We rolled in here on a Saturday afternoon. Â Light crowd, decent atmosphere, decent but not large beer selection. Â I was doing an IPA day so there were some solid options on tap and a larger selection bottled. Â
Service was a bit weak. Â No one in there and it took us 10 minutes to get a beer. Â Wait staff needs some additional training. Â I would have given this place 3 stars but struggling with service with 5 or 6 people at the bar is not good.
This place is the typical bar place but better than typical bar food. Â I've only been here a couple of times but both times I've gotten the seafood and both times it's been quite good. Â The first time I tried the fish and chips and the portion was huge, the fish was quite delicious and the cole slaw was really nice and coarse (how I like it). Â The second time I came here I got the seafood platter which had a little bit of everything and was also quite good. Â They do have a patio if the weather is nice and you can set outside. Â This place is not quite as nice as the one in Gahanna as it has more outdoor seating but it's nice to visit if the weather is nice and you want to just hang out have a brew and watch the city come to life on a a Friday night.
Review Source:Not bad at all. Â Went for a few pints before a local event and enjoyed the atmosphere quite a bit. Â It isn't a bar you might normally find me frequenting, but the tap selection was good and they had a nice beer flight special going on as well. Â This place is no muss no fuss and very relaxed overall. Â I had to order something, so it was the buffalo chicken bites and they were g-o-o-d. Â I thought it was interesting that they served them in a picnic style basket, reminiscent of a drive in theater.
Review Source:Old Bag is within walking (stumbling) distance so we go there about once a month for dinner. Â The bartenders are very friendly and there is a pretty good rotation of craft beer. Â The mini hot cheeseburgers are great as is the tomato basil soup. Â As others have said the fish & Chips and fish sandwich are fantastic.
Review Source:We were here for a networking event in April, and since a hockey game I wanted to watch was on... we figured why not check out the fare.
I went with the Blackened Fish Sandwich, and since neither of us was in the mood for fries (which I would typically order to split with the vegetarian), I decided to go with the New England Clam Chowder.
(Or maybe it was because it was a Game 7 and Boston was on... do with that what you will.)
The Chowder was excellent, with great texture and flavor. And the sandwich... good lord. Really big fish fillet... blackened with spicy Cajun goodness, and you *will* feel that Cajun spice. It's a really good sandwich.
Sadly, the Boston game did not go as well as the meal. :)
The wife and I stumbled in here after a wine tasting a few doors down at Meza. Â We immediately had an existential crisis as the waitress at the hostess stand appeared to see right through us, ignore us, and then walk away. Â Not even a "hello" or "someone will be right back to seat you." Â As we debated walking out, someone else came by and showed us to our table.
The service got much better - in fact, a little too good. Â Five minutes after ordering, my wife turns to me and says "I forgot about the deep fried pickles." Â Right on cue, a waitress (not ours) stops in her tracks, leans in and says "I can still get those in for you."
A few minutes later we were in deep-fried heaven: pickles and two fisherman's platters (fish and chips with the added deep-fried goodness of shrimp and scallops). Â The Bag of Nails definitely has deep-frying down to an art form. Â The batter always adheres to the food victim and never gets soggy - maintaining its crispness even when doused in malt vinegar. Â
My one knock against Bag of Nails: Â on the occasions I'm there and not in the mood for fish n' chips, I can't seem to find anything on the menu.
Bottom line: great fish and chips. Â For my next Yelp, I'll be reviewing the cardiac care at local hospitals . . . .
For fish and chips, you can't miss at TOBON (their acronym, not mine.) Â They'll sell you an all-you-can-eat plate, but you probably won't need any more than what they give you the first time; the filets are huge huge huge. Â The fish sandwich is a good compromise; one giant filet for about 5 bucks less. Â The pub food is really good; skip the tacos though, they were underwhelming. Â Happy hour prices are good too. Â I'll be back for more deep fried pickles.
Review Source:Nicer than I expected!
Went here for an event being held on the 3rd floor (nice event space).
Had GREAT hand battered fried mushrooms. Â Truly delish.
Went downstairs after and ordered the app of the mushrooms. Whole fresh mushrooms done in the Old Bag signature batter.
A nice selection on tap, if a bit price steep outside of happy hours.
We held a work dinner here on the third floor. I have never been here before so I am not sure if the food that was served (besides the fish n chips) was normally served, but it was good and no complaints. They offered salads, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, carrots, mashed potatoes, french fries, fish, chicken breast with a Alfredo cream and red peppers, some kind of beef in a beef sauce/gravy and different kinds of pies and cakes for dessert. I had the chicken (fish looked good but I wasn't feeling it tonight) and all the sides. It was very tasty and the cake was delicious.
If I remember correctly, nothing was on-tap upstairs, and the cue ball for the pool table was missing. Those are my only complaints. The bartenders were friendly and helpful, they probably didn't expect anyone to ask for quarters to shoot pool at a banquet work dinner, but that's what I do. They ran downstairs and got me a roll, which was nice of them.
Took advantage of a living social deal that was about to expire AND took my kids with us because they eat free on Sunday. Â It was very busy and it usually is on a Sunday evening. Â The wait wasn't terrible and we were able to wait in the bar area as there were some stools that were located along the wall. Â
I easily would have given them 4 stars if we didn't have some service issues. Â This seems to be a trend with me lately...maybe I'm bad luck. Â Apparently a printer issue occurred and some tickets didn't get printed so we waited really long for our food. Â My son got a little restless because he was "starving" but when the food did come the portions were large (even for the children's food) and the food was outstanding. Â Their fish and chips is easily the best in town. Â My wife had a club sandwich that was really good too, they actually grilled the sandwich, which was a nice touch. Â
I would definitely go back again and again. Â Their food is well worth it and I have a feeling the service issue was just a glitch for one Sunday night.
Old Bag of Nails is probably my second favorite bar in Westerville. Thus being the fact that Old Bag of Nails is a little pricey for my poor college wallet and the fact that there is the Westerville Police station a block away. The ambiance is of a nice Irish pub and the people that usually are there are either college students from the nearby Otterbein University  or a mix of professionals. Then menu is a little pricey like I was saying, but is amazing. They do have specials during happy hour where it is 1/2 price appetizers which is nice. The people serving and the bartender are very nice and friendly. Some of my friends actually became good friends with the bartender after becoming regulars during happy hour.
The times that I have been to Old Bag I have either been with my family for a family meal or for happy hour to have a good time with friends. I have heard that during the weekends it turns into a college bar and the upstairs is used as a small club? All I know for sure is that the upstairs is open weekend nights for more space.
The first time I went to Old Bags I had the your way burger with cheddar and bacon. The burger was amazing and so juicy. The other times I have been, I have had only TWO of their various appetizers because I could never even think of trying to get anything else. The deep fried pickles and the boneless buffalo wings are the best two appetizers on the list for my taste. Hands down best deep fried pickles I have ever had even better than the famed Ohio State Fair ones The boneless buffalo wings actually tasted like they were chicken before they were thrown in the deep fryer instead of someone pulling them out of the freezer and throwing them in. For happy hour both of these are crucial to get.
Happy Hour runs from 2-7pm which is by far the latest time a happy hour exists in all of Westerville, a huge perk. The drafts I believe are 2 bucks off, but the Labatt Blue tall boys are the cheapest at $2 each. You will definitely stop by and try Old Bag is a great place.
This place is not good. I ordered the "bottomless" soup and salad. The soup (I got tomato basil) was pretty clearly based on tomato soup from a can. The salad was equally awful. I didn't even bother getting my refills because it was so bad, but I do feel like my money was taken from me.
Review Source:The menu is pub-fare, and could always use improvement, in my opinion, but I'm grateful to have the Old Bag of Nails in Uptown. Â It gets pretty crowded at happy hour, and closes surprisingly early on the weekend, but it usually comes through for me.
The service can be hit-or-miss, but if you go at the right time, it can be outstanding. Â Don't expect it to blow you away, but I've come to count on OBoN.
Being that it's Lent and I'm Catholic, today was the day for another batch of fish. Â So looking for places that I haven't been to, I decided on the Old Bag of Nails. Â And I had one heck of a meal! Â I ordered the "all you can eat" fish dinner for $12. Â I could have gotten the regular serving for $8 but said the heck with it and went whole hog (in a manner of speakiing LOL) Â
They started me off with two huge pieces of fish, a basket of really great french fries and a small order of cole slaw. Â I needed it like a hole in the head but after all that, I ordered another piece of fish. Â Whew! Â I'm stuffed! Â And the food was good, make that great. Â And the service was great too. Â A really great dinner.
In college, this was the place to go for happy hour. Actually, it was the only place within walking distance. Now, I can see myself returning for an occasional happy hour. Appetizer's are half off and all are pretty tasty. Most drinks are half off too, I love a good deal!
I'm most impressed with the third floor of Old Bag. I've been to several events and the service and food is always excellent. From a Halloween party to networking events, it's a great space to host a shindig.
One sour note, the last time I was here for a dinner (over two years ago) I had a truly awful meal. The chicken salad sandwich tasted as though it had been mixed with cleaning solution. No joke. The server didn't charge me, but one doesn't forget such an awful taste.
It's so hard to write reviews about mediocre places, and the Westerville Old Bag of Nails is the mediocre-est of them all. Â If it were horrible, I'd have a seething review ready to ward you away; If it were amazing, I'd happily sing its praises and usher you to it like a flock of hungry Yelp sheep. Â As it stands, eh...yeah I guess I'll go. Â Whatever. Â Who's going too? Â What's on TV? Â *yawn*
We arrived at 9:00 on a Wednesday night so it wasn't crowded, but not empty either. Â We ordered the spinach dip as an appetizer. Â It was dry, bland, and generally not very good.
When it came time to order, our server let us in on a secret. Â I wanted fish and chips, but wasn't ready to pay the "all you can eat" price of $12.99. Â I asked if there was a single serving, and he said that you can order the fish sandwich without bun or other sandwichy things. Â Fries (chip-style) come with all sandwiches and they use the same fish as the Fish and Chips. Â When the food arrived, the portion size was unbelievable--the waiter called it "one huge-ass piece of fish," and he was completely right! Â The "sandwich" was $8.99, so that saved me $4.00 for a giant meal! Score!
The hooked-up Fish and Chips were decent, but not the best I've had. Â I gave away half of the giant chunk of fish. Â The chips were crisp and satisfying, so I ate them all. Â Nothing spectacular here, folks.
When it came time to pay our server let us down. Â The bill came quickly and I handed him my credit card straight away, but then we waited, and waited and waited for him to come back so I could sign it. Â When he finally came over he was apologetic with an explanation: he "got caught up chatting with people." Â Yikes...
Except for the company, this wasn't a great dining experience but I've definitely had worse. Â If a group of people I like were going, I wouldn't object, but if I'm picking, we're going to one of Westerville's better restaurants.
OMG-Went in at 6:30pm, place is barely half full-NO one in bar, and the hostes wants to plop me and my daughter (21) at the table right by the front door! Â We moved. Â Food took forever to get out of the kitchen, I had the French dip-very bland with big chips of uncooked onion and some weak hot water "juice" on an untoasted doughy hoagy roll. Â My daughter had the salmon ceaser salad and said it was very good. Â We never did get drink refills as the waitress did not come back after dumping the food.
We tired of waiting for her to come pick up the tab after 15mins so my daughter took it to the bar, Â Did they ring it out-Of course not! Â HE starts chasing her around the restaraunt to give it to her LOL!
My tip sucked-but so did the service.
Well if you want a beer with sub par food this is your only choice in old Westerville-have a few and it might taste better.
I'm graduating from Otterbein College in two weeks and you know what I'll miss most? Not having Old Bag in walking distance from my house.
My friends and I hit up Old Bag happy hour at least once a week: the appetizers and (most) drinks are half off from 2 - 7 pm and the staff is not opposed to clocking in a half-priced order at 6:58 (trust me, we've done it more than enough times).
I have yet to be upset by an appetizer, and if you get them on happy hour, they're less than $5.00 each. You can't miss with the all-you-can-eat soup and salad for $7.99 either (the French Onion is DELISH).
They also bring in some pretty great live bands on Friday night and host ocassional concerts, events, etc. on the third floor (a great venue if you're looking).
Good food, cheap drinks, great atmosphere. Yum!
This place opened when I was in college - at Otterbein College. The sad thing about going to Otterbein at the time was that it was a dry campus. I know, right?! Preposterous!
Old Bag was the first place in the heart of Westerville, Ohio that served booze! Naturally, we flocked.
A few years later, I still enjoyed ordering a beer as much as I did then.
The atmosphere is really laid back and very pub-esque. I got the mini burgers - really beefy for being "mini" - and a Bells draft beer. The burgers were great, no complaints, but I was a little shocked that my Bells was almost as expensive as my meal! The beer was $5.50 and the burgers were $6.99. I bet that's why I opted for Miller Lights at Happy Hour when I came here during college.
Speaking of Happy Hour, they have a good one. And the 3rd floor is often used for events. While I was in school they used to hold mini concerts on third floor as well. Awww, nostalgia.
Sorry, folks - not a good experience recently. I've always been a big fan of the "Old Bag" chain, but not of this one.
My wife and I decided to order 3 appetizers instead of 2 entrees plus a kids meal for our little boy.
The shrimp was limp, the mussels were beyond miniscule drowning in salt-saturated butter and the quesadilla tasted like it came out of a can! Unbelievably Bad! Yuck! Our son's meal was better, but not worth promoting. The service was better, but not stellar.
We'll stick with the "Old Bag" in Gahanna....much, much better & worth the trip!
I went to The Old Bag of Nails Pub in Westerville the first time this past weekend, and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food. I plan on returning in the next few months to check out their bar, but this time I went for lunch with the family.
The Place: "Old Bag" is a decent-sized place in Uptown Westerville. The interior of the pub is quite inviting -- very rustic and "pub-like," if you will. I like the pub atmosphere, so it did it for me. There were seats outside on State St., and I imagine it'd be cool to sit out there for a meal.
The Food: In a word: fantastic. The menu is large and full of bar-food staples and favorites. Clockwise around the table, my family got: chicken salad sandwich and tomato soup, chicken ceasar wrap, buffalo chicken sandwich, blackened fish sandwich, (some type of) shrimp salad, and (I got) a burger with blue cheese and bacon, with onion rings. Everyone enjoyed their meal. The burger was huge (1/2 #) and the rings were some of the best I've ever had. In my humble opinion, you can't ask for more from a pub than really awesome food (except for maybe really awesome drinks).
The Drinks: I'll be back to review the bar in a month or two, so stay tuned.
The Price: reasonable. Spot-on for casual dining.
The Staff: Our waiter was good enough. He kept our drinks perpetually full and got all of our orders right. I knocked off one star because it took a long time to get both our food and drinks. It was a slow Sunday afternoon, so I expect a bit faster service.
Overall: If I'd gotten my food about 10 minutes earlier, I'd have probably given the Old Bag 5 stars. The atmosphere is just right, and the food was quite literally some of the best pub-food I've had.
In a sentence: The Old Bag is a nice casual pub/restaurant, with a menu that the whole family can appreciate.
The Westerville location of Old Bag of Nails is the most charming and pleasant bar in Uptown Westerville. Â It is just a shame that you can't drink at the outside tables. Â I know Uptown Westerville isn't exactly everyone's speed, but if you are going to be up there and need a place to kick back, watch the game, and drink a beer, Old Bag of Nails is the only place I can possibly recommend.
Old Bag of Nails has the best beer selection in Westerville and the prices are in the right range for the area. Â When I go there I always have a Sam Adams. Â Good reliable Sam Adams. Â And drinking a Sam in Old Bag of Nails feels so right! It just completes the feel of the old pub kind of place. It really compliments the atmosphere.
There is just something nice about this place. Â Like, if you lived above a bar like this you would never go to another one. Â It is immaculate while at the same time feeling earthy and homespun, the bartenders and servers are incredibly nice (though the hostesses can be kind of disinterested), and the food is a great mix between bar food and exotic not-of-Ohio fare.
The homey feel of the bar is all encompassing. Â The booths are monsters made of a heavy looking wood, and they raise about a foot above my boyfriend's head. Â The tables are nice as well, and there seems to be just enough seating. Â They always seem too busy from the outside, but you'll often find that you won't be waiting for more than 5 minutes.
During the summer they have tables set up right outside the front windows. Â This is an incredibly pleasant place to sit. Â You can sit and enjoy uptown's interesting look while eating your dinner. But unfortunately you won't be able to enjoy that Sam Adams while you sit out and enjoy the breeze and the sounds. Â Uptown is almost pretty enough to make up for it, but not quite.
The bar is a long bar against the wall with plenty of stools and yet you're not cramped sitting elbow-to-elbow with the people on either side of you. Â Small tables and a small wooden counter sitting area border the bar side of the bar.
There are three HDTVs behind the bar that are the appropriate size for how far away you'll be sitting and they are always turned to sports. Â Plus the bartenders are always willing to turn the TV you are watching to the game of your choice as long as someone isn't already doing that on the same TV. Â That is important to me and it is nice to have a bar that is aware of that. It's the worst to sit down with a drink expecting to be able to watch a certain game and find out that they aren't showing it and aren't willing to let you change the channel.
Old Bag of Nails is also probably one of the best places to hold a group gathering. Â You won't be able to tell by looking through the windows, but that is because the gathering room is on the third floor and is a huge, open space with a bar, bathroom, and tons of tables that can be moved off to the side if people are going to be standing.
The best part, and probably the reason The Old Bag of Nails Pub is so high up in my book, is because we had a quick impromptu gathering of just about everyone we knew for a rather sad occasion. Â We decided that Old Bag of Nails would probably be our best bet, and we were right. Â When the proprietor got wind of all the people we were bringing they gave us permission to use the third floor room and had a bartender come up to serve us. Â Obviously this was in their best interest, to keep a big group happy without crowding the rest of the bar. Â However, many bars have come and gone because they didn't do the obvious things that were in their best interests. They were also very respectful and polite and made sure that we had everything we needed.
The people behind those bars are wonderful. Â They might be college students from Otterbein, and they are really courteous. Â You don't have to wait for a drink and they know where everything is. The service is great.
The servers are just as good. Â Quick, easy going, and not in your face. Â They need to dance around the crowded tables, and seem to be having a good time.
The same can't be said for the hostesses. Â They are likely young girls from the local high school. Â They just seem bored and uninterested. Â But you'll quickly forget about them when the ease of the night washes over you with each sip of your beer.
Finally, the food can be considered rather adventurous by Westerville's standards. Â The English inspired menu is a pretty safe place for seafood lovers. Â However, if seafood isn't your thing you can't go wrong with one of the burgers. Â This is gonna be the kind of place where you find one thing on the menu and stick with it, until the one night you started drinking early and ended up ordering something you have never had before to potentially amazing or disastrous results.
If you appreciate an easy going bar that is conducive to a night of conversation and comradery, The Old Bag of Nails Pub in Westerville is your place. It's my favorite Old Bag of Nails location.
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