Grammer’s

I cannot begin to explain how horrible my experience was here! Please take my advice and do NOT go here. The staff is rude beyond believe. The staff all act and behave like ex-​convicts which is sad give the beautiful history and speak-​easy feel of the bar. Hopefully someone else will buy it and give it the TLC it deserves allowing the building to reach its full potential until then I will not give them a dime of my money. If you are in the OTR area I suggest going anywhere but here. Literally every other bar and restaurant is better than this place!

Grammer’s was open for Bockfest 2013. Large crowd on Friday night due to Bockfest hall at capacity, so everyone was at Grammer’s instead.
It looks like they gave the venue a new coat of pain in the entry way seemed a lot brighter and cleaner from previous visits during MPMF.
Love the old German glass in the main bar area, variety of local and national Bock beer on tap, service was quick.
Interesting to see if Grammer’s will open again to its German glory with all of the activity in OTR or will it only be open for special events like Bockfest and MPMF?

I was here for mpmf to see dinosaur jr, so i cannot comment too much. But i can say, for as packed as it was, they did a great job of keeping it moving.
I will be back.

Until this month, I had never been inside of Grammers– I was a midpoint-​only visitor. But the inside (on a weeknight) was actually pretty cozy and nice for a conversation and beer. This was just before Bockfest, so that was really the only variety of craftier beer they had, which I’m not complaining about.
Even in early march, we were able to sit outside, because they have heaters, which is a great touch. I still think I’ll favor outside Grammers, but it’s nice to know that the inside is decent if I’m ever in the mood.

Ok, Grammer’s deserves an update.
I won’t deny that I miss the dive bar atmosphere of the old one. And my experience with the menu hasn’t really changed.
However, I’ve been here a couple times for drinks now, and once for an event, and it was a very pleasant evening. Lots of space to sit and chat with friends, great beer garden in the back, and cheap drinks. So for that, I’m bumping it up. I’m actually very excited for it to get warm and me to come back here with friends for a round or two.

When I spoke to one of the bartenders, she said that they were only open for special occasions now. There was a good selection of beers, and the brat was just ok. It has the potential to be a great space, but I still think it needs some atheistic work. If the opportunity to go to Grammar’s is right before you, by all means give them a try. But I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way.

I never got to go to this place before it was closed and reopened, so i can’t compare to what it was to what it is. I had a great time here though. The staff was amazing and friendly. The food was good, and the beer kept flowing. Also what other place would burn a snowman. The beer garden out back was great. There were gas heaters and fire pit to keep warm by. We had a great time and will most likely be back

This was my second time at Grammer’s and my first time actually being inside. My first trip to Grammer’s was to see Cut Copy at Midpoint Music Fest so of course that time was Awesome to the MAX!
I went yesterday for the burning of the snow man in the precipitation retaliation. More on that later. The interior was what i kinda expected, old german style place with strong dark beer and lively music. I had the dopplebock ken got a regular boch, $ 10 for 2 beers, not including tip. Beer’s were great and tasty, but the plastic cups were small. When i went outside to check out the snowman i found a beer card that has misc beers for $ 2. The misc beer was bargain bin selection but hey for $ 2 your not going to here me complain!
For the precipitation retaliation they had free brats, cheese mets, and brat burgers. I had a cheese met, ken had the brat. neither of us were hip on the brat burger. They had wings for $ 6 and pretzels and cheese for $ 4. The pretzels were a awesome and my cheese met was delicious. Plus they had some good beer mustard so it was yummy yummy time for me.
Precipitation retaliation is a cool event. A few years back there was a bad snowstorm that cancelled Bochfest, basically putting the city out of commision for friday to sunday. So in retaliation of that event a few years ago they build a snowman out of tissue paper and light it on fire. PA might have its groundhog to see how many more weeks of winter, but in Cincy we tell old man winter when we’ve had enough!
Parking at grammer’s is in a private lot and fills up fast, there is plenty of street parking though. The atmosphere is always fun and even if you don’t bring your crowd in everyone here is so friendly you can make new ones.

