Dicey Riley’s Bar & Restaurant

Local ratchets I had my iPhone stolen here

Dicey’s is a fixture of the downtown scene. I think the best way to describe it is a basic bar. That’s not meant in the pejorative sense, but it’s a sort of no-​frills kind of place to go have a drink and listen to some music. Making an idiot of yourself with some drunken dancing is optional. No cover is one of the good reasons to be here. This place really gets going later at night. If I could give it 3.5 stars I would.
The actual place is a pretty simple setup. They’ve got two bars, one facing outside as well as inside. They also have a little stage for live acts. There are some narrow passages once it gets busy, so it can be a little hard to navigate. There isn’t much of a dance floor so people pretty much just dance anywhere, you need to perfect your dance and dodge moves if you want to get by quickly.
Speaking of dancing, the music is mostly aimed at the mid 20s-​30s folks. Lots of hits from 5 – 15 years ago. They do play some new stuff as well. Mostly upbeat stuff from a variety of genres, which is appreciated. You’re not going to hear a lot of electronica here. Leave the glow sticks at home (which you should be doing anyways, this isn’t 2005 people).
Bartenders are good here and serve regular pours. Not too heavy, but you are getting what you pay for. Prices are reasonable as well. Nothing fancy here, stick to beers or simple mixed drinks. Service is pretty quick and I’ve never had any issues.
This is a great spot if you want to keep it casual while downtown and just have a couple basic drinks and listen to some tunes you heard in high school. The crowd is cooler than many ‘hip’ spots and it’s always a good time. Solid spot!

We came to this fun bar this past weekend for a bachelorette party (a MASSIVE one, we were 20 girls, whaaaaaa?!), this was *I think* our second stop of the evening. This place was very fun! It was packeddd and just had a very fun vibe. They let us up on the stage area (where the DJ is) and that was super fun! Especially because we had props (inflatable type stuff) and it was really fun poking people with it from above! People love props! Half the dudes would steal it for a bit and poke people themselves, haha. I’d definitely recommend this place if you’re in the mood for a loud, fun, rowdy bar!

I’ve been going to dicey’s every Saturday night for months with my friends and we usually have a great time. The reason for the two stars is for their TERRIBLE bartender Brittany. After work one Friday me and a few of my coworkers ended up at dicey’s. We had a few drinks and one of my friends had a few to many. She went to ask for some water and Brittany refused to give her any! She said she had paying customers to tend to. The bar was no where near as busy as it usually is and we had been buying drinks all night, just not from her. We eventually spoke to the manager and he was every kind and gave my friend some water. The fact that Brittany would rather explain to us why she wouldn’t give us water instead of just filling a cup is ridiculous, she was very rude and all my friends what where there who are regulars all decided that we shouldn’t go there anymore. It’s a shame that one rude bartender could ruin our experience but she did!

Dicey’s never disappoints on a night of bar hopping! The vibe is really chill and always a good time. They play all kinds of music, which is the best part about this place. They play todays hits, hip hop, some early 2000s music (that’s the jam) and some oldies.
This is the spot you come to when you want to sing to the top of your lungs (sorry.) and dance around without being judged. Dicey’s is alwaaaays packed but it adds to the experience. Everyone is packed in there like a can of sardines. But, overall, this is one of my favorite places in Ft. Laudy. Drinks are also reasonably priced!

I really hate to do this because I’ve always liked coming to this bar. The music is always on point and the dance floor usually has some great characters. However, the past year, the bar service has been awful. This past weekend we noticed it was ladies night. The bartender charged us for a well drink. Then the other bartender charged my friend twice for a beer. When the 2^nd bartender noticed her mistake, she informed my friend that the next beer was on the house. Ok no big deal. But when my friend went to get her free beer, the lady bartender snapped on my friend before realizing her mistake. The clincher comes when a 3^rd bartender (trashy tan girl with bad extensions) told my guy friend to «not rush her because she only has 2 hands» after he had been waiting a solid 15 minutes for a drink. I don’t get why the service here is so bad. Either they need to hire more staff that actually want to be there or they’re going to lose business. I prefer to drink at Lucky’s or Brineys where the staff is super friendly, attentive and personable. But at least the DJ at Diceys knows what’s up

