By Downtown Greensboro packs an impressive amount of drinking into a few walkable blocks, from grain-to-glass distilleries and rooftop taprooms to a New Orleans-style cocktail lounge and a beer-and-skee-ball arcade. The cluster of bars along Elm, Lewis, and McGee Streets makes it easy to plan a whole evening on foot, which is exactly how locals do it on a Friday night. Whether you are a visitor looking for the heart of the city or a resident chasing your next favorite spot, here are the downtown bars worth your time.
Craft Cocktail Bars
The Quarter
Tucked onto the Lewis Street strip, The Quarter channels the French Quarter of New Orleans with low light, brass details, and a serious cocktail program. The bartenders take classics seriously, so order a French 75 or an old fashioned and watch it built with care. Live New Orleans-style jazz on Sunday evenings is the move if you want atmosphere over volume.
- Address: 112 W Lewis St, Greensboro, NC 27406
- Phone: (336) 617-4082
- Hours: Monday to Friday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday and Sunday noon to 2 a.m.
- Website: thequartergso.com
Cocktail Cove
One of downtown’s newer arrivals, Cocktail Cove leans tiki and tropical, with a chic, cozy interior and a covered patio that is ideal for a warm Triad evening. It is a weekend-focused spot, so plan accordingly: it opens later in the week and keeps a tight schedule. Come for a well-made rum drink and the kind of intimate room that downtown could always use more of.
- Address: 115 W McGee St, Greensboro, NC 27401
- Hours: Thursday to Saturday 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. (closed Sunday through Wednesday; call ahead, as hours shift seasonally)
- Listing: Downtown Greensboro: Cocktail Cove
Downtown Breweries
Natty Greene’s Brewing Co.
If downtown Greensboro has a beer-hall living room, this is it. Natty Greene’s opened in 2004 as the city’s original microbrewery and has been the anchor of South Elm ever since. Expect a rotating range of house beers across more than a dozen taps, plus a full kitchen that includes house-smoked barbecue. The Sunday brunch is a reliable local favorite.
- Address: 345 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC 27401
- Phone: (336) 274-1373
- Hours: Monday to Wednesday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight, Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Sunday brunch 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Website: nattygreenes.com
Little Brother Brewing
A few doors down, Little Brother Brewing occupies a charming historic storefront and runs a warm, community-minded taproom with an eclectic, often award-winning rotation of beers. There is frequent live music, and the food angle is a nice surprise: a curated wine list plus a Mediterranean menu delivered by partner restaurant Jerusalem Market next door. It is the kind of place where a quick pint turns into a long evening.
- Address: 348 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC 27401
- Phone: (336) 510-9678
- Hours: Closed Monday, Tuesday to Thursday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
- Website: littlebrotherbrew.com
Joymongers Brewing Co.
Just north of the core downtown blocks, Joymongers is family owned and operated by Greensboro natives, pouring up to 17 small-batch brews. The big draw is the open-air taproom and landscaped beer garden, with daily food trucks and free live music Thursday through Saturday nights. It is an easy walk or short ride from Elm Street and a great warm-weather hang.
- Address: 576 N Eugene St, Greensboro, NC 27401
- Hours: Monday to Wednesday 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Thursday 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday 2 p.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
- Website: joymongers.com
SouthEnd Brewing and Hidden Gate
For beer lovers who want to keep exploring, the Lewis Street and southern edges of downtown deliver. SouthEnd Brewing Co. (117B W Lewis St) sits at downtown’s southern gateway with a relaxed, conversational taproom, while Hidden Gate Brewing Company (102 Barnhardt St) blends brewing tradition with a bit of scientific curiosity. Both are worth a stop if you are building a self-guided crawl. Visit Greensboro maintains a useful overview at its brewery roadmap.
Spirits and Distillery
Fainting Goat Spirits (Greensboro Distilling Co.)
For something you cannot get anywhere else, Fainting Goat Spirits is a family-owned, grain-to-glass distillery making the Gate City’s first legal spirits since 1908. They distill from North Carolina-sourced grains and bottle a lineup that includes a bottled-in-bond bourbon, gin, vodka, and aged rye and single malt whiskey. The tour-and-tasting is the experience to book: it runs about $10 per person and includes a walkthrough of the distilling process, a tasting flight, and an engraved Glencairn glass to take home.
- Address: 115 W Lewis St, Greensboro, NC 27406
- Phone: (336) 273-6221
- Tastings: Friday and Saturday; tours and tastings are roughly $10 per person (confirm current times and reserve ahead)
- Website: faintinggoatspirits.com
Bars With a Game Plan
Boxcar Bar + Arcade
If you want your drinks with a side of competition, Boxcar Bar + Arcade is downtown’s go-to. The cavernous Lewis Street space holds more than 70 arcade games (classic and modern), a full bar, an in-house pizza kitchen, and a covered patio. It is family-friendly earlier in the day and gets livelier at night, making it a flexible choice for groups with mixed tastes.
- Address: 120 W Lewis St, Greensboro, NC 27406
- Hours: Monday to Thursday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., Friday 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday noon to 1 a.m., Sunday noon to 10 p.m.
- Website: theboxcarbar.com/greensboro
Bourbon Bowl
At the south end of Elm, Bourbon Bowl is a locally owned bowling alley with six full-service lanes, a cocktail bar, and indoor and outdoor dining. It pairs craft food and premium cocktails with the rare downtown chance to actually bowl a few frames, which makes it a strong pick for date nights and small celebrations. Lanes can fill up on weekends, so reserve if you have your heart set on a particular time.
- Address: 531 S Elm St, Greensboro, NC 27406
- Website: bourbonbowl.com
Planning Your Downtown Crawl
The beauty of downtown Greensboro is density: nearly everything above sits within a short walk along Elm, Lewis, and McGee Streets, so you can leave the car parked and move from a brewery to a cocktail bar to a game of skee-ball without driving. A good loop starts on South Elm at Natty Greene’s and Little Brother, swings over to the Lewis Street block for The Quarter, Boxcar, and Fainting Goat, then circles back. For the current roster of venues and any new openings, the Downtown Greensboro bars and nightlife guide is the most reliable starting point.
Where to Stay Downtown
To keep the whole evening walkable, stay in the heart of downtown. Greensboro offers a range of downtown and nearby hotels and inns that you can compare and book through Expedia’s Greensboro hotel listings, and Visit Greensboro keeps a current rundown of local stays on its places to stay page. Staying within a few blocks of Elm Street means you can enjoy the cocktails responsibly and skip the drive home entirely.
Planning tip: Several of these spots, including Cocktail Cove and Fainting Goat, keep limited or weekend-only hours that shift with the season, so call or check the website the day of your visit before you set out.