Grab a drink at these top Tempe bars and breweries

Each year, we travel all around the Valley to find the top 100 bars in Phoenix. But sometimes you don't want to carpool or rideshare across town to grab a drink. If you call Tempe home and are looking for a great bar around Mill Avenue and the Arizona State University campus or you're deeper into the surrounding neighborhoods, here are six top spots for beer, wine, cocktails and a good time.

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Casey Moore's is a Tempe institution.

Jennifer Goldberg

Casey Moore’s Oyster House

850 S. Ash Ave., Tempe

Casey Moore's Oyster House is a Tempe mainstay, known for its sprawling patio surrounding the former home of William A. and Mary Moeur, built circa 1910. The bar itself is named after an Irish woman who was born even earlier, in 1886, and who was known for singing, playing the piano and hosting frequent gatherings. (She is said to still haunt the place.) The home was rehabilitated in 1973, and a few bars came and went in the space until 1986, when it became Casey’s. The bar attracts students from nearby ASU, as well as neighborhood regulars, cyclists, tourists and service industry types. Indoors, you’ll find neon décor, some seating and a cozy bar; on the patio, you may smoke, bring your dog till 5 p.m. or bend elbows at the always-packed outdoor bar. The beer selection features a mix of local, domestic and imported brews, and the pub fare is above average. Go with the oysters or the neighborhood favorite, French onion soup.

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Catalyst Crafted Ales has a side pull, a faucet-like tap that creates a foamy, European-style pour of some of its lagers and pilsners.

Sara Crocker

Catalyst Crafted Ales

1845 E. Broadway Road, Tempe

Catalyst Crafted Ales is a paradise for craft beer heads who lean toward big, bold and sometimes irreverent styles and flavors. Inside the brewhouse, which opened in 2023 under brewer Will Walthereson, drinkers will find playful sours, hoppy IPAs and plenty of imperials of the beer and seltzer persuasion. There are more traditional beers on tap, too, such as Vesuvio, an Italian pilsner that drinkers can have poured from Catalyst's regular taps or via its side pull, a faucetlike tap that creates a European-style pour with a couple extra inches of foam. A pint goes well with an ahi tuna tostada from the in-house eatery S.A.L.T. (short for Sea and Land Tacos). Get comfortable inside at the bar or outside on Catalyst’s expansive patio. After you try one of the brewery’s unique tipples, you’ll already be pondering what to order for the next round.

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Devils Hideaway and Idle Hands (pictured) are new cocktail destinations on Tempe's Mill Avenue.

Sara Crocker

Devil's Hideaway / Idle Hands

401 S. Mill Ave., #101, Tempe

The former home of Mill Avenue staple Rula Bula has a new tenant with the addition of not one but two bars: Devil’s Hideaway and Idle Hands. The latest project from Julian Wright, the restaurateur behind Sake Haus, Lucky’s Indoor Outdoor and Pedal Haus Brewery, the duo of bars offers dueling experiences. Devil’s Hideaway is a casual spot ideal for popping into for a pregame beer and shot or whiling away an afternoon tucked into one of its horseshoe booths. The reservation-based Idle Hands takes the cocktail experience up a notch and aims to transport people to an enchanted greenhouse, with an evening scene in a forest projection mapped across the faux windows and vaulted ceilings. The drink menu features more than a dozen spirited options. Try Cocktail #401 for a tropical and nutty rum-based sipper. Though the experiences at the bars vary, their distinct personalities make each worthy of a visit.

Hundred Mile Brewing Co.

690 N. Scottsdale Road, Tempe

Although it’s a bit off the beaten path, tucked in near a Holiday Inn Express along the north bank of Tempe Town Lake, Hundred Mile Brewing Co. is worth seeking out for its indoor/outdoor vibe that’s big enough for groups yet appropriate for an intimate date night. The operation, which opened in December 2022, is housed in a 10,000-square-foot white brick former print shop. A large patio with an awning in front includes a dog-friendly turf area and games, such as cornhole and giant Connect Four. Owner Sue Rigler and her team churn out quality brews that include IPAs, a hoppy pilsner, smooth amber ale, pale ale and more. The kitchen offers ramped-up bar food for almost any taste, including chimichurri nachos, a sesame-crusted ahi bowl, a vegan burger and miso-glazed salmon. There’s also a full bar with an impressive cocktail selection and a wine list that hits all the right notes.

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All kinds park themselves at this dark, cash-only Tempe bar.

Jacob Tyler Dunn

Palo Verde Lounge

1015 W. Broadway Road, Tempe

A perplexing question is, "What’s the crowd like at Palo Verde Lounge?" All kinds park themselves at this dark, cash-only Tempe bar: construction workers in hi-vis gear at a prolonged happy hour, weekly regulars from the neighborhood, new drinkers from nearby ASU. Like the clientele, the atmosphere can be hard to predict. Some nights you may walk into a quiet bar filled with laid-back folks nursing beers, shooting pool and watching TV while “Neon Moon” plays serenely over the speakers. Other nights you’ll find a packed bike rack outside and a DJ presiding over a full dance floor inside. And then there are those evenings when you’ll have to squeeze past a metal band unloading gear in the parking lot in order to enter. The man who oversees it all, Chuck Marthaler, is a former patron turned bartender turned owner, and he retains a keen sense of what drinkers are looking for in their local bar: cheap drinks, poured strong, by a bartender who’s quick to commit a regular’s order to memory.

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Skysill Rooftop Lounge is located on the 18th floor of The Westin Tempe.

Jeff Zaruba

Skysill Rooftop Lounge

11 E. Seventh St., Tempe

At 18 floors above the bustle of Mill Avenue, Skysill Rooftop Lounge rests atop The Westin Tempe and flaunts the title of being the highest open-air rooftop bar in the Valley. Order your drink at the bar, the only covered space up there, and stroll around to soak up 360-degree views of downtown Tempe, iconic A Mountain, the Valley’s vast skyline and the Mill Avenue Bridge, which is stunning at night. The food menu shows an unexpected sophisticated side for poolside noshing. Duck carnitas nachos, grilled filet mignon and the signature burger are provided from the elegant ground-floor restaurant, Terra Tempe Kitchen & Spirits. There’s bottle service, Arizona beers are well represented and the seasonal cocktail menu reflects the mood of the moment — whether the winter briskness calls for dark spirits and baking spices in a rocks glass or the summer heat begs for tropical fruit and vodka or tequila in a highball vessel. But, bottom line: It’s all about the view and a must-stop for any out-of-town visitors.

Yucca Tap Room

29 W. Southern Ave., Tempe

Yucca Tap Room is foremost a music venue — and a legendary one at that. It’s been around since the early 1970s and is known for offering a stage to the practitioners of the Tempe Sound, touring punk bands and many other alternative acts. But this windowless, wood-paneled strip-mall tenant is also an excellent neighborhood tavern, frequented by regulars who sometimes arrive when the doors swing open at 6 a.m. to slap the bar and down bloody marys. Yucca has expanded in recent years, taking over neighboring suites in order to add the Electric Bat Arcade. The place boasts good food, too, from breakfast burritos to late night bites. There’s an impressive selection of craft beers and daily drink specials, as well as a busy dance floor most weekends.