Arnie's will always be an old favorite of mine. The drinks and cover are pretty reasonable, the music is always upbeat and fun, the dance floor is pretty big and there is almost always a good sized crowd there.
If you are in the Newport/Cincy area and looking for a place to spend your night throwing back cocktails and dancing, you should definitely give Arnie's a go.
Having read through a few of the other reviews, I realize I have only had a limited experience at Arnie's on the levee, but nevertheless, I really can't give it more than 1 star...
I came here as a volunteer for the world choir games, with a group of 40 adolescents from Belgium. Initially it all looked good, because they gave us the space at the back of the restaurant, kind of closed off. The kids were happy. The manager tried to make us happy too.
However... as we started to line up for dinner, one of the choir members noticed that the plates were really dirty (dirty as in: she swept her finger over it and it was gray with dust...). We asked a waitress to clean them up (right?!) and that's where it all went wrong:
1) she didn't apologize
2) she looked as if she thought she was way better than having to clean the plates
3) she cleaned the plates with a rag that didn't even look remotely clean
4) wait for it... she 'cleaned' about 5 plates and then said with an annoyed face: "will that do?" We were astonished, given the fact that another 35 people were waiting in line! No, miss, that won't do! And then she just shrugged and kind of tried to act as if she kept cleaning the plates...
I realize this really focuses on 1 employee, but no good manager should ever hire someone like that. She treated us without any respect and that's enough for me to never come back.
The food was meh, not bad, not good.
Something big is going to have to happen before I come back to Arnie's.
To be completely honest it's not that bad, but not that good either. If you have never gone for lunch do yourself a favor and try it out before a Reds game. The food is good and beers deals are killer. Â The night club aspect of it however is a different story. The first few times I went were fun. but my friends and I made it a habit of going to the place and it got old quick. There really is nothing special here. You have your typical bachelorette parites and collection of tools here. I didn't hate it but I wouldn't go all the time.
Review Source:There is a wing night here, and I really, REALLY liked their wings. They were massive and tasty and of a very good price. That said, this was pretty much the only positive thing. It was a HUGE positive though.
I imagine any other night is not that great. The menu was underwhelming and it was fairly dirty. I actually liked the presence of smoking, something I miss from the days where it was legal in Ohio, but the floor was sticky. Ouch... The service was fine, but not overly friendly, even for a really slow night.
There was a pretty rowdy crowd here too, so that did not contribute to my visit. Again, however, the wings were excellent.
I am about 10 years past my "beautiful people" stage of my life, so Arnies is not my kind of place on a Saturday night. Â Don't get me wrong- I would still go and shake my booty here if I was forced to on a bachelorette party and love every minute. Â But on an average weekend evening, I have better things to do than prove how hot and fabulous I am. Â
On the other hand, Arnies is a surprisingly great place to go for happy hour. Â We often stop in for a drink and maybe some food before heading over to the movie theater. Â They are desperate to bring in patrons in their non-club hours so they offer amazing specials on drinks and food. Â
On top of that, they are also on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a>. Â Several times, groups of us went their for happy hour with a $50 certificate. Â We drank and ate to well past sensible and barely hit the $100 minimum (remember to order happy hour specials or else this won't be true). Â Each of us walked out of there after many drinks and full dinners for about $15 a piece. Â What a deal!
So, if you are still among the beautiful people set, this is a great place to go on a Friday or Saturday. Â Otherwise, still try it out for happy hour!
EXTREMELY RACIST!!!! If your skin is any shade darker than bright white, you will not get in. I just visited Cinicinatti and Cleveland last weekend with a friend of mine. I'm white, he's black. We got turned away at the door because he had shorts on below his knees. Nevermind the 3 white guys that walked in with khaki shorts below their knees. The excuse from the bouncers was that they wanted the clientele to look "preppy", when it was obviously a case of racial discrimination. In fact, as we were walking away, we ran into a group of 4 guys (3 white, 1 black). You can guess which one out of the group didn't get in. And he was wearing Khaki shorts!!!! Now we had drove from DC, so we were definately not used to this in-your-face racism. It was surprising that even the cop working the door shouted to me (remember, I'm white) "Say one more word, Boy and I'll lock your ass up!" Â Fortunately, we were guided to a place called Jefferson Hall right around the corner and it was a much better time. Please go to Jefferson Hall instead, I promise - with live entertainment, firendly bartenders, and a good mixed atmosphere, you won't be disappointed.
