The vid offers a great alternative to the typical over crowded student bar scene. If you are looking for a relaxed atmosphere with cheap (and strong) drinks, the vid is the place. They have plenty of pool tables to post up on, and in my experience, there is always a couple open when I get there. Be aware that they only take cash, which is a bit of an inconvenience, however there is a generic ATM inside. Overall, great bar. I haven't had a bad time yet. -Paige A. read more

The Vid is a very decent option for grabbing a drink in downtown Bloomington. Right off the square, and with bar games and a newly added video game arcade featuring old school everything, it's perfect for a bit of fun after dinner at Grazie or pregaming a show at the BlueBird or Comedy Attic! Wish they had some good food, but they aren't gonna go out of business anyway. read more

Decent pool tables, cheap beer, killer bartenders, the most awesome bouncer ever, and so on. This was my first bar and it's still my favorite. The hipster crowd can be overwhelming on weekends, but it's not as bad as the assholes who show up for 25 cent pitcher night at the Jungle Room, or the crowd at Sports of Kilroys or Brothers or whatever. This is by far my favorite place to go during the week to blow off steam with a pitcher and a few games of pool. They're not the best pool tables (go to Q Billiards for that), and it's not the best beer, but the atmosphere and the familiarity of the place all make up for that. Don't know about the ground floor, though - never really go there much. read more

Definitely one of my favorite bars in Btown. Alot of room and small nooks to sit down with friends. Cheap to well priced drinks and the most pool tables of any bar in town. The main bouncer at the door, Mike, is a Bloomington legend. Shake his hand and be good to him as well as the rest of the crew. The crowd here is generally a much more self-regulated in comparison to the Killroy's areas, a huge plus if your tired of being around fights and the overindulging college scene. read more

Everyone is grumpy here. This place sucks the life out of my night. I get dragged there by friends time to time. This place is miserable. Cash only too. read more

I really hate to rate it. Used to be the best townie bar in Bloomington. While the college idiots flocked to the Kilroys, us townies went to the Vid... Used to be such a great bar. Unfortunately money talks and Mike the owner decided to cash in. They opened up the downstairs and turned it into another cookie cutter college bar. I will still go there on weeknights to say hey to Mike (If you've been to the vid, you know Mike!) but for the most part, the magic of this bar is all but lost to the never ending flow of trust fun babies. read more

Hipster heaven. If you ain't in plaid or wearing soiled jeans, you'll stick out like a sore thumb. Omg PBR! does that make me cool now? I hear red stripe is the new PBR. Fun place, though, if you're tired of the monotony of all the other Btown bars read more

Love this place. The environment here is really laid back, the staff is friendly, the darts and pool are always fun. There is never a cover, there is tons of space, the atmosphere is awesome (it doesn't feel like a college bar), and the beer is reasonably priced. It's a great place to go and grab a beer with some friends and throw some darts. My favorite bar in Bloomington. read more

Super relaxed atmposhere without the over the top club enviroment of so many bars in btown. The Vid has broad appeal and I would suggest it to anyone. read more

They have Bell's Two Hearted on tap, and BBC Quarrymen, otherwise I don't get it. Always crowded with douschebags. Wow, stand up all night watching crappy pool players. What fun. I only go here when friends force me. Cool doorman though! read more

This used to be one of my favorite bars in town. Now they've turned up the music about 20 decibels (difficult to have a conversation without screaming) and cater to the bar crawl crowd. It feels about the same as any other bar on Kirkwood. Meh. read more

The vid is suberbly fantastically splendidly wonderfully amazingly awesomely great. I just wish it could be even shittier.

Don't come here if you have an out of state ID. They threatened to call the police on my cousin (who is well over 21)for having an Ohio ID which they thought was fake (it wasn't). It's just an ID from out of state! Terrible experience and thankfully ALL other bars we traversed that night were more accommodating. Our group of 15 left, and we won't ever be coming back. read more

We came to Bloomington to see Best Coast at some festival and after they were late to start and only played like, 3 songs, we were feeling less that stoked about driving several hours to get there. Some of the group headed back to Cincinnati to salvage to remainder of the night, but a friend and I decided to seek out some out of town adventure. She used her future phone quick search some Bloomington spots and came across info for Video Saloon. The two of us headed over and stepped in to one of the best bars I've ever had the pleasure of walking in to. The bar prices were reasonable and my Jameson & gingerale was perfect. The atmosphere was decidedly hipster-breakfast club with representatives of every social niche imaginable. A tentative second trip is being planned just to visit this spot. Loved it. read more

This used to be one of my favorite spots...the crowd and staff have changed quite a bit over the years. I still like to frequent this bar, still a somewhat townie/punk crowd spot. The weekend crowd I typically avoid these days I do have to admit...still one of my top 5 bars in town. read more

Love it, better on off nights. Cheap drinks, good people.

Great place, and now they accept credit cards!!

