Pioneer Bar

You’ve got to love a classic dive bar. Get wasted and have fun.

Pioneer is a pretty popular bar in Anchorage and the crowd ranges from people in their early twenties to people in their late forties. Essentially, it tends to appeal to everyone. If you’re looking for a casual place, Pioneer is a great option. There’s a long bar area and a little bit of seating (although not a lot). In the back there’s a more open space with pool tables and a shuffleboard game. It’s a pretty cool ‘hang out’ bar.
On the weekdays this place is SUPER laid back and everyone is very friendly and just genuinely happy. I tend to go here on the weekends, though (if I ever do go here). The bar area, on the weekends, does tend to get pretty crowded later in the night. The bartenders here try to remain friendly, but typically get pretty upset with the customers later into the evening when they’re crowding in. They try to keep their cool, but eventually they usually end up yelling at people to get out of the way so new customers can get in. It’s common courtesy to do that anyways, but when people get drunk common courtesy goes out of the window. I understand why the bartenders are upset, but I just don’t appreciate the way they handle customers. I’m sober 99% of the time that I go out, so it’s a little off-​putting to me to see them behave that way. Also, it just makes everyone at the bar crabby. Generally everyone is bickering at everyone else and it’s pretty annoying. I try to avoid buying drinks here (or, getting a glass of water in my case).
So when I do visit Pioneer I typically walk past the bar and head to the back. The shuffleboard game is a blast and the pool tables are well-​spaced enough to where you can play without feeling crowded in. The back area isn’t ever too crazy crowded, which is nice. My friends and I typically take to the shuffle board area when we go here.
The appearance of this place is very ‘divey’, but there is generally a lot going on here. I could see why people would want to come and hang out. It’s very casual. If playing some games, having a drink, and listening to music is your style– this is it. No need to dress up, almost everyone here is just in jeans. But that’s the feel of this place. Cool and casual, and worth stopping by for if you’re just looking to chill for a while. I suggest starting out somewhere else and getting a few drinks in your system if you’re headed here on a weekend though, because the bartenders do get crabby and the bar gets super crowded on Friday and Saturday nights.

Good for a locals, dive bar. Pool tables and shuffle board. Not too big and relaxed vibe. Very nice bartenders and comfortable vibe. I came to visit a friend that lives in AK, from Cali.

This bar located in downtown Anchorage is a sad representation of the cities night life. The bar is a small, narrow, & rectangular in shape making it challenging to maneuver when it’s crowded.
The dance floor is the size of my bathroom and you can hardly move by 12am. The main DJ is mediocre and everyone complains how terrible he is — I’ve been here three times and one time his replacement was way better. But because one is limited in options of other places to go, one must settle.
The bartenders are indeed fast, but most have an attitude and look like they hate their jobs, unless your blond and wearing a skirt.
If you are looking for a crazy adventure of the drunken chaotic variety, the PIO (as its affectionally called) is your place. Proceed with caution!

Pool tables, shuffleboard, live music and super helpful bartenders– I found all this last night at Pioneers. We were waiting for an early morning flight out of Ted Stevens and caught a cab here. Great crowd, got served super fast, played pool, bought a T-​shirt and had a great couple hours. Nice mix of tourists and locals. Wish we would have found this on our first night in town. As a former dive bar owner, this place ‘nails it’.

My friends and I were in town for the Moose’s Tooth Marathon. We stopped in here between lunch and dinner to grab some drinks. We sat at one of those tables that kind of looked like it was designed for playing cards. Nearby were darts, shuffleboard, and pool tables. As for the beers, they didn’t have anything on tap that I liked, so I ordered a couple of cans of beer from two local breweries. Service was pretty good despite the regular bartender not being there. The only thing that I would complain about was the restroom. It had a bunch of flies. Pretty much your typical dive bar.
*Alaskan Icy Bay IPA*
It had a nice citrus taste without being overly hoppy.
*Midnight Sun Pleasure Town IPA*
Malty, also not overly hoppy.

This bar is definitely old school. But, I always seem to have fun with the family at this bar.

Great old school bar with darts, shuffle board, a couple of arcade games, good atmosphere and plenty of brews!

This place is pretty nice to hang out with friends and have a drink. It’s not the most amazing place and its a bit divey but a good time was had by all. When we first got here there was no music for a while but it got better. There are pool tables and shuffle board :-)

No food but great cold beer, live music and friendly bartender. I’d definitely come back!

Great bar, good drinks and decent bartenders. Be careful though… APD likes to hang out inside and WILL arrest you if you appear too intoxicated

This bar is a great place to go have a beer or do a little pre-​gaming prior to hitting the town. The atmosphere gives off that dive bar feel which is awesome. The local historic articles, pictures and other memorabilia is intriguing to look at. The prices for drinks are lower than most bars in the area. Every Monday they do a raffle for prizes. After I was informed of that, I think I’ll keep coming back!

Decent dive bar… looks a lot like the Panhandle inside, but slightly smaller. It’s not quite as rough a crowd as the Pandhandle and they have a lot more liquour choices at the Pioneer. There’s some cool vintage photos and posters on the wall. Couple pool tables and darts. Good average man’s bar, nice mix of people from different age groups.

Do not let the looks fool you! This is a cool place to have a drink! My girl and I were sick of sitting in restaurants drinking over priced drinks and walked in to Pioneer Bar. We were happy we did! We both drank Stoli on ice… we had two drinks each and paid a lot less than the restaurant’s we had been hanging at. The Bartender was friendly and helpful when asked about doing things in Anchorage (we just moved here). Cool locals spot!

Jeff the bartender just poured a real stiffy… typical seedy bar… young croud but wicked stiff drinks for the budget minded folks… like me

It’s an okay bar. It’s extremely loud, very busy, frat boy atmosphere, and there is always a wait for drinks. I don’t usually come here because of these reasons.

I have had the best of times and I have had the worst of times at the Pioneer Bar. For some reason the Pioneer Bar has decided to brand itself as the asshole bartenders who don’t need your money kind of place. This bar is great if you are in college and just got your 21+ drivers license, but, as often happens as we grow up, I have outgrown this place.
I still like to check it out if a group of friends and I happen to be out on a week day. During the weekends it’s totally packed and crazy!

Hmmm, I see people referring to this as a dive bar. I’d have to say, maybe, but it’s a great bar to visit when you’re in Anchorage. It’s mostly a younger crowd, but it’s quite a scene. Always a lot of activity. People are necessarily the most outgoing, it’s a local spot so you have to make the most of it.

As a connoisseur of dive bars this one ranks up there. To start off, despite what opinion you have of PBR, any place that serves 24 oz. cans of PBR has a lot of class. Not to mention all the Alaskan beers on tap and knowledgeable bartenders who can whip ya up something good!
The pool tables are always easy to grab as well as the shuffle board. Hell, the bouncers don’t even get pissed when you start doing peanut races in your pitcher.
This is my place of choice when it comes to drinking crappy beer (always the best beer) with good friends!

I love Pio (as we call it). I am a huge fan of the dive bar, and this one has all of the necessary elements: peanuts, dart boards, a jute box, shuffleboard, bartenders that give you a hard time, etc. Pio often has food in a crockpot available for customers, and I admit to enjoying taco night after happy hour in the past. If you go to Pio after work or in the early evening, it is the dive bar that I love. I, however, do NOT love the Friday or Saturday night scene in the summer where it suddenly becomes a fratastic almost club with bachelorette parties, short skirts, and guys trying to impress said young ladies.