308 is one of those places that has grown on me the more I go. A newer entry to the Purdue bar scene, 308 is deceptively large and modern inside, with three (four?) distinct areas. The basement has a nightclub vibe, with lots of good EDM/rap music playing throughout the night. It's fairly large, and has good lighting/party effects. There is a bar and bathrooms down here as well. There isn't much seating downstairs as it is more for dancing. The first floor now contains two bars, and has plenty of seating. This is where you'll probably want to be if you want to sit and order some food, while also being in the bar environment. There are usually a decent amount of people on the first floor. The second floor has more of a lounge vibe, with a bar and a ton of seating. There is a beer pong table, and I think they sometimes do karaoke up here. If you just want to sit and chill, without loud music and lots of people, the second floor is where to go. 308 also has food, and I was surprised by how good it is. I have had a couple of their sandwiches, and for a bar, it is pretty darn good. It's not somewhere I would go out of my way to eat at, but it is good. The drink specials are generally pretty good; some notable specials they run are the $1 "you call it" shots, where the bartender just kind of pours whatever they want, and the $4 Titos specials. They have just about every type of liquor imaginable. The bathrooms here are kind of weird, and it can get very backed up when it's busy. The second floor one is particularly bizarre, being a unisex bathroom with a lock that also has multiple urinals/stalls, with no real divider between them. I'm not entirely sure how that one is supposed to operate. Overall though, 308 has become somewhere I go to semi-reguarly, particularly due to its multiple offerings. (Want to dance? Go to the basement. Want to just chill? Second floor. etc.) It's not a bad choice by any means if you're in the Purdue/West Lafayette area. read more

308 On State - Finally got to have a full meal here! The panini was great. - Bars Near Me - West Lafayette, Indiana

For the record I only go here for lunch since it is down the street from my office. I have yet to have a bad meal here. The daily specials are REALLY specials. The double cheeseburger&fries for $6, Taco Tuesday, Rib Wednesday (my FAVORITE - $1 a bone!), and Wing Thursday. Now they have been known to run out of Ribs, and have on occasion not had something available that is on the menu, but that is rare. I have never had any problems with service and the food was always very good. Definitely glad I finally decided to start stopping in. And the ambience! The music that is streaming is absolutely fantastic. 60s-80s serious rock. Reminds me of the old AOR stations from the 70s. read more

308 On State - Wednesday is RIB DAY! - Bars Near Me - West Lafayette, Indiana

Nice place for the campus lunch crowd. Have been here twice. The first time was for $1 tacos on Tuesday (YUM) and the second time was today (09/22/17) which was also YUM. The service was prompt and the food was great for lunch! I will definitely eat here again. read more

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I've heard quite a few things about 308, all mixed reviews of course. 308 is pretty new, so I had never been there. Some of my friends love it here and other's are indifferent. There are 3 levels to the place, which each floor having it's own sort of vibe. The basement is more like a nightclub where people go to dance. The main floor is pretty chill, with a bar on each side. And I've heard the top floor is similar to a lounge. I went to eat lunch with my roommates here. I really like the inside decor. It looked really nice and clean, and had some games around for people to play. I wanted to order the Chicken Alfredo, but the waiter said they no longer served it (unsure why it was still on the menu, though). I decided to go with the special, one dollar ribs. They were REALLY good. The flavor was to die for. My only complaint was the amount of fat on them, but for one dollar I couldn't be too surprised. Our waiter was...kind of bad. He seemed nice, but we never would have know since he didn't say much to us. We'd ask a question and he'd just kind of nod. I asked for an order of fries, and he forgot about them. While the service is something to be desired, it is still a nice place to go and grab some lunch, especially them ribs. read more

If zero was an option I'd pick it. Sat in there and never received service. We walk in and see all of the first floor tables are taken. A female employee tells us we can go downstairs and sit anywhere. We start looking for how to get downstairs and a male employee comes up to us. We tried to tell him we're figuring out how to get downstairs and he tells us there is no downstairs , and proceeds to tell us there is only an upstairs but they aren't allowing anyone to sit up there. A couple stands up from the table right next to us and tells us we can have their table and they walked out. As they were walking out they told us they had been sitting there for 20 minutes and had not gotten any service. Then the group next to them says the same thing and leaves. We sit down at a dirty table and the male employee tells us he will be right back to wipe it down for us. Meanwhile the female employee keeps walking back-and-forth passed us and never asks us if we even want anything to drink. There are maybe 10 tables at most. The male employee then continues to keep walking past us and we see him bring a couple cheeseburgers up the stairs to whatever event is going on up there. There are about five people we can see working in the kitchen, and didn't appear to be rushing to cook anything. While we are sitting and waiting we asked the male employee if we can order drinks and he says he will be right back and says they are really busy. As we are sitting there other groups come in and try to go upstairs only to be stopped by the male employee every time . Doesn't explain why just says people can't go sit up there. The other group just says OK and leaves because the male employee said sorry we are just super busy. Again I couldn't even remotely see anything that resembled being busy. After about 15 to 20 minutes of waiting and being told multiple times that our waiter would be right back because they're so busy we decide to get up and leave. This place will go under very quickly if they did not figure out how to do basic food service read more

