A friend of mine told me that I absolutely had to check out Dive Bar so on my way between one thing and the next, I detoured over here. After finding some questionable street parking - there was a carpet of broken glass from a breakin nearby - I stepped inside. This place is... unusual. I've never been to a joint with a two-level bar which was interesting. At 5pm on a weekday, the vibe was peaceful and light. A few UC girls popped in for shots and got carded. A bunch of locals were hanging out. I simply enjoyed my PBR and the show. [Review 20486 overall - 213 in Ohio - 1466 of 2023.] read more

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Great service and good Cincinnati food. Was a burger, grilled onions, cheese and goettao. First time for me. read more

Dive Bar - Beer Cincinnati favorite - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Worst bar experience of my life , but made for an interesting story to later tell friends. Came in before a UC game to meet some friends and dealt with a male, bald bartender. I heard he always is a bit cheeky and sarcastic, but never have I been treated so bad. I saw a tab from the customer before me with a $0 tip on their receipt, that should have been my first warning sign. Even my friend was saying his customer service made her feel uncomfortable and we wanted to quickly finish our drinks and leave. He was in an OSU jersey that day and they just lost to Michigan, so maybe that was it? It wasn't crowded when we got there and not even a full bar, typically in that situation you don't have to flag the bartender down. But he barely acknowledged me until I did so. When we were ordering our drinks my friend was saying she wanted a specific flavor high noon and he said they did not have that, although we were looking at it with our very own eyes. Then when I tried to order a Corona Light he said they don't have that and if I want to order a beer I either want the "pounds" or not. Just wild!! It doesn't end there though. I tried to order 5 shots of white tea and that is definitely not what I got. It straight up smelled like straight tequila, which white tea is vodka, and didn't look like white tea at all. When I asked him about it (which I was afraid to) he made some snide comment and took one of the shots. On top of that I had ordered 5 and he gave me 3... Just a very confusing customer service experience and would never go back. I'm not sure the point of acting that way or treating customer in such a way when all we truly had done is come in and say down and spoke amongst each other and wanted to have a couple of drinks before heading into the bar. If you're looking to go to a bar before the game, go to Martino's. That is where we went after and I have been to before. This was my first and last time ever going to Dive Bar. I was anxious for my bill because I was unsure of what he was going to charge me. When I got it it was only $10 so I left a $2 tip (which I really considered not even doing) and called it a day. Also, here is a picture of my "5 white tea" shots. Last note, I didn't even know health violation were posted on Yelp until confirm to this page. They have 13!! read more

Dive Bar - Not white tea like I ordered... - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Pretty alright bar! The green tea shots were good. Lots of space indoors and outdoors to hang out.

Dive Bar is a cool spot. Not my fav in Clifton but better than Martinos next door. Avoid Martinos at all costs that place is disgusting.

Bartender Jake is cool. I really really really really REALLY like bartender Jake he does a great job read more

Dive Bar - Jake - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Decent selection of beer and liquor, neat old building type space. The upstairs really looked more like a dive bar than the downstairs, which was surprisingly clean and well-kept. Prices were good, service was good, we sat out on the upstairs patio and watched people on the street. I'm not super into dive bars, but I love bars in old buildings and this one really hit the spot. I'm not in the Clifton area very often, but I suspect this would be my favorite spot there if I were. read more

Dive Bar is exactly what it's called. It's still not the diviest. This is kind of a hipster take. It's located in a pretty safe campus area. The clientele are mostly well behaved students. I like cheap shit sometimes and they have it here. It's just to get the job done and who cares about taste. They have beer in cans and that seems to be a popular choice there. It doesn't have food anymore. There used to be vegan chili and hot dogs among the regular fried bar shit. It had these funny sexually suggestive names for all the food. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed. It's popular with students so it's expected to be crazy. This wasn't the case this visit. It should be of interest to you like campus dive bars. It's much more enjoyable than you expect. The beer is seriously cheap and it has good service. read more

