Nightlife in Old Saybrook

The menu at 007 is packed with high-protein thrills. Cut to the sating chase with a hefty half-pound 007 burger, topped with grilled mushrooms and onions, bacon, provolone, lettuce, tomato, and blue-cheese dressing ($9.99), or a 14-ounce grilled sirloin with their secret spice rub ($19.99, 10-ounce available for $15.99). To escape the New World tastes and return to an Old World state of tongue, have a classic order of fish and chips ($10.99).

The Governor's locations are ranked among 10Best's Editor's Picks for live Long Island entertainment; they have featured some of the best-known names in the business, such as Jim Gaffigan, Brian Regan, and Jerry Seinfeld. Upcoming performers include Mike Yard with Eric Tartaglione at McGuire's, Andy Pitz at the Brokerage, and Greg Fitzsimmons at Governor's. Check the schedules to find out which club will make you laugh so loudly area birds will be too scared to sing for days.

Starting Friday, October 5 at 6 p.m. and running through Monday, October 8, O Fest RI, spearheaded by Doherty's East Avenue Irish Pub, celebrates autumn with beer, live music, and general merriment. The festival features fall-themed libations from as far away as Germany itself—with Oktoberfest brews from Spaten, Hofbrau, and Paulaner—and those from closer to home from brewers such as Harpoon, Sam Adams, and Shipyard. In addition, the festival will feature a lineup of musical acts, including What Matters and Those Guys.

Doherty's East Avenue Irish Pub, whose whopping 82 taps helped earn it an award for Best Bar and Beer Selection in The Phoenix's Best of Providence 2011, will anchor the celebration from their dark-wood bar. The bar itself serves a host of culinary treats from Prince Edward Island mussels in zesty zuppa sauce to blackened jerk salmon. An outdoor patio plays host to al fresco dining and lassoing the moon to impress dates.

At Lucky's Bar & Grill, the crunch from hand-cut french fries and hearty Irish-American pub fare competes with the cheers from sports games on 16 flat-screen TVs. Grilled pizzas brim with locally sourced tomatoes and exotic toppings such as roasted corn and grilled eggplant, and chefs stir macaroni into thick cheddar cheese sauce. On Friday and Saturday nights, live acoustic music echoes off the hardwood floors as bartenders top off pints of 30 varieties of draft beer at the 35-foot granite-top bar.

Visitors to Rhino Bar & Grille can wipe the words “bored” and “hungry” from their vocabularies. In addition to a menu of hearty, fun-to-eat food such as saucy wings, Black Angus burgers, and fish 'n' chips, the bar offers bottles of Heineken by the bucketful, keeping patrons hydrated enough to sing along with frequent live music from local bands. DJs also amp up the atmosphere, and a pool table ensures that there is always someplace for customers to lie down for a communal nap.

Thirty high-definition TVs airing sports games make Black Bear Saloon a destination for fans, who fuel up for fist pumps with a menu of American pub favorites. Beef, chicken, and salmon sliders, paired with crispy onion rings, are a pintsize alternative to burgers topped with a selection of gourmet ingredients such as roasted red peppers or avocado. Homemade marinara crowns flatbread pizzas and also serves as a sauce in which to slam-dunk deep-fried nuggets of mac 'n' cheese.

Hosted events are still another reason to visit: on Tuesday nights, the voices of karaoke singers wash over the bar's exposed-brick walls, and Wednesday trivia challenges guests to unearth factoids from their cerebral nooks and crannies. On the weekends, live DJs spin records as guests tap toes and shout requests for favorite Raffi songs from the pub's deep-brown booths.