Best place to play pool
The Boston Billiard Club remains on top in this category, maybe because the managers are smart enough not
to mess with a good thing. Nothing is going to upstage the 42 pool tables here, and the regulars see no
reason to do away with such traditions as ladies' night and unlimited cigar smoke. The bar is well stocked
and clean, and the clientele is anything but intimidating. After all, we don't need to walk onto the set of
The Hustler to pretend to be Paul Newman.
A few blocks away is our runner-up in this category, Jillian's Boston, which has a more diverse array of
diversions. Besides the 50 pool tables, there are some 200 video and electronic games, six full bars, a
full-service dining area, and a dance floor. It all fits in seamlessly with the noisy adult playground
known as Lansdowne Street. Indeed, Jillian's is now a veteran player on the Kenmore Square scene: the first
link in what is now a national chain, it opened in 1988, when pool was just starting to become cool again.
Boston Billiard Club, 126 Brookline Avenue, Boston, (617) 536-7665; Jillian's, 145 Ipswich Street, Boston, (617) 437-0300.
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