Review Source:Not a huge fan. Â I went there for happy hour and the pace was really quiet - too quiet.
They had a singer on stage who was really good but he was singing to a group of 7. Â Â We had a good time but this was happy hour on a Friday. Â Â I am thinking it is better before a Reds or Bengals game but could not understand if it was a sports bar, dance club, or a live music setting.
Out of my 200+ reviews on Yelp, I only ever gave one 1-star review and it was my first ever review on the site. It's taken two and a half years for me to find something that is deserving of another lonely star review: Arnie's.
I've been to Arnie's twice - once because I had just moved to the area and was getting to know a group of people, most of whom I'm still good friends with today. That time I was drinking a good amount and just assumed the trashiness was a result of my having clouded judgement from a few too many drinks that night.
The second (and final) time I went to Arnie's involved two blacked-out bridesmaids trying to sandwich me on the dance floor, a popped-collar underaged d-bag trying to follow me into the women's bathroom, and getting overcharged for some from-a-plastic-jug mojito. Even as I left, two high school aged girls were in the parking lot of the neighborhing liquor store talking about whether or not their fake IDs were good enough to get them into Arnie's. Ick!
Every time I'm walking around Newport and catch the awful, tacky neon sign in the corner of my eye, I groan. Audibly.
Never, ever, ever again.
I'm not sure that I can say anything here that hasn't already been eloquently explained by Sean R., but I just thought I would add my two cents. As a person who is allergic to cigarette smoke, underage prostitots, and bad food, I've never been a huge fan of Arnie's. But, I live in Newport and when I saw a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> discounted gift card, I thought it would be a great way to enjoy Opening Day 2011 on the cheap. We went to Arnie's, ordered, had a few buckets of beer, watched the game, then asked for our check. When we attempted to pay with a gift card, we were told they were not accepting gift cards that day! We asked if there was a sign up about this somewhere, and the manager became unnecessarily nasty with us.
I could *maybe* understand this if it was some kind of coupon/Groupon type situation, but this was a gift card. And, there was no sign up anywhere that stated they were not accepting any gift cards. The attitude of the management made things even worse. I will never go back to Arnie's, and now I'm stuck with a gift card I paid for but will never use. I don't even want to give it to a friend, as I can't be sure when exactly they will be accepting it.
Not recommended if you are not one of the cast members of Jersey Shore or have seriously impaired your nervous system with horse tranquilizers. Arnie's is an offense to all the major senses, and in the three times I've frequented this intellectual wasteland I've strongly envied Hellen Keller's blind, deaf and dumbness.
Come to Arnie's and have the intoxicating aroma of vomit and B.O. enter your nostrils as you watch the bros fist pump and dry hump a syphilitic tranny. When one fights through the crowd to the bar for something to blunt this carnival of horrors, they will wait for thirty minutes before the grossly tanned bar tender allows them to buy an oz of 7 dollar booze.
When your mystical night of wonders concludes, you will have a 75% chance of seeing a bloody, drunken brawl drawing to a close on the steps with the police waving night sticks and moving the crowds along.
When I die, I will be cast into a burning pit of damnation and there before me will be Adolph Hitler grinding Snooki on the Arnie's dance floor for the rest of eternity.
Boo! My husband and I had a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate for this (thank God), but even with that we were disappointed. Yes, the view is OK. just ok. Mostly you get to see Newport on the Levee. Nice, but...whoop. dig?
The food was such that I don't have the slightest clue what we got (it was about a month ago) nor does my husband.
The service was beyond slooooow. We had an hour and a half to eat before we had to be at a movie, there were a total of (MAYBE) 20 other customers (weeknight, approx 6-7pm) and we STILL were late and had to forfeit the movie.
The waitress was polite, but much more concerned with texting that working, it seemed.
Never again.
Cheap beers? $5 small blue moons is not a cheap beer..and htis was during "happy hour"? The staff is extremely slow. You couldnt keep a buz there unless you ordered 3 drinks at a time. Me and the staff from my work went there after our shift on a friday and sat at a table not knowing that that table was located on there soon to be dance floor. Roadhouse wannabe bouncers came over and told us we needed to leave the table in ten minutes or they were going to take the table away. With no other tables available in the place we were forced to leave. I will never go back. The food was horrible the drinks were warm and overpriced. Horrible place all the way around.
Review Source:BRO-CENTRAL.
I knew going in it was a dance club and a very mainstream one at that. Â Like other reviewers I witnessed countless acts of drunken stupidity. Â Almost to the point where I thought I could design a drunk dance club bingo card. Though really, it would be too easy. Â Embarrassments are everywhere.
As much as I want to trash on the place, I can't. Â It's just not my scene, I don't do places where I can't have a conversation with someone who is only a foot or two away from me. Â I like conversation and atmosphere, not drunk 20-somethings looking for a quick lay.
The place has it's niche, and if you're looking to hook up for the night, this could be a stopping point. Â If you're looking to have conversation and actually meet people (not just sleep with them), look elsewhere.
Being from Austin where smoking is prohibited in both restaurants and bars, the first hurdle we had to overcome was the cigarette and cigar smoke. Â The place is huge, and on this Sunday we arrived, there were only about 20 people sitting around the bar, so we chose the back corner to put distance between the smokers. Â
As Chicago fans, we came to watch our team play (and lose to) Green Bay. Â At our waitresses suggestion, we ordered the Ruben Rolls--deep fried egg-roll like appetizers filled with mostly sauerkraut and packed with zero flavor. Â Then we halved the Philly sandwich which rated a solid two--edible, tasty even, but not something you'd try again.
For a sports bar, they had surprisingly few beer offerings especially since they were located at touristy Newport on the Levee, and more so because area restaurants were chock full of good selections.
I've been to better sports bars and had better bar food, but hey, at least they televised our game.
If you're into mediocre looking guys with their shirts half unbuttoned and their gold chains grinding up on you or really embarrassing amateur pole-work, this is the place for you! It reminds me a lot of the B&T crowds in NYC. The only thing I enjoyed about this place was the tequila bar and making fun of the desperate picked last in gym class chicks working the pole.
Review Source:Occasionally the guys and gals at my corporate job would convince me to cross the river for lunch. On two occasions I ended up at Arnie's on the Levee. Arnie's seems like nothing more than a low end sports bar and club with mediocre food and a cheap atmosphere. If you like to party hard at night or can find something you like on the menu that that's great. I can't say this is a bad place to visit but it's never stood out in my mind and considering it has an incredible location it is less than an incredible bar.
Review Source:I think the best things Arnie's has going for it are the location and the outdoor seating. If you can get one of the patio tables in nice weather, it's a great view of the Levee area. I've had lunch there a few times, usually ordering a salad, pizza or wings, and those experiences were pretty good. However, the service seems to be slow inside and out. The one time we tried to grab dinner inside we were told to seat ourselves, which we did. After waiting ten or so minutes, no server appeared, so we left.
Review Source:Arnie's suffers from split personality disorder. If you visit on weekday for lunch or an earlier dinner, you'll be welcomed to a relaxing family-friendly spot at a prime location across from Newport on the Levee. However, on a late weekend night this place is transformed into a swinging singles club replete with dance floor and DJ.
During my most recent visit, the friendly bartenders whipped us up some yummy concoctions such as pear martinis and a nameless specialty drink with blueberry vodka. The crowd consisted of Reds fans, prom-goers, families with small children, and couples 30-40 years old. The restaurant was busy but not crowded. There wasn't a wait at 6 pm on Saturday. We had a four-star experience.
However, on my previous trip, on a jammed packed Saturday after 11 pm, my feelings for Arnie's were completely different. I witnessed every embarrassing scene that could have been possibly acted out in a 20-something club setting, from drunk girl crying hysterically as she rolled around on the bathroom floor to uncoordinated guy gyrating on the dance floor, failing to get any love from the ladies. The music was annoying (tired pop/hip hop that was cool five years ago), but we spent most of the evening on their huge patio.
Based on these descriptions, you decide when you want to go. Just realize the experiences couldn't be more night and day.
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