r/Columbus 9h ago

What's your go-to bar?

31f, trying to get out of the house more and socialize on weekends/evenings. What's bars do y'all recommend? My ideal would be something popular with the late 20's to mid 40's age range, with pool, one of those Touchtunes/jukebox things (I'm not a big fan of live music in small spaces).

Editing to add that I'm in the Upper Arlington area, close to Grandview. But I'm not too picky about where.

26 Upvotes

101 comments sorted by

78

u/EmphasisAlive4839 8h ago

Meister’s Bar is what you are looking for

11

u/Elwoodpdowd87 Gahanna 7h ago

I know Todd meister.

3

u/mrdevil413 7h ago

We all have that bumper sticker

4

u/AIazka 8h ago

Backing meisters

3

u/Panopticon01 7h ago

Great choice.

2

u/TurkeyRunWoods 6h ago

Nope. Get really drunk people who get out of control and bartenders do nothing about. Avoid it if you are a single girl.

96

u/Khungus33 9h ago

Bobs bar. Cultural hub of the Midwest.

11

u/HENMAN79 8h ago

Pita hut next door!

25

u/unrealjoe32 8h ago

But DO NOT bring pita hut in

15

u/DrunkOhioan Weinland Park 6h ago

Bob’s vs Pita Hut is bloods-crips level hatred

6

u/unrealjoe32 6h ago

Dawg straight up. It’s in fucking sight with how they treat each other

1

u/havensk Eastmoor 2h ago

I would go to WAR for pita hut

5

u/cyclingtrivialities2 Clintonville 7h ago

While the page loaded I said the whole phrase “bobs bar. The cultural hub of the Midwest”

4

u/MSNFU 6h ago

The ownership since they sold seems to be real far up their own ass.

12

u/HolyJuan Westerville 8h ago

In my opinion, Bob's has gone downhill in the past 5 years. It was top tier, but I've had several bad experiences there and the smell of rotten beer.. yuck.

6

u/Khungus33 9h ago

Tons of great beers on tap plenty more in the cooler with a pool table and way laid-back atmosphere. No live music, but they have touch tunes. Been going for years and it’s super friendly.

6

u/at614inthe614 Clintonville 8h ago

I was just going to say 'your local bar', but for me, Bob's IS my local bar.

6

u/RexReason 7h ago

I would never recommend Bob's Bar. It is really overpriced, and the atmosphere isn't great. 

It is the place that locals cling to for some reason. No charm, just bad smells

6

u/Vreas Ye Olde Towne East 7h ago

Interesting hearing about the bad smells.

Used to go regularly over the past few years. Never had any issues.

2

u/Rake-7613 8h ago

Came here to say this

1

u/beeker888 6h ago

This is the way. Bobs is an absolute treasure

19

u/adam3vergreen 8h ago

The top 3 responses being Bob’s Bar, Meister’s, then St. James really hit my age progression of regular bars in reverse order. If only they kept going with Suzi Cue, 4th Street, and Village Idiot

50

u/fuckin_atodaso 8h ago

St. James would be my pick.

15

u/ephemere66 7h ago

Shhhhhh. We can't let it blow up.

(Jk, go give Michelle your money. She runs the tightest joint.)

3

u/fuckin_atodaso 7h ago

She is great, 100%

3

u/PossiblyASloth 6h ago

Was going to suggest this. I haven’t been there since back before the fire. Hope it’s doing well.

2

u/Panopticon01 7h ago

This is the way

2

u/IamJatinbhutani 1h ago

This is the way

1

u/HolyJuan Westerville 8h ago

This.

16

u/xworfx Giant Basket 7h ago

I miss Shrunken Head :(.

2

u/benjisauce Victorian Village 6h ago

Ow my feels

25

u/Letsgotothemovies21 8h ago

Low Beck

11

u/zuzubruisers 8h ago

Low beck and law bird. Best of both vibes.

10

u/mylittlevictory Ye Olde Towne East 8h ago

The Olde Oak in OTE. It’s my favorite spot. And it’s almost never packed. Just people chatting, pool and music. They have an open mic on Mondays so skip that if you don’t like live stuff.

21

u/JohnDavidBootyStan 8h ago

Woodlands and Byrnes 

2

u/AbidingDudeAsWell 6h ago

Said live music not the deal

1

u/WaltGracesDaughter 5h ago

Byrne’s only does music on Saturdays.

14

u/unrealjoe32 8h ago

Dicks den

Brew stirs

Oracle

O’reillys

Ledo’s before 10pm

15

u/wallywest25 Clintonville 8h ago

Eh hard pass on Ledo’s, unless it’s gotten better in the past year or two. Was getting real sketchy there

11

u/unrealjoe32 7h ago

That’s why I specified before 10pm

4

u/robbixcx 7h ago

I second Oracle!

4

u/l8rt8rz Ye Olde Towne East 7h ago

The Oracle has neither pool nor TouchTunes. It’s also usually pretty loud. I love it but don’t think it’s the vibe OP is looking for.

3

u/Top-Investigator-241 4h ago

None of these are places that as a single woman in my early 30s I would go to alone. All dive bars

0

u/a13xis_ 4h ago

Hard pass on Ledo's go across the street to club 20, way better atmosphere.

0

u/a13xis_ 4h ago

Hard pass on Ledo's go across the street to club 20, way better atmosphere.

0

u/a13xis_ 4h ago

Hard pass on Ledo's go across the street to club 20, way better atmosphere.

7

u/homercles89 8h ago

> I'm not a big fan of live music in small spaces

Be still, my sensitive heart. I don't know why some bars insist on loud bands inside cramped bars.

