There’s a new people’s champ in Central Arkansas. The Hillcrest Fountain is the best bar around, according to the readers of the Arkansas Times. The low-key neighborhood bar — slogan: “the home you hit before you head home” — is a place where the regulars know the bartenders’ cell phone numbers, David Ramsey reports.
The Fountain unseated another no-frills neighborhood bar, two-time winner White Water Tavern, though White Water remains beloved. It won Best Bar for Live Music and Best Dive Bar.
Despite Times readers’ affinity for charmingly dingy watering holes, that paragon of high-class cocktails, Capital Bar and Grill, placed more often than any other bar throughout the list that follows.
A good Old Fashioned and homey dive bars will never go out of fashion. But a new trend we hope joins them as permanent fixture in our drinking scene is craft beer diversity. Arkansas distributors have upped the variety they’re bringing in at the same time we’re experiencing a craft brewery boom in the state. Lindsey Millar surveys the upstart small breweries in the state, most of which will appear at the beer drinkers event of the year, the annual Arkansas Times Craft Beer Festival on Nov. 1. Even if you can’t make it to the festival, our guide to the 50-plus brewers participating doubles as a near-comprehensive look at craft beer available in Arkansas.
Best bar
The Hillcrest Fountain
Runners-up: Maduro Cigar Bar, Capital Bar and Grill, Dugan’s Pub
Best bartender
Aimee Stockton, Dizzy’s
Runners-up: David Burnette, South on Main; Jack Lloyd, The Fold; Gene Lee, The Pantry
Best Wine bar
Crush Wine Bar
Runners-up: By the Glass, Zin Urban Wine and Beer Bar, Ciao Baci
Best sports bar
Dugan’s Pub
Runners-up: Buffalo Wild Wings, West End Smokehouse & Tavern, The Tavern Sports Grill
Best pick-up bar
Cajun’s Wharf
Runners-up: Bar Louie, Ciao Baci, The Hillcrest Fountain
Best Gay bar
Discovery Nightclub
Runners-up: Miss Kitty’s Saloon, Trax, Triniti
Best bar for live music
White Water Tavern
Runners-up: Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, Revolution, Cajun’s Wharf
Best dive bar
White Water Tavern
Runners-up: Midtown Billiards, Pizza D’Action, Grumpy’s Too
Best Hotel bar
Capital Bar and Grill
Runners-up: Rocks in Crowne Plaza, Plaza Grille and Bar at the Doubletree Little Rock, Velvet Humidor Cigar Lounge at the Little Rock Marriott
Best Bar for pool, etc.
West End Smokehouse & Tavern
Runners-up: Town Pump, The Hillcrest Fountain, Flying Saucer
Best Bar food
Dugan’s Pub
Runners-up: The Pantry, Capital Bar and Grill, Big Orange Midtown
Best Happy hour
Bar Louie
Runners-up: The Hillcrest Fountain, Maduro Cigar Bar, The Fold
Best Drinking brunch
YaYa’s Euro Bistro
Runners-up: Loca Luna, The Fold, Afterthought
Best Patio for drinking
Cajun’s Wharf
Runners-up: U.S. Pizza Hillcrest, YaYa’s Euro Bistro, Ciao Baci
Best Beer selection
Flying Saucer
Runners-up: The Pantry, Big Orange Midtown, Cregeen’s
Coldest beer
Twin Peaks
Runners-up: U.S. Pizza Hillcrest, Flying Saucer, Dugan’s Pub
Best Tequila selection
Local Lime
Runners-up: Santo Coyote, Maduro Cigar Bar, The Fold
Best Bloody Mary
Capital Bar and Grill
Runners-up: Maduro Cigar Bar, YaYa’s Euro Bistro, Dugan’s Pub
Best Martini
Capital Bar and Grill
Runners-up: Ciao Baci, Maduro Cigar Bar, The Pantry
Best Margarita
Local Lime
Runners-up: Santo Coyote, The Fold, Cantina Laredo
Best Liquor store
Colonial Wines and Spirits
Runner-up: Springhill Liquor, Sullivant’s Liquor Store, Rafferty’s Liquors
Best Local brew
Diamond Bear
Runners-up: Stone’s Throw, Vino’s, CORE
Best National brew
New Belgium
Runners-up: Shiner, Schlafly, Boulevard