Nothing fancy, but service is pretty good. Strangely, this location has lines to get in when other places on Church Street do not, which seems a little weird considering it is never as crowded once you get in. You can play darts or pool here, and there is usually a game on TV. This place is good for big groups and is a casual place to just hang out.
Max B.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Marietta, GA
Today I tired to go to Akes’ for St. Patrick’s Day after going there many times before and the guy at the door denied my REALID. I’m 21, about to turn 22, and it was the first place we went. He had never seen a Georgia ID and tried to tell me it was fake. I have never had problems with a Georgia ID in Vermont, let alone Europe, and I’m disappointed with this guy’s attitude and aggression. Burlington is a college down, and this man should know what IDs look like from all different states. As Akes’ does not stand out from any other bar, I am happy to take my business elsewhere.
Alessandro F.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Senigallia, Italy
It’s improved under new ownership. The new guy is really nice and a female bartender told me that a lot will change for the better under him. They said it was not good before.
Pat C.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Saratoga Springs, NY
The bar was obviously empty and the aggressive door man was turning people away claiming they were at capacity
Jameson H.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Burlington, VT
There was a long haired male bartender who when asked about the ingredients to a drink promptly poured multiple drinks out in a threatening manor. I was both frustrated and upset in the quality of my favorite pastime bar. This used to be a place I loved, but to have visiting friends so turned off by a bartenders gesture, I find it unlikely for me to visit again.
Michael B.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Rochester, NY
Nothing special, in my opinion. Definitely sports-themed, which is not my jam. However, they did have a pretty good beer selection, so I was happy with that. Overall, loud, crowded, brightly lit. I wouldn’t go back on purpose, but I wouldn’t put tons of effort into avoiding it either.
Gene E.
Rating des Ortes: 4 South Burlington, VT
By far my favorite bar in Burlington. This place has been a staple on Church St. for generations for a reason. No place I’d rather spend time with some good friends. The real pull of this place is the people and the staff. Just don’t try to start a fight here because it probably won’t work out well for you…
Derek G.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Buffalo, NY
Was visiting during the jazz festival which was amazing and I suggest anyone considering visiting Burlington go during the jazz fest. This was the first bar we went to and it was affordable which I liked but i found it a bit dirty and dark. This might be a local rule but to drink on the patio you had to use the waitress and the service was very lacking and without the friendliness I experienced ubiquitously throughout the rest of the city. Also if you wanted something to eat they don’t serve food. There’s plenty of better places to enjoy a drink
Ralph M.
Rating des Ortes: 1 London, United Kingdom
The bar staff were extremely rude for no reason. I’ve regularly dealt with slow service, but the guy working there was aggressively unfriendly. There was nothing redeeming about this bar.
Ryan R.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Amherst, MA
If your looking for the college bar with darts and pool this is the place. cold beer buck hunter and a good time! Good stuff here. Bartenders efficient and quick. Good music as well.
Stacie S.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Burlington, VT
I went in to Akes’ on a Saturday night. The line was long to get in, but once inside I was a little bit shocked to see they even had a line. It was almost as though they were letting people in slowly to make it look like they were more busy than they were. However, once I did make it in there was a good atmosphere and I had a great time playing darts with my friends.
Erin W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Gaithersburg, MD
Ake’s is one of those places that I only ever find myself at when I’m out with friends. I often am driving so I may have one drink or sips of other people’s drinks, and a few of the bartenders will go out of their way to make the DD feel a bit more at home, which is a of a welcome surprise! I’ll tip them sometimes just for getting me water, it just depends on who you get. It’s really loud and has limited space, so if you’re with more than a small group of friends you all can’t have a conversation, but you’ll be fine with 2 or 3 people. You will also find yourself digging through crowds of people to get anywhere. The bathrooms are… Well try not to use the ladies room. Though I’ve had some good experiences at Ake’s I always find myself dreading being there. I don’t like the volume, the dense crowd, and certainly not the bathrooms. It’s okay for people watching but not the best in the area. It’s a solidly average place though.
J D.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Framingham, MA
Super loud, even when you sit outside it’s just loud. The waitstaff do not wear uniforms so when you get there it’s this awkward exchange until you figure out who is waiting on you. The pours are pretty weak if they get busy, just to get you to leave I think. Anyways if you go there already wasted you should be all set, but if you are starting your night there; maybe pick somewhere else.
Charles C.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Colchester, VT
Good beer selection. Moderate price. Wait staff was rude, inattentive, and unwelcoming. I’d look at bars where the people want your business first. Dunno why they’re still on the main drag.
Morton B.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Irvine, CA
Good place, a couple of haggard dart boards and a pool table. A too loud jukebox. Good beer selection too and mostly a twenty something crowd.
Shino W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Fall River, MA
Let’s be clear — I’m not a drinker, and I’m defnitely not a bar goer. I rarely go to bars or taverns. My friends insisted I go with them though, so I had my first drink in about four months here. My first impression was that I should have brought ear plugs. The relatively tiny space was quite full and absurdly noisy. After I adjusted though, I started to enjoy myself. I watched a few games of darts on the dual dartboards, then discovered the pool table in the back(apparently used to be coin-op, but is now free-play, just put your name on the«waiting list» chalkboard.), and began to have a blast. Also picked out a few songs on the touch-screen jukebox. All in all, by the end of the night, I was pretty satisfied. For a non-drinker, I really enjoyed the experience.
David A.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Morristown, NJ
Akes place is a fun Yankees-Giants sports bar w a interesting atmosphere. The drinks were good and we had fun playing darts. Word of advice with the dark board, throw as hard as you can otherwise the darts just fall right out and you look stupid. This mostly because the dartboard was not regulation distance… probably because the metric system hasn’t reached Burlington yet. We meet a lovely hobo with most of his teeth at the place. He baught our friend a bloody Mary and gave him a wink. There also was a guy rolling his gray beard into spikes at the bar. It all adds to the somewhat carnival atmosphere. The bathroom was gross, felt like I needed a shower after. Didn’t try the food but of I had to guess it would be ok. All in all, Akes gets a okay to good because the beer was cheap and I wasn’t shanked by a hobo.
Brian C.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Clifton, NJ
Never went here while I went to school here but met up with some friends while in town. Kind of a hallway of a bar, but they have some pretty solid drink specials. They are setup for some games and darts which is cool. They had a radio promotion going on while we were there. There are a lot of bars in the town to do anything more than grab a quick beer here. In no rush to go again and wouldn’t mention it to others.
Christopher L.
Rating des Ortes: 4 South Burlington, VT
for all the bars in the burlington area, i find that ake’s place is definitely the cheapest around. my only complaint i have with ake’s is that i wish their outdoor seating had a few more tables.
Nicey J.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Philadelphia, PA
this place has the best value for the money. cheapest drinks I encountered on church street… the scene is very diverse. meaning you can see like people who could be your parents there and your age and they all mesh well together… they also DONT let the place get jam packed. which can be good because it seems people in burlington never learned the phrase«excuse me»