Barrymore’s

I used to love coming here while I went to school in the area. I was there this week and two of the rudest bartenders were working.
One of the bartenders accidentally broke the corner of the tip jar (check it out next time you’re in, if it’s still there) on top of my friend’s glass when moving it to the side. We didn’t think it actually broke. We just saw her smash it on top of the glass where it let out a loud clang, but it wasn’t until he spit out a 2 ½″ piece of glass that we knew it broke. I immediately ran up and matched it to the tip jar.
The two girl bartenders met us with a «sorry we can’t give you your money back» and «we’re too new to know how to take money out of the register».
As I left one of the girls threw a glass in the trash and broke it in anger.
In summary: service sucks and the drinks aren’t anything to write home about.
Don’t give them your money, but check out that cool theatrical fly system and cracked tip jar next time your touring Lincoln, Nebraska!

as a theatre lover, coming to lincoln for a theatre event, i love this place. i always always always get a moscow mule, and they now have some different variations of it! great place to go for a drink, whether it’s happy hour or late night. it’s classy and fun, and there’s a lot of history. the upstairs where the bathrooms are is creepy but in a fun way.

I really really want to like this place. I love the location. I love the exposed ropes and the colorful switchboard. Aside from the memorable atmosphere, there isn’t much I can say about this place. Some servers are decent. Some are not. The last few times I have visited, I have been disappointed by the drinks. For the amount they charge for their drinks, I want more than just a sugary girly drink with just a dash of alcohol. One of my most favorite drinks is the Moscow Mule. They couldn’t even get that right. My advice would be to visit the Starlite Lounge. Much better drinks, attentive servers, and much better prices.

Really unique spot with good happy hour drinks. We only came in for an early drink before dinner so it was us, another couple, and a 3 family hat came in later so it was pretty quiet. We had 2 glasses of wine an IPA and a margarita for about 15 $ so not a bad way to start the night!

Great place to grab a drink in Lincoln. Elizabeth is a very knowledgeable bartender and just a great person. Ask about the interesting history around the bar.

Been going here for years. As of lately the service and the drinks have been lacking. My drink was made incorrectly and the server never stopped by again to check on our party.

Tucked away from the O Street college scene, this by far the coolest and most unique bar in Lincoln. Being that it’s the old backstage area of the former Stuart Theatre, now The Rococo, that opened in 1929, it’s a place that needs to be checked out!

This is my favorite Lincoln bar. I love it here. Such a great atmosphere, the drinks are great, and the staff is always on top of things. If you are looking for a bar that does not have a party atmosphere and allows you to talk and hear the company that you bring with you, this is the place to go.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I came to this bar but it was a lot of fun! Great atmosphere and music. The drafts were okay, but I really enjoyed the holiday cocktails. Would definitely come back!

Stumbled into this place looking for food and was bummed that I was starving and couldn’t stay. Next time I’m in town I have got to come back, what a great space!

This place is really hit or miss. Sometimes the servers are friendly and attentive, and other times they’re borderline rude. Overall, it’s okay. Their cocktail list could use a revamp and their wait staff could use some customer service training.

Fun … Cool old theatre turned bar…

This is that shady-​looking place on 13^th Street you probably walk by every week but may not notice. If you haven’t yet, I recommend you give it a shot.
It’s tucked into this alleyway, and then you have to go into this inconspicuous red door, so it’s got kinda like a 1930s speakeasy feel to it.
The inside’s really nice. Spacious but intimate at the same time. There’s the bar, scattered tables and some booths. Most of the furnishings are black, and the light’s kept low to set the mood. Which I guess is true of most bars, but it works especially well here.
Their alcohol selection is decently vast, with everything from your generic cheap beers to Gray Goose vodka. They also carried my all-​time favorite «beer,» Woodchuck Amber Hard Cider, so props to them. I know, I know, it’s not really beer, but haters gonna hate (it’s 5% abv anyway). Anyway, their mixed drinks are a little on the pricier side, but they’re great. I had the British Bulldog, which was on point. I wish I could remember what all was in it, but whatever it was, the end result was delicious.
Don’t worry, you won’t get mugged walking the few feet into the alley, so go ahead and check them out.

