Johnny’s on Second

Love this place. Great deals on drinks and the staff are as chill as they come.

There are no happy hours in Salt Lake, or in Utah for that matter… but this is the closest thing to it. $ 4 shot and a beer all the time: great deal since the beer choices include Shock Top. The shot is a thin «whiskey” — only choice. But it draws the true lovers of drinks so we were surrounded by good happy vibes. If you’re a friend of the bartender (not us yet) you get shot doubles, from what we saw. Enjoy!

Oh boy this place is the bee’s knees! Bryce is rad, he will always make me a bitch-​knee shot. I come here quite frequently and it’s always a good time. I love the staff especially, all of them! Always put a smile on my face.

On August 26, their bouncer, and a friend of the bouncer, severely beat up a homeless man with mental illness. They repeatedly kicked him in the head. He suffered a concussion. The bouncer then stole a cell phone from the homeless man. He gave it back when the homeless man told the police that the bouncer stole the phone. This place is a black-​eye to the downtown region.

Meh. It’s a bar. Prices are average, service is fine, but there’s nothing special about it. I’m not racing to go back, but I might stop here on a bar crawl.

I have one beer can in my backpack from who the hell knows when. I show up at jhonnys and the bouncer firmly places his hand on my friends chest then asks me to open and clear my backpack. He finds the beer can which is clearly much better and more expensive than any beer served at Jhonnys. He then proceeds to deny my money for his cheep beer and crowded atmosphere and tells me that this is why I’m not allowed into the bar.

EDIT– I’m updating this review since the owner finally took responsibility and shook things up with his unfriendly, terrible bar staff months ago. It seems that it made a difference because the staff is much more friendly now. I hope things don’t get lax when it comes to treating their patrons with respect, or this review is going right back down to one star.
(Originally 6 months ago) TERRIBLE bartenders. Rude and intimidating… if they don’t like you (even if you tip very well) you will have a terrible experience. There attitude is almost «Who the hell are you? You owe us for giving you beer. Pay up.»

Cheap drinks, lots of pool, good people, awesome bartenders, rad owner, cool location, i dig it!

I’m wish I could review but the bouncer was a dick. We had spent the day golfing and forgot the sunscreen. He asked if we had been drinking. Yes. «Well you are not getting in here». Wtf

Divey bar but good prices and fast service

Johnny’s on Second is another dive bar I like to frequent on bar hopping nights. With it being next to Beer Bar and Bar X, it’s only logical to stop in here as well. Will you find hand crafted cocktails or a huge selection of awesome beers like it’s neighbors? Not even close, but you can get a shot and a bud light for $ 4 if that’s what you’re into. There’s also a ton of pool tables if you want to play, and usually a live DJ playing a nice mix of EDM if you want to dance in the dark southeast corner of the bar.

Johnnys is a true dive bar with cheep drinks, live music and awesome people, the bartenders kick ass and are great about being efficient, I love the new station up front that you can buy beer and certain shots it really helps eliviate the lines on a busy sat night. I’m glad thru all the years I’ve been coming it’s still the same old johnnys and not some lame hipster hang out…

3.5 stars. It’s dirty, divey and it smells like my old high school gym locker room. The upside is the staff kicks major butt, the drinks are cheap and the people are cool.
There are a lot of pool tables, live music/DJ’s and some basic food choices for eats. Or you can have food delivered or bring some in. There’s a small bar, a lot of tables to sit at and a lot of pool tables. There is also a decent sized sidewalk patio to smoke & drink.

Like everyone says, it’s cheaper than the two places next door. Definitely leaning towards the dive bar type.
If you just want to go cheap this places is fine, no frills… just not my kind of place perhaps, but I’d go elsewhere.

This place isn’t the worst, but is far from the best.
Early on a Friday, the drink line shouldn’t be 10 min with 1 person working the whole bar.
Drinks aren’t cheap, but aren’t super over priced. No amazing selection.
Mostly this place suffers from an identity crisis. It’s one part skeezy hookup joint, one part pool hall, one part sports bar, etc… Etc… It doesn’t do anything very well.
Don’t go here if you have a choice.

Johnny’s on Second is your quintessential dive bar. You can get cheap booze and somewhat delightful conversation from the regulars, but I usually bring my own friends. It is centrally located to downtown Salt Lake City and near many other bars in case it is not your style.
The full bar is fairly cheap and they even serve some food. They have the $ 4 shot and beer that you can upgrade the pint to a stein for another $ 1. Go for it and get the upgrade. The bathrooms are to be avoided and the felt is often missing on the pool tables, but there is something charming about this bar. I will often start here on a night out just to get it out of the way. They have street parking and outdoor seating. So get out of work early and swing by Johnny’s to get the $ 4 beer and a shot before dinner with the significant other or the work party.

So the karaōke was way too loud. WAY too loud. Like, my throat hurt the next day from screaming over the music. But you know what I like about dive bars? The people you meet are far more interesting and entertaining than at clubs where you’re just grinding on people or at hipster bars (such as the one next door to Johnny’s) where there is a practiced air of cool aloofness. We made so many new best friends. They were random and weird, and I hope to God I didn’t give out my phone number or address in a fit of drunken recklessness, but what a night.
Also, HELLO, cheapest booze downtown. $ 1 cans of PBR? $ 1 Jello shots? Yes, please. Don’t worry Johnny, we’ll definitely be back.