The Best Bars in Asheville, NC

Asheville packs an absurd number of good bars into a walkable downtown — craft cocktail lounges, rooftop patios with Blue Ridge views, speakeasies hidden behind other businesses, and neighborhood pubs where nobody's trying to impress anyone. This guide covers the best bars in Asheville by what you actually want out of the night: a quiet drink, a rooftop sunset, live music, or a room you have to find first. Every spot below has its own page with hours, location, and what to order.

Best Bars in Downtown Asheville

Downtown Asheville is where the density is — you can walk between a dozen serious bars in fifteen minutes. Sovereign Remedies is the vintage-inspired anchor of the downtown cocktail scene, a stylish multilevel space pairing expertly crafted drinks with locally sourced modern American food. Rankin Vault Cocktail Lounge is the local favorite: creative cocktails, award-winning burgers, patio seating, and a historic namesake vault to drink in. Storm Rhum Bar & Bistro brings a large rum selection and modern American bistro fare in a polished rustic room. The Times Bar & Coffee Shop sits in the historic S&W building under chandeliers, running a seasonal cocktail menu alongside specialty coffee. For something less obvious, Battery Park Book Exchange & Champagne Bar combines a used bookstore with a champagne bar, live music, and a dog-friendly patio.

Asheville Speakeasies and Hidden Bars

Asheville does hidden bars better than cities ten times its size. The Crow & Quill is the benchmark — a cozy, antique-filled downtown speakeasy stocking over 800 whiskeys and 1,000 spirits, with board games, live music and vintage everything. Pink Moon Bar is an outdoor cocktail and wine bar tucked behind Double Crown, moody and curated, with password-only access announced through their Instagram. Strange Magic hides behind The Lazy Diamond and runs craft cocktails, natural wines, and late-night DJ sets. The Low Down, from the Burial Beer team, is an underground room for curated cocktails and elevated bar snacks. The Tiki Easy Bar takes the speakeasy format tropical, pouring rare and historic rums.

Rooftop Bars with Mountain Views

Top of the Monk sits above Thirsty Monk Brewery with classic cocktails, a curated whiskey list, house-made bitters, and a patio looking out at the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Observatory crowns The Restoration Hotel with botanical-inspired cocktails, small bites, and city-and-mountain views. Pillar Rooftop Bar tops the Hilton Garden Inn downtown with Southern fusion small plates, seasonal cocktails, and live music on weekends. Antidote, in the South Slope's apothecary-style space, has its own rooftop with city views.

Neighborhood Bars Beyond Downtown

Some of Asheville's best bars are a short drive from the center. In West Asheville, Leo's House of Thirst pours natural wines with creative dishes under twinkle lights and garden seating, The Double Crown runs karaoke and live music out of a tiny house on Haywood Road, DeSoto Lounge serves scratch-made pub fare with vintage games and a laid-back patio, and Golden Pineapple Cocktail Lounge handles late-night bites with no reservations needed. In the River Arts District, Crucible mixes locally inspired cocktails alongside live art, Golden Hour inside The Radical Hotel goes from wood-fired pastries to craft cocktails as the day turns, and Anoche pairs espresso with small-batch mezcal and tequila.

Browse every bar below — each listing links through to hours, address, and the full write-up.

Asheville's Best Bars and Pubs

Exploring Asheville’s Nightlife Scene