Mash

5 stars for the vibes, 4 stars for the music and drinks, 3 stars for the service, and negative brownie points for the ridiculous line to get in.
I love the live music (usually cover bands), the chalk writing on the walls and rafters (BYO chalk), and the reasonably priced drinks. Despite the line to get it, Mash is never actually packed, which is annoying when you’re standing out in the cold, but enjoyable when you’re inside and always have enough space to move around.
Tips: arrive before 9pm, be aggressive at the bar to place your order, more of a group spot than a date spot.

What to say about mash? I’ve been here twice. Once for a happy hour and once to meet some people around 9PM on a Friday.
Mash is: hard to find, in a basement, usually crowded, LOUD and has decent drinks and food.
Mash is not: a good place to get drunk cheap, or go if you want to have a conversation.
Get the fried pickles.

My friends and I went here last night as part of a birthday bar crawl. This was the third place we went to after the host of Blue Tractor told us he didn’t have room for our party at the time.
First Impression: Pretty cool little scenery. Walking down into the basement and around the corners… it makes you feel like you’re in a cave. As we were having our ID’s checked we could see a small band playing. Live music is always cool.
My largest complaint was the smell. I am hoping it was a one time mishap for someone who had a rough night. But it smelled like vomit throughout the entire bar.
It was quite busy, no open tables, so we claimed a spot in the corner. One of the female bartenders was quite rude, but she seemed stressed from the customers. one of the females we were with was waiting to be served and the bartender asked us if «We were going to order, or what?» When we replied that we were and she brought us our order she was not willing to divvy up the tab and let us pay separately because she was «too busy to do multiple cards». Which whatever, we are smart enough that we can catch each others drinks… elsewhere because after that we weren’t really willing to stay.
Due to the sass we got from the bartender, the over sugary mixed drink, and the smell we rated this place on the lower end. However, i have only heard good things of this place before and we might be back for a second try eventually.

Just went to Mash for after dinner drinks. I thought my husband would like the atmosphere and the bourbon. Turns out he was in a beer mood so got a flight of beer, but didn’t like 3 of the 5 beers. I got a wine cocktail which was a little odd but fairly tasty. I don’t usually mix my wine with other alcohols but it tasted good and sweet, just the way I like it.
The walls were cool, all wood with little pieces of chalk lying around so you can write on them. There was a guy there also playing live music (country/​classic rock etc).

SETTING:
Especially because you need to follow a stairway downstairs, it feels like you’re walking down into a cave. With the yellow lighting, and chalkboard walls with people documenting their names and journey, the only thing missing are those stalagmites. Or maybe they had those at one point, and it turned out to be a hazard. But then, maybe they should hand out hard hats with those head lamps on them!
Still, I’m liking the vibe. Mostly grad students or working young professionals.
DRINKS:
Got the Suffering Bastard. Mashed orange and lime slices with bourbon, gin and ginger beer. Nothing suffering about this drink! And what does it say about the person who orders it?! I’m a bit offended! If I was supposed to start crying and feeling incredibly sorry for myself, then this drink failed because I was feeling pretty good!
SERVICE:
Typical bar service. They can get busy, but they do their best going down the line.
IMPRESSIONS:
I like the venue and atmosphere. Very laid back place with a diverse crowd of young adults who just want to have a good time.

This is a fun place to go and dance, drink from an assortment of beers & cocktails, and enjoy live music!
They have live music every night of the week (for the most part) except on monday’s.
the crowd is a good (often even) blend of locals and students. I’ve been in here on nights and seen a lot of students or young professionals, other nights I’d see a lot of familiar faces I’d recognize from other local bars, and one time I was here and an officer was out with fellow law enforcement colleagues having celebrating a birthday.
The place is great, every time I’ve been everyone is always nice and there is such a good positive vibe in the place its often a wonder why they even have security there :-)
when you first walk in down the set of stairs, to the left is a nice area (if you can manage to grab a table) to sit and relax with more of an intimate feeling.
If you walk around the bar there is a long bench against the wall with a couple of long tables set up there for big groups.
In the room with the live music there are multiple C shaped booths with tables large enough for a few people to share. In the same room there is also a number of tables/​chairs spread around for premium front row seating for the band!
This is a certainly a hometown favorite that I will continue to visit and enjoy for as long as I’m in Ann Arbor.

Very good drink menu, one of my favorites in AA. Lots of options and I love the craft beer cocktails. Very crowded and busy on the weekend. A dark cool atmosphere.

This is a very cool brew pub/​bar with some very tasty craft beers and cocktails. Always love a place with live music and huge Bourbon list how can you go wrong here one of my wife’s and my new favs.

Five stars only one visit needed! Fucking cool place, cool look, cool bar tender, good fucking food what else can you ask for

Came for New Year’s Eve. Short line that moved fairly quickly, but not quick enough for the freezing cold. No cover which was awesome.
Got the Honey Mash which was really good, and tried my friend’s Ginger Mash which was also good.
Live band downstairs, not overly crowded, good ambiance/​décor, crowd consisted mainly of grad students and young working professionals. Looks like there’s a good happy hour– would come again.

[3.5 stars] Back again with another group of grad students last night. Didn’t eat any food this time. Got the Summer Lover again and actually had two. But tonight the back room wasn’t closed for a reserved party so we sat on a booth and listened to live music! The Jake Lives Band was amazing! The did Stevie Wonder, AC/​DC, John Legend, Black-​Eyes Peas and more. People were really tryna groove and dance too. I want to give 3.5 stars this time. Still need to try their food to see if it improves and I’m not a fan of many of their few cocktails but the atmosphere is pretty good.

I really wanted to love this place, but I just kinda like it. We came in here for drinks and trivia last night. I don’t know if it was because it was a Tuesday, but there was service at the bar only — no waitstaff. There was a decent-​sized party in the bar (probably 15 people or so) and it was moderately crowded when we got there.
The service suffered a little. I only noticed two guys working the bar the entire night. A fairly heavy load for two people to tend to about 60 people’s needs. Plus they had to run food, etc.
The atmosphere was very cool and it is a place where I could definitely see myself wanting to spend a night catching up with friends over drinks. The trivia guy was a little over-​the-​top for my tastes, but serviceable nonetheless. The game did drag on a little longer than I like though.
I really think adding one server to go around and tend to the tables would do a lot for the overall enjoyment aspect at this place.
Really enjoyed the beer though. And the whiskey selection was unreal.

Had the best bartender, Ellen, last week. She was efficient, patient and fun to talk to!