Driving up, Shantytown Pub has nailed dive bar curb appeal, if there is such a thing. Colorful murals line the building at every angle, expansive and wandering palettes along the two longest walls, compact and frenetic around the dive bar’s front door. The short, very square-looking structure is, by design, a stark and colorful contrast to the more sparely populated area that surrounds it. The juxtaposition between the gray empty lots lining the road to the building and bright orange paint amid bold block lettering proclaiming the name of the bar above the front door is extreme.
Inside, an already narrow space is further split into two even narrower rooms stretching lengthwise along the square interior. The front room is divvied up about half and half between a long line of seats and the bar itself, where a small food prep area shares space with beer taps and a sticker-lined refrigerator. And if those cramped quarters haven’t triggered your claustrophobia yet (in a good way, honest), even the ceiling is brought a little closer to the drinking action with an extensive array of tap handles extending downward from the wood beams above.
The space’s second room gives way to a small stage that features bands on occasion, itself surrounded by high tables and low benches that dot the remaining square footage. The mural game outside turns into an array of individual pieces inside, the secondary room in particular feeling like the kind of place that might be made much, much worse or much, much better under the influence of a select set of substances. The swordfish slash pirate ship in particular is an eye catcher, the perfect complement to the red panda painting just a few feet away.
