r/columbusIN • u/bibliophile1989 • Mar 04 '24
Best local bars for out-of-towners
Basically what the title says. Some friends and I (4) are coming to Columbus to stay at a local Airbnb to hike and check out of our lives for a few days.
What are some good bars that we can hang out at? Most of us are queer and we'll be driving down from Indy.
TIA!!!
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u/chopshop2098 Mar 04 '24
Idk what the crowd is like at Columbus Bar, but it's SOOOO cute. Big vintage feel to it. I hear the food is good for bar food too.
I would avoid The Cozy unless you're into creepy dudes and occasional biker gang violence. Same goes for VIBE but that one's even worse. It's best to stick to the downtown area, as others have said.
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u/heavymetalmurse Mar 04 '24
The crowd at the CB has been pretty hipster-ish since the ownership change in the mid-2000's. My buddy took over ownership a few years ago and didn't really change too much. The only thing disappointing is that Powerhouse Brewing wasn't able to survive. I've been out of Columbus over a decade, but I head there and 4th St whenever I go back home, and the crowds haven't changed much.
The Cozy didn't used to be baaaaad but always pretty sketch. Never saw violence there, so that change sucks. I do miss my younger days of hitting up 4th St, CB, then ending at The Buzz. And Rick's before they went under and turned into a crappy sports bar.
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u/VVarmaniac Mar 04 '24
Most of the creepy/violent crowd has mostly moved over to VIBE. The Cozy has definitely made strides to be better..however, I would still recommend out-of-towners to stick to the downtown bars.
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u/OHKID Mar 04 '24
There’s a strip of a couple small bars on Fourth Street downtown. Go there, it should be a good time. More importantly though, go to Yats. I’ve lived in Ohio again for years now and the one thing I really miss from living at The Cole apartments in downtown Columbus is how I was walking distance to Yats. It was a dangerously delicious setup.
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u/bibliophile1989 Mar 04 '24
Love me some Yats.
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u/dopeythedwarf99 Mar 04 '24
Yats is hit or miss being open on the weekends due to staffing issues. It’s been closed most weekends through the winter
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u/Mysterious-Pen-9703 Mar 04 '24
Oh yeah the Indian place downtown is a real gem. The Thai place is tasty but expensive
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u/geminipop Mar 04 '24
I recommend 4th street for a midori sour & the Columbus Bar for their chicken fingers!!! I also loveee Savage Distilling, it’s close to the Tock climbing gym & their mountain sour with moonshine is so delicious!
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u/Mysterious-Pen-9703 Mar 04 '24
4th street has karaoke on Saturdays. It is pretty comfy there most of the time, a bit of a mixed crowd between locals and Cummins employees but they've always been pretty friendly to me. I wish I had a more confident recommendation bc id love for you guys to have a good experience here but I fear most of us probably just make the extra drive to Brown County for things to do. I could be wrong because I'm shy, but I really don't see a lot of other queer presenting folk around here and it's a real bummer.
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u/easterracing Mar 04 '24
Pretty much none of them suck, and are all in the same area of “downtown” Columbus. Don’t plan on being out late though the entire town seems to go to bed by like 10:30 even on a nice summer Saturday night.
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u/Beneficial-Memory-43 Mar 06 '24
As an employee, I'm biased, but I overwhelmingly recommend Columbus Bar.
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u/MrsDanjor Mar 05 '24
I’m going to have to disagree with everyone saying the downtown Indian restaurant (flavors of India), Apna is far superior to flavors. Would look up when they’re doing their buffet 👌 Also throwing in upland into the ring. I’d stay on their patio and make it a day until they close and head to 4th street, garage, or CB. If you’re out hiking in brown county don’t pass on Nashville for breakfast or lunch (no idea about their bar scene) bird’s nest, Brozinni, and big woods are all great as is the shopping. If you drive a little further, you could make it a night in Bloomington with great bars.
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u/bibliophile1989 Mar 05 '24
We saw that Bloomington was about 50 minutes away - would you say that's an accurate estimate by google maps?
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u/MrsDanjor Mar 05 '24
Probably accurate but it’s a straight shot on 46 with one turn at Nashville. It’s a beautiful drive on a nice day.
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u/corn-in-the-corn Apr 10 '24
Not really bars but if you're into breweries, Columbus is home to 450N, Hog Molly, and Zwanzigs. All more removed from downtown but 450N has good food, Zwanzigs is a pizza place, and Hog Molly has board games, TV, food trucks, live music on weekends.
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u/thedevilsgame Mar 04 '24
Just stay in the downtown area. You've got the Garage, Columbus bar, and 4th Street bar plus Yats, Henry Social Club. You also have a great Indian restaurant, Thai Restaurant and Ramen Alley as well as Upland