Don’t forget to check out the rest of this year’s Best of Cleveland winners!
Photos courtesy of Flickr and Yelp
BEST BAR FOR SINGLES BEST BAR FOR DAY DRINKING – Townhall: TownHall stormed onto the Cleveland entertainment scene three years ago, and the place just hasn’t let up. We’ve written plenty about this place, and we remain pleasantly mystified at how TownHall sort of takes on different identities as the clock ticks into the night. Day drinking? Yes, of course. This is the perfect spot to wet your noontide whistle. And if you’re single? Well, just stick around, because the bar turns into a nightclub without actually being a nightclub. It’s great! And, with a keen wit and some luck, you’ll be sure to meet the lad or lassie of your dreams (or at the very least land an amusing story for your friends at brunch the next day).
1909 West 25th St., 216-344-9400, townhallohiocity.com.BEST BAR IN THE FLATS – The Big Bang: A dueling piano bar in the newly revamped Flats East Bank? Hell yes. When the city’s newest entertainment district officially “opened” last summer, you couldn’t stop the crowds from heading there every night of the week. With warm weather now — for the most part — upon us, the place is only going to grow more popular. The Big Bang finds itself right in the heart of it all, making it a great place to snag a few drinks and some engaging listening in the midst of a Flats-based bar crawl or at the beginning of a fun night downtown.
1163 Front Ave., 216-417-6222, thebigbangbar.com.BEST BAR PATIO – Nano Brew: How do you improve what was already one of the best bar patios in town? You go big, naturally. Nano Brew lives in the old Garage Bar site, and the Garage Bar had one of those roomy-but-cozy patios that made you linger. Last year, Sam McNulty & Co. upgraded the already dope spot, which is just one of the many ways Nano Brew has changed over its young life. Now expanded with several levels of downtown-view-tastic seating, Nano Brew’s new patio took advantage of the backdoor real estate of the former Black Pig. They also added plenty of custom seating to make the most of the space, whether you’re chilling in the main bar patio area or in the section devoted to table dining. It’s gigantic, almost always busy, and a helluva great spot on a summer afternoon or evening.
1859 West 25th St., 216-852-6631, nanobrewcleveland.com.BEST BAR TO WATCH THE CAVS – Tremont Tap House: What’s on tap at the Tremont Taphouse? An ever-changing collection of offbeat microbrews, flights of whatever’s clever, and some of the crispest HD TVs in town. With a long bar and a narrow dining area, there’s no place you can sit within the chic, dimly lit space without an oblique or head-on view of the Cavs as they progress through the 2016 playoffs. Strangers will become best friends as together you sip on delicious drafts and recall your favorite Cavaliers memories. #ALLin216.
2573 Scranton Rd., 216-298-4451, tremonttaphouse.com.BEST BAR TO WATCH THE TRIBE – Hoopple’s: With the arrival of a bona fide social district in the Flats, in the Columbus Road lift bridge area, in the long shadows of the Jake, it’s fitting that this west-bank staple has nabbed this year’s award away from the likes of Brick & Barrel or Merwin’s Wharf. At Hoopple’s, as you gobble a taco or glug a cheap domestic, you’re close enough to hear the fireworks and see the stadium’s gleaming toothbrush lights, but you’re far enough to avoid the rush of downtown traffic. Located at the bottom of Columbus Road Hill, in between Ohio City and the Flats, Hoopple’s has the perfect combination of blue-collar regulars, yuppies and hipsters to appeal to just about everybody. Plus, from the patio, you can enjoy beautiful views of the Cuyahoga, even if the home runs are few and far between.
1930 Columbus Rd., 216-575-0483, hoopples.com.BEST BAR WITH GAMES – The Side Quest: You don’t have to be a nerd to enjoy Side Quest, but it doesn’t hurt. The relatively young Lakewood bar filled a niche in the Cleveland bar landscape, notably as a destination for quirky, nerdy, friendly, board-game loving folks. There are trivia nights, themed nights (Star Wars, Pi Day), and a healthy batch of craft offerings. But the main draw is the selection of board games. Pick from the abundant options or bring your own. Bring some pals to play or join a game. Skip the broken Connect Four setup at your local bar and head for board game paradise instead.
