3.5 Stars.
Hmmmm...what to do before heading out for a late dinner?
Go to a sports bar during Happy Hour, you say? We have a winner!
Wait, they still have Mad Elf on tap in early February and serve it in full-size pint glasses? We have another winner!
Only $10 for two drafts, which we fans know really means 'four'!? Â Ding, ding, ding!
Winner, winner, feeling good for dinner! Thanks, Bill.
Pickles is awesome! It's a great beer bar and they have some really good fun. I highly recommend the fried pickles and they have peanut butter wings that are unique and tastes good.
The only downside of Pickles is this one awful doorman. He is incredibly rude, must be very bitter about his job, and makes rude comments to me every single time I come in the door. He has done this to other people I know, as well. I guess he thinks he is funny and it doesn't help that the other door guys laugh when he does this but it is awful for business and makes me not want to go there. Why would you hire someone who is so rude and awful to be the first person your customers interact with? This worker is awful!
I can't vouch for the food here because we got in the door at about 9pm on a Friday of a home game weekend. Â Place was full, and we had an absolute blast. Â Even with a packed house, the bartenders worked fast and I don't think I waited for more than a minute at the bar before I got someone's attention. Â Probably helped that I tossed the guy a five when I got out first round of beers. Â
I will say that the crowd seemed a little older than some of the other bars, probably more alums here, but it was a nice mix of current and former students. It's is a great college bar and I will DEFINITELY return next year. Â Of all the places where we grabbed a drink while we were in town-Bill Pickle's was definitely the best. Â Keep up the great work guys!!!!
We stopped in for on a Tuesday night during the summer and there were about 8 of us. Â We got seated right away and the atmosphere was good. Â The interior was mostly wooden (seats, floors, bar, etc.) and gave nice appearance.
That was about it from there. Â The food was okay and nothing that great. Â The biggest problem we had was the service. Â As we were there, the college crowd starting to come in (not a big deal being that most of us were in our early-mid 30's). Â As soon as the crowd rolled in, our waitress disappeared. Â I found out later it wasn't because of it being busy, but because she was always over at the same table talking with people I assume she knew. Â There were many times when I had to go up to the bar to get our table drinks and after waiting for several minutes, she would see me, tap me on the shoulder, and ask "Can I get you something?" Â This happened several times throughout the night and she even handed me a broken glass at one point that was split down the side. Â Not sure how she missed that one, but she didn't seem to have a clue. Â We had other problems with the staff as well, but nothing major worth noting. Â
Overall, it was an interesting experience that could have been better if the service were better. Â Had the service been better, I would have considered a 3-4 star rating, but that really ruined the night for me.
This was a nice place to chill on a Saturday evening. The drinks were a little pricey, but the bartenders were cool and kept coming around to make sure you were never without a drink. There was lots of open space to chill and enjoy yourself. Not a bad place to start the night or end it.
Review Source:Stopped here for lunch with the family while dropping two Staters off for their 2nd semester. Cool looking old style wooden bar in a single room with high ceilings. Lots of TVs for sporting events. I could imagine myself as a college student whiling away several hours in a joint like this.
Now, I know it's a bar in the college town but carding my two kids, who were standing right next to my wife and me, was a bit much, especially since it was 1pm on a Sunday afternoon. I asked the doorman (who was younger than some pairs of socks I own) whether that was necessary since we were just having lunch, and he gruffly said to go ahead and find a table, like he was permitting us out of the goodness of his heart to eat there. He also said that this was OK as long as no one was drinking at the table, even young 52 year old me. I wondered what would have happened if I ordered a beer for myself. Bill O'Brien may have appeared out of nowhere to chew me out like I had missed a tackle or something.
Nevertheless, our waitress Caitlyn was very pleasant, and we ordered and we waited...and we waited....She came back to apologize for the slowness, saying that they shared a kitchen with the more "upscale" (am I allowed to use that word in State College?) place next door, The Corner Room, and it sometimes gets backed up. I guess Pickle's takes second fiddle. I was about to suggest that maybe we should walk next door to the Corner Room for lunch instead, but that was when my wife kicked me under the table.
Lunch finally came  My wife's Reuben Outrageous looked good but I wouldn't classify it as outrageous. My cheeseburger, although tasty, was more the size of a slider. Certainly not enough to fill the belly of this eater. I was hungry enough after the mini-burger to order some of their famous peanut butter wings. These naked delights were indeed delightful. Big wings tossed in a BBQ sauce that has PB as a main ingredient. Almost made them taste like an Asian-type wing. Really good. Should've had the dozen in place of my puny burger.
All in all, the "Meh, Ive experienced better" label is perfect for Bill Pickle's Tap Room. Would this have received a higher rating from a 21 year old me? Meh.
I agree with some of the other comments on here, to call this place a taproom is almost offensive. But in their defense they have a ton of bottled beer selections just not on draft. And if you feature Bud light as the drink special of the day more than 2 times a week you don't gain much respect from me.