This is a newer place and a little out of place in Purdue. Not your typical, dirty and gross bar, which I like. This place is modern, on three floors and has a karaoke room downstairs. It is a good place to go if you are taking someone out and want to keep it classier. read more

308 is a much newer bar to the Purdue area. They have come a long way since their opening, but there's still some weird aspects that would throw people off. The drinks aren't bad and the specials are usually pretty good. The food is always really good as well. They have a unique menu. The tacos are worth a try for sure. The service is a little spotty. Sometimes you will have great service and get things very fast, and sometimes the service is awful and not pleasant in the slightest. The atmosphere is also hit or miss. Some nights it's really hoppin and you'll have a great time, and other times it's completely dead. Avoid he upstairs bathroom. It's completely bizarre and makes no sense how it's set up. I highly recommend Tuesdays. They have $1 tacos and huge $10 margarita pitchers. There is also karaoke. It's also a ton of fun and you can't really beat those specials. 308 is getting better and better, and I definitely think you should give it a try if you haven't yet! read more

Revising my review. I was encouraged to try 308 again, and I'm glad I did. All former concerns completely addressed. This place is popping. Great food, kitchen goes above and beyond. Great service, friendly and on it. Great drink specials and fantastic ambiance. And the music... on point. Have been a few times now and this is one of the best spots in West Lafayette. Make sure to check out second floor and basement club. read more

Five stars! Great food, atmosphere and staff. This is not just another campus bar. Three floors with distinct characters - the basement dance club, the classy ground floor and the classic upstairs. What sets them apart is the floors are clean, the air is fresh and the food is tasty and well priced. Lots of weekly food and drink specials too. You should give them a try! read more

308 On State - two men sitting at a bar - Bars Near Me - West Lafayette, Indiana

Super Bowl 50: joined 3 other couples for the Super Bowl at 308 this past Sunday. When we were there from 3pm to about 6, we were the only ones in the bar-upstairs or downstairs. We were able to stay in the lounge part of the upstairs. Joe the bartender, provided great service. Drinks were priced well and the appetizers that we went with were above average "bar food". (Wings, chips, HUGE pretzel ). Very spacious upstairs with good sound for the TVs. Only problem was that the two televisions in the South of the bar area were about 1.5 seconds ahead of the other ones so the overhead sound didn't quite match the screen on a couple of the TVs that were all on the same channel and set to the Super Bowl. Only issues is the bathroom upstairs. I can't imagine having a shared bathroom is a good idea if this place is busy. There are multiple urinals and one bowl, and the bowl doesn't have a stall door with it so it's confusing as to how the restroom is supposed to be used. If you are a male and you go in, you have to lock the door to keep out women but by doing that, no one can use the other toilets that are open. I guess the best way, men or women, is to go as a group ??? We were a group of 30-40 year olds and we had a great time. We got a little loud but no one cares and I think this would be a good place on campus to enjoy a football Sunday. ****cant say what it would be like on a college weekend being busy and having the basement dance club open**** read more

One of the better sandwich I've tasted. The food is fine, but the environment is really good! Need 21 or older to enter. read more

I had written a review a few years ago when the bar was new. Now that's it's more established, I figured I re-review it. Simply put, it's sooo much better than it was. It's the only bar on campus where you can play pool, Mario kart, and dance. Food is decent bar food and drinks are cheap. They have deals during the week, so it's always worth stopping in. Definitely the nicest looking bar on campus. read more

Came here to watch Purdue play in the Elite 8 with my family and was frustrated by the service and atmosphere. 1) there was not enough space open for the amount of people interested in the game. 2) they refused to play the volume on the game as they had a "heavy metal band" scheduled to play upstrairs. The moment they started playing everyone flooded out as it was very very loud 3)they were severely understaffed 4 bartenders total for 3 different bars. Waits were over 30 minutes for a drink. Management needs to improve. read more