Dive Bar - Inside - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

A large group of us came here to grab a drink after a Yelp event at Bogarts. There was a perfect large table in the corner with plenty of seating for all of us. They had some great beer specials going on adn a large selection of local craft cans for super cheap! The bartender was very helpful and attentive. I sure expected more of a college crowd, but on this night it was a strange mix of hipsters and locals. For sure this place lives up to its name, it is divey, but good place to grab a cheap drink if youre in the area! read more

Dive Bar - Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Dive bar isn't really a dive bar. It is more of a hipster version of a dive bar. There are various drink specials every night. The night we went there was a special on cans of local beers. The bartender was jovial. After serving our group he went back to the regulars. For the most part, it seems to be a locals kind of place. Not so much the college crowd. More the post college, can walk from their nearby homes sort of crowd. Our group decided to check it out after an event at Bogart's. I got the feeling that the regulars like to stay separate from the people who wander in from Bogart's events. read more

Dive Bar - Entrance and hours - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Great place if you're looking for a young drinking crowd. They have an awesome outdoor patio and the design of the building is really cool. The bartenders are young but fun and friendly! If you're looking for a party this is the spot! Great atmosphere. If you're looking for a high end drink to sip on this may not be the place for you... Overall great spot! read more

Cheap drinks. Great location. Very cool vibe. Pro tip : the basement is a killer hidden spot in the summer . Also, there is an upstairs with pool read more

Dive Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I love this bar. They have the best slushees and the bartenders are so fun! They have great drink prices as well.

Best bar on UC campus. Every time you walk in there is a good chance of it being the best night of your life. Drunkly parsing through people through the 4 floors to find someone you know is my favorite pastime. Best place to take a dump too. Sometimes I would leave my house to go poop at Dive Bar. Consider me a long time patron. read more

It's a total college cesspool but we fucking love it. Restroom was out of soap and TP. An insane amount of space with three stories of very different rooms. Live DJ and food. Service is fast and prices are fair. Thanks Hannah, I like your vibe! haha read more

Feels like a dive bar in that they have really cheap drink specials and no draft beer, but definitely not a dive bar given every other aspect. We had fun stopping in for a couple beers last weekend, they have a huge beer selection - all cans and bottles - and the vibe was really laid back with good music. There is more seating than normal bars have with a long booth along the window, which we liked to have more space to hang out. The bar and bathrooms seemed pretty clean, another plus for them that most actual dive bars may not be able to claim. Would definitely stop in again while on campus. read more

Dive Bar certainly lives up to its name. It's a simple bar that will serve you bottles of beer and lots of alcohol, for cheap prices. We were here on a Thursday waiting for a concert at Bogart's, and the $3 local craft beers really hit the spot. Where else are you going to get $3 Rhinegeist cans? You can't even get that at the brewery! Too bad they don't have any beers on tap. Decor is a hodge podge of old alcohol paraphernalia, chalkboard signs showcasing the specials, and exposed brick and wood beams. It would be cozy except for the fact that it is very dark inside and everything felt a little bit dirty. We ordered the bacon cheese fries to snack on ($7). They were ok...The toppings were generous, but the fries were soggy. There's no waiter, and the bartender got busy so we just picked up our own food from the window.... Overall, not a bad dive bar, and the prices are worth coming back for if I'm in the area. Probably would eat somewhere else. read more

