Gus Tap

Great little dive bar! I’d not noticed this place before, though I frequent the Empty Bottle nearby quite a lot. Friendly bartender, cool glassware. The right price, and just seedy enough to be interesting. Will definitely make this place a pregame stop before Empty Bottle shows.

It doesn’t actually say Gus’s Tap on the outside — the only evidence of this place’s name is the small fake street sign on the inside of the bar — so don’t miss it!
Three reasons to come here:
1. It’s just a regular bar, and it’s hard to find those these days. There’s no pretension. It’s small. They’ve got the basics, but that’s it. It doesn’t have an angle or theme — it’s just a place to hang out and drink. The bartender didn’t know what a White Russian was, and they didn’t have any cream with which to make it (but then again, shame on me for going to a divey bar such as Gus’s Tap and ordering a White Russian).
2. The Playboy Pinball machine. When you get to Miss December, you finish the game!
3. The one beer on tap. It’s a very odd feeling when you go to a place called «Gus’s Tap,» ask what they have on tap, and learn that they only have one choice. Go purely for that feeling. (They do, of course, have a few different bottles and a full bar, so it’s not like they only have one drink option. I guess if they had more beers on tap, they’d call it Gus’s Taps.)
Every time I’ve been here, it’s been dead except for me and my friends — but I’m a fan of that fact. Since I suppose it’s really hit-​or-​miss in terms of the crowd, I wouldn’t recommend going alone.

A friend of mine from Warsaw prefers this place to others in my neighborhood. He said the other places are too full of women and men who are playing with their «blueberries» (he means iPhones, Androids, and Blackberries). This is a real dive bar. Sometimes the bartender is a wild dude with a Mohawk, and sometimes it is a woman from the highlander region of Poland. Most of the hipster bars in the area were once Polish bars that featured the «Zimne Piwo» sign out front. This place still has it!
You can come here solo, relax, have a beer, and if you are a man or a woman you can be comfortable. Nice to see a bar that is like a real bar. You go, chat with the bartender, talk to a stranger, have a few beers then go home.

Dive bar, totally. Neighborhood bar, sure. The owner of this bar (and also The Roundup just a few doors down) is great! I am a fan of this place because after a few visits, everyone really will know your name. I lived very near to this bar and was able to get to know some of the regulars and the bartenders. They are all fantastic and they make your drink as good as it gets. When I’m in the village, I always stop by. Typically they also introduce you to fantastic imports that I promise you wouldn’t have found on your own. I’m a fan!

I had a little trouble locating this place in Unilocal.The sign in front just says ZIMNE PIWO (cold beer in Polish). I stumbled on this place when a show I was going to at the Empty Bottle was sold out. That Saturday night the place was filled to overflow from the Empty Bottle with a punk tinged crowd and the old timers from the neighborhood for whom this is the local drinking hole. And with someone picking Russian music from the juke box it made for an interesting evening.
A few weeks ago there was a discussion on Unilocal talk about what constitutes a dive bar. This is probably the diviest of the bars along Western Ave but probably still classed more as a neighborhood bar. Great place to have a (cheaper) beer before the Empty Bottle. I recommend the Zywiec (zhi-​vyets) beer.