Although Ottawa Hills, if you believe the sign, has kakistocracy, Ottawa Tavern seems to be under excellent culinary leadership. Â
After looking at the menu, I couldn't decide what to order, because I wanted to try several items. Â That's a good thing. Â
I finally decided on the Southwest Avocado burger.  It was delicious, and big.  I must say felt like a hog, because I, pretty much, ate it all at once; I couldn't put it down long enough to even wipe my face.  The combination of flavors, avocado and local beef (obviously), plus salsa, smoked pepper cheese, sour cream, lime, jalapeños, etc., was outstanding.   ONE MINOR COMPLAINT:  I ordered the burger to be cooked "medium" and it came out "well done."  I can only imagine how great this thing would have tasted if the burger had been juicier.  Like Bob Seger says:  "Next tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime, we'll get it right!"
Still a little hungry, I ordered the fried green tomatoes. Â I was shocked by the portion size; you get three BIG (about 5/8 inches thick by 4 or 5 inches diameter) slices of awesome tangy goodness, fried in a nicely seasoned panko crust. Â Excellent. Â I was pretty stuffed.
They have a good selection of beer, also. Â I had an appropriately chilled Brooklyn IPA on draft. Â Smooth. Â (Yes, Yes, Yes, I'm aware of the bar's reputation. Â I agree that I should have ordered a PBR. Â Again, "Next tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime, we'll get it right!")
Basically, I can't wait to go back.
This place is just awful. Â The menu looks so cool but when if you actually are able to get food it ends up looking like it was cooked by your drunk college roommate. Â
Ottawa Tavern is poorly organized and the staff is not trained at all. Â I could launch into a rant about the many times we've tried and failed to either get or enjoy any food here. Â If Ottawa Tavern wants to be a concert venue, be that. Â But don't tempt me with a potentially awesome food menu that you woefully fail to deliver on.
After four attempts, we all agreed never to go back here. Â Ever. Â
This is THE hipster spot in town so it can still be quite packed when there is a band playing. Â At these times it's really hard to get a drink.
The Ottowa Tavern has redone their menu, focusing on locally sourced, fresh ingredients, from their beef to things most diners, including myself, might take for granted, like jalapeno poppers and mozzarella sticks.
The jalapeno poppers we ordered last night featured crisp bacon and a blend of cheeses, hand battered and deep-fried. The jalapeno was bright green and retained a crisp snap despite being subjected to a deep-fryer. The batter was so light that they didn't give us that "weighed down" feeling we usually get when cockpunching our aortae.
On to the burgers (for two bucks you can add homemade chips, onion straws, fries, or asparagus). I had the peanut butter bacon burger with apples. The peanut butter took on a savory flavor against the bacon and the beef, and the crispiness of the bacon worked well with the texture of the generous portion of apples.
My boyfriend scored a rare victory in ordering something better than mine, though, as the saying goes, a blind clock will find a nut twice a day. Or something.
He got the Southwestern burger, topped with salsa, banana peppers, avocado, a thick slice of high quality smoked pepper jack cheese, and lime infused sour cream. I thought the description of his burger sounded fairly pedestrian, but I underestimated the OT. This burger has been done before in other restaurants. What really made this a standout was the quality of the ingredients, the cheese in particular, though we both agreed with cool, mellow citrus sour cream really brought it all together.
In future visits we look forward to trying the fried green tomatoes and mozzarella sticks (described to be by the bartender as "logs"). There are also some salads, chicken sandwiches, wraps, and melts on the menu as well.
I found their wine list extremely lacking, though the bartender advised me that most menu items pair well with PBR.
Terrible, terrible service. It can be hard to get served in so many of Toledo's bars but I always seem to have the the hardest time here. It's also incredibly loud, all the time, so you can't ask questions or talk to your friends - and dark, too. They say their food is good, but no one seems to know when the kitchen's open. The layout is 50/50: The two small rooms in back are private-ish, but the ugly furniture needs to be replaced. (Thrift store furniture's fine, even appropriate, but come on! that coffee table doesn't even have glass any more. Just last week I saw a great 50s couch at an estate sale for only $95. There's NO excuse.) The bar is a little too big, creating a bottleneck when the sides that face the wall are lined with people. People crowd the sidewalk in front, very rude, you have to push through them just to get inside. They're not all smoking, either; I suspect they'd go back inside if it weren't so damn loud. Also, why did they get rid of the pool table? My friends and I miss it.
They do have a great, legible drinks menu, which is posted very high on the wall so you can see it from almost anywhere, there's always something interesting on tap, and I think the prices are good. The decor has some good points (Old Crows, mural. That big window over the bar.) And the stools are very comfortable. If they turned down the music and improved the service, I'd actually like this place.
The food was really good. I just ordered a burger, and I got it rare. I was surprised when it came out, it was actually cooked rare! and it tasted great. A lot of toppings choices.
Interesting atmosphere inside, semi-indie rock, semi old man hang out. The chairs at the bar were so comfortable for bar chair it was almost too good.
I tried three different micro brewed beers they had on tap, all of them were good too, two different IPA's and a porter. I think they had five non-run of the mill beers on tap, and quite a bit more import/craft beer bottles.
The pay it forward drink chalkboard to leave a friend a beer, is really a cool idea, obviously I would buy a random dude a beer but the possibility of messing with or actually being nice to a friend is convenient.
Ottawa Tavern is a fantastic bar. Great selection of beers (from cheap PBR, to more expensive, yet delicious imports), lively crowd, really nice bartenders, and apparently tasty food. There seems to be live music most nights, which is pretty neat, but can get a bit loud. I will say, however, that the crowd seemed to be younger (not too young). For people over 40, this might be a little too much, especially as the night goes on. Either way, make sure you enjoy this bar. Probably the best in Toledo!
Review Source:I used to go out to drink almost every night. Even if it was just for one beer, I felt the need to socialize in a public forum.
I was young and foolish then, and I feel old and foolish now. These days, I get up super early in the morning, so bar visits are few and far between.
That said, when I hit the bars, I focus my wallet and liver on Adams street in Toledo, Ohio. There are a handful of great bars to choose from, but in the end I find myself at the OT more often than not.
For me it's equal parts wonderful staff, cheap drinks and familiar faces. From someone who was in a band for close to a decade, you'd think I love live music. But I don't. I hate going to shows. That said, the OT has some of the best live entertainment in town. National acts as well as the best local stuff, and almost always free.
The food they serve is hit or miss, mostly on the hit side. But I don't go to bars to eat. I go to get drunk and socialize. And the OT is my choice to do that.
It's the closest bar to the Old West End neighborhood (the best neighborhood in Toledo, I might add) and it's also very very close to Downtown Toledo.
A great choice for interesting young people, cheap well poured drinks and entertainment... if you're into that sort of thing.
The OT is one of a few neighborhood bars for the Old West End. They book great shows, the food is good, people are generally friendly, and drinks are fairly priced. Shit beer selection, but great selection of shit beer.
Oh, and there's never a cover. Also, great place to watch football on Sundays if you want to get blackout drunk.
Zenz!!!!!
This place gets a lot of attention for cheap beer and great bands but hot damn, the bartender/chef is a freekin genius. Â Zenz burgers are their great burger with 2 grilled cheese sandwiches instead of a bun....freekin amazing! Â I was the first, according to the cook to order a chicken sandwhich "zenz" style and wow is all I can say! Â This is the best burger in Toledo and maybe in Ohio, if you are looking for a great burger, this is the spot!!!! Â Oh and the fries were great too!
Full disclosure: I played a show here. Buuuuut, I've also been here for a bunch of other shows as a civilian. Probably the coolest place to see a great rock show in Toledo. Their booking is great (my band must have been the exception), the people are friendly and know a ton about music, and the clientele is across-the-board Toledo weird. You might see random muscle men, hipsters, drag queens, and Midwestern schlubs like myself any given night. If I lived back in Toledo, I would make sure that I lived within walking/stumbling distance of this place.
Review Source:On a visit to Toledo last week, I said to our driver, "We should find That Bar!"
I've cherished the memory of That Bar for about a year now, having stumbled upon it after a show. The layout was just so perfect, with a horseshoe-shaped bar near the entrance, a small stage area near a couple of pool tables, and then a slightly higher level with comfortable booths. Basically, every type of seating arrangement you could ask for, packed neatly into an average-size bar.
That Bar became a golden standard in my rants about undesirable bar layouts. Now that we were returning to Toledo, I was looking forward to visiting That Bar. As our driver reminded me, however, I'd enjoyed our visit so much that I forgot to remember the actual name of That Bar or, you know, its location. In those halcyon pre-Yelp days of a year ago, we didn't automatically review our experiences in local businesses, so we didn't have an electronic logbook of our bar visits. I was distraught.
But then, on the way to the highway, we passed the Ottawa Tavern, and our [heroic, saintly] driver said, "Hey, it's That Bar!"
And so it was.
This visit's highlights included very tasty, well-priced drinks, of both the mixed and beer varieties. Between the comfortable environs and the delicious beverages, the Ottawa Tavern is basically my dream bar. I haven't even tried the food, but based on the other reviews, we'll be heading back to Toledo just to find That Bar again.
This place is so very, very awesome. Exactly what I want in a bar--a little run down, but not in a distracting way. Comfy retro chairs, different rooms to hang out in. A little stage. A pool table. An incredibly friendly dude at the bar--who was actually a cook subbing for the temporarily absent bartender--who made perfect drinks. No too-loud music. Awesome signage and some outdoor seating.
We stopped in on a Thursday night at about 9:30 or 10:00 and it was dead. Maybe not great for Ottawa Tavern, but great for our little group as we were able to relax and enjoy good conversation. I would literally make the drive from Ann Arbor just to come and hang out here. I wish something even remotely like this existed in Ann Arbor! I'd be a regular for sure.
I really enjoy this place. The people that work there are very helpful, never in a bad mood, and very out going. They seem to really care about giving you the best service. I love the fact that there is no cover charge for when they have bands playing.. I also finally ordered some food there. I ordered the Portobello mushroom sandwich w/fries. It was excellent, I recommend it. Also is was reasonably priced.. I will be returning and so should you!!
Review Source:A hipster bar in Toledo? Too bad there aren't more places like this downtown. I'd love to ride my bike from bar to bar, filling up on PBR and Jameson like the good old days in Columbus. Who wants to open up a food cart right outside with me? I was thinking korean bbq tacos or maybe waffle sandwiches.....
Review Source:The PBR is as good as advertised. Â Highly enjoyed our meal, especially the chips. Â While it was quite reserved the time and night we were there. Â I have the feeling this place can get hype. Â I look forward to going back with a bunch of friends for a night of music and boozing. Â PBR me ASAP!
Review Source:I love this place. Â Everyone who works here is awesome and they have the best bar food in town. Â We go there just to eat sometimes and I have yet to eat anything I didn't love (love, not just like). Â The fries and chips are freshly cut/made, and the burgers are incredible. Â
Overall, this is definitely the best bar food in Toledo and I always have a great time hanging out there as well.
I've never had the food, but after these reviews I'm going to have to check that out next time I'm there. First of all there is little to complain off the top when a place offers $5 PBR pitchers. The Ottawa Tavern clearly knows the way to my heart, good cheap beer. I would describe this place as a bit of a mix between dive bar and a tiny music venue. By that I mean it's dark but inviting and there is constantly live music of some sort. Unlike many bars in town I've never been charged a cover here when they're has been live music; greatly appreciated. I get stick of bars that will chrage you a cover no matter what lame John Mayer American Idol drop out they've got howling in the corner.There is also plenty of room here if you have a large group. Huge bar area, tables and chairs near where the band normally plays and also an area with booths near the pool table up some half stairs. Good mix of people but it's rare to find a bar in Toledo that is generally filled with a younger crowd that isn't located in a strip mall, extra points for that.
Review Source:The Ottawa Tavern has Toledo's best bar food. Â I would go so far as to say that they have Toledo's best burger. Â The offering is your standard bar fare with a few twists - everything I've eaten there thus far has been great. Â In addition to the burgers I would recommend the grilled cheese with your choice of 3 cheeses on Texas toast and the Portabella fries.
Most nights the OT also features live music, always for free. Â The schedule is posted on their website.
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