This is a good spot to come when you have a couple of buddies and want to play some pool. There's another pool place by grazi and another on W. 3rd, but this one is the only one I know of remotely close to the east side of town. Sometimes it is a pain of a wait to get a table since they don't have a whole lot of them. Maybe 4? They get pretty packed at times and most things here are pretty cheap. read more

dearest video saloon, i miss you so very much. 5 dollar pitchers of pbr, real darts, popcorn, andy, mike, and joey... ugh, why must you be so far away? i keep trying to find a bar to replace you in my heart, but i have be terribly unsuccessful. i guess that you can't forget your first, and the video saloon was the first bar to truly win my heart. always and forever, the west coast jew read more

How I love this bar. Beers are cheap, especially PBR at under 2 bucks a mug with 5 dollar pitchers. Great pool tables, incredible dart boards, and ever since they remodeled inside (meaning moved walls and kept that great dirty mistique) it's much easier to move around on weekends. Here's a bar that never gets too crowded, it's never full of whiny sorority girls, and the people are friendly and fun. This is far and away my favorite bar in Bloomington! read more

I'm not so secretly in love with The Vid. It's laid-back with a mix of townies and other random oddballs whether college-aged or not. They've got pool tables and darts. Beer is cheap and available in many different sizes. The only thing that knocks The Vid down one star is that the draft beer selection is pretty limited. Sure, I'm often good with PBR or Honey Brown but sometimes I want a little something new or different. read more

This is the best bar in Bloomington, in my opinion. No yuppies allowed. Cash only. Cheap beer. Good times. Right across the street from Rockitt's pizza. 'Nuff said. read more

How can you not love the vid?!? Bring cash and enjoy the strong drinks and fun games they semi-recently put in. It caters to townies yes, but a lot of the townies are younger people, often bartenders and waitstaff that stuck around after college. And many people still in college... it's a fun place and there's really nothing like it around. read more

Drank a couple $5 cans of guinness here. Then I found out I am actually pretty good at darts. Funna go back an see if I can still shoot pool worth a damn. read more

The best bar in Bloomington. Laid back, very fun.

Every time I come to slum in Bloomington, I end up at the Vid. Before it sorta sold out and opened the downstairs area, it'd have been a 5 star bar. It's still awesome and I like their PBR on tap and free-flowing local beers, but the exclusivity of the upstairs has been somewhat lost. read more

Awww the Vid. Often presented as being the 'grad student bar', it basically earned that reputation for not being overwhelmed by Greeks - so it fills a big void in the Bloomington bar scene and is a haven for those kids who write undergraduate theses :-D. Good beer, great bouncer, and those darts prove fun every time. read more

The vid is a great place to just hang out with friends and chill. Lots of bar games to play (pool, darts, ect.) prices are standard bar prices and the crowd is not usually too bad. read more

Really like the Vid but the guy at the front (owner I'm assuming) flips out very easily. Friends and I were playing pool, minding our own business. He comes up to us and asked which of us spilled their pint on the pool table next to us. Didn't even ask IF we did, just immediately jumped to which of us DID do it. And he wouldn't let us continue on until we admitted it. Can't admit to something we didn't do, and won't lie about it just cause he's agitated easily. So we left. Only happened once, but I've heard others complain about him before. Pity cause it's such a chill place to go. read more

This place has Changed over the years! Really, it's grown to upstairs and down. It has many pool tables, dart boards, and games. There are different areas though out the Saloon to socialize. Their Jack and Cokes are one of the best here in B-town, and compared to other bars, bottled beers are a reasonable price. read more

Tons of games to play upstairs with cheap beers. If my friends and I want to play pool this is where we'd go. Definitely a "hip" crowd here too. Its a place to stop in for an hour during a bar crawl. read more

review is for the average weekday night or anytime in the summer....surprisingly big place, but sectioned, so each area has it's own feel. walk up the stairs and turn right, you first enter what i'd call the main bar. with about 10-12 stools, this bar can get packed quickly. realize the vid is definitely a college bar because if you take a seat on a stool, someone is always reaching over you or bumping into you. to the north of the bar are a few wooden booths and a separate table seating area that looks over 7th ave. being on the second floor makes this place feel a bit more secluded/remote. the brick in this section gives it an old school feel. very cool. believe this bar is the only area with a few hdtvs, but the vid is not really the bar to watch the big game. continuing down a few steps there's a game room and another long bar. just one pool tables in the area, along with dartboards and a shuffleboard table (damn thing gets way to loud on a less busy night). continuing around the large circle/square, you have more tables/booths and finally the pool room with multiple pool tables. wide range of ages in the vid, along with a lot of beards, so at least on these nights it's more hipster than undergrad. very good music on most nights (black keys, foo fighters, white stripes, etc.). bartenders (again on less busy nights) are responsive and will pour a strong drink. overall, being on the second floor gives the vid a little different feel. relaxed place, good vibe that any drinker will find comfortable. read more

one of the best bars in bloomington for sure. last time i was back there, it looks like it finally got "discovered" by the hipster, hipster wannabe, and even greek scenes. it was jam-packed! that said, on a summer night or quieter night, it's still one of the best places in town. darts, pool, and plenty of space. oh, and CHEAP drinks. read more

I received a counter-fit $10 bill in change from the vid 2 weeks ago. That pitcher of PBR ended up costing me $16 + tip. Not Cool! If you drink at the vid, check your money carefully before you leave. sneaky jerks read more

aw, the vid. fratty fratters need not apply. tattoos and fashion mullets welcome. we love you, mike the bouncer,