8 Boston bars with cozy fireplaces

Boston winter is coming whether anyone wants it to or not. The useful response is to know which bars have an actual fireplace, then get there before every nearby seat is taken by someone nursing one drink for three hours.

A few of these are restaurants with very good bars. We included them because ruling out food would also rule out some of the best fireplaces in the city, which seems unnecessarily strict.

Warren Tavern opened in Charlestown in 1780, and very little about the place suggests anyone has been in a hurry to modernize it. That is exactly why it works.

The low ceilings, old wood, pub food, and fireplace make it the stop on this list that most closely resembles the Boston winter fantasy people have before the wind hits them in the face. Go for a pint and a burger, then stay because it is warmer inside.

Near the State House, 21st Amendment is dark, compact, and refreshingly uncomplicated. There is a fireplace, a full bar, and the kind of pub menu that understands nobody came in from the cold looking for a deconstructed salad.

This is a good choice when you want the fire without turning the night into an occasion. Just know that the seats near it are limited, and Beacon Hill has also heard about fireplaces.

The large stone fireplace toward the back of Capo looks like it belongs in a lodge that somehow ended up serving pasta. Capo says the wood-burning fireplace runs about 18 feet, and it sits beside the open kitchen in the rear dining room.

Capo is louder and busier than the historic taverns on this list, which makes it better for a group dinner or a night when sitting silently beside a fire is not the plan. Order drinks, split some Italian food, and try not to resent whoever got the table closest to the flames.

OAK Long Bar + Kitchen sits inside the Fairmont Copley Plaza and is anchored by an 83-foot copper bar. Beside the open kitchen, a fireplace and wood hearth oven do most of the atmospheric work.

It is polished without requiring you to whisper, and the long bar gives you a reasonable chance of finding somewhere to sit. Come here when you want a martini near a fire and are willing to wear something slightly nicer than the coat you use to shovel.

Across from the Public Garden at The Newbury Boston, The Street Bar has wood paneling, classic cocktails, serious bar food, and crackling fireplaces. It feels like an old Boston hotel bar because that is exactly what it is.

The Street Bar takes walk-ins. Reservations are for Afternoon Tea only. Hotel guests get priority seating, so you may get the fireplace, a window, both, or the chance to stand politely near the entrance.

Walk past the main bar at Yvonne’s and into the Library, where the hand-cut mahogany bar and Locke-Ober’s original gilded fireplace have survived into the building’s current life as a supper club.

This is the dramatic option. The room is dark, the drinks are elaborate, and the fireplace looks like it has witnessed at least one inheritance dispute. Make a reservation if you plan to eat.

The Banks Seafood and Steak has two floors, two bars, and multiple fireplaces in Back Bay. On the first floor, a fireplace sits in the dining area with high tops and booths, so you can enjoy it without fighting for the single most competitive seat in the room. Upstairs adds another bar, more fireplaces, and windows that look onto Trinity Church.

This is where to order oysters, a steak, or a martini and briefly pretend you have always understood hotel-adjacent seafood restaurants.

Bistro du Midi has a casual bar and bistro downstairs, then a more formal dining room upstairs with a second bar, a fireplace, and views across to the Public Garden.

Go upstairs when you want dinner to be the main event. The fireplace is not beside every table, so request a nearby seat when booking and accept that several other people will have had the same very original idea.

Fireplaces are seasonal and may not be lit every night. If the fire is the entire reason you are going, call ahead or mention it when making a reservation.

Also, “has a fireplace” does not mean “will personally reserve the best chair beside it for you at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.” Boston remains Boston.