Bar Smith

Probably my favorite roof top spot (maybe tied with lustre, for different reasons). It’s small and cramped, but it’s got a good vibe. They usually play EDM on the roof, more top 40/​hip hop inside. Bar tenders seem decent too, which is always nice.
Fun place.

2 level bar with great music and extremely cheap drinks until 11pm. Visited for the first time this past weekend and will definitely be returning more often!

Its a small place. Dancing upstairs with a bar. Good drink prices till 11PM. I wish they had an industrial fan up there to move the air (tucked in the corner, out of the way, would be awrsome), Casualwear to lingerie-it’s all good. 21−45ish seems to be the age range. Skinny to heavyset mix well. There wasn’t a clique-​ish feel to the place, very friendly, or maybe that’s just my mindset. I got there at 9:30 Sat night… no line but there was one at midnight, when I left. The bars on either sides had lines at 9:30. Are they more popular bars… don’t know. Will check out another time. Was here for a bachelorette party.
Overall, the staff was friendly and well trained. The lines to get drinks moved fast. Security was evident. I didn’t see any fights or guests get out of hand. I had a pleasant evening and would recommended the bar.
They do need take care of the roof top. If it is the only location to really let loose for dancing and it’s over 100 degrees outside, they need misters or a fan to cool off a roof that’s been cooking under the hot AZ sun all day.

3 stars because the music was really good, but «hipster» club it is not.
I went expecting it to be a little more from this place from the reviews.
Maybe it was because I went on a Saturday night, but I felt uncomfortable.

This place was rocking but almost empty at about 10:30 at night. Me and my friends hit the upstairs and rocked out the rooftop. Th place got packed before we knew it and it was looking to be a swell time! If your looking for Good music, kickass projection mapping and decently priced drinks, this is your spot!

Best place to go dance on Saturday nights. Dopest hip hop on the bottom floor, open roof top playing house music all night until 3 am. Yes there’s a cover, but if you come with a large party, talk to the door guy, he’ll take care of you. Cheap drinks, cute bartenders, loud music, good times!

I’ve recently become a regular patron of this place thanks to their new Wednesday night rooftop electronica dance extravaganza. If your looking for a place to get out on the dance floor and shake your groove then this is a fun spot in downtown Phoenix.

I have mixed feelings about this place. Visiting from Milwaukee, I thought with all the warm Phoenix nights the club scene would be hot. Apparently, nobody likes to have fun on weeknights in these parts. Anyway, was really looking forward to getting my dance on here, especially with on the rooftop with my best girlfriends and a cute guy. I had no such luck this night. Rooftop part of the bar was super cool, but music up there and downstairs was pretty lousy. We got in without having to pay a cover charge which was good. One of my friends had a fruit fly in her drink which was gross, and the bartender didn’t seem to care. Hung around here for awhile hoping for some better music and people to show up, and didn’t happen. If I were in town on the weekend, I’m sure it’d be better, but didn’t have that opportunity. Nice place but just not that great at the time of my visit.

I love this place. I have been coming here for many years, mainly for the Saturday night Solstice party, but sometimes also for the other nights as the offerings have expanded. I really love the upstairs balcony dancefloor because you can dance under the stars and sometimes even the full moon.
The crowd (in general) is very welcoming and unpretentious. Most people come to dance and enjoy the music. You can dress up if you want to or you can just kick it. This is one of the few places that I am comfortable, as a woman, going to by myself. I don’t have to worry about being groped or harassed. It might happen, but the security crew in here is on point and very protective of their (well-​behaved) patrons. The drinks are well-​poured and well-​priced. I love the heavy-​handed bartenders!
The owners of this bar expanded and own some of the surrounding properties, so they now offer even more musical choices, though BarSmith is still the epicenter. There’s salsa, banda, house, techno, tech-​house, hip-​hop, grime, dub-​step, progressive, minimal, …even jungle and DnB at one point… I mean I can’t even list them all. Plus things change, different people will run different weeklies at different times. This bar is an institution for downtown Phoenix. I remember when it was literally the only place to go. Even with new spots opening up this is still a stong hold for good music.
The parties and the type of music played here can be kind of seasonal, with the exception of Saturday nights, which is the night that started it all, and kind of the foundation that the bar rests on. Saturday night upstairs is based in deep house but genres are so fluid, so upstairs has a healthy mix of deep-​house-​related music. On Saturdays the downstairs is a really solid hip-​hop night too. It’s nice to go between the two floors, they complement each other, like wasabi for your sushi. I could go on forever about this place!

My favorite place to go dancing. Hip hop downstairs, electro on the roof.
Major CON: they always have a cover. I have come by here multiple times with large groups and we decide not to come in because of the cover. It doesn’t make much sense that they would forgo letting a large group of attractive women in seeing as the bar is usually filled with an eclectic group of individuals. I would definitely come here more often if they didn’t charge to get in.

RE: 10÷05÷14
1:07a
Table 210
Receipt #*****
Employee: Ms. Britt
I was at patron in your facility at the above mentioned time. I was ready to leave the bar & Ms. Britt said she could not find my debit card. I gave her my telephone number & she called me @ 3:00a to say she found it. She took it home with her & called me today to say she would meet up with me & return it. Is this common practice with your facility? This is shady business at best.

Saturday great house music under the stars. It gets hot on the roof. Downstairs is hip hop and rooftop house music. The overall feel of the club is very chill a nice night and alternative to the typical club setting. People dancing and seeing some great break dancing.

