West End PB

While Rocky's goes full Chicago sports bar and La Huasteca commits to slow-cooked birria, West End operates in the sweet spot between dive bar and neighborhood hangout — no theme, no gimmick, just billiards, darts, and a patio where you can nurse a beer without someone trying to upsell you into bottle service. It's the kind of place that works equally well for a solo pint at 2pm or a group brunch on Sunday, which is rarer in PB than it should be.

The brunch menu surprised people precisely because it doesn't try to be precious — approachable, decently priced, faster than you'd expect from a spot with pool tables. Rick on the patio gets called out by name in reviews, which tells you everything about the regular crowd here. This is a locals spot in the truest sense: people show up because they know what they're getting, not because they're chasing a scene.

The beer selection skews craft-local without being exhaustive, and the liquor list covers the basics plus enough variety to make an actual cocktail if you want one. Pool tables stay busy but not so busy you can't get a game, and the patio gives you a breather from Garnet Avenue's strip-mall energy without stranding you blocks from everything else.

Parking is typical north-end PB — easier than the boardwalk blocks, still not guaranteed. Come for weekday happy hour if you want elbow room, or roll in for brunch if you're tired of waiting 45 minutes for eggs somewhere with an Instagram wall. It's a pub that knows what it is and doesn't apologize for it, which makes it exactly the kind of place that sticks around while trendier spots cycle through.