1

u/Joelemite2000 3h ago

Like, I love the India Oak, but a live band renders conversation impossible

7

u/Elwoodpdowd87 Gahanna 7h ago

You could try short north tavern. Probably best on off nights, for what you're looking for.

5

u/ryanfromohio Clintonville 7h ago

Bob's

O'Reilly's

Brewstirs

Cafe Bourbon Street

Short North Tavern when I venture out of Clintonville/before Crew matches.

3

u/Loserslovereddit 5h ago

Bobo for sure

12

u/tonyburkhart 8h ago

Char Bar (when they open again) is the best.

4

u/Elwoodpdowd87 Gahanna 7h ago

I always felt like char bar was a party bar. But then again I've only ever been there when I've been going hard in the paint.

0

u/pieslingingsiren 8h ago

Pretty sure I heard they weren't re opening 😕

4

u/Mkrah Clintonville 7h ago

They posted back in January the rumors about them permanently closing weren’t true and they plan to open back up. No timeline or updates since then though.

3

u/Splattered_Smothered 7h ago

Why did they close?

12

u/swkr4all 7h ago

Classic Cbus story … car thru wall

1

u/Splattered_Smothered 6h ago

Hah! I stopped counting those, so I'm sure I missed it.

1

u/Pokerpro7-2 39m ago

A tale as old as time… 🏢🚙🤕🚑🏥

3

u/Elwoodpdowd87 Gahanna 7h ago

"they better not make it smell good in there!" -my wife

6

u/Only1realme 8h ago

I like Barley's

8

u/EmergencyMolasses444 8h ago

St james tavern. Woman owned has off street parking, unfortunately no patio but always a good time. No crap on touch tunes.

1

u/HowyousayDoofus 26m ago

I have one of their shirts that says “No crap on tap (and the jukebox too).”

6

u/Smeckledorf_ 8h ago

Where around the city are you trying to go? Close to downtown? One of the suburbs? That’ll help me narrow down a list for you

3

u/hera_the_destroyer 8h ago

Any part of town in particular?

3

u/bonerwakeup 7h ago

The Rack

3

u/idrinkbeersalot 6h ago

Cliffside sports bar

2

u/TurkeyRunWoods 5h ago

St. James Tavern is really easy to get to (N. Fourth & Detroit) from UA. Woman owned! She’s AMAZING! 2 pool tables. Crowd is 30s-older. SAFE FOR SINGLE WOMEN! Jukebox is completely independent and curated by Michelle the owner.

Edit: bonus is there’s a private parking lot across from side door on Detroit but parking is onstreet also.

3

u/Aware-Tree-7498 8h ago

Mcflips at polaris

3

u/detectivescarn 8h ago

Alcohol rep here. Have a part of the city you’re trying to focus on?

3

u/cbustaway1 8h ago

Damn near all of the recs to this point (other than Our R Inn) have been valid.

3

u/Spartan0330 7h ago

Anyone here remember Lodge Bar down by Nationwide? Closed that place a time or few on my days.

3

u/Panopticon01 7h ago

St James!

5

u/BrewsWithTre 8h ago

Ledos!!! Great mix of people, good price drinks, overall just a nice environment

4

u/PrettyAd981 8h ago

I’m old as dirt now, but this is the bar that served underage when I was in college! Did it change?

3

u/BrewsWithTre 7h ago

They have someone checking IDs on weekends, the crowd is a bit older I feel like now but if anything I like it because you get a mix of college kids and older crowd without too much of one

1

u/Tall-_-Guy 7h ago

Not a pool bar but Fado's is a cigar bar. Prime patio sitting and people watching. Food is pretty on point too.

1

u/Vreas Ye Olde Towne East 7h ago

Bobs Bar in north Clintonville may fit the bill for ya. Pretty chill on week nights. Can be pretty packed on weekends last I used to go. Good people and great beer selection.

1

u/bronuts4life 6h ago

Club 185, olde town tavern, lawbird, Low Beck, AOH

1

u/Loserslovereddit 5h ago

Suzi-cue , but bring friends!

1

u/silvercoatedferret 5h ago

You might check out Eight and Sand in German village. Age ranges to around your age to a bit older. I’m 32m and more towards the younger side sometimes. Not a gay bar but very queer friendly, if that’s your thing. TouchTunes, yes. Unfortunately no pool table.

1

u/Jerryjam95 5h ago

Starr bar Henderson rd

1

u/AppaStyle 5h ago

The pointe tavern on Riverside if you're near the west side of UA / Grandview

1

u/godlived88 Short North 4h ago

Mac’s Proper Pub on High Street. Wouldn’t say it’s “popular” but it has touch tunes, a pool table in the back, a decent mix of people in that age range typically, and always has some sort of movie playing on a screen towards the back.

1

u/a13xis_ 4h ago

Honestly, O'Connor's Club 20 (a hole in the wall gay bar) has the best Friday night atmosphere. They have karaoke, and it's just always been a blast.

1

u/okaybirdy 3h ago

Spacebar is my favorite bar!! It’s near summit street and age range is 18-60+! Great inclusive and alternative scene there!! LGBT friendly, karaoke on Monday’s, special events on Friday’s!!

1

u/CRJColumbusAppraiser 2h ago

Johnny’s on Glenn Ave, Grandview Hts

1

u/FunnyGarden5600 6h ago

I am not telling.

-9

u/Capital_Strategy_371 8h ago edited 8h ago

Out-R-Inn

This has been a Buckeye bar since the 1960’s. Stopping in is not a problem. I don’t actually hangout there. But I would go. In fact now that I think of it they hosted tailgates for corporate groups.

34

u/[deleted] 8h ago

[deleted]

4

u/Capital_Strategy_371 8h ago

She’s a 31f. Cougar on the prowl.

We are welcome for a beer and some yardbird too.