From "Fresh Prince" To "Friends," I Ranked My Favorite Classic Sitcom Hangout Spots

Every gang needs a hangout spot.

Fictional friend gangs get some of the coolest places to hang out. While IRL, you usually meet friends at someone's house or bar/restaurant, sitcoms explore all different possibilities.

Even when they dabble in the familiar, they find a way to bring the place to life and make you wish you were there. I ranked out these 18 classic sitcom hangouts from where I'd least want to spend time to where I'd most love hanging out.

18. Bluth's Frozen Banana Stand (Arrested Development)

FOX

The seasonal hangout spot is not always ideal.

17. Paddy’s Pub (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

FOX / Via giphy.com

Paddy's Pub seemed like a great place to be if you were part of the gang, but imagine being an everyday patron. You're either really enjoying the zany vibes or really, genuinely befuddled at what's happening around you.

16. The Cheesecake Factory (Big Bang Theory)

CBS / Via youtube.com

The Cheesecake Factory is fine, but feels more like a pitstop between hangouts. You can't really picture lingering there, can you? 

15. Shaw’s Bar (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

Peacock / Via emcon-imagines.tumblr.com

I'm all for overhearing something juicy or hilarious at a cop bar, but it's still a cop bar. 

14. MacLaren's Pub (How I Met Your Mother)

CBS / Via youtube.com

The pub vibes are very cute and homely and make for a nice home base for your friend group, but it feels more like an extended friend hangout than an everyday spot.

13. Nemo's Pizza (Everybody Loves Raymond)

CBS / Via youtube.com

They captured hanging out at a pizzeria in Long Island in the '90s so well, it makes me nostalgic to see today. The checked table cloths are overwhelming, but a place you can bring the whole family really increases your opportunities to chill (a cruel but honest message about family life in your 30s). 

12. The Max (Saved by the Bell)

Gary Null / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

There's something really fun about a fast food/diner style spot as a high school hangout, and the Max had the added bonus of bringing all the colors and patterns of the '80s that we know and (still) love.

11. Monk's Café (Seinfeld)

Joey Delvalle / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

On the surface, Monk's seems a little bland and standard, but as a New Yorker, I can't deny the charm of the old-school cafe, with people always coming and going.

10. The Hub (That '70s Show)

Peacock / Via giphy.com

The Hub always had a table ready for you, and I have a soft spot for the kind of place you can hunker down for hours if you want to. With the added bonus of a jukebox and pinball machine, it's a solid choice.

9. Café Nervosa (Frasier)

Paramount

Frasier's Café Nervosa has such a particularly Pacific Northwest vibe that's absolutely endearing. And dogs are allowed? Say no more.

8. Arnold's/Al's (Happy Days)

ABC Photo Archives / Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Part diner, part fast-food, part ice cream shop, all fun. The era of dancing to the jukebox in a food spot is an opportunity we should all have gotten once, and I for one would take the time machine to get the chance if presented.

7. Central Perk (Friends)

Alice S. Hall / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Central Perk gets major points for its decor, which his very eclectic and very '90s New York. And the newspapers and magazines on every table. And live music at a volume you can still sustain conversation at? Take me back.

6. Luke's Diner (Gilmore Girls)

Warner Bros.

Who doesn't love a good diner? Especially a good diner with a lovable cranky man who is low-key invested in all his small-town customers' lives. 

5. The Peacock Stop (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

NBC

I've never seen a college bookstore/swag shop look this cool or this lively. The fashion that came through was amazing. The special guests were iconic. 

4. Cheers (Cheers)

CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images

No matter how old you are or where you live, there's something warm and welcoming about your local watering hole. If you've ever found your family because of where you spend your time as opposed to the other way around, this pick is for you.

3. Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe (Riverdale)

CBS / Via youtube.com

I'm a sucker for an old-school diner

2. The Pit (A Different World)

Max

Somewhere you can get food, meet up with your friends to spill tea, find a tutor, find a date, have a heated debate... The Pit truly had it all. It felt like such an authentically young adult space but still had the presence of older adults for guidance, a true safe space.

1. The Peach Pit/ Peach Pit After Dark (Beverly Hills, 90210)

CBS

I'm at the diner. I'm at the nightclub. I'm at the combination diner/nightclub. It was ingenious to give the BH90210 crowd a more "adult" hangout space to transition to that still kept the history/nostalgia of where their friendships grew. In your 20s, this space would be everything.

What other sitcom hangouts were you itching to be at? Which of these do you think would be cool to this day? Let's chat in the comments.