snacks available at the bar. Thanx J read more