A neighborhood dive bar. Great beer great atmosphere wish smoking was illegal in Pennsylvania but you have to take the good with the bad. A Lancaster tradition!

Lived on W James, so a quick stumble to and fro. Was a sanctuary from the wearies of the world. Coming from a blue collar steel town, frats were a bit much, classes were fair, but fellow students were mixed. Somehow, a ragged band of idiots decided that we needed a place reeking of cheap beer and dubious decisions. That is what we found and will be forever grateful.

Nestled in the idyllic Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Lancaster City, Pennsylvania, Hildy's Tavern has been upsetting neighbors and customers in this location for about 60 years and they're just getting warmed up. From garrulous bar boors and vapid bar whores to remote control freaks and bathroom drug sneaks, Hildy's has something for nobody. Hang your pride on a nearby tree and take three steps up the curved corner door steps to take one huge step down. If you like a drink that's stiffer than the two-day-old hot dog that got on the countertop ferris wheel and forgot to get off, then this bar is for you and the cough medicine high you rode in on. If you're feeling brave, try the hot dogs. If you're feeling braver, try the women. If you want a blender drink, try shutting ignorant noise hole. You can sidle up to the bar and select something from the "rotating" daily curation of liquor and beer, or begin with a step out the back door and a peek down the famed Conjugal Alley which runs behind the building--you might catch a show! If you like smoked meats and smoked clothing, bring them in fresh and they'll be smoked to perfection in about 20 minutes! Enjoying a drink at the bar, a patron might overhear some wayfaring, well-to-do tourists who have wandered in describe it as " a punch in the face without the upside" or "a waking fever dream," while non-tippling neighbors just call it "that god d$%n bar on the corner." As one delighted out-of-towner once said, "This ain't no Applebees, these bartenders got sass!" This bar is the the Grand Lady of dive bars, standing astride the bar world like a colossus whose competitors have gone by the wayside and whose greatness has gone unchallenged. In short, this bar is amazing, and if you're too good for here, you're not good enough for anywhere. The bartender from Brendee's did not write this review.

Special place. Towny dive bar. Beautiful blue color, and the crabapples were in bloom when I was visiting. Their pink flowers were stunning against the blue backdrop. Cheap drinks. Solid place if you're looking for a smoky dive bar.

My uncle david and haven't seen each other for almost 12 years and I finally saw him here while he was finishing his shift!!! LOVE YOU UNCLE DAVID -CRYSTAL KENYON

A decent dive with a damned good jukebox. The downfall - near F&M, and you get the occasional dbag, but always a decent mix of people that always keep it interesting. Cheap beer for cheap, chump.

Probably the only bar I've ever seen that's open at 6:30 am. The crowd is always mixed but it will always feel like home to me. Nothing like superfreaks and woo woos in the afternoon... Ah Hildys, I'll compare every dive bar I ever go to for the rest of my life to you and I doubt that any will pass you. A superfreak sounds wonderful right now... how I wish I lived on the east coast!