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The best bars for St. Patrick's Day in Boston — from Southie's legendary Irish pubs to craft beer bars in Jamaica Plain that make the holiday.
The short answer
8 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
Boston's St. Patrick's Day is simultaneously the city's biggest annual event and the occasion on which its bar infrastructure is most thoroughly tested. South Boston in particular treats March 17th as a full civic holiday — businesses close, the parade route fills before 10am, and every bar within a half-mile of Broadway Station is operating at maximum capacity by noon. The best bars for st patricks day boston rewards those who plan around the crowd rather than fighting through it, and several of the best options are in neighbourhoods that most visitors haven't considered.
Southie on St. Patrick's Day is genuinely something to experience at least once — the combination of the parade, the Irish-American community at full volume, and the density of pubs per square mile produces something that feels unlike any other American city on any other day of the year. These are the bars that handle the day with the most grace and maintain some level of quality service through it all.
How we picked
Boston's St. Patrick's Day is worth experiencing in South Boston at least once — the combination of the parade and the neighbourhood energy is unlike anything else in the American calendar. The practical advice is to arrive in Southie early, secure a position at one of the bars before noon, and plan to stay rather than bar-hop. For a more manageable experience, The Druid in Cambridge and Doyle's in Jamaica Plain give you the authentic community celebration at a fraction of the density. Our top recommendation for the full experience is The Playwright — it combines genuine Irish cultural identity with a better drinks programme than anything else on the parade route, and it's the one bar in Southie where you can actually have a conversation after 2pm.
Tom has been covering craft beer and Irish whiskey across the Northeast for fifteen years. He has spent every St. Patrick's Day in a different city for the past decade and considers Boston the most authentic version of the American holiday. He has strong views about Guinness temperature.
Last reviewed 2026-04-13 · The editors recheck hours and closures against current local coverage.