Eighth Street Tap Room

Live Music, two levels, & two bars. Decent little spot, I’d go back. The bar downstairs has more alc than upstairs, just FYI.

Not a lot of places open for an after concert drink… at least on Mondays. I wish they had a drink menu because I don’t always know what I want & that helps me decide (pssst, you can up sale with that). Ok, I kind of think it’s funny that it’s called «Taproom» but only had 5 taps. Way more bottles available. Think about getting some sours in, it’s getting big. What I did like was the bartender. He was great, made me a great mixed drink when I had no idea what to order. Very polite & quick. We also loved that you play background music off vinyl, very cool. Get a short seasonal drink list & I will think about stopping by the next time I’m in town.

Absolutely the shittiest service I’ve ever had at a bar. Both bartenders were complete jerks. I can’t stress this enough. Sound system in the downstairs was terrible. All around worst bar I’ve ever been to.

Don’t know what the guy’s name was who bar tended on 6÷2÷2015 at 10:21 PM, but seriously had something up his man cooch and was a total prick. Will not go here again so long as he is pouring drinks. How do you expect to get tips, buddy?

8^th Street is still a dark place to drink, but it’s not as dark as it once was.
Once you have at least decade in a town under your belt, I feel that you have fair license to play the nostalgia game of «this is how it used to be». 8^th Street Taproom has received a facelift in the past couple of years but it still retains some of the charm that makes it a place on my Lawrence bar rotation. 8^th Street Taproom, surprisingly enough, is on 8^th Street, on the corner with New Hampshire. The immediate area has skewed upscale over the last ten years, with Pachamama’s move to the building across the street to the East, the catacorner once-​vacant lot adjacent to the now-​vacant Borders location now features a multi-​story building with condos, and the small set of shops across the street to the North is now re-​vamped into the «World Headquarters» for their neighbor The Sandbar’s sub shop. In one sense, 8^th Street scaled-​up with the times, adding large windows to the external walls and a sidewalk seating area.
Inside, 8^th Street retains many elements it has had for years. First, it’s dark — the walls are painted black, and the lighting is fairly dim. There are some brighter lights by the pool table and a particularly aggressive beer sign near the front door, but otherwise it is dim. For a long time in the past there was an odd patch of dark paint on the ceiling that would invariably lead to speculation of whether the spot was a shadow, and the level of light didn’t help to clarify. Second, the atmosphere is laid back and cozy — the area of the main floor is only a couple hundred square feet, featuring a handful of stools at the bar, a couple of booths, and some folding stadium chairs near the pool table. There is no jukebox — the bartender has a record player and a selection of quality records that provide ambiance. The bathroom is a large and unisex, but is single-​serve. In the past it had featured graffiti and artwork of former Lawrence artist Travis Millard, but is now completely covered in a dark gray tile that makes it look like the Holodeck from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
In addition to the main level of the bar, the Taproom has a downstairs area that is opened on weekends and when there are shows. It’s a low-​ceilinged area with some tables and booths, and an area that is an ersatz dancefloor. The downstairs does feature separate men’s and women’s bathrooms, but they are shockingly small. The downstairs has a jukebox (apparently only the upstairs bartender is worthy of the power of a turntable and record selection), and since the downstairs is below street level, the outside steps are frequently used as an intimate smoking area (but since it is no fenced, no drinks outside). I’ve heard the rumor that the downstairs bar used to be a minority bar in the past when segregation was an issue.
Oddly, despite the name, the Taproom has ~6 taps, putting it on the lower-​end of the number of taps compared to other local establishments. I’m not sure how often they change, but I did note on my last visit that they did seem to be quality selections, including a Lagunitas IPA. Beyond the taps, Taproom features a refrigerator full of cans and bottles, and has a full bar for cocktails, though you are getting the pour and fizzy-​gun type instead of the big-​show artisanal-​type.
Even with the changes in the immediate area, I still like drinking at 8^th Street Taproom.
—-
I misremebered the internals — the aggressive beer sign by the door is no longer there.

Bumping from a 4 to a 5 due to the following:
Still great tunes played by the bartender on vinyl.
Still have that sweet lamp in the corner.
Ginger smash!
Ginger smash!
Ginger smash!
Still chill.
Ginger smash!