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This place is great. Plain and simple. You must have one (or 2 or 3) mini beers. Now, I won't spoil the surprise, but they are actually not beer but an amazing concoction that I had never heard of. The bartender the night I was there, Will, is awesome. Kinda soft-spoken, but a very good bartender and knowledgeable about the beers (tons of imports and crafts!!) and made some great suggestions for me and my group. Now, why was I here? Through random chance I went to this place on their Vinyl Night Mondays. The premise is simple: bring about a half hour to hours worth of records and you get to DJ your music. Cool! I along with another music friend, brought a few of our records and we shared a set. Music was rather mixed and pretty much all of it was awesome, although I did sneak in an Elvis Christmas song for the holidays. The upstairs is awesome, kinda akin to a cool lounge complete with a pool table and poker table. It was empty the night I was there, but I assume it fills up on the weekend. Oh! and there are a few old school video game systems for you to play. For free! As Charlie Sheen says, Winning! While it's called Dive Bar, it really is clean and has a vibe similar to some of the cool bars in SF that I visited on a recent trip. (Noble Experiment, Bourbon and Branch, etc.) BTW, their bathrooms are lined with chalkboards (but no chalk in mine :(, and their communal sink is a huge concrete slab that looks like the water should spill over. Cool! Ha ha, so in closing, support this bar and buy me a mini beer the next time ya see me there. And feel free to dust off your records and bring a few on Monday. read more

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What a cool spot for a beer. The atmosphere is great and the staff is very friendly. The bartender did most of the remodel work himself and quality work at that. From the hand painted alcohol labels to the unique lighting fixtures, you can tell that paid very close attention to detail. All very cool. The beer selection was great but unfortunately we did not get to try the food as the kitchen had closed down by the time we got there (11pm) but it smelled great. Until next time... read more

Dive Bar - Hand painted Jameson label - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Great atmosphere, great company and really great bartender. Friendly, smart and ability to make people feel welcome is a quality you can't teach. Great experience and we will definitely be back! read more

Dive Bar - Specials of the day - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I've always overlooked this bar thinking it was just filled with college students. After giving it a go one night it confirmed that it was filmed with college students, but the vibes of the bar are pretty cool. They have one bar upstairs and another kind of hidden one downstairs. The one downstairs has an absolute vodka slushy for $6 which is amazing. You can barely taste the alcohol in it so it sneaks up on you. There's lot of seating on the porch, outside, and up on the roof. The music is chill and the ambiance is casual. It's a cool place to hang with your friends. I will warn you that a lot of homeless people hang out right outside of it because the area, short vine, is a little sketchy. Other than that I would definitely give this place a try! read more

I don't know, it seems like "dive" bar is an overused phrase. I guess when you've been to worse, a place like this doesn't seem bad. This isn't the type of bar where the only thing I would touch is my beer. The floor wasn't sticky. The walls aren't dirty, dug out of the earth or anything. The bathroom is functional. If you come visit you have to check out the bathroom sinks. A single concrete slab, they are an architectural marvel. I think I kind of dig this place. Nice little upstairs. Good lookin' set up. Decent food. Cheap beer. What do you want from a bar near campus? read more

Think the bartenders name was john, jovial bald guy, makes the best bloddy Mary, you can tell he's been in the game for a while! Will totally come back! read more

Mon-Fri 3-7 $1.50 PBR and $3 Wells. No taps but great beer selection otherwise. Didn't eat this time but will try something next time. Great outdoor patio in back as well. read more

I think I would have liked it better if I was here on a different night. I was a first time visitor in Cincinnati for a NYE concert...came by to check out the venue location and wanted to stop for a drink somewhere nearby. I had high hopes after reading the great reviews, but when I walked in the place was flat - granted, it was a Sunday night. There were about 5 of us there, plus the bartender. Now I will never fault a place for being slow - even the best spots have their down nights. Instead, I was hopeful that this would be a place that would give me real local flavor. As I parked my bottom on a barstool, visions danced in my head of a quick witted, chatty bartender and friendly regulars who would be eager to welcome me to their spot and share their suggestions for "must-dos" while I was in town. Not so much. The bartender quickly poured me a small, weak drink (Note: this is likely the type of place where ordering a beer is your better bet), took my money and returned to doing stock. Two drunk girls played 90's hits on the electronic jukebox, and the two gentlemen at the bar sipped their beers with eyes firmly glued to the football game on screen. It's cool...maybe just one of those nights where no one wanted to be bothered. But everyone was doing their own thing, there was nothing really fun going on. An attempt to chat with the bartender fell flat...so I finished my drink and left. If I was back in town though, I'd probably try here again, maybe on a busier night. Rereading the great reviews, I just feel like I was missing out. I must echo previous reviewers in saying that this not a true dive, but is some steps up. Still, I loved that the interior and vibe was, to quote Alex S., "dark and shady yet warm and inviting." From the looks, it seems like exactly the type of spot I'd love hanging at. Next time I'm in Cincinnati, I'll try again...hopefully with better results. read more