The service I experienced was awesome, but there was hardly anybody here at the time I was here. I would expect nothing but great service when I am one of three tables.
The menu here was pretty typical for a college or sports bar mostly sandwiches. I ordered the Outrageous Reuben, Which is sort of my litmus test for the quality of a bar's food. Well unfortunately it irritated me a little bit that they considered their Reuben Outrageous. If you are going to call it outrageous, when that thing is placed in front of me I should think holy crap how am I going to finish this. When this arrived I thought to myself $9 for this? The majority of the sandwich was bread (3 slices to make it look fatter than it really was) minuscule amount of meat and sauerkraut. It tasted alright definitely not outrageous though. Â Chips out of a bag came on the side that I didn't touch. I'm not sure I would go back here with so much competition around here.
Had a glass of wine and a crabcake dinner with my daughter here. Busy night with lots of parents in town. Service was a bit slow but not too bad. Beautiful and attentive server (Terry?). Food was tasty and served warm. Price was reasonable but no deal. Fun and interesting atmosphere. Overall a good experience. Parking is a pain around here.
Review Source:Dropped on over here for lunch the other day. Bill Pickle's is right next to campus, off of College, so it's quite accessible to students. The setting of this place is pretty much like any other pub. Old wood style with a full bar and bar food to munch on. Over here, they show all sports games, so if you want a place to watch games and get rowdy, Bill Pickle's is probably your spot.
However, for lunch it seems mediocre to me. The menu is pretty much what you'd expect from a bar: sandwiches, salads, nachos, and anything fried. For myself, I decided to order the italian grinder. Each lunch entree comes with potato chips, and for a buck more, you can opt for french fries. If a grinder (warm sandwich) isn't your thing, they do have a Speedy Combo for $5.95. That includes either a soup/salad and half a sandwich. The grinders and other full sandwiches run about $8.50.
The food itself was ok, but not awesome. What I got was basically an upgraded Italian BMT at Subway. More or less, it tasted pretty much the same. The fries....well, they were fries.
Our waitress was nice, but a little slow and messed up on our check. Plus, when I grabbed my pen to sign the bill, I did not realize that she gave me an exploded pen. Thus, my hand looked like I dipped it in a vat of blue ink.
Bill Pickle's isn't bad, but it wouldn't be my place of choice if I were only coming here to eat.
Now when it comes to some night time drinking, it gets better. With a weird $1 cover charge, you can go inside and drink to your heart's content. Bill Pickle's a couple beers on tap, and the rest on bottles. Prices seem pretty comparable to all the other bars in State College. For a good $20, you can get liquored up pretty well. I believe its $6 a shot and around $3 a beer. Mixed crowd of old and young, and they have country nights too. This place is better at night, but still not my cup of tea.
Since I visited Pickle's (I can't get over the name...) around Christmas when there wasn't a frat-boy in site, I can't comment on the crowd. Â
I can comment on the food. Â It is, in my opinion, not good. Â Bleh. Â I almost went to Zola for a $10 sandwich (almost certainly would have been awesome) and ended up here for a $9 crabcake basket. Â It sucked. Â It basically had no flavor and looked like a potato pancake.
The service was pretty good and I got a big pitcher of ginger ale, which made me happy. Â Hence the 2nd star.
It seems that during normal State College time, this is a place for people watching and cheap beer. Â I made the mistake of eating there and suggest you do not do the same. Â Or at least, don't order the crab cakes.
To call this a tap room is a joke, the only thing on tap is piss water domestic light beer. Go down stairs to Zeno's if you want a real beer.
The location is excellent with great windows and super clean everything. A great change from most of the State College bars that are in basements.
But the place is a frat boy meat market. Nice to go to if you enjoy looking at T&A and frat boys, not so great if you want to relax and talk to friends.
This place is normally packed in the evening.
I visited twice during a weekend stay visiting someone at Penn State, and I have to say it was enjoyable. Even though at the time I was a college undergrad (just graduated this May - woo!), I found the people watching to be hilarious. I'm used to the big city, and it was like watching a bunch of country bumpkins try to act cool. The married men flanking the naive freshman girls was hilarious as well.
I do have to give the staff here credit, though, which is why I bumped it up to four stars. My friend and I were just talking to some guys standing next to us when one of their friends who was also visiting passed out from too much alcohol. I was on crutches in a huge walking boot, and as fate would have it, he passed out directly on me as I sat on one of those high bar chairs. The chair toppled and I flew to the ground trapped under him. I yelled in surprise as my friend literally screamed bloody murder for someone to help me, since she was stuck on the other side of the table with no way to get by. Within seconds the bouncers threw the kid out and had me safe and sound set up on two chairs, elevating my now-throbbing leg and foot. The girls working the beer tub things immediately made me a makeshift ice pack, and a male bartender who'd seen the whole thing kept bringing me over glasses of cold water to calm me down (needless to say, I was pretty shaken up, and the searing pain in my knee wasn't helping matters). It seemed like everyone who worked there came over to apologize and make sure I was okay, and even helped clear a way for me to leave when I had the energy.