17900 Detroit Ave., 216-228-1212, thesidequestbar.com.BEST BREWERY – Great Lakes Brewing Co.: Ah, the titan of Cleveland craft brews… Great Lakes Brewing Co. is the foundation around which our city’s burgeoning brew economy was built. The Ohio City stalwart is an all-around great experience: good food, a great and pleasant interior, a really cool basement (the world’s best basement, Ramon Rivas II will tell ya), and a tap lineup that’ll knock your socks off seven nights a week. The peak experience is the annual Christmas Ale tapping in late fall, but you’re missing a Cleveland staple if you’re not stopping by the bar on the reg. “Ohio City” is sort of a destination in itself, but your travels are incomplete without a pint of Great Lakes.
2516 Market Ave., 216-771-4404, greatlakesbrewing.com.BEST CLEVELAND HEIGHTS BAR – Parnell’s: Though Parnell’s expanded, with much success, to Playhouse Square in 2014, the Cleveland Heights location is still Cleveland’s classic Irish pub. An itty-bitty interior means it’s you and the gorgeous array of whiskeys in extremely close proximity. The company’s not half-bad either: It’s the stomping grounds of east-side soccer fanatics, Cedar Lee pilgrims (it’s right next door to the theater) and the liquored literati of Northeast Ohio. Expect your favorite Irish beers on tap and top-notch service from a genuine Irish immigrant. Cleveland Heights can be proud.
2167 Lee Rd., Cleveland Hts., 216-321-3469, facebook.com/parnellspub.BEST COCKTAIL – The Spotted Owl: Sure, sometimes you want to sit out on a nice patio while you’re guzzling a potent adult beverage. And then there are the times you want to gulp your poison in an industrial, but comfortable, basement. Lucky for us, Spotted Owl in Tremont provides the underground ambiance, in a century-old space, for serious drinking. It also serves some of the best booze concoctions in town. This speakeasy parked at the bottom of the Tremont Lofts has been in business for some time now, but owner Will Hollingsworth is always pushing the envelope, trying new things and learning. He even staged at the Dead Rabbit in New York City, roundly considered the best cocktail bar in the world, to learn how the best of the best do it. Thankfully, he brought all those tricks of the trade and more back home so we can enjoy them.
710 Jefferson Ave., 216-795-5595, spottedowlbar.com.BEST COCKTAIL BAR – Velvet Tango Room: Maybe it’s the neon sign outside, but the Velvet Tango Room exudes the confidence of a place that won’t disappoint when it comes to being the best cocktail bar in town. Cleveland’s known that for years, ever since the joint quietly opened up in Duck Island when basically nothing else was there. Here, cocktails aren’t just another drink. Here, there’s a history and a story, not to mention handmade ingredients and the kind of expertise that translates to a few-minute wait for your drink and indelible, endless memories once you take a sip. Raise another one to this Cleveland landmark, because for all the imitators and craft cocktail spots around Northeast Ohio, there’s only one VTR.
2095 Columbus Rd., 216-241-8869, velvettangoroom.com.BEST DETROIT SHOREWAY BAR – XYZ: Daily shot-and-a-beer specials? Beer-and-a-slice deals during happy hour? Garage-style doors for easy breezy summer afternoons? BBQ? Gnocchi? This neighborhood tavern — ABC’s slightly cleaner sibling, a mile west — will leap onto your favorite-bar list after a single visit. With its exposed-brick interior and ample seating, it’s an ideal spot for a weekend lunch or a pre-Capitol Theatre dinner, but the open-air atmosphere and pizza by the slice until dawn makes it a late-night checkpoint to boot.
6419 Detroit Ave., 216-706-1104, xyzthetavern.com.BEST DIVE BAR – Dive Bar: Duh, right? Whether for the name itself or for the quintessentially divey atmosphere, voters shoved their PBRs in the air en masse on behalf of this West Sixth Street mainstay when asked what their favorite dive bar was. Cheap booze? Check. Tons of sports? Check. Perfect location for happy hour for the downtown set? Absolutely. Close enough to a bunch of other bars that it’s a perfect stop to begin or end the evening? Damn straight. Sounds good, right? Actually, we think we’ll head there now.