Dave Bar isn't. There's nothing dive about it. Nestled next door to a Cincy PD substation the place is clean with nice decor, great selection of beers from domestic plain Janes to the pretentious. The bartender was friendly and offered up a suggestion with I couldn't make up my mind. I didn't order a cocktail. There seemed to be a bit too many Vodkas displayed. Vodka is for college kids and we were near a campus so I can't blamed them but when I see that many vodkas I don't trust I'll get a good cocktail. I kinda figured it'd be a college bar but not really. There were the obligatory, tuned-in-to-sports TVs but not blaring obnoxious, techno music. Drinkers could talk. I don't think anyone would really feel out of place walking into it until.... Let's just say I wouldn't bring my auntie here to eat. Or a female client. Why? They have a food station that serves hotdogs. All are given wacky names. I learned that these wacky names are supposed deviant sex acts. Someone will feel the need to whip out their smart phone and look them up and read them aloud. I don't really need to hear the definition of an Alabama Hot Pocket while trying to enjoy myself with female company. Or male company. Or just drinking by myself. It almost made me drop them down to 3 stars but....in a culture as disgusting as ours this seems almost Victorian. read more

A-OK. Not a place I would throw out there with friends to go to, but if we were in the area I would totally stop in for at least one drink. Especially compared to the other bars in Clifton this is by far the best one. Not a big dive bar fan but for those of you that are, this is your place. Friendly bartenders, cheap drinks, great atmosphere. Cheers! read more

This is a great bar to start and finish at if you're going to a concert at Bogarts. They have a pretty good selection of bottled beers and a huuuge behind the bar which was awesome to watch the end of some college football games! The prices were reasonable and it was even more fun to people watch because there are some eclectic people there to chat with..always fun after a few beverages. If you can get the front high top to the right as soon as you walk it, it's a great spot....close to the bar but out of traffic and since we were there during the winter, there is a heater underneath the seat up against the front window. There is also a deck out back but as it was winter, we chose to stay indoors...looked cool though. Super tiny bathrooms with the faucets outside of them which is an interesting quirk. I'd definitely stop back again if I was in the area for another concert! read more

Dive bar used to be my old stomping grounds when I lived on short vine and I recently returned to have a drink before heading home. As always, it did not disappoint. They consistently have a fantastic beer and liquor selection. The bar tender was friendly, helpful, and attentive. I got a Blake's mango habanero cider which was amazing. The bar tender suggested checking out the wine store in Findlay Market who source other Blake ciders, I will be doing so in the near future. I also had a Wild Ginger, ginger beer which was delicious, especially when I took the bar tender's suggestion of adding Jameson because when is Jameson not a good idea! read more

Dive Bar - Delicious cider, a bit sweet but paired well with the spicy! - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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An appropriately named bar. Nothing fancy or interesting about this place if they put up about 10 flat screens and turned it into a sports bar this would be a cool place to grab a bear with friends. However I would say this is probably a great place to go if you are a college student wanting to get Messed up on a Friday or Saturday or want to pick "interesting" men in their 40's read more

Kendall is the best and most genuine bartender I have ever had. The service is exemplary. Great place to bring friends and they allow dogs on the patio! Can I say again how great Kendall is???? read more

Dive Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

I like this place. It's not really as Dive-y as the name portrays it to be, but it is on Short Vine, so they get some dive points just for location. The upstairs is like a completely different bar than the rest of the bar- which I love- and then the back patio/deck is completely different still. I love that being able to go to different rooms in the same place, you totally change the feel. My favorite is to have a group of 10+ and just take over the entire upstairs. This is home base for several of my friends who live close, and we almost ALWAYS end up back here or Knockback Nat's after a night of drinking anywhere else. The drinks are decently priced, always an interesting mix of people. I give this place a thumbs up. I haven't even tried the food...that I remember. ;) read more

