With Blacksburg, Virginia being the home of Virginia Tech, there are bars everywhere you look around the town. You can even buy t-shirts locally that say “A drinking town with a football problem” on them. There is a bar in Blacksburg for everybody. There is a pub called London Underground if pub is your scene, Attitudes Bar & Cafe if you are looking to get out on the dance floor, Bull and Bones Brewhaus and Grill if you are looking for a place that brews their own beer, and many more. These are my three favorite places to drink in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Macado’s Restaurant & Bar
922 University City Boulevard
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 953-2700
Macados.net
Macado’s has been one of my favorite restaurants since I was little kid marveling at the wonders of decor: giant dinosaur coming out of the wall, King Kong hanging from the ceiling, Marilyn Monroe replica, and much more. Naturally once I hit the legal drinking age this restaurant quickly morphed into one of my favorite bars also. I love that Macado’s is not located downtown or near the Virginia Tech campus because unless it is St. Patrick’s Day or Halloween the bar isn’t packed to the door with drunken college students. There are daily drink and food specials that are pretty good deals and I always find myself there for at least two hours at a time because the atmosphere is so nice that I don’t want to leave. I love the food at Macado’s. The menu is mostly made up of sandwiches, but they are to die for. My favorite is the Dietrich Delight which is cheese, bacon, mayo, and the biggest stack of sliced turkey I have ever seen piled up on a bagel and grilled plus I always get a side of the French onion dip which they make in the store, completely worth the bad breath it gives you. Macado’s doesn’t have live music, they don’t have dance floors, DJs, or karaoke, but the food is amazing and the atmosphere is so nice that I could sit there all night making this my number one favorite place to drink in Blacksburg.
Sharkey’s Wing & Rib Joint
220 North Main Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 552-2030
SharkeysWingandRibJoint.com
Sharkey’s is located right in the heart of downtown Blacksburg, well within walking distance of the campus of Virginia Tech. They have great daily food specials, but what really makes Sharkey’s stick out is their 5pm-9pm happy hour specials that have been voted the best in Blacksburg by the Virginia Tech student run newspaper, the Collegiate Times for the past five years in a row. $1 house singles, $2 house doubles, $3 for a 16-ounce single cocktail of the day, or $4 for a 22-ounce double of the cocktail of the day. $4 domestic pitchers and every bottled beer is $1 during happy hour other than PBR. I usually go to Sharkey’s happy hour when I am going out with co-workers because of the amazing happy hour specials and the convenient location within walking distance from our office. The atmosphere is pretty good there, but more aimed towards the student population. I wouldn’t go near Sharkey’s any night between Thursday and Saturday because there are just too many people for my liking, but if you don’t mind a crowd and want to dance, this would be a good bar for you to visit. Everything I have tried on their menu tastes great; they have a huge selection of burgers. An indoor and outdoor bar makes this a great place to drink no matter what the season or weather.
River Mill
212 Draper Road Northwest
Blacksburg, VA 24060
(540) 951-2483
River Mill is another bar that is located very conveniently close to the campus of Virginia Tech. I have had many group meetings for my classes at this bar and they were never rude to us for taking up one of their tables for school work even though we didn’t eat much or buy many drinks. Every time I drink there my cocktails are strong and I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. The only thing I have ever really felt gypped on is the food which is kind of bland, plus I’m a firm believer that when I order nachos, they should come with nacho cheese and not be stuck in the microwave with some shredded junk on it. River Mill doesn’t have their own website, but if you visit this link from Campus Food, you can see the River Mill food menu. The first time I went to this bar I hated it, there was too much smoke and it looked dirty to me, now there is no smoking in the bar and I’ve grown to love the rugged appearance. For the most part the staff is really nice, but once closing time rolls around the people who had been friendly with you all night will not hesitate to kick you out before you can even round up the rest of the members of your party which can be a bit scary for females with a good distance to walk and don’t want to be hanging out alone downtown when all of the bars are closing. My favorite thing about River Mill is that every other Thursday during the school year you can go see local DJs at Re:fill for free which is about the only time I ever go out dancing. Another thing that I love about this bar is that you have to be 21 to get in.