Outstanding service, food, and a new twist on defining what bars SHOULD be like on campus

Absolutely not. My friend ordered - they lost the order. We were all finished eating by the time they showed up with it. They didn't offer to comp anything for her hour wait (it was a sandwich - come on). My drink was empty most of the visit and no one bothered to ask if I wanted a refill. I waited ten minutes after getting my burger for the waiter to bring ketchup. The burger was supposed to have tomato and no onions - guess which it showed up with? We waited for twenty minutes for our check. Literally. Never again. read more

Amazing atmosphere, professional staff and great music! Owner was very professional and my VIP treatment was very memorable! Sure to come back next time I'm in town! read more

The worst bar by far on Purdue's campus. The service is bad and there are a ton of advertisements on the wall for cheap drinks which are actually fake deals. Do not recommend. read more

Newest of the campus bars at Purdue. This was my first stop for Breakfast Club shenanigans with my friends as we wanted to give this bar a shot. Ground floor is normal seating, basement had more of a club vibe, theres also an upstairs floor, but it was closed to Breakfast Club revelry so I don't know what it is like. Overall the bar lacked the tradition (and grime) that other older bars on campus have such as Harry's or Brother's, but it was quite clean and had that new bar smell! It is good to see a new bar pop up. I'll definitely keep this option open when I go back to visit Purdue, but regular bar goers will likely have to test its ambience more than I did. read more

#fail #nohelp #managementfail Walked in, no staff took server 10 minute and 6 trips to clear out table and then no service for another 10 minutes. Walked out there was staff. read more

Absolute zero. Birthday party ruined. I went in with a small group of friends to use their karaoke room for my 22nd birthday and was appalled by the inappropriate treatment I received from the moment I arrived. First the karaoke machine was "broken" which no one failed to mention until we arrived, even though we had called ahead of time to reserve the room, AND went in the day of to make clarify. The manager, Nick, who was playing beer pong the entire time, begrudgingly agreed to offer a bottle of $9 Bellows Vodka (worse that Mccormicks vodka) and said we could stay in the room and try to figure out the karaoke machine if we wanted to... After being in the room for no more than 30 minutes, a female bartender storms in the room and claims she smells smoke. During this time, we had purchased several drinks and were trying to celebrate my birthday still. She threatens to kick us out and goes to get Nick, the manager (who we have already spoken to). Nick shows up another 30 minutes later to tell us we cannot smoke in the room, even though no would would ever think about smoking indoors? Insulted I explain that their service has been absolutely disrespectful and that the way they have treated me on my birthday was appalling. He actually storms away and does not return until the end of the night (we were there a total of 2 hours) with free shots as an apology. Overall, the way I was treated as a customer of their establishment was beyond immature and disrespectful. Ignoring the fact that it was my birthday the staff chose to continuously disrespecting me by ignoring me, yelling at me, accusing my friends of smoking, not offering any fix for their broken karaoke machine, and not even truly apologizing for their actions. Do not waste your money or your time at 308. read more

Drinks are pretty good, music is better than any other bar, and this three level bar gives people different options/vibes. This bar unfortunately attracts weird crowds, which severely damages its reputation with the Purdue community. Come here for the people watching! read more

If you're coming for food, I give the pizza 1 star. For $12 you get a mini pizza with ketchup-like sauce and a thick flavor-less crust. The toppings are good quality but that doesn't make up for the pie overall. read more

308 On State - Bars Near Me - West Lafayette, Indiana

Great bar! You have the option to sit and chill, dance and even play games. One of my favorite bars on campus

Could not consistently price a drink. Two people and myself all got a red bull & vodka. One got it with Grey Goose, & it was $6. Another got it with well vodka, & it was $8.50. I got mine with well vodka, & it was $8. It was so loud, nobody could talk to each other. Gave it a second chance, & I will not be giving it a third. read more

I love this place and come here every weekend however this weekend they would not allow me in at 12:30 because I did not have a student ID... I knew about this rule at 2:00 but I guess they changed it or they have no consistency i however was pissed and will not spend any more money here because I think it's bullshit to be denied access to a bar just because I'm not a student... I graduated so now I can't get into bars anymore? What is that about? Anyway I was forced to go to where else so I guess I will give them the money I earned with my degree... even though I hate where else and want to go to 308 read more

