If you’re planning on a night out in the valley, Mill Avenue in Tempe is the cheapest place to do it. I think there’s a greater variety of things to do than in Old Town Scottsdale, and they’re closer together than in downtown Phoenix.
You could wander around Mill Ave at night and come across a decent bar. Or, you could use this list and find the best place to go.
Low Key Piano Bar
While most places on Mill skew towards the 20-something crowd, Low Key is a bar for everyone. If you want to go out with your parents, this is the spot. Who doesn’t love some good live music covers of everyone’s favorite songs?
You can reserve a table or stick to open seating. Expect to stand during peak (late night) weekend hours.
414 Pizza and Pub
Come to this all-ages bar any night of the week for karaoke. It’s a little dive-y but that’s part of the charm. They also do crafty event nights like paint-n-sips every once in a while. Their social media has helpful updates about what’s current.
Cue Club
This is the best place to shoot pool and one of the only places that isn’t super loud all the time. They have rotating daily specials, but the best move is to grab one of their many Long Islands. My personal favorite is cherry – it’s just a grown up Shirley Temple.
Rúla Búla Irish Pub
Don’t just save it for St. Patrick’s Day – this pub is a great place for a no-frills drink year round. They also serve food and cater to an older clientele.
CASA
This is the best place to go for dancing. Their buckets are a good deal for classics like the AMF, but the real reason to come here is for the dance floor. El Hefe across the street is similarly loud, with comparable music, but not as nice of a space.
They do have a dress code for guys, but it’s pretty relaxed – you just need pants with belt loops and no open-toed shoes. Don’t expect it to be super classy. This is definitely not Scottsdale.
Americana
College students, this the place to go on Thursday nights for beer pong and good deals. The latter is always changing but always cheap. Past highlights include 1¢ tacos, 5¢ wings, and $1 beer/Smirnoff Ice/green tea shots.
Steak and Shake
Now, I’m not a huge fan of their food and I wouldn’t go out of my way to go here. But it’s important to know that this is the latest open kitchen on Mill. Even though every bar closes at 2 and most kitchens are done at midnight, they’re cooking until 2:30/3am on the weekend if you need that late night greasy pick-me-up. If that isn’t how you expect your night to go, Mill Ave may not be the place for you…
Grace Gets Food 