Meh, that’s the word. I’ve been around enough douchey hipsters already, but guess they’re still new enough to be interesting in Kansas. So come get your fill of vinyl and PBR here, and don’t dare order an Irish car bomb. They have all the fixings in plain sight but are too pretentious to pour you one. Then they’ll give you helpful advice like, «don’t ever try to order one in Ireland» because I’m sure the hipster boy grew up there but migrated to Kansas to be ironic…
One last thing, if you put «taproom» in the name, people assume you have more than 5 or 6 taps like an average bar.

Tap is definitely my favorite spot to cut a rug in Lawrence. It’s awesome that the crowd seems to span age groups and social scenes, at least more so than other bars in the neighborhood. Also, if I had known about the ginger smash cocktail when I was in school, my odds of graduating would have diminished by a SIGNIFICANT margin. Holy shit that drink is good.
All cocktails are like $ 2 — $ 5. God bless you Lawrence, KS. I know a lot of people gripe about cover charges, but with drinks so cheap and awesome DJs/​bands… it’s pretty understandable.
The music at Tap Room is real diverse. My personal favorite is Soul Night every Saturday, but the bands of all different genres play here during the rest of the week.
My one gripe: I wish they would do away with the pool table. The layout is just not conducive to playing pool. I can’t even tell you how many times I took a cue in the hip between 2008 and 2011.

Hands down one the weirdest and creepiest bars in Lawrence. Way better bars to go to.

This review is not for the club downstairs. That’s not my scene, and I didn’t check it out. This review is for the incredible beer selection, the knowledgeable bartender and the pretty cool crowd at the bar. We trekked to Lawrence to see Bob Mould at The Bottleneck and then needed to end our night with some good beer. We found this place by chance, as it was very near where we parked. The door guy let us in without paying the cover, which was good since we wouldn’t have paid to go in and pay to drink at the bar. While the tap selections are darn great (Anchor Steam in Kansas!!!), the bottle selection was even better. I had more than one Bellhaven Scottish Ale bottle.. .my favorite beer in the entire universe (and I like lots of beers). The bartender knew his beer which is important when you are serving it.
The atmosphere is pretty cool with a pool table and theatre style seats around the perimeter. Lighting is dim, crowd is chill.. .it all added up to a perfect ending to our evening.

I love the fact that this place has free pool until 10pm. Even though I cannot play pool, I feel a lot better about learning when I don’t have to pay for it. The beer selection is pretty great (and cheap), plus I like the vibe, chill and kind of dive bar-​esque. The bartender was very friendly, gave us lots of great tips about where to go in Lawrence. My only beef was the «angry music»; I wasn’t feeling angry. If they changed the music up a little, I’d want to come here every day during my stay here.

So many nostalgic moments in this dim, somewhat seedy bar. Since they added the large windows and patio a few years ago, it is not quite as gloomy, but this small, 2-​story bar is a haven in downtown Lawrence.
Great music is often available downstairs, and the bar tenders are very knowledgeable. Hit it for a dance night with some great local DJs, and spend the night with some cool kids, in a tiny little corner of Lawrence.
The drawbacks include very sketchy bathrooms (which add to the ambiance) and plastic cups for draft beer – stick with cans or, tempt fate, and get some wonderful liquor concoction – I recommend the whiskey daisy (and I don’t even like whiskey).

I don’t wear bike caps, have any tats, or own many cliché hipster graphic tees, but hell, I really enjoy this place!
Just something about the divey cool factor got me hooked. Oh, and the fact that the bartender made this lovely concoction of strawberry lemonade and beer.
Anyway, it’s a fun place. On the first floor, you’d be lucky to play billiards because #1 there’s just one table and #2 the place could only fit one table. ha-​ha. But who needs to play when you got good loud music and fun people all around. The downstairs is fun too but is slightly creepy. It’s basically a dark basement with a bar and red lights. Great to hear a rap battle or have a full on dance party. I’ve witnessed both.
Good times at Eighth Street Tap Room… Probably one of favorite bars in Lawrence.
Tip: Be Prepared; No Credit Cards. Just Cash!

Hipsters unite! Enjoy a bar where the jeans are skinny, the people are indie and the hipster basement dance party goes on even after the bar closes. Big comfy booths upstairs, great bartenders (willing to make any drink once), pool table, graffiti bathrooms. Full dance floor downstairs-​not for sketchy grinding, for funky techno dancing! Fun for a day drink on the little people watching patio or a easy going night out.

