Ray&#x27;s Place

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Clean bathroom, friendly ID checker/Bouncer & great 3rd floor! Very spacious! I think ibam going to…read moretry to get my AK-Rowdy friends to come out!

Great beer selection. Great patio. Great tunes…read more My go to spot in Kent. You can pick up Taco Tontos through a window in their wall.

Nice Patio

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View of outdoor music at night from the third floor outdoor patio

101 Bottles of Beer On the Wall

4.5(59 reviews)

0.3 mi

Super awesome bottle shop in Kent. Hundreds of different beers in coolers. A really good craft…read moreselection and not just the same old beers. Also great is the small bar in the store. Get a pint and drink at the bar or shop. In warmer seasons have a pint in outdoor seating. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Great shop.

I hadn't been to this shop in some time, but remembered it when I was in town visiting family. They…read morestill have one of the best beer selections around (and I absolutely judge my local beer stores harsher because of this). They have a limited but good wine selection. There is now a restaurant inside that was hopping when I stopped in. I didn't try any of the food, so can't speak to that, but it all looked pretty good. The bartender was very nice (we stayed for one drink) and the bar area looks great. Plus, there is a good sized parking lot.

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Beware Of The Leopard

4.8(5 reviews)

0.1 mi

My friend and I came out here on a Monday night. The bar was easy to find, and very spacious inside…read morewith a large amount of seating. The inside is so fun, with a very eclectic feel. They have an extensive menu a very interesting and fun drinks that I haven't seen elsewhere. Many of the drinks reminded me of something that I may find at a tiki bar. Although we did not try any of these drinks this time, I would definitely come back to explore the menu further if I was looking to have drinks with a friend. The real reason we came here was because my friend had heard that a woman comes on Monday nights and serves homemade Thai dumplings. This was in fact, true, and we split two orders of dumplings. We tried the traditional dumplings with meat, and the vegetarian dumplings. We received.Five dumplings per order, that were served quickly. The price was fairly reasonable. We both agreed that these dumplings were very good,. My friend enjoyed The traditional dumplings the best, whereas I loved the vegetarian ones even though I typically don't enjoy vegetarian options. The servers checked on us frequently and left us with a small picture of water so that we did not need to keep asking for refills. The interior of this bar has a great ambience that I would recommend for a meet up with a friend or a date. They do not serve many food options, in the night we were here the only food that they had was the dumplings. I would be more inclined to come back if they offered other snacks or appetizers. I would however definitely try this place again.

The staff and the ambience at BOTL is warm and unique. It feels cozy and arty, the bartenders and…read moreservers are attentive and welcoming. It's a great place to hang with friends, play a board game, or sit alone to read or write. The clientele seems to span a wide range of folks; but it's definitely not your typical college town bar. It's really a gem of a place in Kent.

Dumplings

Bar

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Game placed at table

Bell Tower Brewing

4.0(99 reviews)

0.1 mi

Love this place! We…read morecame in after a number of friends recommended it -- we met the Brewmaster, Jennifer, and her mother, who gave us their recommendations. The beer was AWESOME (we took some growlers home) and the food was great. But you cannot beat the ambiance of this place -- it's awesome to see what they did with an old church. Definitely coming back soon!

Bell Tower Brewing a neighborhood gastropub in Kent serving local brews, crafted cocktails and…read moredelicious scratch made, locally sourced food! Gluten free and vegetarian options available! The menu was so large it was hard to choose but the Steak French Dip & Confessional Double Hazy were our favorites! Grab cans of Tontos Cerveza to go in collaboration with Taco Tontos! The chicken paprikash was ok, needed more flavor. Parking available in a small lot or on the street. Masonic Oktoberfest Confessional Double Hazy Burning Bell Cream Ale Cider Golden Hour Peach Tart Shirley Temple Chicken Paprikash Steak French Dip

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Blind Squirrel Pub

4.4(7 reviews)

0.5 mi

Food and service was great! Very friendly staff and food was delicious. Not a huge place but at…read morelunchtime it was not too crowded so the service was prompt and food prepared in a timely fashion. Definitely recommend!

My co-worker and I had a great lunch at the Blind Squirrel one Friday afternoon...juicy burgers and…read moredelicious housemade fries, plus friendly service that was just right...not too intrusive, but always attentive. The atmosphere is that of a cozy relaxed pub where you could hang out for a few hours and they would take good care of you! Not too loud to have a good conversation. Since we work just down the street, I have a feeling this could become a habit with us!

Super cool bar back.

Garlic Cheese Curds w/ Sweet Chili dipping sauce

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Outdoor signage

Brewhouse Pub

2.0(6 reviews)

0.2 mi

I was enjoying my 19th birthday when I met a girl who had the same birthday! I told her happy…read morebirthday while she had a drink in her hand and hugged her. I did not reach, point, or even touch her drink. When a security guard with facial hair and glasses walked over, took the drink out of her hand, and asked me to leave. When I asked if he meant me, I complied and walked out. But I had not done anything wrong, and it honestly felt like a personal attack. I had multiple stamps from previous bars saying that I was underage. He gave me no explanation or reason. And he did nothing to the other girl, who was drinking after taking and throwing out her drink. All I wanted was to dance with my friends for my birthday, and I didn't get to because I was kicked out almost immediately.

