The famous Sample Gates of Indiana University are just right down the street from Nick's English…read moreHut in Bloomington. Next year Nick's will turn 100 years old!!! An amazing success! Greek immigrant Nick Hrisomalos started Nick's. Nick's "Sink the Biz" fries have Nick's spices sprinkled on them along with Romano cheese and a great garlic mayo to dip them in! The Stromboli is incredible! Lots of flavor, great bread, meat, cheese yum!!! Oh, and the bread and butter pickles on the side are delicious too! The inside is really cool! Lots of booths always a plus, I U memorabilia, TV's playing sports, a bar, all in a very warm and inviting down home college hang out. I took home one of their great glass mugs. Took a keychain home also on the at out. Just nice friendly staff in a great college town. Oh, I will say I don't like mushrooms but on the way out we saw a plate of breaded mushrooms and my goodness they were huge and looked good. I might've tried one. Ha

NICK'S ENGLISH HUT IN BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA IS NOSTALGIC…read more============================== I attended a parent's cocktail party about nine years ago when I visited IU during the student orientation for my son. I had fun, had a beer and collected a Nick's Hut glass jar/glass. Fast forward nine years and my son and daughter-in-law had their "Welcome Party" the evening before their wedding on Friday, June 19, 2026. This was after their wedding rehearsal and dinner elsewhere. We had a great time on the second floor that was totally reserved for our big group. They had more food, beer and other beverages as well. Kind of cool to attend events before my son started college and years later.

This is by far the best cocktail bar in Bloomington. The only downside is it is difficult to get…read morereservations because they are so good!! It is a speak easy, so a little difficult to find. But if you just go through the upstairs bar and make a left you'll see it. Ask the bartender at upstairs if you're still having problems. All in all, great place! And very romantic!

Made a reservation for my wife's birthday, and once again it was awesome! We absolutely love this…read moreplace. The drinks are on point, and the atmosphere is great. Highly recommend!

I've been to the tap many a time - but this particular visit I was focused on the fries. See - I…read morewas on a quest to find the best fry in Bloomington. So here's how the tap came out: It was a busy Saturday night. Easy to grab a high top, but being over 30 - it's not fun sitting on a bar stool. That's fine. The service - like I said, they were busy. But one of my friends never even got his drink, and he ended up telling the waitress to cancel it because we were already eating our fries. The fries - - 4 dipping sauces equals 5 stars! Love the ability to try different flavors and find your fav. My fav is the pesto aioli because its unique! I give the seasoning 4 stars, and it was a little heavy handed, and kind of overpowered the sauces. Texture was good, some were a lil soggy, overall they were good! I've had the other food at the tap, and always enjoyed myself. Definitely worth a visit - but be prepared if they're super slammed!

Really cool place - they have a ton of beer to try! Their beer menu (which was fully printed and…read moreavailable at our table - no scanning a QR code or squinting to read a board at the bar) had a whole page of beers by The Tap Brewery, followed by two pages of guest craft beer representing every major type of beer and with some unique options, all on tap. For drinks, cocktails (and a few mocktails) and a smaller selection of wine are also available. I wanted to get beer but I was kind of tempted by the cocktails. My first choice was a flight that included a mix of The Tap beers and guest beers, but the waiter came back after taking the order and told me that they could only do flights with their beers but could let me sample the beers I wanted to try, so I did that, and the samples were probably around 2 oz each so I basically got half a flight. After that, I ended up ordering a real flight of their beer. The Tap beers I tried were: Kill the Lights stout (regular and barrel-aged), Tapenator dark lager, Frost Bite winter ale, Nefarious Nectar blonde. Guest beers: Jacob Leinenkugel white mocha stout, Weihanstephaner Hefeweissbier, BrewDog Winter Staycation. Not going to waste space reviewing all of these, but they were all fantastic. I was really grateful that they let me sample so many! And they also have food. The menu isn't huge but does have some variety, and it's not just basic pub food. I had the ahi tuna crunch bowl and it was pretty good! It kind of had the vibe of stuff thrown together in a poke bowl, but it worked and I thought the fish was done really well. Our waiter was wonderful! He was really friendly and just the right amount of attentive. My friend and I stayed for a while talking after we had paid and he didn't rush us out at all. Granted, it was a pretty quiet night. We both really liked the vibe of the place. I would love to be back soon!

The Alley is one of the better bars in Bloomington. I really like the overall vibe and atmosphere…read more-- it's a great place to hang out with friends. The location is convenient, and it has a fun, welcoming feel that keeps me coming back. Definitely a solid choice for a night out!

Neighborhood bar. Good sound level, small, close knit, local feel. Not an amazing beer selection,…read morebut varied enough.

Classic Burger with Gouda cheese was excellent! He fries were crispy and had just the right amount…read moreof salt! My favorite French fries so far! The beer roasted salmon with the sweet potato fingerlings and shiitake mushrooms was very good. The silver skin was not completely removed from the salmon. There was not a lot of spinach. Would have preferred more spinach & less sweet soy syrup. Service was spot on! Server was very attentive and helpful with beer and food selections.

