The Bull & Finch Pub on Beacon Street was a quiet neighbourhood bar in 1981 when the producers of a new NBC sitcom came scouting for a Boston bar to base their fictional Cheers on. Forty years on, the name has officially changed and the place is wall-to-wall tourists most days of the week.
The downstairs bar is the original Bull & Finch — dark wood, brass rails, low ceiling — but bears almost no resemblance to the studio set in California where Cheers was actually shot. Upstairs is a separate "Cheers replica" bar, faithful to the show, where you can sit on Norm's stool and order a beer at the same kind of varnished bar. The food is what you would expect; the burgers are decent enough.
It is impossible to recommend Cheers for the food or the beer, but if you grew up watching the show it is hard not to walk in. Best on a weekday afternoon before the tour buses pile up at the door.