Pure, old school, Ithaca…read more Let's just say you can go there anytime, I mean anytime (I've been there at 8am on a Wednesday) and there's an interesting crowd, buying each other drinks, and sharing stories. This is what a bar should be. Just go.

The fall creek house is a nice little bar/ restaurant located adjacent to the Ithaca falls. It has…read morea Fun mix of both local and college cliental. I stopped by last night and was expecting a quit night however the place was near capacity with live music, a birthday party and televised Cornell hockey game and Olympic coverage. Drinks were great and the bartenders weee cute and on top of their game. A buzz of wonderful conversation and a top notch grilled chicken sandwich. Recommend.

Chanticleer is a great old family-run historic bar that's been here forever, since 1946 or so. It…read morehas a tavern-like atmosphere. It's real and local, not tourist-style or tourist-price. Dark. For a few beers and a buzz. If you can't relax in a dive, just take your selfie under the neon sign and roll on. No hard feelings. We'll be here. (Jul 2026)

What a s*^%%# little bar…read more I came here at the recommendation of a local, but these folks are running game on drunk kids late at night. I ordered a double tanqueray and tonic and watched the guy pour the drink. Poorly. (Pun intended) He put the tonic gun on full blast and dribbled tonic into the glass. The bottle stopper was closed, so he had to finger it open as he continued to blast tonic into the glass. I could tell the drink was mostly tonic and said, "Hey friend, that's not a double!" He looked offended and swore it was because they don't use anything to measure their tonic, they just rely on the bottle dribbling out the so-called proper amount. I should have walked away before he sat it in front of me. I took one sip and surprise-surprise, it's basically just tonic water with a touch of a tanqueray. This was my first drink of the night, and I know it's wrong, but neither the guy nor the girl behind the bar were interested in making it properly. Pour out two shots. It's not that hard. But if you're purposefully pouring short booze to drunk people knowing you'll get away with it, it IS too hard. Don't come here. I know at least one local likes it, but nobody likes being charged double for a single anything. Or maybe the play here is to just order stuff in bottles. That way they can't cheat you out of liquor I paid $14 for a glass of tonic and MAYBE a shot of tanqueray. MAYBE. I feel like I paid $14 for the privilege of writing a crappy review. I absolutely got my money's worth.

you gotta go! Dive bar person? You're gonna love it!…read more You're not gonna have any food, but what you will have is a great time! Lots of locals and regulars here. Our bartender was chatting with everyone. Everyone was chatting with us. We got some amazing recommendations of hikes and waterfalls in the area. Someone bought a local beer just so I could try it. It was just Ana amazing and fun experience and I wish I could share this place with everyone! 10/10 recommend.

the year 1978 ~ walked into Petes one Friday afternoon and never walked out. Sat down and got 3…read morerocks for a buck. I was a sophomore at Ithaca College. I continued to go to Petes for the next 6 years. I had graduated from I.C. and stayed in Ithaca and had a Job at I.C. ~ Back then it was a locals bar only ~ no students went there but me and a couple of friends. Lisa and Pat ( the owners) were so NICE. Ithaca college students were going to the Dugout, The Pines, McCawbers, Simeons, and the Haunt back then. After I graduated from I.C. I really became a regular , after work each day, at Petes. I don't even know if the term "Dive bar" existed. ? I was an avid pool player and we started a pool team in a new league in the Tompkins County area. Petes Pool team played every Tuesday ? night home and away. It was so much fun and we did well as a team. Times did change in the mid 1980's as a few more students from I.C. started visiting Petes. Not a lot but a few. The best time was on Friday afternoons from around 3 pm to 9 pm when happy hour was celebrated. I think that is my fondest memory. I met and made a lot of new friends at Petes and I became more of a local and not an "out of towner from Cape Cod". Even a lot of my past political science professors had their stools at the bar. I really miss those days and think that was when I was happiest in my life. ! I have been back to Ithaca a few times since I left in the mid 80's and my first stop is always Petes ! Yes it has changed just a bit, but it brings back such fond memories. Talk about Nostalgia. What a great time it was . David H.