And someone is full of themselves… $ 10 per person for a cover charge? Just so I can blow an equal amount on subpar booze and music? No thank you.
I used to be a huge Bar Smith fan, but lately… some one gone done lost their mind!
We arrived a party of 5, assuming the line to the west end of Washington Street was for Bar Smith, only to be surprised that it was for an event at the Monarch Gallery. After hastily providing our ID’S to the doorman a girl tells us it will be $ 10 a person, while looking in, it is clearly empty. As I am more than well aware of the tight quarters in the bar from past experience and price gauging for beer, we decide to leave without paying.

Off for a night of dancing the girls had selected Bar Smith in downtown Phoenix. My immediate concern was «What do I wear?»
Again, «WHAT DO I WEAR?»
I wanted something comfortable shoe wise but didn’t want to get turned away at the door. (I’m from New York. You have no idea what pain and suffering we can go to. After a while you can forget your feet are numb from tortuous heels.)
Turns out Bar Smith is very relaxed in the dress code area. Provided you’re 1) of age and 2) wearing clothing YOU’RE IN! Given that I’m on the slippery hill to old age/​death I painted on the face carefully. (Smooches to the bouncer who smiled when I passed my ID over.) Sneakers are ok. (Before you judge: I wasn’t wearing white track shoes! Cute slip ons paired with an over the top cocktail dress.)
Moolah
The bar doesn’t charge cover before 10pm. Mixed well drinks are $ 4. Nothing spectacular here as they are served in thin plastic. (Yes they will serve you a double for $ 8.)
Open Tabs
You can move between the downstairs and upstairs bars. Like a goof I didn’t realize that initially and was returning downstairs to place my order. Just don’t forget to pick up your card on the way out!
The DJ’s are a fun group on a Saturday. Plenty of people were doing the silly dance (come on, we’re not on Dancing With The Stars) showered in darkness upstairs and downstairs. Actually the lighting was crazy. (See my photos!)
The crowd picked up noticeably after 10pm. All things considered tho, the bartenders were awesome in keeping up.
Fun, fun, FUN!

This is a very fun club for you party animals. The bar doesn’t have a cover until 10, so a bunch of ladies and I arrived closer to 9:30. The place was fairly dead for a couple hours, then it picked up. Vodka was on special, with mixed drinks for 4 $… so needless to say, we all had vodka based drinks. There was nothing special about these drinks and they were on the small side (served in a plastic cup, you know, to be classy), but for 4 $, what can you ask for? They had one DJ on the roof (who happened to be my wedding DJ, so I obviously liked him) and another downstairs. Overall it was a typical loud crowded club scene, but I would come back if I were in the mood for that kind of thing.

This is my favorite club on the West Coast (I’ve been around), especially to dance under the stars to House music of any sub-​genre on the upstairs open air patio. No joke, it has the best music, awesome friendly & cool people who are there to dance and have fun (douchebag free establishment), beautiful, stylish and friendly bartenders, courteous security (almost never heard of anywhere else). Dj’s are some of the best in the country or even world class when they are flown in, whether for house, electronic, or Hip Hop. The sound system is excellent, full, well balanced with deep bass and no distortion. They even have beautiful hostesses to welcome new patrons. Downstairs has excellent music as well, which is usually booty shaking groovy Hip Hop. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just go check it out for yourself; but be ready to make new friends.

If you are looking for dancing, loud music, and drunk people everywhere, Bar Smith is your answer. $ 10 cover for everyone (ladies and military, we are sadly not excluded from this) and you enter wonderland.
I love the upstairs bar, especially this time of year. It’s a nice break from being hot and sweaty downstairs. It’s usually EDM/​house DJ’s outside. Not as much dancing as downstairs, but you’ll see the occasional raver going all out. Last time I was there, someone showed up in a bear costume! Downstairs is more hip music. It doesn’t start to pick up until after midnight, aka after enough libations make the crowds go crazy. It’s fun to go between upstairs and downstairs.
Carolina is a kickass bartender, she makes a mean whiskey ginger and has awesome green lipstick! Drinks weren’t crazy outrageous expensive either. Bathroom line never seemed to last forever, although I don’t think it’s a classy enough joint to warrant an attendant. She was sweet though and gave me an extra piece of gum when I smartly opted out of a cigarette (yes, they have cigs for tips in the bathroom).
Overall, Bar Smith can be a fun time. Go into it expecting nothing, walk out drunk and sweaty.

$ 10 cover = not worth it. Came here with 4 ladies and they were all ready to leave after 30 mins.
We thought we were going to a cool downtown bar to drink but this place is a club? Kinda? Anyway, none of us were feeling the music or the crowd.
I’m giving this place a 2, since it wants to be a club I’ll compare to the other local clubs (like revolver) which are average at best, bar smith comes in below these.

It wasn’t a bad place at all. but just not my venue. The patrons are super eclectic from very hot girls that look lost, to some coked up military kid that think he is stomping the yard, to some older fellow with his hat backwards slowly trying to advance his efforts into the bachelorette party. Don’t get me wrong, as this provided me with lots of entertainment, and people to interact with everywhere is too loud for any kind of conversation.
But, this being said the rooftop was still my favorite, as they had a bar manned with a cute Asian chick that got her duties down. and a big mingle/​dance party that I imagine can be found at a young republican rally. I sure had fun though, I mean it. But will I go back? Yeah, you know what. I will come back here. Not sure why, but I will.
And they have one thing that I usually cant stand but love to be bothered by. they had a DJ that looked liked he wanted to audition for RUN DMC, but played the most edgeless, dull dance music. It was sad. But people didn’t care. especially not the coked up soldier. Good times, good times.

I would give this place 5 stars if they ventilated the downstairs, expanded the rooftop and not charge $ 10 cover.
A warning to the ladies, you will get your hands/​waist/​ass grabbed throughout the night. They should probably enforce the 1:1 guy/​girl ratio here since it was a total sausage fest… I felt like I was a lamb shank at the meat market