Best of Boston

2015 Best Dive Bar

The Cantab Lounge

Proper dive bars may be a dying breed, particularly in developing neighborhoods like Central Square, but amid all the ATMs, one redoubt of a bygone era holds fast. While other dives may offer the same gritty character (and characters), very few couple that with worthwhile live bluegrass bands, jazz, poetry, and folk.

738 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-354-2685, cantab-lounge.com