I’m surprised I’ve never reviewed this place before! I’ve been here bar hopping a few times and it’s always a good time.
Dicey’s is an «Irish Pub» but the music on a weekend is a total mix. Last time we went there was a mix of 80’s, top 40, a lot of stuff from high school (2000 era) and 90’s stuff. Basically anything dance worthy. The DJ was good and put an EDM mix/​trance beat behind it as well and did a good job of it as well. There is a small stage on top for girls to dance on in case they are being annoyed by guys (or just want to grind on their girlfriends without guys bugging them) which is great. There isn’t a TON of dancing space when the place is packed as this isn’t the biggest place in the world anyway.
There are 2 main bars, one inside and on half in and half out. One side of the «outer bar» actually faces outward into the street, so you can sit on barstools outside if it’s crammed/​hot/​people are dancing inside, which is a nice little design twist. It also lightens up some of the bar traffic on the other side. All of the downtown bars actually let you take your drinks with you out of the clubs around here which is cool when you’re bar hopping so you don’t have to chug something you just bought or chuck it at the door.
This is also a nice lower key place to come on weekends or weeknights to watch sports games, it was PACKED when the Heat were in the finals the last 2 years and of course all of Downtown is a zoo on St. Patrick’s Day (especially here since it’s an Irish place). The awkward statues by the front door can be a bit disorienting at first, and it’s fun to watch people talk to them when they’ve had one too many at the end of the night :)

If you want to listen to bands rather than dance this place is right for you. The cover band I heard was okay. I had a weird experience since I came from a club that was blasting dancing music. This club was a totally different vibe I was not feeling. For me it was a bit more boring. Our group left this place really fast. (I think they were as bored as I was) Maybe I would enjoy this place on a nonclubbing night.

Always A Fun Stop On A Friday Night Bar Crawl!
SITREP
When enjoying a dinner out in the Himarshee Hood of Ft. Lauderdale — or even looking for some fun dance-​trouble to get yerself in — Dicey Riley’s is a fun place to stop in and take a load off!
But mind yer manners — «this is why we can’t have nice things»:
THE SETUP
The mixed drinks are hella cheap ($ 5 was not bad for a rum & coke at 11pm) and there was NO COVER CHARGE! [I don’t know if that has something to do with the long lines like you see at the bars & clubs strewn along the beach, but there was NO pretentiousness here.]
MUSIC IS KICKASS!
Definitely tends towards the folksy/​country side — especially when that dynamic duo is playin on the bandstand — but it still was broad enough to enjoy several different beats, and I STILL got to do a swing-​dance with Alma, so the stop here was pretty sweet!
THE LOWDOWN
The fun kickin & hoppin stop in the Himarshee hood of Ft. Lauderdale!

Another wild party spot in downtown Ft Lauderdale with an American bar feel to it, decorated all in wood and with a feel of an Western bar it will make you feel comfortable to enjoy the night with your friends.
They start their night with live music and as the night progress they have a DJ to play the today’s and yesterday’s tunes and the crowd will get wild on the dance floor.
They have basic drinks and their service bar can be quick, so you won’t be stuck waiting forever to drink something. Because they really get busy,
It’s nothing extraordinary but certainly a solid spot to have a great night fun night with your friends.

This place is classic. Come here for your 3^rd drink. It’s crowded but the music and people are fun to dance with! Tip your bartender!

As I mentioned in my review of America’s Backyard, I don’t really like any of the bars/​clubs in downtown Fort Lauderdale, however, I love to go out, so I don’t really have any choice. That being said, Dicey’s is probably my favorite bar/​club downtown. There is no cover charge and I love that no matter what time you go, you will always find people dancing. I also love the music they play– a mix that is heavy on 80s and 90s, light on top 40, with some sprinklings of Motown and Spanish music. This is the kind of place where you are able to belt along to any song, and everyone else is singing along with you! My only music related complaint is that they use the same playlist almost every single night (I go pretty often). They play the same songs in the same order night after night. It’s so bad that I am now able to predict which song will play next. The DJ should definitely work on mixing it up!
As for drink prices, I couldn’t really tell you… the bar is always soooo crowded that I have never even attempted to make my way over there.

Of the clubs/​bars I’ve been to in the area, this is mine and my girlfriends favorite. The name doesn’t really fit the style of bar that it is but I don’t really care. They play the same music over and over every weekend, but hey, it’s good music for the most part. I actually don’t drink so I’ve never even given them a dime. Great times for free for me at Dicey’s.

My Go to bar when down in riverfront. Nice crowd you fill find a lot of young professionals there not your typical bar in riverfront full of barely legal kids. On weekends they have a live band and a variety of music. Chill place to hang out even get a little dance in. The The downstairs bartenders are always quick and friendly and you even got an option to get a bite. Pretty decent burgers for a good price. Even when bar hoping i always tend to stick around this one for the majority of the night. I have met and networked with some great people in the past years.