This almost feels like a love letter.
I don’t think I expressed my feelings for Barrymore’s enough back in the day. And I regret it.
I remember coming here when I was 21. 22. 23… on and on. This place is as tied to my college days in Lincoln as the university itself.
It is charming, classy, hidden, quaint and nostalgic for a time that is long gone. I feel like I might need to hide or chug my drink if the Untouchables barged in.
I remember having a few here before seeing The Phantom Menace, running into an acquaintance on the way over, and subsequently not even remembering the movie.
I remember having drinks here while Titanic was playing next door (the bar is right behind a huge — former — movie theater) and each time a shot of the ship sinking was played, it was clearly audible in the bar. I’ve still never seen that movie, preferring this memory.
It’s been the same for years, it doesn’t change, and that’s a great thing. B’More’s is one of my last bits of «home».
I could probably write 5 times as much, but I should leave it at this — it might not be apparent, but this place is special. If you don’t think so after your first drink, have another. If you still don’t think so, have yet another. If even then you don’t think so, then go ahead and have ano — just kidding. Well, maybe I am not.

I was completely drunk when I walked in one evening with my new boss. We were out celebrating my on-​boarding, so we had our final drink here before walking back to the hotel.
I only had one beer, and it was cold and delicious, but that one is hard to screw up. It was quiet in the bar, maybe only a half dozen patrons sitting around, and everyone was watching football.
The décor, however, was remarkable. It felt like I was getting drunk backstage at a performing arts center (which I’ve done before, twice, but that’s a whole different story). I didn’t watch a moment of football as I was busy staring into the rafters. If the football wasn’t on, and some quiet jazz was playing, it could have been an incredibly swank evening.
If you’re looking for a unique and out of the way location to have some drinks in downtown Lincoln, be sure to stop at Barrymore’s.

Barrymore’s feels a little like a legitimate speakeasy when you walk in, having to make your way from off a main street into a side alley to find the entrance. When you get in however, the bar’s entryway contains an interesting non-​sequitur of a massive array of switches and levers, most of which look like they’re connected to something replete with flashing lights and all, but which do nothing if pulled.
Anyway, the bar itself is a nice enough spot, if a little small for the level of crowdedness likely to ensue on a weekend night. The service is friendly, the bartenders are smokin’ hot, and the drinks are pretty stiff. Also of note is that the room itself is about the tallest interior space I could ever imagine. I mean you look upwards and you can’t see the ceiling. 4 – 5 stories of brick walls loom above you until blackness at the top. Crazy times.

I wish that Barrymore’s drink quality, prices and service matched the beauty and atmosphere of the space where it is contained. This is such a cool space. It’s behind an old theatre and has the old light board and other artifacts from days gone by. The ambiance is very urban, but also retro.
Unfortunately the drinks aren’t up to snuff and the service is snotty and not attentive. The gem in the collection of drinks is their moscow mule, so if you’re going to get anything go for that. I would suggest other urban, retro cocktail lounges in town before this one-​The Starlite Lounge, The Marz Bar or Zens.

My favorite bar in Lincoln. Order the Moscow Mule [served in a copper cup], interesting and very different drink.

I don’t know if any of you have ever done this, but there is a game called the Downtown Lincoln Parking Game. You go from where your car is safely parked in downtown Lincoln, and at a busy time you try and park even closer (on the street) to the next bar or restaurant you want to go to. You’ve got less than a 1 in 60 chance of finding a spot, but it COULD happen, and thus the game.
I get tired of the game pretty soon, so I just pull into a parking ramp from the 60’s (we’re talking Bob Devaney as coach time), only $ 1 an hour. btw Bob was a cool athletic director, I remember as a kid my dad would just walk me into his office in the South Stadium, and he had his own Coke machine.
Well anyways since I was spending a whole dolla on parking I felt pretty high falutin’ and Barrymore’s was just half a block away and never took dates there or nuthin ever so I said to myself I had to go check it out.
Unless you are a «theatre darling» (and I’m talking to You with your Red polyester sweater made in China, what do you think of Mao now Walmart shopper?) you may not like it, but that’s its niche. Part martini bar, part Scotch hang-​out (better than Cliff’s) and a wide range of imported beers. You can dress up, but don’t dress down. Just a cool place for a drink or two, that’s it.

NE underground. Places like this need to be recognized as gems of Lincoln. I was highly impressed with it’s side stage structure. I was told it was once part of the Rococo Theater. In terms of atmosphere, I was highly impressed.