Still being fairly new to the dive bar concept, I expected a dark dirty place. Which it isn't. This is actually a nice place, with a big bar and a stretched out sofa against the wall when you come in (I thought that was great!). While it's clearly a place to drink beer, I did get a decent glass of wine in a nice big glass so I was very happy with that. Then for the food, I asked the guy who works there to recommend me something and he said the Cincinnati bowtie. I didn't realize what that meant exactly until my Yelp friends pointed it out to me. Fair enough. It still tasted like a pretty normal hot dog to me. Alex tried the chili and that tasted amazing... So I would definitely try that next time. Prices are not expensive for the food though and you get to pick a free bag of chips - cool! We were upstairs for the book club, which was a pretty big area with a pool table, television, games. I could imagine it being crowded over the weekends. It was well fit for our book club though because the space was reserved for us so we could have a good conversation about how we thought the book we read was boring :) So, yep, definitely a fan, just not a "as good as it gets feeling" yet - probably should come and try again on a night out! Perhaps a next Yelp event?! read more

This place is a diversity of awesomeness. I had my first Old Rasputin here, a shit ton of Breakfast Stouts and the bartender gave me a little clip she was finished with. I repayed the favor the next day. The relevance of this place is, it was my first bar I actually went to solo. I had not done this up until this point and could not understand for the life of me why he did, now I do not know why I haven't this whole time...? It's on a cool strip of tattoo shops and Alabama-Q, which produces some of the finest BBQ I have ever experienced. Small, dark, down to earth cool people. A step outside the box from the goofy college kids and spots they frequent. This song may paint a picture of the experience and feel you will have after and during for that matter at this place. http://youtu.be/Da6rwfnR6ew read more

So, so unnecessarily loud. Since they built the deck/patio area on the back of the bar, they've been playing music in the outdoor area every night of the week (besides Monday?). They do this even when there's no crowd during the week. My apartment in the building behind the bar shakes at night because of their casual disregard for the hundreds of residents that live behind them. The music continues past midnight on weeknights and until 2am on weekends (thurs-sat). As a college student living in Clifton, I expect random noise throughout the night but now it's literally impossible to sleep until the music stops. If they weren't so loud at night, I would have loved to go over there and enjoy the bar on my own terms. However, their disregard for their community has made me lose interest in ever going to the Dive Bar. read more

Nothing too fancy and nothing below my standards. A great place to get a burger and a beer to watch football on Sundays. I'm sure it's the place to be Saturday Nights being so close to UC so might have to go and check it out. Other than that I recommend the Dive Burger with a Not Your Father's Root Beer. The Bartender will talk with you and make sure you're doing alright. He's very friendly and knows everyone that walks into the place, so it's a great warm atmosphere. read more

The dive bar is amazing. Great place to sit back and watch the game. 10/10 would recommend to a friend

For context, I'm 25 years old. The bouncers who work here are shifty. One of them thought my real out of state license was fake and pocketed it. I would have been rendered unable to drive if I let him get away with it. I only got it back after cussing him out and threatening to call the police and have him charged for theft of property. It is highly illegal for bouncers to confiscate real IDs. I didn't even get an apology for the trouble. I've never been so amused and upset at the same time in my life. read more

On a trip to Cincinnati I discovered the Dive Bar. I highly recommend this location. They had a great selection of local beers with good pricing. Staff was knowledgable and welcoming. Also they have a kitchen that was open late and the chicken nachos were delicious. read more

Always liked that place, it's great to stop by for a couple drinks before a show at bogart's (with their ungodly prices) they did such a fantastic job with reconstruction of the whole bar. Patio is great, bar looks nice, drinks are pretty strong: I nothing bad to say about this place. read more