Nothing special here. Just the same as the other spots on Himarshee.

Super impressed by this place. Was up in Fort Lauderdale from Miami to celebrate a friend’s birthday on Saturday night and ended up here after going to some lame bars that were playing boring electronic lounge music. I must say I’m a fan of the DJ on June 28^th. He even played Spice Girls and *Nsync, which totally made me and any other female that grew up in the 90’s turn up. I don’t know what his name was, just that he was cute.
I thought the bartenders were great. The ladies were friendly and prompt. I didn’t wait any crazy amount of time for a drink. Actually, I was pretty impressed there was space to sit along the bar.
We will totally be back.

Fun place to go out with a few friends or a big group! Most weekend nights there is live music and they play great stuff. I have been going there for about 5 years. Drinks are cheap and people are friendly.
This past weekend I had an issue there for the first time ever. This tourist, a-​hole (sorry!!) was sitting in a chair and got up to go dance. Leaving the empty stool at the bar. Since no one was around it, and he was gone for 5 minutes I took the stool to sit down. He literally ripped it from my hands and started laughing. I gave it to him after a quick lecture on chivalry and when he got up again to use the bathroom same thing happened. This time the bar tender immediately told him to cool it, asked me if I wanted him removed and poured my boyfriend and I some shots on the house :). Like I said, the people here are friendly, even if some crabby men sometimes slide in.
Fun place!

GREAT PLACE FOR A BEER AND TO KILLS SOME TIME. I came here in the late afternoon and there is really not too much to say about itl. It’s great for friends to come after work and enjoy a few beer and watch the world go by. Thank you Sir may I have another?

I sort of thought Dicey Riley’s was going to be an Irish bar but other than serving Guinness it’s just another loud scream and shout, somewhat gimmicky dive bar located on a street full of what is pretty much all the same.
Nothing seems to get going here until late and then generally only late on Friday and weekend nights. They have bands, typically worn out rock types of questionable talent other than the ability to play loud, sometimes shot girls and rather pretentious try to be cool bartenders, but when they don’t have bands there are usually DJ’s spinning whatever pleases. The patrons are mostly late mid twenty to late thirty somethings, a number of good lookers, some obviously with high hopes of being molested… not to the exclusion of me, mostly downtown city workers along with some straggling tourists, too old to be in the raver set but in spite of that fact bent upon and in fact all seemingly having a good time of it.
What is interesting about this section of street area, commonly known as the Himmarshee District, is that this cluster of small privately run businesses have somehow managed not only to sustain their popular late night and weekend appeal but in fact have managed to drive those developer enticed businesses of the nearby 80 million dollar Riverwalk Development into bankruptcy.
For what Dicet Riley’s is, a rather rowdy dive bar, OK, but nothing more than that.

This place gets a solid 4 stars from me. I’ve been here a few times in the past with friends when we were in the area, I was here in July with a bunch of other Unilocalers after we’d attended another event across the street, and a few of us stopped here again in late December after watching the Winterfest Boat Parade at Riverwalk, which is only about a block away. This is also a great place to come after seeing performances at the nearby Broward Performing Arts Center to have a beverage while waiting for the traffic and parking lots to empty out.
Every time I’ve come to Dicey Riley’s I’ve had a good time. They’ve got lots of different beers on tap (including Guinness), they’ve got plenty of seating at the large rectangular bar in the middle of the place, at the drink rail on the far left wall, or at the smaller bar near the front entrance, and there’s also seating available outside at a few tables on the sidewalk.
They’ve usually got a live band or a DJ spinning nearly every night, and there are almost always people on the dance floor. Since the 2 main entrances to the place (one at the front and one in the front corner) and the entire front section of the bar are usually open to the outside, that means it doesn’t get too stuffy in here, either. That’s a definite bonus, as this place definitely gets packed, especially on the weekends.
While they have lots of eclectic items and photos lining the walls and hanging or sitting in different places, one of my favorite features of this place, though I’m not really sure why it’s here, is the giant fire engine they have hanging above the front bar, complete with working emergency lights. The past few times I’ve been here, they’ve also had some eclectic patrons as well. In July, about 4 or 5 teams of kick ball players showed up after their games to have some drinks, and when we were here in December, about 25 people dressed as Santa Claus or naughty Mrs. Santa showed up during some kind of holiday pub crawl. All of these kinds of things come together to make Dicey Riley’s one of the most fun, and sometimes interesting places in this part of Ft. Lauderdale.