Ormsby's is the Westside tavern that turns a basement into a reason to stay all night, packing bocce, skeeball, and shuffleboard around a serious beer list.
The tavern sits below the White Provision building at 1170 Howell Mill Rd NW, in the Westside stretch that runs on converted warehouses. USA Today's 10Best describes it as a classic neighborhood tavern with an extensive craft beer selection and classic cocktails, and the games are the hook that sets it apart. Backgammon, bocce, darts, pool, skeeball, and shuffleboard all live under one roof here.
The room
Ormsby's reads like a finished basement built for adults, with brick, low ceilings, and game areas marked out across the floor. The bocce court is the centerpiece, and it draws a crowd that rotates through teams all evening. As a former bartender, I like that the bar stays a real bar, with people pouring and talking rather than just running tabs for the games.
What to order
Lead with the craft beer list, which is the program the tavern is known for and the safest read on the kitchen's taste. Order a round of pub plates to share between bocce frames, since the food is built for grazing while you play. Cocktails are solid, but on a games night the beer keeps the table moving better.
The crowd and best time to go
The crowd is Westside locals, office groups blowing off steam, and friend groups who came for the bocce court. Thursday through Saturday is the peak, with a late 3am close on Friday and Saturday that turns it into a real night-out option. Wednesday afternoons open at noon and stay quiet, the best window to actually claim a game. Parking on the Westside is its own challenge, since the White Provision deck and the Howell Mill lots fill fast on weekend nights. Arrive before the dinner rush or use a rideshare, because circling for a space cuts into the time you could spend on the bocce court.
What regulars say
Across more than 800 Yelp reviews, the games and the beer list drive the praise, with the bocce court named again and again as the reason groups stay for hours. USA Today's 10Best singles it out as a Westside nightlife pick, and regulars treat the basement setting as a feature rather than a quirk. The repeated note is that it works best with a crowd, since the games reward a full table.
The common complaint is that weekend nights get packed and the game areas back up, so a Friday visit can mean waiting for a court. Come earlier in the week to play without a line. The trade is a tavern that turns a normal night into something to do.
Who it is for
This is for groups who want something to do besides stare at a screen, beer drinkers who like a deep list, and anyone who treats skeeball as a competitive sport. Skip it if you want a quiet, seated dinner, because the energy here is built around the games. For more, see our guide to the best sports bars in Atlanta, the wider sports bars index, and the full Atlanta bar guide.
The verdict
Ormsby's works because it gives a group a job, then backs it with a beer list worth lingering over. The bocce court and the taps do the heavy lifting, and the basement setting keeps it feeling like a find rather than a chain. Bring a group, claim a game early in the week, and let the beer list pick the rounds. For another Atlanta room built on games, compare The Painted Pin.
Sources: Ormsby's official site (2026); Yelp reviews; USA Today 10Best; OpenTable.
