Joe's Bar

Hustle bustle and local flavor plus a museum collection of animals worldwide. A very well known pub in Ligonier. One of a kind I'm sure. Great time. Huge bar.

This bar is a liminal space. Unassuming exterior. Regular smoking dive bar in the front. Super friendly bartender and really cheap drinks. Bathroom was ridiculously clean. Nothing I can write will prepare you for what you will experience when you continue to the back of the bar. I don't want to spoil it. I will say, if you have a problem with hunting and taxidermy, do not come here. It is a feast for the eyes. Enjoy.

Joe's is the classic smoky dive - bent barstools and all - and an incredible display of preserved animals from African and other hunts. Ya don't see that every day! Worth a drop in for sure - go upstairs.

Ok ... Joe's is well worth the stop. It is odd though (Ligonier is odd in general, quaint but a strange little town). The drinks are cheap, place is cash only, the oval bar is in classic dive form and there's not much to see. It feels like most midwestern neighborhood bars. Until you get to the back room and the upstairs. WOW! The collection of taxidermy is really astounding. The place is part grandpa's den, part natural history museum, and part art project. It is fully bizarre. I don't know why it exists but it does and it's one of few places open til 2am in the town. Worth the stop.

Absolutely awesome. If you are anywhere near this place you must go there now. Classic dive bar backed up by the most awesome collection of taxidermy on Earth. I am a progressive liberal who doesn't hunt and I loved it. Most animals were hunted 30, 40, 50 years ago before they were endangered. I can't believe NatGeo or the history channel hasn't done a special on this place. Nothing else like it

As a stand alone bar, it's a 1.5 star- being generous! It's bare open bar area with smoke caked into every aspect of the building. Beer is cheap- 2 beers off tap ran $5 and change! However this is not just a bar!!!! This place has more taxidermy than some museums!!! And not just typical animals... Many that are now endangered and probably would never see in real life. A rhino, giraffe, elephant, polar bear, lions, sea lion, snakes, bald eagle... On and on. Be sure you walk up the spiral staircase and see the THREE additional full rooms upstairs!!!The display is so magnificent that I felt in awe and horrified all at once. Eventually, I reasoned that these animals are already deceased, so my looking at them is actually honoring their sacrifice... maybe i just over thought it. but hey! it was 9pm on a Friday in nowhere PA and I did NOT expect to see this... If you happen to be nearby- GO and visit!!!Please thumb up/comment if you liked this review and I would count it a privilege if you chose to follow me as I review places I travel and visit. Thank you for taking the time to read! ~mp

So my Uncle Chris took me out for a western PA outskirts style bar crawl and this was one of the stops. We walk in. 75 cent beers, $1.50 glass of wine. Our total bill was the cost of a drink anywhere else. They had some old school bowling skee ball game, and then my uncle tell's me there's something i have to see in the back. So we step back to see all these huge stuffed (dead) animals. I'm not talking like deer heads and a set of antlers, maybe a courtesy nittany lion, seriously, he had a whole elephant. Not to mention zebra's, polar bears, and wild bucks from africa. I was astounded. Not to mention there is a whole 2nd floor that covers the whole span of the bar with more animals. I had seen extinct animals i've never even seen before. It was incredible, and creepy, and that show was free. incredible. if it's still open, you need to see it.I found this excerpt on Joe's:http://www.roadsideamerica.com/roger/QueryTips.php?offset=210&tip_State=PALigonier, Pennsylvania - Joe's Bar - Taxidermy HeavenAt first, Joe's looks like any other small-town bar. But walk beyond the pool table, and you begin to realize there is something unusual at Joe's. Sealed in museum-like glass cases you will find amazing accomplishments of taxidermy -- a giraffe, an elephant's head, rhinocerous, ibex, skunks, tigers, lions, and almost every creature you could possibly shoot to kill. Joe's collection probably exceeds a hundred different species, and you can view them all; no admission or drink purchase necessary. [Carolyn Kegler, 10/22/2001]http://www.flickr.com/photos/eclectio/3169348/in/pool-wierd_pennsylvania/nailed that one on the head.

Pros: cheap beerCons: cheap beer. No selection outside of the swill consumed in mass quantities. The front bar is all wood paneling, and the back is a menagerie of taxidermy. It smelled like stale cheap beer and cigarette smoke. Very very hillbilly. The only thing missing was a rebel flag and Boss Hog. Sorry, but there was nothing I enjoyed about this place.

I visited this outstanding home town bar in ligonier, pa while working on a movie set in the area. Food & drink were excellent.The staff were kind and considerate ,down to earth real people, not like in a big city ,The prices were very affordable and the food was excellent. I also has the opportunity to view some of the most unique taxidermy animals I have ever seen.There Is a Life size Elephant Head 10 feet wide, suspended in the air hanging over the first floor. It's breath taking.There are also many many animals & reptiles to see on two defferent floors.This is so unique and this display should be in Carnegie Hall or the Carnegie Museum. When in the area make it a point it visit this unique location for lunch or dinner or a casual beer.You will be amazed.Sincerely, Douglas

Very cool place. Unique taxidermy museum. Just wish they had a better selection of vodka and we would've stayed longer.