Traditional Values
A former speakeasy with wings so cheap it can’t be legal
I
n-the-know locals know to skip the crowded digs of the nearby North End on Garden game nights and come to the Red Hat for cheap bar food and some character. Opened in 1907, the Red Hat was part of the rowdy Scollay Square red-light district, full of burlesque houses, tattoo parlors, and other bawdy businesses when the city was a major Navy port. A speakeasy during Prohibition, it has managed to withstand the neighborhood’s gentrification (in spite of recent renovations), and has murals on the wall depicting the era when Scollay Square was more about fun than finance. But don’t go there for the art. Go for the 10-cent wings from 5 to 10 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays, spicy but not overpowering, or for the rest of the cheap bar food, the atmosphere, the decent beer selection, and the friendly company. Canal
Shhhh! Named for William Scollay,
the 18th-century owner of the land.
the 18th-century owner of the land.
Shhhh! Milton Berle, the Marx Brothers, Fanny Brice, and George Burns played here, but most famous were the tassel-twirling Ann Corio and Sally Keith.
Shhhh! Most of old Scollay Square was
torn down to build Government Center.
torn down to build Government Center.
Shhhh! In 1987, the city formally
renamed the neighborhood
Government Center at Scollay Square.
renamed the neighborhood
Government Center at Scollay Square.
Shhh who knew
The submarine sandwich was invented in Scollay Square as a gimmick to lure Navy sailors.
These lines serve the Red Hat. Click to find more secrets on your route.
11 Bus, 111 Bus, 4 Bus, 424 Bus, 426 Bus, 428 Bus, 43 Bus, 434 Bus, 441 Bus, 442 Bus, 448 Bus, 449 Bus, 450 Bus, 55 Bus, 92 Bus, 93 Bus, Bowdoin/Blue Line, Charles/MGH/Red Line, Government Center/Blue Line, Government Center/Green Line
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Get directions to the Red Hat by T.
Find more secrets in Beacon Hill, Government Center, North End, West End
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Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
Sunday, noon to midnight.
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