The Green Top

Great little bar that hasn’t changed in years, pool table and darts right in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo.

Great hometown dive bar. The place is small but we always seem to find a table. It’s awesome that they have a dartboard too. The drinks are strong, the staff is friendly, and they make the BEST lemon drop shots!!! I stop in for them everytime I’m back in town!
I’m not sure if Cody still owns this bar but keep up the good work!

This place is pretty cool! Nice staff, usually has enough parking, good beverages, pool tables, jukebox and patrons. The bathrooms seemed fairly clean. Good job!

With the exception of a few tv’s, this place is like stepping back in time, just without smoking. Perfect place to drink during day then catch a movie at the Alamo…

Classic dive bar, great experience. Came in on a Saturday evening after the Central/​Western football game and had such a good time we came back on Sunday afternoon to watch the NFL games. Really enjoyed talking with all the bartenders, beer was cold and great prices on everything. Can’t ask for anything more than that.

Good place. From reviews I figured place had cheap prices on drinks. Not the case but we weren’t drinking beer either. No complaints. 5 stars. Good dive bar.

Best personalities in town. Food fresh made and always delicious. Try the chili dogs!

I don’t always slam a shot at lunch, but when I do, it’s at The Green Top.
My person and I did some last minute holiday shopping downtown and made the grave mistake of not eating lunch before we started our journey. Luckily, The Green Top was just around the corner– literally.
The bartender-​server-​cook (BSC) extraordinaire was awesome + he accepted me, sweatpants and all, in the middle of the day.
They had a fair amount of what appeared to be regulars at the bar, but the BSC still came right over to us sitting at a table. He didn’t rush us to order, and since there was no draft list, he took the time to list and describe all the beers they had– cool beans.
After ordering from what was a typical dive menu, the BSC went right to the kitchen and started cooking the meal himself. I stopped watching him and began to converse with my person and I thought I wouldn’t our BSC again until he brought us our food. When all of a sudden KA-​POW, BSC extraordinaire comes up and sets three shot glasses at our table and informed us that he was trying something new.
I forget the name of the shot he made, but it can best be described as Christmas in your mouth… I’m not sure if Mrs. Claus would approve, but I think Santa would be proud.
My only side note is that after it was all said and done the bill took a bit longer than expected; it eventually was brought over by the one other employee there, but who can blame them when they’re practically running the joint by their onesies!
Very satisfied.

A true dive bar. The drinks are large and cheap. I haven’t tried the food, so I can’t comment on that. This is a great place to find an eclectic crowd and a fun time.

Not a dive bar anymore, working class crowd gone, dicey characters gone, regulars that used to almost live in the place gone. What is left is a campus and hipster haunt, the spirit has fled the body. RIP Green Top. I feel privileged to have experienced it at its best.

If you are looking for good strong drinks without any frills this is the place. A great place to duck in for a couple stiff drinks and people watching. It is in a great location for barhopping downtown and the staff is always very friendly. This is always a stop on my nights wandering downtown Kalamazoo.

oh good olé green top! old tavern w/​great drinks specials– always and right in the heart of kzoo

Absolutely one of the best bars in kalamazoo. The crowd is eclectic and interesting, the drinks are strong and inexpensive and the bar staff is fairly nice and will make you hope you’ll be half that cool in your senior years. I always have a good time here.

I love dive bars but this was a little much. The beer was cheap and cold and the bartenders were nice. But the crowd was very drunk and a bit aggressive. May have caught it on an off night though.

great casual dive bar! This place has great atmospher and all the classic beers! Even got Old Style on tap. Fun, relaxing and very casual spot downtown for a good time!

I wish more places were like The Green Top!
I was in Kalamazoo for the night, and was looking for a casual bar to have a few drinks and good time. We spotted TGT and headed straight for the door. This place fit the bill perfectly. It had a pool table, a juke box, several TVs and plenty of seating. We were greeted pretty promptly by out server. I got the idea that this place is run by an elderly couple, as they were the only two servers that night.
Food is decent, drinks are cheap and you get to pick your own music! Great for us (except when some drunk college girls blasted Rhianna).
Last call was ridiculously early in my book. I went to the bar to get another round around 12:50AM and the man behind the bar just shook his head and said they already had last call. «She should have come and told you it was last call.» Since no one had come to our table to let us know, I was surprised. A few minutes later our serve came over to apologize for not giving us last call and offered to get us a beer. She brought it over on the house for the inconvenience. It was really a nice gesture!
All in all: If I’m ever back in «the Zoo» I’ll be back to The Green Top!

This place is near and dear to my heart.
It’s nothing fancy but it’s a breath of fresh (well maybe not so fresh) air in the midst of all the other Wild Bulls and Wine Lofts that reside in Downtown Kalamazoo. If you’re just looking for a cold beer minus the frills, the Green Top is the place.
The bartenders are unfriendly, the bathrooms are a bit scary, and who knows, you may even get your very own song dedicated to you as I once did by some random old man chatting it up at the bar. It’s a good place for some day drinking and the night crowd is very eclectic. The only downfall for some is they close at 1am instead of 2am.

Their 2 drink limit on long island ice tea first sounded crazy until I saw how strong they are. The bar food is good and inexpensive as well as their drinks. Friendly staff and nice crowd.

Very fun to people watch here… oh and drink beer.
Dont pick up any dates here though. Don’t say I didnt warn you.
Also, if you’re gay I do know that some of the regular clientele have been known to be a bit homophobic.

*batman 1.0÷4.0 beers
Nestled right in the heart of Kalamazoo, this place certainly fits in well… if it were the 1970’s. There’s no need for a tweaked out DeLorean, a couple cold ones at Green Top will put you in the same place. Squint your eyes a little as the bartender becomes 20 years younger, disregard the digital display and sounds from the dartboard, and enjoy a pure, classic bar that didn’t succumb to the temptations of the disco era. I’m sure if I was another 20 years wiser, this would be a 3 beer bar, but right now I won’t be returning soon…1 beer.
*captain ron 2.0÷4.0 beers
The Green Top reminds me of any number of bars tucked-​away in Michigan’s majestic Upper Peninsula. Not in the sense that it smells of sweet country air or offers views of unadulterated landscapes, but more in the sense that it has aged independently of almost everything that surrounds it. You’ll find absolutely no attempts to draw-​in a younger, hipper, college crowd. Darts, pool, and no bull-​shit; I like it. They’ve got PBR on tap as well as the obligatory Oberon during the summer months. To write anymore about a bar of such simplicity would be doing it a disservice.
*qclown 2.0÷4.0 beers
I didn’t fight in Vietnam, but I love to be regaled with stories and tales from spooked vets who’ve had too many PBRs. If this is your idea of history class, I suggest you attend the Green Top Tavern Lecture hall. Don’t mind the smoke, dirtyish environment and lack of sex appeal, and breathe in the fumes of Kalamazoo yesteryear. DIVE in.
The numbers:
Average # of twitches of Green Top regular: 2.3
Minimum beers consumed in a Green Top Experience: 5