Tom English Bar

Tom’s is a great inexpensive place to grab a drink. I have an out of state license and they didn’t give me any trouble when ID’ing me just simply asked for a second form like a credit card.
It’s a great lowkey local atmosphere. Would recommend if in the area

Tommy E’s…where you go when the lady is not around and your boys are thirsty. A very serviceable watering hole. Fun place to sling a few pints back and have some laughs.
And to the lady upset your out of state ID does not work… well in MA drinking establishments can only accept MA IDs. You’re not special. They’re trained to spot fake MA ID’s, not your fake from Idaho they’ll probably see once every 5 years. That’s called defending their valuable liquor license. The «no outsiders,» comment probably meant no out of staters.
Like I said, more than fine place to have a few beers and shoot the breeze. Close to the red line if you’re too wobbly to drive after! Recommended.

Worst experience ever. WARN people that dont have mass ID as they wont accept any other states ID. I have been here with lots of frienda… tonight none of us can go in. The guy who checked ID was rude. He said no outsiders. I guess tgis place doesnt want any businesses cuz i will not bring any of my friends to a racist and discreting place

Don’t ever say anything that the Irish bartender disagrees with or doesn’t comprehend. The dude should leave his politics at home.

Years ago, this was the BEST place in Dorchester, or the immediate area, for Irish breakfast.
No idea what happened since, but the old guy who used to cook disappeared and then the bartenders changed up, then the place was sort of renovated (I think they just painted the smoke-​stained ceiling). The guinness always tasted strange. The place was never busy when I was there. I used to bring Polish people in and ask what they wanted because there was a Polish menu on one of the walls. Now there’s this fat loudmouth who works for the city who’s a regular and makes the place insufferable.
The only other option in the neighborhood is the Banshee across the street and I swear they play games with their prices. If they know you’re not from the old country you’re going to pay nightclub prices over there.

Good place to be alone with your beer. Cheap price for Guinness it’s only $ 4. It has a depressed lonesome feeling about it and is usually only occupied with creepy regulars.

Great prices on drink, friendly bar tenders, dollar pool tables and darts. Within walking distance for me. Only thing that would make it perfect is if they at least had apps or pizza. Fun and friendly spot.

I actually feel bad for writing a bad review for the first time.
As a frequenter of dives, I thought that this place would be right up my alley. WRONG!!!
When they say they are open until 1am, they actually mean 12:20. after that…, good luck getting a drink. The bartender might have been 22 years old and knew nothing of the trade. i will never go here again. Croke Park is a $ 8 cab ride away. Much worth it. Go there instead.

Everytime I have come to Boston I have hit this bar up. And everytime until today they have treated me the same as anyone else. Not today. I walk in grab a seat and wait and wait and wait. The bartender has served everybody at the bar and has made eye to eye contact with me multiple times while empty handed. I’m mixed black and white and at least in the south racism isn’t so blatant.

An authentic dive bar with CHEAP beers, and right around the corner from my house! Would definitely call it a *local* watering hole. Beers on tap range from $ 3 to $ 4, while bottles linger around the $ 3 mark. Also, there’s no credit card minimum.
Renovated a few years back, so the interior is actually quite nice. They keep it clean and sanitary, which is big plus. You’ve got your typical Keno machine up front, darts in the corner, and pool tables in the back.
Seriously, what more could you ask for?

I’m a sucker for authentic dive bars.
This place looks really nice inside, so calling it a ‘dive’ isn’t fair when you consider what they’ve done to the place. That being said, it’s a beer drinker’s bar, and just about everybody in there was drinking beer. That’s what a dive bar is all about, especially in the middle of a weekday.
If I lived anywhere near this place, I’d see myself in here regularly.

This is your typical dive bar that’s been remodeled. Same customers the most times I’ve been here. I know this is a beer drinking establishment but my only complaint is that they dont serve Pinot Grigio. They serve Chardonay and Sauvignon Blanc. I’ve requested it a few times since I live down the street. But, still no dice. If you go here, please request Pinot Grigio. Would be a riot if Unilocal changed the wine menu.

If you’re looking for an Irish Bar in Dorchester, there are plenty to choose from so look past this place. Bartenders will ignore you and you almost have to compete for service. The crowd is made up of pool hustlers and old men who get angrier and angrier the more pints they wash down.

Woah and I thought I’d seen some dive bars…
After stepping into Tom English trying to find a good local Irish pub in South Boston I was greeted with a confused bartender, bum drinking next to me at the bar asking for money and pencil shavings scattered throughout my personal area.
Pencil Shavings?
Yeah pencil shavings, apparently the bum next to me needed to sharpen one of the mini pencils provided at the bar to play Keno.
Nothing says class like a scratch ticket machine and Keno in a dive bar.
Also a note about the construction… this place would be great if they didn’t try to «update» the look of it, the poor place looked like the owner had gone to Home Depot and maxed out his credit cards all on cheesy «faux nice» materials.

the non-​descript, innocuous, windowless bar got a full makeover w/​its name outside, guiness lamps, a new bar, stools, tables, new floor, new pool table, high def flat screens, and windows! keno’s still around, and so are most of the old clientele. definitely a locals spot — piss drunk irish @ 4 pm; and the band of regulars who pop in after work for a quick drink or 3 and a half pack of butts on their way home. they do make sandwiches and pizza — all for under 5 bucks, and sells bags of chips, b/​w 6 – 10, which are actually decent.
the draughts are cold, and drinks are cheap; and they have live music a few times a week.
the bar could be a fantastic spot — they have great bartenders, and a solid, regular base, but they haven’t been able to get rid of the derelicts who can be wary of newbs.

Tried to come here to grab a bite and a drink with a friend a couple months ago. A drink, if we wanted basically just beer, and no bites b/​c their «oven was broken» — hrm… we headed elsewhere. Maybe I’ll try it again one day, but doubtful.

Ok so I rock the dive bar. I like my bars within walking distance, beer cold, and Keno. Yup I love trashy gambling while drinking my cold Sammy, with my brethern Dorchesterites. They have recently redone the bar, so it truly is not the dive it once was but what is the saying… you can put lipstick on a pig but it’s still a pig… But to be honest with you, I like bar who knows who they are and know who their clientele are. Dorchester working class all the way, baby.

Not sure if this place is new or just recently renovated (it was under construction when I moved here). But the building is redone and the place is really clean. It’s just a block from the laundromat, so we stopped in while our clothes were spinning in the very early evening. Two beers cost just $ 6.50 total. Can’t argue with that. Seemed to be mostly locals hanging out and chatting.
There’s a pool table, live music occasionally, and I recently walked past to see that they now serve food (sandwiches and such).