Clink. drinks inside a former jail. The Liberty Hotel kept the original iron cell bars, and the room leans into the gimmick without letting it run the kitchen. Come for the building, stay for a properly mixed drink.
Clink. sits inside the Liberty Hotel at 215 Charles Street in Beacon Hill, on the edge of the Charles River. The hotel is the old Charles Street Jail, a national historic landmark that held prisoners until 1990 and reopened as a luxury hotel in 2007. The architects left the catwalks and the wrought-iron cell doors in place, and Clink. drinks among them.
The theme could have been a tourist trap. It mostly is not. The kitchen serves contemporary American food with a New England seafood lean, and the bar runs a competent cocktail list rather than a novelty one. The setting does the heavy lifting; the drinks just have to keep up, and they do.
For where this fits in town, see our Boston cocktail bars guide, the broader Boston bar guide, and our Boston hotel bars roundup. It also appears in our list of the top 10 cocktail bars in Boston for visitors who want a drink with a story attached.
What to order
- 01
Seasonal House Cocktail
The bar rotates a short list of signatures. Start here; it is where the bartenders show their hand.
$17 - 02
Classic Manhattan
A jail-themed bar should be able to build a Manhattan without theatrics. This one can.
$16 - 03
Raw Bar Selection
The New England seafood is the genuine strength of the kitchen. A few oysters at the bar is the local move.
$22 - 04
Negroni
Reliable, well-balanced, and the right drink to sip while you stare at the iron cell doors overhead.
$16 - 05
Weekend Brunch Cocktail
Clink. runs a Saturday and Sunday brunch. The brunch drinks are a quieter, better-value way to see the room.
$14
The room and the crowd
The bar sits under the hotel's preserved atrium, with the old catwalks and cell bars overhead and soft modern lighting below. It is dramatic without being dark, and it photographs better than most hotel bars in the city.
The crowd is a mix of hotel guests, Beacon Hill locals, and out-of-towners who came for the building. Yelp carries close to 500 reviews, and the steady note is that the setting delivers and the service holds up, even when the room fills on weekends.
What regulars say
- 01
Come for the building first
Reviewers are clear: the converted jail is the draw, and it lives up to the photos.
- 02
The seafood is the real food
Maps reviews repeatedly point to the raw bar and New England plates over the broader menu.
- 03
Weeknights are calmer
Regulars suggest a weeknight visit if you want to actually take the room in rather than fight for a stool.
Who it is for
- 01
Visitors who want a drink with a story
The jail history makes this a memorable first or last night in Boston.
- 02
A hotel-bar nightcap
A polished, well-lit room for a quiet, considered drink.
- 03
Avoid if you want a neighbourhood dive
This is a luxury hotel bar with luxury hotel prices. Set expectations.
Pair this bar with
Build a Beacon Hill and downtown night with The Hawthorne in Boston, the grand Eastern Standard in Boston, and the more intimate Yvonne's in Boston.
Sources: Clink.'s official site (clinkboston.com, 2026); Liberty Hotel site; BostonChefs; OpenTable; Yelp reviews (n=495); Google Maps reviews.