From dive bars with a single table to ping pong palaces, you can finally mix your favorite sport with liberal libations.
Ping pong is weird. It’s an Olympic sport and a drinking game. Kids can do it, but it’s also mind-numbingly difficult when played at the highest level. I’m obsessed with it. I love the competitive and social duality. You can take it seriously while still being surrounded by friends and great craft beers—that is, if you frequent the best ping pong bars in America.
These hot spots range from dive bars with beat-up tables in a back room to spacious digs dedicated entirely to the sport. The only two constants at a ping pong bar is booze and that beautiful, high-pitched clink of tiny plastic balls being batted around.
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Here are six excellent ping pong bars you should visit to add some bounce to your bar-hopping.
Best Ping Pong Bars in America
1. Spin
Where it is: New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, and Washington D.C.
Why it's great: Ping pong tables have been in bars for decades, but Spin is arguably the first bar built around table tennis. Legend has it that two buddies were training to make the U.S. Olympic table tennis team and threw weekly ping pong parties to help blow off steam. They didn’t make the Olympics, but they did discover they're really good at throwing parties, so they opened Spin’s first location in NYC in 2009.
The warehouse-like spaces have multiple tables surrounded by bars and high tops. You can pop in for a pickup game or join one of the weekly leagues. League members can tap Spin’s stable of pros for lessons. Graffiti-style artwork adorns the walls and the occasional lounge space is mixed in for patrons who just want to chill. There are now Spin locations in half a dozen cities, including three locations in New York City.
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2. Pips and Bounce
Where it is: Portland, OR
The founders of Pips and Bounce took their ping pong bar concept to Shark Tank. Take that for what it is. The bar started as a series of pop-up ping pong parties (say that five times fast) and grew organically into a table tennis destination that was funded in part by Kickstarter.
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The space has nine top-of-the-line tables scattered throughout three distinct bar areas. You can walk in and rent a table, get a monthly membership, or join a league if you’re looking for regular competition. They also have special black light pong nights.
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3. Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium
Where it is: Atlanta, GA
Why it's great: The best players in the city converge on a single table in the upstairs of this former church that's become a staple of the LGBTQ community in Atlanta, GA. The ping pong is fierce (you win, you stay at the table), and on Saturday nights there’s a drag show occurring at the same time. It’s only a single table, so if it’s busy, you’re going to have to wait to get your chance to shine, but there's no shortage of entertainment.
There are a lot of reasons to love this bar: It's welcoming and inclusive, there's cool artwork, a calendar full of events like tarot readings and comedy sketch shows, and cheap beer. And while the competition is legit, it's not intimidating. Bring your “A” game, or just hang out and watch the show.
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4. Punch Bowl Social
Where it is: Denver, CO; Arlington, VA; Atlanta, GA; Austin Domain, TX; Austin Downtown, TX; Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Indianapolis, IN; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis, MN; Portland, OR; Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Sacramento, CA; San Diego, CA
Why it's great: Another chain with more than a dozen locations all over the U.S., Punch Bowl Social is like the basement I dreamed of having as a kid—full of arcade games, foosball tables, a bowling alley, billiards, bocce…and, yes, ping pong tables. Denver is the original location, but each expansion follows the same vibe—fun games with booze and serviceable bar food.
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It’s more high-end than some of the dive ping pong bars I normally frequent, and the ping pong is more laidback than competitive, but none of that is a knock on the concept. Punch Bowl Social serves its purpose. It’s a great place to find a casual game or take a date to see how they handles a paddle.
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5. Shamrock
Where it is: New Orleans, LA
Why it's great: New Orleans has a vibrant ping-pong scene with a handful of bars sporting tables—plus an organized club where you can take lessons and mingle with other pong lovers a few nights a week at the Hilton Health Club. The Shamrock is a massive bar full of bar games like pool and darts that features an area dedicated to table tennis with tables separated by cages.
Not only does that mean you don’t have to chase an errant ball across the bar, but it means you get to play a ping-pong cage match, which has to be on your bucket list, right? If Punch Bowl Social is date night pong, this is a grittier guys' night pong destination.
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6. AceBounce
Where it is: Chicago, IL
Why it's great: AceBounce is all about the pong. Sure, you’ll find the occasional shuffleboard table in this cavernous space, but it's a bar dedicated to the fine art of ping pong and its rowdier cousin, beer pong. Glow-in-the-dark graffiti adorns the ceiling, which pops when the bar is in “black light” mode.
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Show up to play pick-up games (you rent the table in 90-minute sessions), or book a private event with a “Game Guru” who acts as a ref/coach/comedian to facilitate your table tennis action.
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