Wellesley College - Nightlife

Fans revere Paradise as a chill place to hear good Indie rock bands. Somewhere between trashy and trendy, Paradise is a delightful venue that holds some great dance nights, as well as hosting gallery events and new art releases. The lounge is considered small, but consistently gets great acts.

The closest thing Boston has to a big-name New York club, the Roxy charges New York prices as well. It’s only open three days a week, but it’s always packed. The swanky ambiance, hired dancers, and expensive drinks may be too much for some, but for scenesters, it’s a must.

A nerd bar—it shouldn’t be a novelty in this city of students, but it is. Yet somehow, like Weezer, this bar manages to make nerdiness cool. Order a tasty meal off of the periodic table chalkboard on the wall, and slide yourself behind one of the few tables in the small, glass-walled space.

A Harvard Square anchor, John Harvard’s offers tasty food and good beer. Seasonal specialties are popular, and there’s always a good crowd filling up the basement space. Though it attracts mostly college students, it’s not a hip place; it’s a bar’s bar.

A beer fan’s dream, this bar offers 112 beers on tap and 400 by the bottle. Popular among Wellesley’s beer connoisseurs (there are more than you’d think), Sunset Grill also offers a good menu that is as extensive as its beer list.

A chill place to hang out on campus, Molly’s offers bottled and tap beer, hard cider and bottled girly drinks. Musicians, obscure and well-known, take the stage at least once a week, and students try out their stand-up comedy routines.

The Enormous Room is a dimly-lit, high-ceilinged space frequented by hipsters and run by the coolest waitresses in town. It’s expensive, but has great food, good music, and the chance to sit on rugs and cushions. It may be hipper-than-thou, but it’s also chill, and a nice break from the hard-partying bars and clubs in Central Square.

The self-proclaimed oldest and largest brewpub in Boston boasts great seasonal beers and decent food. The place is always packed during baseball season, but the seasonal beers can be enjoyed in a little more peace at other times of the year.

Bill’s features a mix of music, covering everything from rock to funk. Weekends are for rock, Indie local bands perform on Thursdays, and reggae jams on Sundays.

The Cantab is as close to a dive as you’ll find in Central Square, and a wonderful dive it is. Bluegrass night on Tuesdays draws a mix of preppy college students and grizzly old men, and after a couple visits, you’ll know the names of the servers and bartenders. Other nights feature the Cantab’s mascot, “Little” Joe Cook, who performs blues and R&B a few nights a week. There are also slam poetry competitions and open mic nights, some going on down in the basement while a band performs upstairs.

At Boston Billiards, the waitresses are tanned and bleached, the pool and drinks are expensive, and the cheese fries are tasty. With over 50 pool tables, this place draws in pool sharks, as well as college kids taking advantage of the big-screen TVs to watch the game.

Boston is a tough place to be under 21 or without a very good fake ID, as most places card very tightly at the door. As a result, students make friends at other schools to party, party on campus, or just spend a lot of girls’ nights in with popcorn and movies. Dinner, shopping, or going out to the movies are fun, and some clubs have under-21 nights. Molly’s Pub is chill and fun even if you can’t drink the beer.