Oh, the Tap Room.
I fell in love with The Tap Room when I was the ripe age of 21 while I was a KU student. I was tipsy, dressed, and looking for a place to get down.
The Tap Room offers a classy grit feel to Lawrence nightlife, with the bar upstairs lending itself to those calmly enjoying a brew and the saucy downstairs offering itself to wonderful sweaty nights of dancin’ bliss.
The DJs here are maginificent, favorites having been Sadie Soul for her wonderful taste in rare soul. The DJs here are fabulous in general, providing dancers with a variety of tunes to get down to. A Saturday night here is never ill-​spent. Though I must say: the space is small so you do get a few overenthusiastic dancers who like to flail. Be careful. :)
Warnings: it gets really hot, so be sure to layer because you will sweat.
Praises: the bartenders tend to be kind of cute. Tip them and the drinks will be poured stronger.

Bundles of fun, this bar offers a plethora of fun things to do on a night out. From dancing to 60’s bop to 90’s hip-​hop. The upstairs is entertaining with large comfy booths where a group of friends can sit and chat (if you can hear one another over the music) or play pool and sit in the vintage chairs along the wall.
The basement, however, is a time-​warp. You can get trapped down there for hours, be it mingling, dancing or raging. The outdoor area is a nice place to either people watch or just catch a breath of fresh air. The Eighth Street Tap Room is a fun time to be had by all it does however sometimes have a cover so come prepared.

The Tap Room used to be on my go-​to list of bars. It had a good atmosphere, friendly barkeeps, and a decent (if incredibly sweaty) soul night.
Then they took Leffe off tap, thus breaking my beer-​loving heart. The G&T I ordered as a replacement was depressingly weak. In the same week, I was in with some friends and we were accosted by some would-​be scam artists.
Haven’t been back since. My three stars are for the good times which are apparently now relegated to nostalgia.

The Eighth St. Taproom is my favorite bar in the world. (full disclosure: I used to DJ here, so maybe I’m biased).
The upstairs just got a snazzy new makeover and has a pool table and lots of room for people to sit in cozy booths and chit-​chat, however the BASEMENT at the Taproom is where it’s at.
The basement is dark and hott and awash in red lighting, and on the weekends its usually the host to a sweaty dance party. The DJs at the Taproom are always top notch and I’ve seen some of the best local music shows in the basement.
First and foremost, the Taproom is a bar and I think they have the most knowledgeable bartenders, good prices, and a great beer selection compared to other bars in Lawrence. Jeremy and Prashant always give good beer suggestions and make a mean mixed drink. All of the bartenders are hotties as well.
This bar is one of the places in Lawrence that I miss the most.

You know, I don’t give a fig about taps. I stick to booze in joints like this (and Eighth Street Tap Room is absolutely a «joint like this»), because my drink of choice is wine and I’m not drinking wine here!
I’ve had some good nights at the Tap Room. The upstairs main room has never seemed too packed for my liking (unlike the surf bar next door), even if the live music and/​or DJ sets wafting up from the downstairs have left a lot to be desired. It’s still quiet enough to have good conversation with your friends, or cozy up with your date in a corner booth.
You know what I like to do while tossing back a 2-​dollar gin and tonic? I like to stare up at the dark staircase that leads up to the third floor (apartment? office?) and imagine a life for its inhabitant. It seems like someone has thrown out the contents of a suitcase all over the stairs. It seems like a positively rash act, something that happened just yesterday in fact, after she returned home from a trip to Tripoli, where she had it out with her lover from Des Moines. And now she languishes on her day bed, wearing filthy stockings with runs and a ruined slip, drinking bitter coffee from a metal stove top pot and smoking, staring at the rain stained ceiling muttering curses under her breath. Certainly not getting any relief from the strains of bad soul/​funk, spun by a 21 year old DJ wearing a bandana around his neck and big white plastic sunglasses two floors below.

The Taproom was one of my homes away from home. No matter what mood I was in, I always enjoyed myself. The bartenders are the coolest in town, the DJ’s rarely disappoint, only the best local bands play here, and you can always see some great fashion.
The upstairs has booths and a pool table. Decently lit and seems more like a typical dive bar. Love it.
The downstairs is red lit and sexy. There was always a joke that you never pick up on someone downstairs at the taproom. Chances are they won’t look as good the next day!
I love you taproom. Always will.