Burton's Thornton Park

This is a genuine dive in the best sense: no concept, no cocktail program worth photographing, just strong drinks that cost what drinks should cost and a room that's been serving Thornton Park since the 1930s. Go here when you want the loud-jukebox-and-a-pool-cue version of a night out, surrounded by regulars and people who wandered in from the neighborhood. If you're after craft cocktails, bottle service, or a scene to be seen in, walk the two blocks to the rest of Thornton Park's polished bars instead — Burton's is proudly the opposite of all that.

A weeknight around 10 p.m. — late enough that the after-work and dinner crowd has cleared out and it's running on jukebox, pool balls, and regulars, which is the version of Burton's worth showing up for. Weekend college-football afternoons are the other sweet spot if you'd rather have the TVs and a lighter room.

Feed the jukebox early and claim a pool table before the night fills in — the regulars who play here are good, and you'll wait a lot longer for a table if you show up after 11.

Nearby on Wayfind

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