We tried to go to lunch here on Tuesday (9/26/17), and they were closed for no reason. We tried to go again today for lunch, and there were only four staff in the whole place- 2 cooks, 1 server, and 1 bartender. We waited for 50 minutes for three orders of boneless wings with fries and had to cancel our orders and leave to make it back to work. When we told the server we needed the food out in the next 5 minutes, she said "we have new cooks- it's going to be more than 5 minutes." Customer service was terrible. The table next to us waited longer than we did, and we heard them say their food was cold when it came out. We walked out hungry and upset. Will never go back. read more

Absolutely the worst service I've ever received in my life. I went in with a group on people during homecoming weekend when 10 other people were in the bar and they were totally "swamped." We sat there for an hour and a half and never received our food and the staff was very rude to us. They carded us all after we had been sitting In The bar for a half hour and apparently sat us in an area that was reserved for a party hours later, which led us to confrontation trying to get back to our table where our group was seated halfway through the night. I would never go back to this place or give them more money in the future. read more

The bouncer not only denied my legitimate ID, he basically destroyed it trying to determine its validity. I was skeptical of the place the first time I went, but their hiring policies are definitely questionable. Out of staters beware. read more

The wings were terrible and I could have honestly bought a better cobb salad at a gas station. Drinks were good though.

First of all if I could give 0 stars I would. After having one good experience hooking myself as a customer the service and food has significantly declined. The last straw was about 5 minutes ago when I had to get up and leave after being seated for 10+ minutes without our waitress even acknowledging we were there after making eye contact with her and waving her down. The owner was also in the bar and thought it was more important to talk to her staff while people were waiting to get food. The clique of employees sitting in the back corner just talking while there are only 2 parties in the whole place is not how you get customers to return. I am writing this from Harry's where within 10 second of sitting we had a waitress to our table with a game night crowd. Step up and treat your customers as if their time matters. read more

Some of the worst service I have ever received at a bar. The female bartender was downright disrespectful. I have been to some bad bars before but I think this one takes the cake. Stay away from this place and spend your money elsewhere. Terrible service. read more

Very overpriced and the type of people that frequent this bar are always causing trouble. Every time I've gone the fire department and/or police have had to come. Didn't help staff were rude too. read more

Terrible customer service. Got a drink that tasted nothing like what I ordered, and the waitress just insisted that it was correct because the manager was the one who made it. Certainly won't be spending my money there again. read more

The only reason I didn't just give 1 star because it was still a good event and all my guests had fun. We held our wedding rehearsal dinner here upstairs. Clara and the kitchen staff worked with us on menu options for a buffet style meal. Things were great until my dad and I went to pay for everything. The contract was really strange and unclear on their total price, which left us under the impression that the total was about $400 less than they actually wanted us to pay at the end of the night. We ended up getting a small discount on things (after a lot of negotiating and complaining), but they still left us a couple hundred over on our budget for that event. If you're going to host an event here, make sure you get explicitly stated totals from Clara or whoever else at 308 you work with on planning stuff. read more