Generally this is a great place to go ! We're locals & love the beer & food. The service is hit &…read moremiss. We went for dinner on a Sat (no home games) at 5-pm & over half of the restaurant was empty & we were told if we didn't have a reservation (never in 17-ish yrs have I never had them ask me this) we wouldn't get seated for over an hr. So we left . Very disappointing Uplands!! A coach gives a shoutout on Tv & all of a sudden they can't seat you w/o a reservation ‍

Speakeasy We had…read morenever been to a speakeasy before, so we weren't sure what to expect. The experience exceeded our expectations--everything was truly extraordinary. We would definitely come back again.

Way too crowded!! Through the entire place (except the hallway by the bathrooms), there was nowhere…read moreyou could stand without getting pushed around by other people trying to move. I get that they want to make money but I have no idea why they kept letting people in since it was such a struggle to even get to the bar to buy anything. The AMFs were good if you're into that but not worth being packed in like sardines. Once we were in we figured we had gotten far enough to fight our way to the bar to get a round of drinks, but we left as soon as we finished.

The Food Is Yummy The Service Is Terrific…read moreAnd The Ambiance It's Really Good La-la-la-lava ch-ch-ch-chicken Steve's Lava Chicken, yeah, it's tasty as hell Ooh, mamacita, now you're ringing the bell Crispy and juicy, now you're having a snack Ooh, super spicy, it's a lava attack I Recommend This Place! Chicken Jockey

Honestly surprised reviews are not higher for this place. Stopped in for a Monday lunch while…read morevisiting Bloomington. There's a bar side and a less bar side, but overall it does have a bar feel. The menu however, is elevated bar food. Not quite approaching Gastropub level, but more than what you're going to find in a dive bar situation. We enjoyed the breaded tenderloin sliders, the salmon BLT (that hoagie bun was pillowy soft), the sautéed brussels sprouts, and the potato pancakes. Although maybe they didn't call them pancakes? They were smashed potatoes. Loaded with butter, salt and pepper, and boy were they delicious. We had excellent service from Morgan, who was very attentive. And I don't know what mixture they're using of syrup and carbonation for their Diet Coke, but it was seriously good. Don't sleep on this place.

I didn't know this place existed but am glad I do now! This is a hole in the wall type dive, with a…read moresuper friendly staff and a great selection & variety of craft beer.  We stopped by in the middle of the day during the weekend & all the other patrons were regulars and people who work in the attached strip mall. Very chill, local vibe. Plus, you can bring in your own food! 10/10

Trivia, lots of great local music, and great beers! Highly recommend this hidden gem on the west…read moreside of Bloomington.

Great little restaurant. The French onion soup was a nice treat and the pizza was so fantastic,…read morefresh and delicious. High recommend this place.

Love this place. If you are in bloomington you definitely need to stop by. The food is immaculate…read more Every bagel no matter what u get is going to be good. The people who take your order are rlly nice and helpful. The only reason why it's not 5 stars is because the inside is small so you probably won't get a table. The wait is also sometimes really long. I think it's worth it every time but something to consider.

I was down in Bloomington for work, and stayed overnight before continuing on my work travels and I…read morenoticed signs for the vault, and was curious. I wandered down into the basement of the IMU, and found the vault, I was able to seat myself, and my server was very attentive! I had a gin and tonic and a tasty gimlet, they offer some food options, I had some fries that were hot, fresh, thick cut and seasoned well! This is a great place to hang out, and I hope I have the chance to visit again.

I can't believe it has taken me a year to try this place out, it's truly a hidden gem!…read more Thursday Trivia Friday Live Music on the Patio Kids Eat Free on Saturdays Free Validated Parking Drinks we tried: - House Signature - Ol' Red: Bone Snapper Rye Whiskey, bitters, grenadine, simple syrup, Luxardo Maraschino cherry, peeled orange. My favorite drink! - The Vault Lager: Brewed by Taxman Brewing featuring a light body, subtle earthy hop bitterness, and a touch of mild malt - Espresso Martini: Cardinal Spirits Songbird Coffee Liqueur, chocolate pocky stick - Sazerac: Bone Snapper Rye Whiskey, Absinthe, Peychaud's bitters, simple syrup, lime peel   Food we tried: - Southwest Tofu Wrap: fried tofu, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickled jalapeños. A part of the Bloomington Vegan Chef Challenge! - Pub Nachos: pico, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, hot sauce, and house-made beer cheese sauce. I would recommend the load it up option: add Fischer Farm pulled pork, smoked chicken, or chili - Hoosier Classic Pork Tenderloin Sandwich: An Indiana classic served with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion on a King's Hawaiian bun. Served with French fries + added Dill Pickle Aioli & Special Sauce. A CLASSIC for a reason, you can't go wrong with this one! Shout-out to Myles, Jordan, and the rest of the team for amazing service!