Village Tavern

How SAD! We opened the door to enter and saw several folks smoking and the place smelled like a tavern of the sixties! If you like that sort of place then try it, we will never be back!

I have to guess that many of the folks who like this place are smokers or folks who can tolerate smoke or enjoy breaking the no-smoking in restaurants law in Ohio!

This visit was a great example about how one can be misled by reviews done on Yelp. One of the questions that Yelp should ask is "Are you a smoker?" or something like that so we folks who cannot tolerate smoke are not led to restaurants that illegally or otherwise allow smoking! We did read the reviews before heading here and we believed we were headed to a nice place. My first thought as I opened the door was "What a dump!"

We've been frequenting Village Tavern regularly since 2003 and it's my favorite local dive bar.  Why?  Because it has everything you could want in a neighborhood bar.  The drinks are inexpensive and the pours are generous, and the food is actually better than a lot of larger chain bars.  I'm a fan of the burgers, chicken tenders, chicken wings, fried pickle chips, and potato skins (which even though I get made fun of for ordering them this way, I call "potato cups" because unlike most places they are massively deep -- one potato makes two cups, and they're chock full of delicious heart clogging cheese, bacon, and sour cream).  Plus the owner's daughter is often there whipping up her own specialties.  And the girl can cook.  They also usually have "pot luck" all day on Sunday's during football season, with free coney's (score!), and there's always cheap pool.

The people are what make Tavern really worthwhile.  In the past few years they've added karaoke several nights a week, and the place often gets packed with folks from all walks of life.  Late night, when the folks working at other local bars and restaurants get off work and file in, the place can really start jumping.  The karaoke is always fun and often hilarious, though for every hilariously bad singer (and you need these people) there's actually usually two that are really good.  Like, probably could make some money good.  In fact the crew from Jag's often shows up after work, and I'd actually pay to see them.  Jimmy and Lisa MC'ing on Tuesday nights are my favorite, but Friday and Saturday are handled by Eric and Doug respectively and they get even wilder (Saturday especially -- if you like people watching, be here at 2AM on a Saturday. I don't know that there's another bar like it nearby).  Make friends with Doug and Kendra on Saturday, too, they are always good for some entertainment.  One note -- the bathrooms.  I can't speak to the women's restroom, but the men's consists of a urinal and a toilet.  Except the urinal is perpetually broken (or, uh, missing entirely), and with as much "super drunk guy" traffic as the remaining commode gets... let's just say you want to avoid touching anything while you're in there.  And try not to think about what you're walking in.  I have convinced myself that's part of the charm (though secretly I really want them to fix the urinal).

The best thing about the place though is that after awhile you really become part of it.    We've become friends with Carl and Carla (the owners), the bartenders who have come and gone over the years (Becky and Mary, you're the best!  Melissa, we miss you!), and dozens of other regulars who, just like us, spend waaaay too much of their time and money here.  At the end of the day, that's exactly what you're looking for in a neighborhood dive, and Village Tavern delivers in spades.

Hey, if you are looking for a great Karaoke Spot, then the Village Tavern is for you.   The Tuesday night and Saturday night Karaoke shows are the real signature events of the Tavern.   Great Karaoke hosts make the difference and Village Tavern has those in spades.   On Tuesday Night, Lisa and Jimmy do a Two for Tuesday show (everyone does back to back songs), that just gets the joint jumping. The sound system is tremendous and you will simply not believe the amount of GREAT singers you will hear.  Behind the bar you have two of the best girls in Becky and Mary to take care of your drinking needs all night long.  On Saturday, it is DJ Doug bringing the fun to the show.   Doug likes to keep the pace going and has a very loyal following.  Both of these set ups helps to keep the shows enjoyable.  But as I mentioned earlier, what really makes this place pretty unique in Karaoke is that almost all of the singers, on either night, are really, really good.   You will actually enjoy listening to the majority of the singers and people there will dance as the songs are being sung.  The atmosphere is fun, the regulars are friendly, the drinks are very reasonably priced, the menu is limited but very good and the staff behind the bar are simply second to none.  If you are looking for a fun local place to come and hang out, sing a few songs and enjoy a frosty adult beverage or seven, then the Village Tavern is a great place to be.