It was a pretty chill place to have some cheap drinks and people watch, catch the Phillies game along with some Pittsburgh sports, and hang out. The consideration and care of the staff was really awesome, and highly appreciated. If I'm ever in the area again I'll most likely swing by.
Oh, Pickles. You and your (optional) $1 cover. Such a college bar.
This was my first adventure with the State College bar scene after moving from Boston. I've been back a few times since, but still think my first impression pretty much sums things up: I remember walking in while Journey was playing, laughing at the attempt to charge a dollar for cover, seeing a sea of leggings, Ugg boots, and polo shirts and then paying under $10 for two rounds of drinks -- for THREE of us. It was almost culture shock after spending several years in Boston and DC.
Since that day in March, every time I've gone I've experience some alternative version of the above. Â At least they're consistent.
Met up with my fellow classmates here after summer break. Â I hadn't eaten yet so I ordered a bison burger. Â Pretty good but messy and I had to request napkins 3 times before they actually brought it out. Â On that note the service was sub par, it took a few requests for water as well. Â Decent beer selection but pretty small. Â Overall, a decent experience but don't rely too much on the wait staff.
Review Source:Man, people here are drinking the hater-ade when it comes to Pickles. The cover is dirt cheap, and the bathrooms are by far the cleanest you'll find in a downtown state college bar. The drinks are reasonable as long as you ask what's on special, and there are a bunch of TVs. The music is good, mostly classic rock, and the DJ will come down and take requests if you ring the doorbell by the stairs. Yes, there aren't a lot of tables, but the bar is pretty big and you can certainly have a good time standing. If you don't want to drink in a dank pit, give pickles a shot.
Review Source:The Hotel State College rides the bus of failure again.
Bill Pickles is the newest venture of the hotel, attempting to give an open air experience alongside cheap food and a casual style. Roughly translated the place is full of small families during the day, but swarms with frat and party students at night. Everything but specials are fairly pricey. You will probably not get a seat, let alone a new drink after the place gets full.
Spend your money elsewhere.
My one and only experience here sucked. Â Came back as an alum and just to note this place was not in exsistence until the year after I graduated. Â I went in with a bunch of other people one year removed from Penn State. Â We were all minding our own business and some group of Preppy Frat boys decided it would be cool to pick a fight with one of the people I was with. Â They spilled beer on two of the girls I was with and just acted very immature. Â The atmosphere was very uptight and nothing that I enjoyed. Â If I had to compare it to a bar that was around when I was at Penn State I'd say G-Man however this was worse. Â Wouldn't go back, the specials I remembers weren't all that great but then again I'm not a domestic beer guy. Â Way too many other great places to go in State College to waste any time here.
Review Source:The crowd is a mix of frat-types and middle aged people reliving the college experience. Â The bar staff isn't particularly eager, and often only responds to women; I've often had to stand at the bar for my male friends here. Â Often crowded, but with a pushy and noisy rather than chummy crowd. Â Every bar in State College has cheap drink specials, I prefer somewhere with more genuine character.
Review Source:I've gotta go with five stars here. Â My boyfriend and I walked into this bar thinking it looked good for a drink and ended up staying for hours. Â First, $3 Bud Light pitchers. THREE DOLLAR BUD LIGHT PITCHERS!!!!!! Â I don't know if I've ever had a pitcher that cheap. The specials got even better at ten o'clock-- the lights blinked, and suddenly there were $1 "teas" and $2 top-shelf mixed drinks. Â
The entertainment factor from people-watching was high. I forgot what it was like to be in college with no money. One girl paid for her drinks in quarters, and many kids did not tip, which was bananas since the drinks were practically free. Married old guys surrounded pretty young things and bought their drinks all night. Comedy. Â Â
After drinking for several hours, my boyfriend and I were ready to settle up. The bill was $11. Craziness. When the bartender saw his $15 tip, he literally turned around and shook both of our hands. Â
Pickle's is awesome.
Late on a Tuesday night, lured by the bright lights and high ceiling and wood paneling, I stumbled in to Mr. Pickle's for the first time and found  a Guitar Hero guitar slung above the bar and a large crowd of fun loving kids slamming back Lynchburg Lemonades (Jack and lemonade) for $2 a hit.  Caveat emptor -- there's a big bouncer checking IDs and a lot of the guys don't look like they're in college any more. Â
Let's just say that I've never been to a real college town that was quite as much fun as State College. Â A large proportion of the guys looked like Abercrombie models and the girls were wearing skirts short enough to pass for belts. Â Only later did I discover that the Guitar Hero guitars were not in fact for decoration -- Mr Pickle's has a PS2 and extra TVs so you can bring your own. Â If only I had known sooner. Â
I can't really say anything about the food, but I can tell you that the $5 pitchers are tasty and really popular. Â Drop by and watch America's youth in action, or getting action, or like whatever.
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