As a standard rule of thumb, I prefer to visit a given establishment on average 3 times before I make any true judgement regarding its ways. I've now done so with 308 and found each time a cringeworthy experience in and of itself. To start with, 308 is a three story establishment, it utilizes the idea of different floors with varying themes as it attempts to cover multiple bar styles and atmospheres. The bar itself is new as of the last couple of years and aims for a modern style. To be fair, the bar has a few things going for it. First off, the location is great. For a Purdue University bar, you really cannot get a better spot than the top of Chauncey Hill, the location of other favorite bars in the area. As for the establishment itself, the bar is the only in the immediate area to have a more modern flavor. The idea of three floors and varying styles is a great idea that is capable of playing to a wide variety of customers. The establishment, overall is uncluttered and although lacking the nostalgia of others, it is new and this could come in time. Unfortunately, the above listed is where good points of the bar end. The following is a rather extensive list of issues I've found repeated on each occasion to the establishment with as little bias to personal taste as possible. To start, the bar rarely seems to have all levels open, only on one occasion has this been the case on a visit. The rest of the time all other areas save for half of the first floor are closed. For a bar that seems to take pride in the novelty of its different levels, it utilizes them very little and does away with one, albeit a risky one, of its strong points. One can't help but notice that the entire downstairs area that is usually open has 2 toilets for the entire population. 308 is rarely busy by any standard of the word yet even for the average 20-30 people, 2 toilets is not enough. Music is also an issue here. The selection is not always poor, but those at the bar are capable of paying to change to songs of their own choosing. This can be a fun and creative tool, yet in the hands of many, it can be a mood killer with some of the music that has come across on visits, even having driven out a few customers on one occasion. The mood of a somewhat up-classed bar is ruined in the mid section a bit as you come across a plastic pull out table used to play beer pong, with a large frat flag hanging being it. If that's the level of entertainment you want, then frequent a frat house. In a bar, it has little place and is ruinous given the attempted atmosphere. It's much like having a good meal and then half way through finding a mysterious something in your food that should not be there and ends up discouraging you from the rest of the food. The bar itself also has a very limited selection of spirits. It doesn't take much of a selection to run a proper operation but 308 seems to be on the verge of running dangerously close to not having essentials. If you are look for any variety or better quality of spirit, nothing too posh but a little more special than your standard run of the mill spirit, this bar is not going to be your number one stop. Now, the most disheartening of all, the staff and service. Service here is frankly terrible. You will rarely if ever be ask what you'd like, instead waiting while the staff chats or sits. The bar has never been busy past maybe 40 people while I've visited, even on busier nights, and the staff can't even manage this number. Not being able to turn out drinks, food, and even cleaning at such a low customer level is disturbing at best. The employees are not overly friendly or outgoing and although not something required, it kills the mood when you enter and the staff doesn't even look excited or even moderately interested in being there. This tells me there is a disconnect between management and staff where little is being done to provide guidance and maintain a prosperous working environment. On each occasion I've experiment with different bar tenders and found all to seem very uncomfortable and unenthused about their tasks. Many times I've found that despite the pressure for food and drinks, some members of the staff will just be sitting around instead of taking orders, cleaning, or even just checking on guests and gauging mood and opinion. This seems to say that the management has now slacked in its ability to train employees on their tasks or even provide consequences for poor work behavior when it arises. Lastly, if you want someone to make you a good or even half decent drink, this is not the bar. I usually start by ordering very basic drinks and if they are up to par, then I increase in complexity. To be frank, on my occasions there, the barkeep could not properly measure and mix a whiskey sour, a gin and tonic, a screwdriver, and had not even the slightest clue what a hurricane was. The drinks tasted of low quality alcohol and very very unbalanced, even those requiring just two ingredients. read more

I have been here multiple times. While the upstairs is lovely, and the prices reasonable, and there are some nice specials, the place keeps deteriorating. It hasn't even been open that long, and the management is getting worse and worse. The last time I went, my friends and I, after waiting over an hour for food that *maybe* takes twenty minutes to prepare (the bar was empty at the time, save for us and one other table of two). When the food arrived, two of my friends' meals were prepared incorrectly, and my food never arrived. Our glasses were never refilled, we never got the simple things we asked for--like napkins. I ended up going to a McDonald's after--but at least I got some kind of food that night. read more

First time visiting and I have to say this is the newest,best bar in town! 3 levels which offers a lounge, sport bar restaurant and dance club...Juli the bartender makes a great Martini! $2 drink specials and only a few blocks from campus... read more

Do not use a delivery service for this restaurant! My food was to be delivered in an hour. The driver called me at that time to let me know he was still waiting on the order to be completed by the restaurant. Will now be eating WAY past when we needed to. I'd seen other reviews about horrible service IN the restaurant but chanced it. Looks like it's the same way for deliveries. read more

The food was fantastic. I told the bartender to bring me his favorite cocktail. I was surprised when he brought me a refined whiskey sour with egg white. Very tasty. The food came out quickly. We got steak nachos, the ribeye sandwich, and a Reuben. All was top notch. I really liked the three different levels that offered something different from the others. We plan on going back soon! read more

Would NOT recommend. I went there with a group of friends this past weekend and when we got close to it, I wondered why 308 looked completely deserted when the other bars had lines out the door of people waiting to get in. Well, now I know why. We received extremely poor service, the wait for service was ridiculous when taking into account how completely not busy the bar was, and when we asked how much longer it would take (we had already been waiting half an hour) the server responded with a rude, annoyed attitude. Employees talking to each other and their friends and goofing off when people are sitting with empty glasses and people walking out. All in all we ended up leaving. I thought maybe this was just a one time thing, but when I told others about our experience at 308 they all basically responded with "Yeah pretty much, that's why we don't go there." Bad service, bad staff. Whoever is running this bar needs to get it together because they are doing a terrible job. Do yourself a favor and pick one of the other bars on campus. read more