1214 West Sixth St., 216-408-2314, divebarcleveland.com.BEST ELECTRONIC CLUB or BAR; BEST BAR TO WATCH THE BROWNS – The Barley House: The Barley House has been many things in its lifetime. It was, and still is, a nightlife destination on West Sixth. Its menu offerings are better than the average bar food. It’s the home of rowdy Sunday Browns tailgates and live radio shows. Cleveland’s athletes still drop by every weekend, making it a place to see and be seen. But somewhere along the way, it also became the best spot for EDM music in town. There was always music, of course, and plenty of DJs. But Barley started bringing in notable national acts to hold down the weekends. While the names might not be all that familiar to folks not into the scene, those who are in the know give Barley their enthusiastic stamp of approval. Hell, chances are they left at 2 a.m. Saturday morning only to come straight back on Sunday morning to catch the 92.3 The Fan tailgate and scope out the latest Browns loss with some pals.
1261 West Sixth St., 216-623-1700, barleyhousecleveland.com.BEST HAPPY HOUR EASTSIDE – Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar: For three hours every day, Paladar delivers $5 mojitos, $5 margaritas, $5 sangria, $2 off specialty cocktails and more. You get the idea? Good. The Latin inspired decor and menu (you’ll want to try the avocado deviled eggs or crispy yucca fries, both happy hour specials) offer something a little different to your happy-hour routine. If the post-work timing doesn’t fit your schedule, do remember you can hit the reverse happy hour from 9 to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays too.
23240 Chagrin Blvd., Woodmere, 216-591-1625, paladarlatinkitchen.com.BEST HAPPY HOUR (DOWNTOWN) – Bac Asian American Bistro and Bar: Happy hours with flair are the best kind, which means one serving pan-Asian favorites is on the top of everyone’s list. Bac, which means “north” in Vietnamese, opened in February 2010 and quickly became a favorite in Tremont, the land of restaurants and bars. That means a lot of competition, but Bac comes through the fray for happy hour, what with its $2 tall boys, discounted signature martinis and a wealth of $6 appetizers and small plates — including the banh mi, which is just about the best partner to a stiff drink after work that we can think of.
2661 West 14th St., 216-938-8960, bactremont.com.BEST KARAOKE BAR – Tina’s Nite Club: If you haven’t yet been to Tina’s Nite Club in the residential interior of Detroit-Shoreway’s easternmost salients, you either have no hipster friends or you’ve never been toasted at 1:30 a.m. on an otherwise uneventful Saturday night and decided that Whitney Houston needed a proper tribute. So what? We all wanna dance with somebody, and never more so than at Tina’s. And not because of the “atmosphere”: This brick box with linoleum tiling won’t win any awards for interior design. But the jello shots and the cheap domestics and the microphone make this an ultimate late-night destination and Cleveland’s long-tenured karaoke king.
5400 Herman Ave., 216-651-8057, Internet? What?BEST LOCAL MUSIC BAR CLUB – Happy Dog: This Detroit Shoreway concert club and restaurant that boasts a cool vintage look and takes a band-friendly approach that both national and local acts admire. Unlike other clubs that ask bands to play for little or no money, the club requires that bands simply play for the door money. The club also hosts a monthly classical music jam night and regularly books New Soft Shoe, the local Gram Parsons tribute act. Two years ago, Cleveland Orchestra launched a residency program that included performances at the Happy Dog and at other venues in the Gordon Square Arts District. Happy Dog owner Sean Watterson played a key role in making the event happen.
5801 Detroit Ave., 216-651-9474, happydogcleveland.com.BEST NEIGHBORHOOD BAR – Treehouse: Now that summer is just around the corner, there’s no better place to kick back and enjoy a shandy or G&T than the patio at Tremont’s Treehouse. For that matter, in the wintertime, there’s no better place than Treehouse to nestle down at a wooden table or booth and nurse a porter or whiskey. With a handsome array of beers on tap, a jaunty assortment of live music on the weekends, and an armada of faithful locals, Treehouse is an all-season staple. (Perhaps it’s no surprise that Scene’s “Best Neighborhood Bar” is located in the “Best Neighborhood” of Tremont.) The patio really is as good as it gets, and for craft beer lovers, the Treehouse happy hour is about as good as it gets. Oh, and don’t sleep on the food, which is cheap and yet pretty spectacular.