Erik the security guard was terrible and ruined my experience, he slammed the bathroom door open…read morenailing my arm which I have previously broke. Definitely won't come back till he is gone

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48oz UV fishbowl. 9oz of vodka, your choice of mixers

Loft

3.0(23 reviews)

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Went there with a friend from Iran. The bartender would not take our order. He served people on…read moreleft and people on right and ignore us like we don't exist. I had to wave him down after waiting for 30 minutes. The man yelled at me and said he won't serve us and posted us to the manager if we had more to say. The manager was no help. He blamed it all on saying that I should not have ever waived at a bartender as it is rude. What was I supposed to do after waiting thirty minutes, start dancing or something. Don't go there if you don't fit in the crowd. Definitely stay away if you look middle eastern. They don't like us there

Rude bartenders that really don't care about customer service. I'm sorry but I won't come back to…read morethis bar after experiencing rude and disrespectful bartender. Drinks taste like they water it down. Don't leave your drink on the bar if you not completely done with it. One of the bartenders ( short male with pony tail and a little bread ) took my drink when I wasn't done with it and tossed it. One of the ladies I don't even know stood up and told the bartender why you took her drink if she wasn't done. He then proceeded to say "there was nothing in her f**king drink". Just totally rude like I came for the band not for the rude service. He then proceeded to make a joke by making me a tiny drink with sprite and blue syrup and put a shot glass in it and said here your drink. Like sir I spend my money here and for you take me as a joke is not right. The other bartender that wear glasses replace my drink " thank you" but wouldn't give me the rude guy name because I was going to report him to the manager. Then the guy with the glasses saw me writing a review on my phone then started being rude telling his friend next to me " why is she sitting here if I'm going to write a bad review" and started to laugh. First why are you all in my phone. I came to support the band that is why I'm sitting here. SMH I wasn't going to write anything about glasses until he started talking about me. I just hope something change out of this because you can see by the reviews that the bartenders just doesn't care about the customers. Pro the band was amazing even tho you couldn't see them. It was like a wood door covering them while they played. I honestly just came to support the band.

Dominick's

3.4(5 reviews)

Dominick's isn't my favorite place to go out in Kent, but it is really fun sometimes. They play…read moregood music and it is more chill compared to some of the other spots which is nice if you aren't looking for a super crazy night. I will say that compared to other bars in the area, the bartenders are very friendly and personable. It is a big reason I like to go. They are known for their dom boms which are some sort of shot with cherry and vodka in it. They also have orange and peach flavors.

Dominick's is your typical local bar. I definitely wouldn't classify it as a dive, because they…read morekeep it nice and clean with plenty of space and nice pool tables. But, I would say it's not like the other more trendy college town bars. We've been here many times for just the casual drink and for music events. We've never had bad service, and they have plenty of beer options (cans, bottles, and drafts). They also have a large patio with outdoor seating out back which is somewhat hard to come by in Kent.

Play your faves from your phone on the digital jukebox

Long bar for plenty of seating

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Clean and spacious seating and pool table area

157 Lounge

2.8(47 reviews)

Went here to celebrate my friends birthday weekend. This place is much better compared to other…read morebars and clubs I have been to. The space is smaller, but I had a lot of fun. The bartenders are quick with their service as well as kind, and the outdoor area is very nice. Many men would try to talk to us, but most were respectful and respected boundaries. I highly recommend their vodka crans and lemon drop shots! (I've heard bad things about the owner, but my personal experience was fine).

First tried 157 about 18 years ago. At the time, the atmosphere was great, as was the service. I…read morehave no idea how they stayed in business this long. When my friends and I, 4 in total, arrived. We were the only 4 in the establishment. We walked in to find 3 of the staff just sitting at the far of the bar hanging out. They told us to sit wherever we wanted. A bit later, we were provided menus, just under the 9:00pm happy hour. We ordered a bunch of martinis. Most were served in an okay time-frame. Personally, I think 15 minutes is a bit long for serving us 2 short of what we ordered. The final 2 were served 25-minutes later and nobody had serviced our table in the meantime. Upon receiving the last 2, we were told we'd be charged with the happy hour prices, which we later found we were not. We also ordered sushi to go. We ordered 2 types. The order was given incorrectly but we didn't feel like sending it back and waiting another 30-40 minutes for someone to actually visit our table. With only 10 people in the building at this point, 6 of who were getting drinks only, it really shouldn't have been that complicated to get 2 sushi rolls put incorrectly for the order. The place seemed dingy and while the sushi ended up being great, I'm not sure any of us would be back.

Dance floor

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The River Merchant

4.4(201 reviews)

0.6 mi

good good and service lively…read more nice location was here for Parents Weekend at Kent State

After visiting Kent State University we needed a place to relax and have a snack. We found "The…read moreRiver Merchant" 5 minutes from campus on the Cuyahoga River. It is easy to find, easy to park, spacious with plenty of seating and an outdoor deck overlooking the river. We were seated promptly and greeted by a very nice young lady by the name of Lorelei (quite a wonderful name). She was effective, efficient, pleasant, and made our experience that much better. At the entrance was a surprisingly well stocked wine cellar with some very good names. I was looking forward to a nice glass of wine for lunch. Unfortunately, the table selection only included a very few obscure names by the glass, so that option was out. The menu included all the standard burgers, flatbreads, and odds and ends one would expect. The food was good and we had a nice lunch. We finished with a nice cup of coffee and a pleasant smile from Lorelei. I very much enjoyed our excursion to Kent State University and "The River Merchant". I would recommend both.