Hugo’s

Hugo’s is a much more than decent dive bar. There is zero pretense here. The bar reminds me of some of my favorite Springfield dive bars in my youth… but with a Northampton twist and clientele. The beer selection was very solid. The bartenders were efficient, if not overly friendly. This is a very, very easy and comfortable place to tilt a few back. I prefer the dive next door a little more but Hugo has its own charm. As you can see by the reviews Hugo’s has plenty of fans. I get it. If you want some good cheap drinks, some nice drafts served efficiently in a no frills but fun atmosphere head to Hugo’s.

I kick myself in the pants for not trying this bar sooner. Forget the overpriced hipster allure you find on the main strip, or even the overcrowded yet charming dad’s basement that is Ye Olde Watering Hole. Hugo’s is where it’s at.
The people here are simply the best– the first time I came, the bartender wished me an early happy birthday, seeing it was a couple weeks away. When I returned on my actual birthday, they gave me candy. Patrons alike are considerate, even friendly, a word I don’t get to often use about Northampton bars. Not a lot of jerks or barely-​21 party people.
There’s pool, darts, and even an older copy of Trivial Pursuit. Plenty of places to sit. One of those touch-​screen jukeboxes with every song under the sun. A couple TVs for watching sports or Jeopardy or whatever. There are many kinds of drinks, and they are priced reasonably. You can even try a jello shot, often coming in seasonal and wacky flavors.

Best bar in Northampton. Cash only and no bullshit. Great jukebox. This place is best during off hours, but even the Saturday night crowd at Hugo’s is tolerable. Homey and relaxed. Yay!

Local dive bar with explosive personalities is what makes this place that charm that it is. Very good beer selection. If you’re a fan of punk rock and good garage rock music this is a perfect environment for you. Quite the cast of characters. Very enjoyable place.

Linda makes a great CC and 7. Also free pool Monday through Wednesday is awesome. Linda said they were going to get an Internet jukebox… please tell her not too!!! Those things kill the vibe.

Legend. Best place to be when it’s close to empty.
Bartender and bouncer are supreme.
A bar where you can be a goon and play pool all night.

What a delightful sh@tholey divey place. In my wayward youth i spent a lot of time here and the Ye Olde Watering Hole. The bars that are from The Hamp era (not Noho).

This is a dive bar. What can be said about it? It’s not expensive, the service is good, considering the place, and it has the right combination of hipster + dive vibe that works well.

It’s.not trendy. It’s homey. It’s hip because it’s not trying to be hip. It’s warm and friendly and cash up front with a couple of pool tables and Linda who is the acme of hometown bar tending in its best old school traditions. If you’re up here to see the colleges and you want white collar trendy, head over the Amherst. If you want college and a bit more blue collar bar you head here.

Killer Juke.
Excellent bartender experience.
Darts.
Pool.
I haven’t been here when it’s full blown packed with college kids, but when it’s empty this place is pretty great. Take it over with your crew sometime, and tip like a gentleman.

I loved coming here, the service was the best that I’ve experienced in a VERY long time. The only disadvantage that I would say is that they ONLY accept cash, which was a bit of a shock seeing as how I only had a few bucks on hand but there is an atm machine within the bar for that. I’ve been to a few full stocked bars in Northampton and I think this is my favorite one so far.
The owner/​manager began to chat us up while we were drinking and paused our conversation so he could change the channel to comedy central so he wouldn’t miss the latest episode of the Colbert Report, nerd alert! I loooove it! I will most definitely be coming back here again to kick back and relax.

One of the best bars in the valley. Though it is a big time hipster bar, they are very welcoming even if you are dressed up all preppy. Good drinks, good beer, good music. Plus, if you are someone who enjoys shooting animals, they are one of the very few bars in the area with Big Buck Hunter.
Another major advantage is that the drink prices are more reasonable than anywhere else in Northampton, which is always an advantage in my book.

We were at Hugo’s last night close to the end of a «bar crawl». Chris was our bartender and was friendly and welcoming to the bunch of wet crawlers that I was with. He was nice enough to ask us about our next stop and called ahead to them so they’d be ready. Nice!

Best bar in Northampton! If it weren’t for Hugo’s, i probably wouldn’t do the whole bar thing here… People usually want to go to the Watering Hole to play pool and drink some brews… but I don’t understand why considering there’s never a pool table open and it’s so difficult to get bar service. Hugo’s is right next door and totally different story! Always able to get some pool games in and always able to get a drink without waiting forever. Comfortable atmosphere with zero pretension. The only real bar in Northampton as far as I’m concerned.

yawn.
the bartenders are nice.
there is pool and unwanted small talk with the sea of sausage that frequent this place.

This isn’t the best bar in the world, and I don’t know enough about the local scene to say whether it’s the best bar in Northampton, but I can definitely say that it’s the best bar that I’ve ever been to in Northampton.
A good bar is the result of the interplay between the patrons, the ambiance and the staff. For Hugo’s the patrons are a mix of skinny hipsters, middle aged working class locals and chubby ladies who seem to like other ladies. The ambiance is worn, brown, and cheap (beer and pool), with a good juke box that provides a deep selection of classics, punk and post punk. The bartenders have character, charm and make you feel welcome even if you’ve never been before. Don’t, however, expect an expert mixologist. This is pretty much beer and a shot territory.
Cash only, though at $ 1.50 a PBR, there’s little strain on your pocket.

Perfect neighborhood bar.
Cheap beer
Good tables
Excellent Juke
Barkeep Chris

This is still my favorite bar in the whole world.

I had my first beer here. I go back every Christmas. I’m biased. I remember when Genny cream pints were $ 0.75 cents, and everyone crawled over to the baystate hotel for one last drink after last call. Before it became a %#&*#king steakhouse.
It’s undergone a number of changes in recent years. The darts situation that cuts the bar in half is a bit weird. The smoking ban has cut some of the appeal and makes me consider WW2 club instead.
Linda and Chris are indeed awesome. At the very least, if you’re new or passing through noho, make it your first stop.

Can’t quite believe this place hasn’t been Unilocaled yet. (Hopefully I haven’t made a dupe.) And the five stars here is really a bit of a rose-​colored review as I used to live around the block from this place and could have even had my mail sent here for a while. But I have been back every so often, including this past weekend, and am happy to report that Hugo’s still retains much of it’s charm and affordability.
The price of a Pabst has risen to $ 1.50 but the pool tables are holding steady at .75 cents and many of the classic CDs (Tom Waits, VU, Billboard’s Hits of the 60’s, 70’s, etc.) still reign supreme on the jukebox. Some people might call Hugo’s a dive bar, but I prefer to call it near perfect. It’s not the place to go if you’re on a date or anything (see The Dirty Truth) but it’s where you and your friends go to shoot pool, drink beer and feel like your hanging out in the den you’ll never be able to afford. It’s the bar where you go out of your way to be cool to the bartender because it’s the one place you never want to get permanently kicked out of. Most of the other bars you can take or leave — but Hugo’s is where everything comes together just right… Until morning comes, that is… then you’re cursing it’s name.