8 Best Bars in Holyoke

“I've been going to the Delaney House for over 20 years. The food is excellent. The dress code has evolved over the years into a more casual environment which is better in my opinion because sometimes I just want to enjoy their food without needing to dress up like I'm going to walk the red carpet. When they initially reopened after closing during the pandemic the place was a hot mess. I thought maybe there were new owners. I was nervous that they were doomed to go out of business at that point because the menu was so limited, all the best dishes were missing! Thankfully, they endured, and 2 years later the restaurant is slowly returning to it's former glory albeit their hours are odd and non-competitive with other restaurants. Luckily, the food is still amazing. My only constructive complaints are that they got rid of the baked stuffed shrimp despite it being one of the most requested items from their old menu. Every time I visit the restaurant I ask and I am always told people constantly ask for it but they only offer it on limited holidays now. That's a poor business decision not to carry something that your customers ask for all the time. The tap water they serve has always been chlorinated over the past 20+ years. I don't drink tap water when I'm there but they always provide a glass of water and it's always disgusting. They used to have us fill out surveys at the end of our meals and for many years I told them to put a filter on their water line. I hope they don't cook in that water, it tastes like pool water. They do offer Saratoga bottled water as an alternative but that doesn't change the fact that their tap water is abhorrent. I am glad they brought back whipped butter which is fantastic because for awhile they were only giving cold butter with their popovers which did not spread right so it essentially caused the popover to fall apart as your tried to spread a brick of cold butter on it. For awhile their popovers were half the size that they used to be and they were often burnt. Recently the popovers seem to be cooked perfectly and that's a plus. They will occasionally bring back lobster tails that you can order as an extra side for your meal, they seem to only do this on special occasions which is rather obnoxious considering they used to always offer it on their menu. They got rid of the sorbet that they would serve you between dishes, I was so used to them serving that that I was saddened when they stopped doing it. Reaching the restaurant by phone is a hot mess now. You used to be able to call the restaurant and get someone right away to speak with, I am not of a fan of their new automated system that makes it near impossible to reach someone. They now take reservations through a third party and that's fine but I would rather speak to someone at the restaurant because I like to reserve specific locations to sit when I go there ie: the summit room and or the library. If you go on a busy day you might get stuck in the main dining room and it's too loud in there for me. They have a bar area inside called "The Mick" which has its own separate menu and I always thought that was strange because they use the same kitchen. Back when the manager Colette was there she used to let me get both menus and order some dishes off of both menus. Each menu had great stuff on them. I always thought it was absolutely redudant to have two different menus in the same restaurant and to only allow the customers to order from a particular menu if they sat in a specific area of the restaurant. I've ran businesses for decades, just combine the menus and let the customers have a better variety to choose from. That's another example of a lingering business opportunity for them. Overall, they have made a lot of improvements, the food is consistently professional grade chef cuisine and that is their saving grace and it is why I continue to return. Their customer service is typically always amazing with the exception of the occassional new host t“

“This place is not only great over st Patty's day wknd, but it's also a good spot to grab a bloody Mary early in the morning pretty much any day of the wk! Lol. Any of the bartenders I've interacted w there have also been friendly ? ?“

“good folks always up tempo“

“it's all good! hometown bar with a lot of regulars, it may appear to be in a section of holyoke that seems less desirable. let me assure you, if you go to Francie's you are family!“

“I’ve been a loyal supporter for years and my friends. We always go especially Fridays it’s so much fun all the performances so much talent. But from bdays to Halloween Xmas etc this is the place to go. Good vibes fun and drinks be on point!“

“I really don't like it their the owner wife need to stop looking at people wrong like she the shitt their that wrong for the place that bad vibe for the place she been looking at people wrong I know because she did it to me ND my girls like she the shitt let me tell u something to owner wife u need to stop rolling ur eyes to people if u want that place full women that club is not goin any wr if u don't change with people ur men say hi to everyone but u think shirt dont stink let me tell u something women u not having that club for to long if u dont stop ur shitt ND bee the same with everyone that goes their u will see a lot off different but having ur wife their that club is gonna go down like her ...“

“Ivory billiards has always been five stars in my book! However, I’m really bummed that they’re not open during the day anymore on the weekends. I would love to be able to bring my son down there and teach him how to play pool. It’s not really appropriate for a 15-year-old at night though. That’s my only complaint. I’ve been shooting pool there since I was a teenager and I haven’t been there in a while… But I was thinking about taking my son down and just noticed that now you guys don’t open till six. In the winter, especially, I wish this something you would reconsider!“