Columbia, Missouri night life and food?

Don't walk alone.

shilohs is one of the main bars I think, and there's a pizza place that is popular. If you've been to Athens, columbia is somewhat similar in setup just not as big. There's a lot of places in a concentrated area that you can walk around. When I was there we also hit up a place called blue note that might have a band playing.

Well, I still live in Columbia... so here are my personal favorites.

Gotta hit-
Harpos- heart of downtown, can get busy though on gameday.
Piano Bar (Penguin is official name)- late night, 10 pm or so.

Shakespeares- Not my favorite pizza, but most visitors seem to like it.

Depending on age- Bengals bar- 24 and under
Shiloh's- 25-40ish
Campus Bar and Grill (we call it Big 12)- varies on gamedays, but good food
Booches (old pool hall)

Places on campus to see: The Columns/quad, Ride the Tiger(also on quad), Journalism School?- They have some cool ancient stuff, Student Center (relatively new)

Mostly just walk around campus, its very pretty. Campus and Downtown (bars etc) meet on the north side. Every notable place is within walking distance from downtown. The Stadium is on the south side of campus, but not terrible. Everything is basically pedestrian first, which is great.

Have fun!

Shakespeares is good pizza but will be closed Thanksgiving (at least I think). There's decent dining overall, but your options here will probably be limited on Thursday. Flat Branch, Addisons, Sophia's, and Sycamore to name a few options. There's typically some places that will do a Thanksgiving buffet depending on how early yall get to town (Boone Tavern used to do this and I loved it, but they're now closed).

Shiloh, Booches and Harpos are some of the staples for the "downtown" bar scene.

If I hear anything about restaurant openings and such, I'll try to update here. Have a good time!

A lot of good replies. Thanks to everyone that has helped.

In terms of age range we are all 24. So we are kind of on the border of both age groups for bars that someone posted.

Anyone know of a sports bar that will be open on Thanksgiving that I can watch the LSU vs Texas A&M game at?

That pizza place and BBQ sound pretty good. That close to Kansas City the BBQ should be pretty good, right?

Grab a few sliders and beers at Booches - it's an old pool hall downtown that has been operating downtown since the 1870s. Best cheap food in town.

CJs is a great downtown option for some good hot wings and beer; the place has odd hours though so you'll have to check beforehand.

Shakespeare's is a popular, local pizza place. The original is downtown and seems to attract a lot of tourists but I honestly think it's a bit overrated. Still good, though.

For finer dining, I recommend Sycamore (downtown) and CiCi's City Broiler (no, not the shitty pizza chain; it is not downtown, however).

For bars, it depends on your age but there are tons of options downtown but IMO the best college bars/gameday bars are: Harpos, Bengals, Campus (called Big 12), Shiloh (slightly older crowd), and Willies/Fieldhouse.

If it's decently warm out, check out Tropical Liqueurs for a tasty alcoholic slushy (downtown, it's a local favorite).

For late night/drunk food, hit up El Rancho and order some nachos. It's cheap, greasy, and delicious. Expect a line out the doors when bars close.


Edit: for live music, check out the Blue Note, Penguin Piano Bar, Murry's (not downtown), Nash Vegas (relatively new country bar, I haven't personally been), Mojos, or the Blue Fugue (not a personal recommendation on the last one, but I know people that like it).