Edge Inn Tavern

The Fabulous Edge Inn. It is situated on ‘the edge’ of Norwood, and Oakley; on Edwards Rd. A stone’s throw from the Rookwood Pavilion.
Once again voted CINCINNATI MAGAZINE’S «Best Dive Bar». It is everything you want in a neighborhood watering hole. A good liquor pour for a fair price, cold long-​neck beers for a buck-​fifty during Happy hour, and the prettiest lineup of barmaids in town. Allie, Shelley, Lisa and the others are quick to serve you with a genuinely friendly and gorgeous smile. Definitely easy to look at, if you know what I mean.
The interior is slightly on the dark side. Which goes back a couple decades when the previous owner kept a low lit ‘night club’ ambiance in the Edge. There is plenty of light from the pinball machine, dart board, golf game and the juke box. One unique thing is the Edge Inn Christmas tree, which stands all year as a reminder of donations to Tender Mercies Foundation, which provides shelter for the mentally handicapped, homeless people in the Over-​the-​Rhine area.
Tender Mercies is the pet charity of the Edge Inn. The original founder of Tender Mercies is a regular patron of the Edge, and a lifelong friend of Joe Doud, proprietor of the Edge Inn.
The annual Edge Inn Chili Cookoff, held on the first Sunday after the Super Bowl, is a major event with chili-​heads from all over town vying for the title of best of the best. This year’s competition raised a $ 1000 for Tender Mercies.
The patrons are a diverse, eclectic cross section of the Oakley/​Norwood/​Hyde Park area. From politicians to painters, city council members to retirees and retired military; the conversation ranges from meat loaf recipes to sports, and which higher school is best to undersea warfare. Anyone can feel free to join in the discussion. With nicknames like ‘Whisky’, Piglet’, ‘Irish’, you can see it’s a local friendly neighborhood bar.
I can judge a bar by the jukebox AND the jukebox there is as diverse as the patrons. James Brown to Sinatra, Elvis to lady Gaga. And the jukebox does not need you to get a loan to afford it.
So stop by the Edge Inn and have a drink with a new friend.
The Five star in dive bars.
And remember «chili dogs always bite at night»
Windsor

Cash only!
It was actually less divey inside than I expected.
The bartendress was really nice and speedy. We played darts on an electronic dartboard that doesn’t work, so we kept score on the wall. It’s a small place and was fairly busy for a Thursday night, but a great place to grab a cheap beer.

Cozy atmosphere with dated décor, great barmaids, cheap prices, diverse crowd just an all around fun time!

I came to Edge Inn on a dive bar crawl we were having. This is one of those places I have driven by 1,000 times. It is right when you get on the highway taunting you to come in with it’s old school liquor sign.
There are no windows and this place is as dark and dingy as it gets. There was a mix of people in here everyone from old vets, to middle age dudes, to some service industry folk just getting off work for the night. The electric mix of people made for a fantastic night of people watching.
The bartenders were as friendly as can be and made us feel right at home. I ordered up a Heineken on draft and it was $ 3 bucks. My friend order a Makers neat and it was only $ 3 too! This has got to be one of the cheapest bars in Cincinnati.
I also fell in love with the electronic dartboard! It sucked that this bar was cash only and you have to pay to play darts, but we had such a blast. I am definitely going to add this bar to my «bars where it’s okay to go in Yoga pants» list.
If you haven’t been I highly recommend it!

Best dive bar in town. A friendly, welcoming atmosphere that attracts an eclectic, fun crowd. The drinks are dirt cheap and $ 20 goes a long way in this place (don’t forget to bring cash!!). Great people watching here. A night at the Edge is likely to be one you won’t remember but will wish you did.

Hello Dive.
It really is just hard to rate dives that you’re not a regular at, but still… I’ve had better.
It’s cash only… but they have a credit card machine that you use as an ATM that prints out a receipt and the bartender gives you cash — it makes no sense… just put the machine behind the counter.
Anyway… the bartender was super friendly and it seemed like they had a good crowd of regulars.
It is VERY dark inside.
The bar is kind of cool — big wrap around with lots of seating then just a few tables off to the side. There is a back patio/​parking area too for all you smokers.
The drinks are more expensive for a dive bar — maybe it’s the location.

Last night I found myself overburdened with the temptation of the flickowing neon light.
The Edge Inn is as inviting as a strip club. The three head high exterior windows are covered with heavy green curtains that could blot out the brightest sun, the entry is a solid steel door, and the wall is mirrored. This is my kind of place. The kind of place where you can hole up during a zombie apocolypse.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love almost everything about this place. I love the tylenol shaped central island bar; the cracked ACT on the ceiling stuffed with tickets, business, and postcards; the used-​to-​be-​pretty bartender; almost everything. I could maybe do without the rancid barf chips smell that permeates the place, but maybe that was just an isolated instance.
Otherwise, I think this is my new favorite dive.

Are you looking for a high-​class bar experience? Don’t come here. I love it, but then again, its my neighborhood dive bar. My friends work here, drinks are cheap as hell and the regulars are amazing. This place is somehow busy any and every night of the week. The Edge will always hold a special place in my heart.

I will forever be a fan of dive bars. Find me a place were I’m drinking essentially at cost and I’ll stay there forever.
The Edge is one of those places. It’s not so sketchy as to be a place you should avoid, but a fine drinking establishment to be enjoyed for what it is.
And what it is, is totally awesome. The drinks are ridiculously cheap and are «well made» shall I say.
$ 20 will be way more than enough to get you thoroughly sloshed, and that’s the whole point, right?
On Wednesdays they do karaōke and the crowd really gets into. The crowd is usually made up of locals and some college kids who have discovered the secret to drinking cheap, so you don’t have to worry about it being a true dive.
So if you’re looking for a place to get bombed on the cheap, or just out to have a good time, I can’t recommend the Edge highly enough.