This place is a gem. If you like sports, this will be your home away from home!!! I have been…read moreenjoying the food soooo much that I may have gained a few pounds, lol. But the cheese curds are EPIC!!! I have yet to have a bad meal; the cooks are absolutely amazing and incredibly talented. And the service is absolutely perfect. They manage to find the perfect balance of personable and friendly yet not annoying or too much. They have a lot of people who play pool there regularly which is interesting to watch, and can be quite funny and entertaining. Drinks are reasonably priced and delicious and it has a definite hole in the wall-dive bar feel but a top tier staff who clearly know what they are doing. I heard there's been a change in management or ownership and all I can say is HALLELUJAH!!! Because they are my favorite spot and I cant say enough good things about my new home away from home. Don't try it unless you are ready to find your new fave spot---Ithacas best kept secret!!!!

After reading highly rated reviews on Yelp, I decided Uncle Joe's would be a great local spot for…read moredinner during our Friday night in Ithaca. Many restaurants in town had long waits, so I was pleasantly surprised when we were able to walk right in... until I realized the place was nearly empty. There were two men playing pool and a couple of people sitting at the bar, and everyone seemed surprised to see us walk through the door. Our server was friendly and told us to sit anywhere. When I asked why it was so quiet, she explained it was the slow season. We looked over the menus and tried ordering chips and guacamole--only to learn they were out of guacamole. Next, we tried mozzarella sticks--also unavailable. As we looked for a third option, my son asked if their chicken wings used a dry rub. The server said she'd check with the cook... and went over to ask one of the guys playing pool. She returned to tell us he was not only the cook but also "a very good pool player." We then noticed no one in the restaurant had food in front of them, the air had a dingy smell, and the whole atmosphere felt off. At that point, we decided not to stay. Back in the car, I checked Yelp again and realized most of the glowing reviews were from five years ago. This might have been a great spot in the past, but based on our experience, it seems it's no longer the vibrant local hangout it once was. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend it.

Update to my previous review:…read more I now have a dog and I love the Rhine House even more. My dog also likes the Rhine House because Cara (one of the resident booze-slingers) gives her dog treats by the handful. Train shots are still a thing, and still the most reliable way to identify your local, lovable neighborhood lush. The curmudgeonly regulars and no-nonsense bartenders still frighten off most of the college-age douchebags, which is fine with me. (Ok, some of the bartenders are *some*-nonsense. But don't tell them I told you) Best bar in town. But stay away, I'm one of the curmudgeons and I don't want you there. Go away. Leave me alone.

Kim the bartender sucks balls. She was terrible from the beginning. I asked for a redbull vodka and…read moreoffered $100 tip and she told me fuck off because she "knew I was from LA". TRASH. If this is how the Rhino House treats people then I suggest finding another spot where we're all appreciated.

Your quintessential on the lake burger joint. The burgers are good, view is awesome, folks who work…read morethere are friendly and make sure you're taken care of. It's a good local place that's casual and fun.

Glenwood Pines jumped out at me given its great location on the west edge of Cayuga Lake just a few…read moreminutes from the heart of Ithaca. I figured it'd be a good, no frills lunch option with some distant lake views based on the pictures I'd seen online. There's no formal wait service as you have to order food/drinks at the bar, and also head back to the bar to pick up your food when it's ready. Food is served in clunky plastic take out containers. It was a slow wait as it took 20-25 minutes for them to prepare the food. While waiting, I had a chance to explore the interior of the place, and was quite impressed with their collection of bobbleheads on display. Some were of presidents, while many were of pop culture like superheroes/villains and animated television characters (I liked their line up of Simpsons bobbleheads)...definitely gave off some quirky dive bar vibes. We ordered a local beer, mozzarella sticks, a cheeseburger, and a chicken sandwich. The mozzarella sticks were the frozen food service kind without much of a taste, and served with bland marinara sauce. The cheeseburger was quite small and also lacked any seasoning/flavor. The side of onion rings were also underwhelming and not worth the cost. The chicken sandwich was probably the best of the items we ordered, but was mediocre otherwise. All in all, the food was average at best, with nothing being particularly memorable, so worthy of an overall 3/5 Yelp rating from me. While I wasn't expecting a gourmet meal, it seems many of the reviews you find online are inflated due to the views of Cayuga Lake off in the distance. While it's a really nice location, they could do better in terms of food quality, so I likely would not return, and recommend others to drive an additional 8-12 minutes into Ithaca for better quality food.

