Downtown Jacksonville Cocktail Bars: Pick the Room

Name: Cowford Chophouse
Address: 101 E Bay St, Jacksonville, FL, US
Price range: $$$$

Dos Gatos and The Volstead are both real cocktail bars, but they solve two different nights.

Downtown has two true cocktail bars worth knowing first. Choose Dos Gatos when the Florida Theatre or a bigger, louder room is part of the night. Choose The Volstead when the drink and the conversation are the whole plan.

Room	Go here when	What you walk into	Useful location
Dos Gatos	You want energy before or after a show	A front cocktail bar plus a larger back room with a dance floor, stage, and DJ booth	Directly across from the Florida Theatre
The Volstead	You want whiskey, cocktails, and a room where people can talk	A smaller Prohibition-style lounge built around classic and seasonal cocktails	Adams Street, near the downtown core

If the view matters more than the cocktail list

Cowford Chophouse gives you a downtown rooftop, a full bar, and a dinner that can carry the whole night. The brewery rooftop near the stadium is no longer an option. Intuition Ale Works closed permanently on April 24, 2026, even though its old website is still live.

Details checked September 27, 2026 against the current Dos Gatos and Volstead sites. Open the venue profile before a long drive because event schedules can change.

Venues in this guide

Dos Gatos

Downtown · $$

A cocktail lounge on Forsyth across from the Florida Theatre, open since 2009, which in downtown Jacksonville bar years is a long time. The pre-show and post-show room for anything at the Theatre.

The Volstead

Downtown · $$

A Prohibition-style whiskey lounge on Adams Street, named for the act that made it illegal. Its own posted hours run to 2 a.m. every night, which is the whole case for it on a list about late rooms.

Cowford Chophouse

Downtown · $$$$ · steak, chophouse

A restored early-1900s building at Bay and Ocean, with a rooftop bar that is one of the few places downtown where you can actually see the city you are standing in.