Thirsty Thursdays: 12 Bars in Kingston, Jamaica I Visited

“Let’s get together and feel alright” – Bob Marley.

Jamaica’s capital Kingston has an abundance of bars and I merely sampled a few. On my jaunt here, I managed to visit 11 bars. Well actually it was 12. Each had their own quirks and vibes and it’s taken me a while to jot this down, I wanted to make sure this was not one of the thousands of travel blog posts that was destined not to ever be written…so here, quickly are those 12 bars…before I forget what I did in life.

1.Bob Marley’s House Bar, Saint Andrew

Well this was living the dream really. Have you ever drank a Red Stripe beer in Bob Marley’s back garden? Well I have and you can too. Do it because you can.

Simply book a tour of Bob Marley’s house and museum and grab a beer or any drink in the bar here. The tour isn’t cheap for a 25 spot and they stop you from taking photos and videos inside his actual house. But you can bring your carryout in with ye and say ye had a beer in Marley’s house and back garden.

In fact you can have a drink here without even booking the tour but I wanted to see the Marley gaff. Bob and Rita survived a shooting here in the late 1970s so I did the tour as well. Insightful and essential if not mindblowing.

Drink – Red Stripe 4 JD
Address – Bob Marley’s House, 56 Hope Rd, Kingston, Jamaica

2.Usain Bolt’s Tracks And Records, Saint Andrew

Once I heard that Usain Bolt owns a swanky sports bar in Kingston, I knew I had to visit it. This place rocks it all up with football on the multiple screens, Bolt photos and memorabilia on the walls and good food. I already covered it in Friday’s Featured Food.

I loved it. Class. I popped in for jerk chicken tacos, a Sorrel Beer and live football. It’s also pretty close to Marley’s House so easy to backpack this legendary brace. It’s textbookily called Usain Bolt’s Tracks And records.

Drink – Royal Jamaican Sorrel Beer
Address – Usain Bolt’s Tracks And Records, 67 Constant Spring Rd, Kingston, Jamaica

3.Dancehall Hostel Bar, Queensbury

Chill in the bar where Shaggy recorded his album Midnite Lover. As well as drinking here I also slept here as the complex has The Dancehall Hostel as well as the bar, a rooftop balcony and the recording studio for Cell Block. I chilled out with producer Syl Gordon, the man behind so much creativity here. You can have a drink with him and delve into the history of Dancehall, Reggae and Ska.

Drink – Jamaican Rum, Red Stripe, Blue Curacao – I had a few drinks here!
Address – Dancehall Bar and Hostel, 321 Molynes Road & 11 Embers Way, Kingston 19, Jamaica |  1-876-827-6761 Email:[email protected]

4.Spotlight Sports Bar, Hughenden

I visited a few bars in my local neighbourhood, usually having just a beer in each one. I popped in here for a swift bottle of Stripey Red and mingled with the locals. It was also right opposite the football pitch of local club Maverley and Hughenden and on this very pitch, Raheem Sterling once played as he was born nearby.

Drink – Red Stripe beer 3JD
Address -100, 100 1/4 Molynes Rd, Hughenden, Kingston, Jamaica

5.KeRoDo’s Bar, Grill & Gaming, Queensbury

In here I met the owner Kevin and the bar girl who had a cool name – Shakie! I also heard they do a Topless Fridays option but on my trip it wasn’t on unfortunately although the bar girl admitted that she and the other girls have no qualms in getting the nippies out on such evenings as the music pumps. A chilled out culture. I sipped an ice cold Dragon Stout here.

Drink – Dragon Stout 3.50 JD
Address – 147 Molynes Road Across From Sunrise Drive, Kingston, Jamaica

6.The Corner Bar, Queensbury

Jamaica is pretty chilled out. Anywhere can be a bar and I never saw anyone getting stopped for drinking in public. This is basically Cornerbar and Cornershop all in one. I just popped by for a quick Red Stripe for 3 Jamaican Dollars late at night. It was round the corner from my hostel and had music pumping.

Drink – Red Stripe 3 JD
Address – Corner at Molynes Road, Queensbury, Kingson, Jamaica

7.Cook Shop, Queensbury

The Cook Shop was definitely the closest bar to my hostel, Dancehall Hostel. It’s around the corner before you even get to Mario’s and it is by a field. During the day it mostly sells chicken and they cook food. At night, people hang out smoking and drinking here. I tried the Rum Milk here for the first time which was decent!

Drink – Rum Milk 5JD
Address – Gardens at Molynes Road, Queensbury, Kingston, Jamaica

8.Mario’s Bar, Queensbury

This little bar was local to me as well and part of a strip of bars. I drank with Mario, the owner.

Drink – Red Stripe 3 JD
Address – Chancery Street, Queensbury. Kingston, Jamaica

9.Paula’s Bar, Queensbury

This was another local bar, within walking distance of the Dancehall Hostel and right next door to Mario’s. I didn’t want to give my business only to one of them, so I had a beer in each to keep both Paula and Mario happy. Chill out zone here.

Drink – Red Stripe 3 JD
Address – Chancery Street, Queensbury. Kingston, Jamaica

10.Kingston Jerk, New Kingston

I headed to the famous Kingston Jerk to eat jerk chicken and festival. This bar and restaurant complex is all you’d expect. Jerk chicken available, outdoor garden with wooden hut style bar, showing football and serving ice cold beers and cocktails.

Eat – Kingston Jerk
Drink – I skipped it here actually and drank only my water!
Address – 2 Chelsea Ave, Kingston, Jamaica

11.Pete’s Bakery, Maverley

This place didn’t actually sell alcohol but does good fast food and fresh bread. However, on the balcony, you could bring your own beer (can buy it nearby at the shop and petrol station) and watch the world go by.

Drink – Red Stripe 4 JD
Address – 96d Molynes Rd, Kingston, Jamaica

12.Bonus Ball – Airport Bar – The “Pele” Bar

As a final salute to my time in Jamaica I had a beer in the bar at Kingston International Airport.I chose a Red Stripe. Just after i drank it i logged into the Wi-Fi here where I learnt that Pele had just died. It was weird as in here I then met a roadie from The Grateful Dead!! I certainly won’t forget it – this is the bar I was in when Pele died. I remembered I had been on a computer in November 2005 in Bournemouth University’s Open Access Centre when I learnt that George Best died, and I was in a teaching office in Warsaw in 2020 when I learnt that Diego Maradona died.

Drink – Red Stripe 4 JD
Address – Norman Manley International Airport, W6PC+FC, Port Royal, Jamaica

13.Bejon’s Sports Bar And Restaurant

I had also wanted to visit Bejon’s bar – this looked cool. It had a balcony overlooking a car park but sadly there was a bank holiday the day I walked by and it was closed. So it’s my unlucky 13.

Drink – None because it was shut
Address – 20, 111B Molynes Rd, Kingston, Jamaica

Here are some videos from my time in the bars of Kingston, Jamaica: