In town for a friend's bachelor party and this was a stop on our afternoon bar crawl. Â We arrived around 3 and the bar was pretty crowded. Â Special of $5 fish bowls (essentially really big wine glasses) and they had a list of flavors. Â We all got the Long Island bowls and they were just OK. Â Tons of booze and tasted fine, just nothing to write home about. Â Would definitely stop in again if I was looking to get a little sideways, but nothing special here that would draw me back in.
I would normally only give it three stars but Bar Bleu was very clean in a sea of dirty college bars; so it gets a fourth star.
Have I really never reviewed my absolute favorite bar in State College?
I lived across the street my junior and senior (read: legal drinking age) years here and I spent many, MANY nights here.
It's got 2 very different atmospheres...the upstairs has wooden booths, leather couches and a pool table and the downstairs is an electric bar that is a bit sexier.
We usually sat upstairs, and ordered pitcher after pitcher after pitcher....and then attempted to stand up and walk home. (again, I lived across the street so I only had to hurdle myself so far)
The drinks are really reasonable (looking back, it was cheap as balls) and they're well known for their fishbowls. Kind of akin to the Saloon's monkey boy, but smaller. They are also a diabetic coma waiting to happen if you order the blue one. (I don't know what that is other than a freaking lot of curacao).
I also recall many nights of blowjob shots. (take that how you will, they are delicious.)
Overall, one of the better bars downtown to catch the game, have a few beers and people watch.
One of my favorite places in State College. Sure it helped that I lived less than two blocks away, but the prices are reasonable, the specials are fairly standard, the people are friendly. If you're looking for a good place to chill and talk with your friends, I'm a fan of the lounge downstairs to the left of the bar. All in all a bar worth checking out.
Review Source:Summary: great for any occasion (Thurs-Sat), good girl-guy ratio (normally), decent bands, moderately expensive drinks, typically 3-5 dollar cover charge
A very popular choice for Penn State students because of it's proximity to both fraternities and the college campus, Bar Bleu is a trendy leather couch and neon light bar that contains rather distinct cultures on each of its two floors. On the first floor, drunk conversation from scattered couches, booths, and tables surround a large central bar that can often be slow to order from on Thursday-Saturday. The bartenders are not really nice, though the college dominated clientele would not care anyway.
On the bottom floor, the lighting is dimmer and bands frequently play to a small dance floor and ample tables/seating. A smaller single manned bar is also on this floor and, if opened, would ABSOLUTELY be the preferred place to order drinks. The bartender will make your order more quickly and fill your second to the brim if you tip well.
Bar Bleu might be one of the best bars in State College for meeting members of the 'opposing' sex given its popularity and two-floor split. Meet someone at one of the booths at the top floor and then kindly invite them downstairs for dancing or more private conversation.
I'm not sure what the difference is between Bar Bleu and Beulah's "Bar-B-Que." I guess it's upstairs vs. downstairs. Whatever. Downstairs looks like a parody of a swanky nightclub, with leather couches and blue lights. You can only order bottled beer or a very limited selection of spirits down there. Upstairs is where it counts.
The upstairs has a more rustic feel, which I guess goes with the "Bar-B-Que." The combination with the restaurant and presence of countless TV screens tuned to ESPN may not make this seem like a great place to drink. Strangely enough though, it is one of the best spots in State College. Yeah, on the weekends you have to pay a cover for no good reason, even though you're not going downstairs where the bands or DJs are. But once inside, you'll find that some of the best drinking in town can be had here. The draught beers are often good, sometimes excellent--last time I had the exemplary Green Flash West Coast IPA. And the selection of spirits is the best I have found in town yet. Try the Chinaco Blanco tequila. Don't you dare shoot it. Sip it. Neat. If you don't like tequila, grow some balls. Or some ovaries. If you're there between 10 and 12 it's half price on EVERYTHING, so even if you pay a cover you'll probably save money if you drink a lot of good stuff or a bit of great stuff.
Nothing like the rigor of Zeno's, but an overall good deal. I wouldn't recommend any of its cousin Dante's locations, but somehow this one ended up with all the good stuff.
Pretend this says 3.5 stars.
I have to agree with Emily A about the "city vibe". Â Clean sports bar + neon blue lights does not equal "city", but it DOES equal availability of tables and chairs you're not afraid to set a Isabella Fiore bag down on.
I can't speak for the food, but I can say I didn't really see anything I was dying to try either. Â I CAN speak for the drinks, and, have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Â The beer selection was pretty good, but better yet, they actually had cocktails (!) that were decent (!!) and inexpensive (!!!). Â Honestly, two beers and two call-shelf cocktails for $13.50? I'm not in Boston anymore and lovin' it! Â That alone gave me a reason for a half-star boost over the 3 star rating. Â Keep in mind when I say "cocktail", I mean an actual cocktails, not the sugary, watery, fishbowls that anyone over 22 should be ashamed to be seen with.
My biggest pet peeve with State College bars is the fact that they allllllll charge cover even on the Friday before spring break, when there are about 15 patrons and not a lick of live music. Bar Bleu is no exception, but the bouncer did snap my friend's ID while checking it, so we somehow got out of that :)
Overall, one of the few DT bars that I'll come back to.
I've been told about this place tons of times by people claiming it's excellence, but when I finally showed up, I was pretty underwhelmed. It's another one of the "Dante's" restaurants (Saloon, The Deli / Z Bar, Hi-Way Pizza, Inferno). Since I enjoyed the Saloon and Z Bar many times, I thought it wouldn't be much different.
Upstairs used to be known as Beluah's BBQ, where there would be food during the days. Now it's simply an improved sports bar with decent seating. Specials seemed alright and after relaxing for a little, we went downstairs to the Bar Bleu.
Downstairs is much more relaxed with couches, music, bar, and dim  blue lights. However when we attempted to order downstairs, we were told that the specials were available upstairs only. Seemed rather odd since the Bar Bleu area seems like the bigger draw for the venue.
Other than that, the only major thing we tackled was a fishbowl, which was basically a watered down version of the Saloon's Monkey Boy. Bathrooms are there for what I would only assume is a comedic purpose. I'd come back if the specials were a bit better, but other than the comfy couches and low light in the basement there's nothing special.
Following up on Rachel M.'s review, I would like to state that I was one of those friends from out of town and I can second the same sentiments about Bar Bleu. I would have rated the food at 2 stars with sub par frying work with the buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks along with the fries along with the entrees. The pulled pork sandwich was mediocre and was oddly served on a cold kaiser roll. However with food and drinks my total came out to less than $15. Pretty amazing especially coming from a guy who has been living in the DC area and is used to paing over $5 a beer and over $7 for a cocktail. I guess college town usa has Wal-Mart like demand when it comes to Friday night customers. $3 beer and $6 fish bowls and pitchers definitely confirmed that I would not have survived life at Penn State. To my friends back in DC I managed to inform them that Dunks Ate Cheap Here.
Review Source:I brought some out-of-town friends here over the weekend with a large group, and only one of us braved the neon-colored pitchers of booze, which tasted like a Jolly Rancher. Though these seemed to be the drinks of choice for the other patrons, we more than made do with the bar's regular beer/liquor selections, including a Sierra Nevada Belgian Trippel on draft  that I haven't seen at any other PSU bars. Food here is almost all meat and almost all fried, which again worked on a drunken Friday night--I can't say I'd ever come here, however, with the intention of eating a meal.
Review Source:I've got to quibble with Scott saying this place has a "city vibe". Â It's basically a clean sports bar; there is nothing city about it. Â
A group of us (all graduate students) went to Bar Bleu on a Friday  evening, early.  We were almost the only people there, and table service was still pretty slow.  A few of us braved the giant fishbowl margaritas; they were weak - more margarita mix than anything else.  A friend ordered a martini and said it was good.  The rest of us just drank beer, I think. Â
As far as food goes, the fried pickles were incredibly disappointing - lots of bland breading. Â And the french fries were burned.
The bar definitely filled up as the evening wore on. Â Maybe because their "happy hour" is from 8-10pm. Â Am I the only one who thinks "happy hour" should be right after work, or is that illogical in a college town? Â Anyway, this place wasn't terrible, and I may be back, but it certainly wasn't great.
This was my favorite bar in State College.
It was the only place that had a city vibe and the entertainment was always fantastic.
I remember they had huge drinks for like 5 bucks. Fish bowls? We'd drink them upstairs at the BBQ joint and then head downstairs.
The bartenders would hook me up and after all of the shots, vodka sodas and grateful deads, my memory remains a little fuzzy.
Am I an alcoholic? I forget exactly when I got here - it was either before or after the Deli. Of course, you don't care, do you? Anyway, didn't wait in line too long, and I THINK they charged cover. Staff, including bouncers, were non-douchey.
Bar Que (mmm, Kansas City-style BBQ) encompasses the upstairs of the building it resides in, and the more lounge-y, more jazz-y Bar Blue downstairs. Flat screens illuminate the venue, and you can't deny the upbeat vibe. There's seating if you suddenly get dizzy or, you know, actually like sitting down. Want to shoot pool? There's at least one pool table around.
Of course, they have multiple bars to help you get your drink on. Heard their martinis are tasty, but I don't swing that way.
Bar Bleu was more crowded than usual, probably due to it being a home game weekend. Randomly, I ran into friends I hadn't expected to see - and unintentionally lost the friends I walked in with; it was that crowded! Ah, crazy times.
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