I finally can cross off «seeing a (faux) snowman burned to the ground» off my bucket list. Ha! What am I talking about? Every year before Bockfest, a Precipitation Retaliation event is held where a snowman effigy is burned in the attempt to ward off the bad snow mojo that could cause a repeat of the 2008 blizzard cancellation.
Grammer’s has a great outdoor area and even during the colder times, a firepit and some other heaters keep you warm. The food is traditional German and while not the healthiest, is certainly tasty. I had a Christian Moerlein Emancipator Doppelbock. It was on spcecial and only $ 3! Great beer, dark color and mellow flavor.
I love the fancy glass entryway that I am not sure anyone uses. The parking lot is just large enough for a large crowd to park their car. The typical people here are laid back and hipster-​ish. I appreciate that there are no TV’s in the place, at least none that I’ve seen. Grammer’s has too much character to have those.
Anyways, while not my first choice in downtown bars, it certainly is a nice place to kick back and have a few beers or mixed drinks. The pours were pretty strong in the one I sampled.
*Alex told me that the Moose in the hall is at actual height. WOW. That thing would have been a monster.

quit opening and closing and quit serving shitty food with no real kitchen and quit focusing your «german» menu on buffalo chicken wings and quit whining about the neighborhood and for god’s sake, if you are a server and you spill an entire fucking diet coke on my body, soaking me from head to waist, i better get something other than a fucking ugly ass XL grammer’s t-​shirt to compensate me for my suffering. hell.

Grammer’s is OPEN. The large vinyl sign outside the front door emphasizes this fact. Grammer’s has gone though some tough times and I am glad that it is once again open for business. Our friends started a bday pub crawl in OTR here and the bartender was quick to pour a few stiff drinks for us. There were not many people in the place and I hope that since it was «early» 8:30pm, that the place fills up in the later hours. There isn’t much more to say about this place but I hope it is successful and is open when Spring comes around.

I only went into Grammer’s once before they closed. I wasn’t exactly in the scene that usually visited Grammer’s in its last life. I do hate the way they closed the bar all of a sudden last winter. The owners have a terrible record with local bars. Whenever they buy a bar or restaurant in Cincinnati it seems to close shortly after and never reopen. I was skeptical this place would even reopen under the current ownership.
As time shows it did reopen and completely changed the appearance. They used to host dance parties for (mostly) college students. PBR was the top selling beer, and the building was shown no respect. As the second oldest bar in Cincinnati (opened in 1872, 11 years after Arnold’s) it does have some history to flaunt.
I went there for a special occasion this week where guest speakers for the Cincinnati Streetcar, Horseshoe Casino, and Over-​the-​Rhine Chamber of Commerce presented information. Before anyone else spoke, the general manager gave us a brief introduction to the bar. The mural in the main room with the bar is over 100 years old and apparently has never been retouched. They won’t hang things on the wall because they want to preserve the original artwork. The huge bar was handcrafted for the original owner, Antone Grammer. He told us that the building is apparently haunted and the piano will play itself at night sometimes.
They are currently renovating the upstairs area and could add a biergarten at some point in the future. The food there is more authentic German and they are trying to embrace their German heritage more. The general manager seemed passionate about the building, and I hope the people who are angry about the change at least give the new incarnation of Grammer’s a chance. I only tried some appetizers that came with the presentation which were good, but I didn’t get an actual meal, so I will update this review when I actually try a meal.

How are there are only 2 reviews for Grammers?
I have only been here as a venue for MPMF and it was perfect for that. As a bar, their drinks I thought were horrid. But as a music venue it’s pretty good.

Sorry, Alex S., but I totally disagree. The last incarnation of Grammer’s started off well, but then became a place that was ONLY welcoming to hipsters dancing and sweating and getting glitter and PBR all over the place. Grammer’s a grownup bar now.
First of all, I wouldn’t have gone to this Grammer’s towards the end of its last lifetime. More than once I walked into the lobby, turned around and walked right back out. I saw bartenders/​bar managers being rude to each other and to patrons. It was unwelcoming, dirty, and I’m pretty sure the women’s bathroom broke about 3 health codes.
The new place (and it really feels like a new place) is sparking, from the painted exterior to the upstairs bar which doesn’t show a trace of glitter. We had that night’s special, a brat (or mett) and large side for $ 3.99. We had a beer, chatted with the staff (including our server, who had until recently been one of the hipsters dancing in the bar). We went upstairs, which isn’t technically open (they are still renovating), but it already looks a million times better. My friend said it reminded him of the Grammer’s he had seen in the early 80s. The real Grammer’s.
Welcome back, baby.