Bull & Finch Pub / Cheers, Boston

Yes, this is a local tourist trap. No, you will not be fooled. When you enter the Bull and Finch (Cheers) you know it is a tourist trap. But....YOU DO NOT CARE! This is where you came to see a little of the past, regarding the TV hit show,"CHEERS".

Unique Suggestions: To make your vist to the "Cheers" location, all the worthwhile, make sure you pose with the cast of "cheers". lol

Fun Alternatives: If the Bull and Finch (Cheers) bar isn't for you, it seems as if there is a bar/restaurant on every corner of Boston. Check out my travelogue on bars in Boston. Cheers!!!

Please, for the love of god, help end the madness by refusing to go to Cheers while you're in Boston. It's by far the biggest tourist trap in the city. Let me save you the trouble: The outside of the building is just like you saw it on the tv show. Everything else is completely different; the inside is nothing at all like the set for the show. The prices are absurd, and there's nothing special about it at all. But that doesn't stop countless people from going there each year. Do yourself a favor and skip Cheers. There are plenty of other (and better) things to do and see in Boston.

The Bull & Finch is a neat restaurant but the only part that was on the actual Cheers show was the outside and the stairs. The inside doesnt even look like the show. It was a good restaurant but overpriced.

In Quincy Market there is a replica of the Cheers set and its an actual restaurant and bar.

Bull & Finch was once a great bar, not unlike the TV Show Cheers, which was based on the Bar. But it is now a tourist trap, and you are much better off just dropping into any local dive to get a good flavor of Boston.

Although it's a tourist trap, most first time visitors will still want to check out the Bull & Finch Pub (Cheers). Although the interior doesn't look anything like the bar was saw on TV, most will still recognize the many details that inspired it.

Unique Suggestions: I wouldn't suggest waiting in line to get in, because you'll likely be disappointed. A photo outside will suffice for most tourists. If you re lucky enough, like we were, that there is no line up to get in, then by all means go in and have a pint. Just don't expect to see Cliff and norm at the corner of the bar when you walk in.

Fun Alternatives: If you are in search of a beer, any of the other nearby pubs will do.

The bar from which the tv show was made? Hmmm - I dont think so.. - If you are near the Boston common.. do walk by just to see the sign..and the stairs that lead down inside..but after that the likeness ends.. - see the sign, take a picture, and keep on walking to things that are far more interesting.. The State house is just up the hill and is far more exciting..

Unique Suggestions: If you must go.. take a Tourist with you, so you dont feel so silly! Here's my friend Graham from England enjoying his trip to the Cheers bar! I will also tell you that one of the bar-tenders there isnt too too fond of British people. He griped about them constantly the entire time Graham and I were there. Which I think was a bit rude considering that there were a couple British people within hearing distance!

It was still fun though..

Nobody knows your name here at the Bull & Finch Club, but they will rip you off w/ stupid t-shirts.

Unique Suggestions: Seriously, don't go.

Fun Alternatives: The Beacon Hill Pub will give you an authentic divey bar experience. 149 Charles St. Get a bottle - pint glasses are questionable.
Or try the Kells in Allston: 161 Brighton Ave. College kids abound, but at least it's more authentic.

Go by Cheers (aka "Bull and Finch"), walk down the stairs and see the wooden Indian. After that, promptly turn around and go to another restaurant to eat. Except for the outside, it looks nothing like the television version of Cheers. I know it's just a TV show but still... I'll always be disappointed by that.

Fun Alternatives: I'd suggest you walk through the Boston Common/Public Gardens and head over to Faneuil Hall (pronounced not the way it should be in French but instead "fan-yuhl"). The restaurants there are great. If they're too packed walk up to The Kinsale. The food's pretty good but more importantly, no one's ever there. ;)

Cheers bar in Boston is well worth a visit, OK it's not the interior bar we all know BUT! It's a good bar, we spent New Year there and the hard working Irish bartender gave all patrons a free champagne toast. It's a friendly bar (almost Britsh) a good drinking den with TV sentiment, I loved it.. and I'm Scottish (really, Arbroath BTW!)

Unique Suggestions: Avoid the daytime lunch patrons and go in there to drink. Have your photo taken by 'the sign' it's truly a good memory.

Fun Alternatives: AVOID Bar 10 in the Westin Hotel!

Okay. There are two "Cheers" meccas for those so inclined. One is the obvious Bull and Finch pub, on Beacon St. This was the bar that inspired the show. The exterior is what was sometimes seen between commercials. I'm told the inside, looks nothing like the Cheers we know and love. The other Cheers place is the Cheers restuarant, in Fanneuil market. It is a restuarant designed to look like the Hollywood set. Well, the bar looks close, and the walls are decorated with sports memorobilia, other than that, it looks nothing like the actual set. The wait was not long, and the food was not bad. Good if you can get in easily enough, otherwise not worth the wait, unless you absolutely want to tell people that you ate at Cheers.

Unique Suggestions: The "trap" here is thinking that you will walk into the bull and finch and see Cheers, or walk into the restaurant, and think you are on the real set. Neither is true, though it is fun to eat at either place, being in Boston and all. Like I said, skip it if the wait is too long.

Fun Alternatives: The Cheers restaurant was not bad as a restaurant, just bad as a Cheers replica. If Cheers does not appeal, there are plenty of restaurants in the Fanneuil Market area.