Get the home fries, I usually never get home fries but these were so good. The food came out so…read morequickly too. the servers were nice and the food came out fast. Not to loud was able to talk well. 5 stars.

Great little dinner. Good food decent prices…read more Proprietor loves to break the customers balls. It was fun.

I didn't have a high expectation, but mushroom vegan calzone was surprisingly delicious. Add a star…read moreon that! I will give them five stars if they just wrap their calzones in aluminum foil and offer absolutely minimum packaging. I don't like to get any trash after ordering takeouts - so-called "compostables" ' toxicity to human health and soil is now documented in studies) or pizza boxes laced with BPA. The problem with food packaging is the same across the spectrum, not just this place. We'd like to see NYS to fully allow BYOC (bring your own containers) as they are done in California and other countries, and also provide incentives, support, subsidies and infrastructure for locally owned and operated DRS (deposit return system). Just so wary of ending up with trash whenever I eat out.

I was really hungry and ate my DP dough before taking a picture. I'm sorry it's open late like…read morereally late comparatively to any other place in the area 4 AM you know service is going to self. Serve the guy on the counter and they have the kiosk it's very easy and a lot of people just order and pick up. It looks like a typical fast food, sporty place we got a chalkboard we could buy propane things and some offensive things which I just like to cross it out like if I see something really like offensive on the chalkboard I'm just gonna like make a face over it, but I got the Roni zoni. I don't know. It's the one with pepperoni. It was tasty. Got the marinara and the garlic sauce Yum Yum cheesy crispy delicious what's the complain about? I could see this is like great drunk food. I recommend it if you're drunk, especially. I thought, was not drunk.

I ordered an XL meat lovers pizza from here last night. it was $30 to have it delivered…read more all I can say is: pizza was yummy. but no way in hell does the taste match the price. that is all.

I am big fan of their burgers and gyros. I am actually surprised by how good their burgers are!…read moreThey don't have the nice 5 guys grill flavor, but they are beefy, salty and juicy. Juicier than 5 guys (if you can believe that). Yum! They also have the "Costco" style French fries that are very crispy on the outside. Overall, this place hits the spot.

As the weather warms up make your way to Bar Argos! They have a quaint outdoor patio with tables…read morelarge enough to accommodate larger parties. While sitting under their string lights enjoy a craft cocktail (or a couple) while catching up with old friends. Of the multiple cocktails we had there wasn't a single one we didn't like. If you find yourself having a hard time deciding, ask a friendly server for a recommendation!

Wonderful bar for drinks. I've been here a couple times and have sat both inside (darker, moodier,…read moremore intimate) and outside (livelier, great when the weather is nice, more relaxed). Very unique cocktails! My first visit, I tried the ruby slipper, braulio sour, and the mango lassi. The mango lassi is incredible! It is my favorite drink at Argos! The ruby slipper and braulio sour were also quite tasty but I preferred the ruby slipper a tad more. My second visit, I tried the grapefruit soda (not artificial tasting at all), the Shark Juice (tasted a bit too much like cologne, wasn't a fan), and the Gigi (couldn't taste the hojicha, liked the concept more than the execution). I would get the Gigi again, but would pass on the Shark Juice. Sitting inside, I enjoyed the quieter and calmer atmosphere as well as the soft lighting. The interior decor is very cosy and slightly eclectic. I came with a friend on a weekday evening and it was pretty empty which was nice. The outdoor patio space is very nice- I like the lanterns on the walls and the whole space is quite charming. I left with a few mosquito bites though. Overall, I would recommend Argos Inn!