The Pour House Bar / Restaurant

Back Bay, Boston –

There’s no shortage of classy martini bars and high-end restaurants in this neck of Boston, but those hungry and low on cash – or just high on alcohol tolerance – head straight for The Pour House.

Plastered with antique beer and gas station signs, bumper stickers, hanging mannequins, and a chaotic mélange of random stuff, the joint is constantly busy thanks to oversized entrées like triple-patty burgers and 22-ounce drafts that set patrons back a whopping $5 each.

College students and budget-minded young professionals alike share space at the long bar that runs down one side of the room, tucking in beneath hanging fringed lamps to catch the game on one of several TVs, play a round of Keno, or just warble off-key to the playlist of classic rock.

The lack of a cover charge ensures the place is standing-room-only come Fridays, when it’s packed to the brim with jolly frat brothers and laid-back groups of friends, and on even busier Saturdays when half-priced burgers prime the party and boozy frappes flow like water.

The space often sees its biggest crunch at 1am when most area bars shut down, while weekend brunch brings in tourists from nearby hotels and hungover city denizens looking to treat their ails with massive mimosas, Bloody Marys, and pumpkin pie pancakes.

Day or night, The Pour House’s no-frills approach to cheap food and drink makes even the most downtrodden feel rich – at least until the next morning.