820 College Ave., 216-696-2505, treehousecleveland.com.BEST NEW BAR – Beerheads: Once left for dead, the Flats East Bank has become the new hot spot for twenty- and thirty-somethings looking for places to dine and drink. And when it comes to dining and drinking, the neighborhood spools off to both sides of the economic spectrum. Sure, there’s fine dining, but there’s also the sort of neighborhood haunts that will leave you with plenty in your bank account to score that Uber home. Chief among those: Beerheads, which has seating for 100 guests indoors and more on the front patio. It offers a full-service food menu, which includes a mix of bar snacks, salads, sandwiches, pizzas and desserts, including the tasty “Not Your Father’s Float,” which features Small Town Brewery’s “Not Your Father’s Root Beer” and vanilla bean ice cream. Some 50 beers are on tap and you can find another 400 in bottles and cans.
1156 West 11th St., 216-621-2000, beerheadbar.com.BEST OHIO CITY BAR – ABC the Tavern: ABC the Tavern has snagged this award from such glitzy up-and-comers as Market Garden, Town Hall, Nano Brew and Bier Market. Why? Probably because it feels entirely authentic. With bar bowling, an all-business pool table on the balcony level and more happy hours than regular hours per day (it feels like), this neighborhood watering hole has been unaffected by the urban-playground-ization of West 25th. It’s a tavern to re-connect with neighborhood pals, order that beer your parents had at their wedding, and watch the brave bartenders throw out the drunkards and ne’er-do-wells who love the deals as much as you do. We couldn’t recommend any bar more highly.
1872 West 25th St., 216-861-3857, abcthetavern.com.BEST OLD SCHOOL JUKEBOX – Jukebox: One of the best and most unique perks at Jukebox, the home tavern of Hingetown, is that you get a token for the jukebox for every drink you buy. The more you drink, the more of your music you get to listen to. Stay long enough, and departing patrons will pass you their unused tokens, which means for jukebox lovers, this is paradise. With a rotating list of classic rock, pop, R&B and alternative hits, there’s not a more eclectic jukebox in town. And with a friendly staff and an owner who cares about every customer, it’s a bar worth adding to your rotation.
1404 West 29th St., 216-206-7699, jukeboxcle.com.BEST TREMONT BAR – Edison’s: You’re not doing Tremont right if you don’t land at Edison’s for at least some portion of your night. It’s the quintessential Tremont bar, the quintessential Cleveland bar — a real bar’s bar, you dig? Whether you’re just stopping in at the pickup door for a pizza or you’re posting up at the lovely bar for an evening round with your finest friends, you’ll be well taken care of here. But don’t forget to shoot a quick game of pool in the back (don’t get your cue stuck in the floorboard holes), and don’t miss out on the dynamite patio. This place has it all, and it’s in the heart of it all.
2373 Professor Ave., 216-522-0006, edisonspub.com.BEST UNDERGROUND MUSIC BAR CLUB – Grog Shop: This Coventry Road concert venue opened in 1992 when owner Kathy Blackman and two business partners took over a Cleveland Heights bar on the corner of Coventry and Mayfield roads. Since that time, the club has moved to a bigger space at the corner of Coventry and Euclid Heights Boulevard. It regularly hosts an eclectic mix of bands that includes everything from punk and reggae to hip-hop and indie rock. Bands are so loyal to Blackman that they’ll often stick with her, even when they move up to bigger venues such as House of Blues and the Masonic Auditorium.
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs.BEST WINE BAR – Rocky River Wine Bar: Tucked off the main drag, in a grotto of sorts off Linda Street, Rocky River Wine Bar has long been a westside gem. Credited informally with kicking off River’s Linda/Detroit development boom (see Bomba, Whole Foods, Market, etc.), the place is upscale without being snooty. You can pretty much cite any rationale for dining here: from graduation dinners and anniversaries to, hey, it’s Tuesday night and we’re hungry. The wine is the centerpiece, but the food is top-notch. Oh, and do order a round of sweet potato fries while you’re at it.
1313 Linda St., 440-799-4300, rockyriverwinebar.com.
