Ladder 19

This place is beautiful. It sat empty for so long. I haven’t been inside for 20 years. The remodel is so beautiful. There’s little hints of the original firehouse it used to be. It was called zino’s on vine when I was in college. It was a little fancier back then.
If my drink had more alcohol in it for the $ 25 I paid, I would’ve given it more stars. A great perk was $ 1 draft beers. There was a ton of young college students there. We got there about 9 p.m. A little before all the college students arrived to hear the dj play at 10. They have a pool table and a fireplace, kind of off to the side. Upstairs is a small area where a DJ plays and two dart boards. They also have a juke box, the new digital kind, with good music on it. The DJ was playing some old stuff for such a young crowd. No one was dancing. They were really just yelling or socializing. They do ID people after 10. It was a super cool place! I’d like to go another time to try the food everyone says is so good. I was glad to find the quaint area upstairs. It has three balconies, maybe where the fireman poles used to be. The single bathrooms are really pretty too. I’m just excited I was able to visit a place with old memories for me. Nostalgic.

Went here to check it out. Huge mistake. First, a worker there who I assume was the manager just walks around and complains about everything everyone is doing. I was literally standing at the door and the guy accused me of checking people’s IDs. He made a huge deal out of literally nothing and was a complete buzz kill and creep. I wouldn’t go back just for this reason alone, but I feel inclined to share now. Secondly, there was only 1 bathroom (one for men and women) so there was always a huge line to wait. It actually got so bad that people starting doubling up to use it! And again, that same guy came and complained about people doubling up. If you don’t want your customers to do that then maybe expand your bathroom. Third, they let in WAY too many people! By 11pm I had to wait 20 minutes to get a drink. And by that time, the kegs were all out so I had to pay $ 5 for a can, that’s right a CAN of bud light. They have a bar upstairs but it’s vacant. I guess they are too cheap to pay for another bar tender to use it and would rather have their customers wait 20 minutes in a mosh pit only to find out the draft beer is gone. But I wish this was the end. For those of you who enjoy smoking, forget about a patio to smoke on. They literally have one tiny wheel chair ramp outside that they claim is the smoking area. Holds about 3 people comfortably and I use that term loosely. Finally, they have only 1 pool table that is in the way of everything else. You can’t take a good shot without hitting those at the table 2 feet away. Likewise there are 2 dart board upstairs. But again, you can’t even play because it’s so crowded as mentioned before and not to mention it’s so hot up there you can’t enjoy yourself.
Please don’t waste your money coming here. There are plenty of other bars in the area that (1) have polite, non creepy staff; and (2) don’t take 20 minutes to get a drink with plenty of games to play without it getting over crowded.

I’ve been for drinks and dinner, but brunch looks like its worth trying. There on a Monday and had a $ 5 burger special. It was a great burger (not surprising from the folks who bring us burgers at Woody’s). The space is great-​they have some outdoor space, an upstairs, and pool tables. I could definitely see this place over run with the college student crowd on this side of campus given the drink and food prices, but the quality is good too, so don’t be afraid to give it a shot! Both times I’ve been there, there’s been a pretty diverse crowd.
The menu is also fairly diverse-​your typical bar food, brunch food, and such, but it’s done well and not just all out of a fryer.
A great addition to the Short Vine area giving some options for food and drink.

The staff at ladder 19 was exceptionally friendly and attentive. Food came out promptly and beer was cold. The space is very fun.

Fantastic! I’ve only ever been here for brunch but it is easily the best deal in the city. $ 20 gets you a meal & bottomless mimosas or bloody mary’s. I generally start with couple bloodies to get the morning started, then I move on to some mimosas for dessert.
The Bloody Mary’s seem to come garnished with either a pickle, a celery stick, or olives… or any random assortment of the three. They are typically just spicy enough to burn your throat a little bit, without feeling too unpleasant. The mimosas are also very good. I don’t know what kind of champagne they use but sometimes I taste a subtle hint of vanilla flavor in with the orange juice & bubbly. As for the people claiming to have been cut off after so many drinks… I’ve never had that happen or seen that happen to anyone. And I’ve stayed there for hours and hours on multiple occasions continually drinking upwards of 9−10+ drinks. If you keep your composure and enjoy the atmosphere without getting rowdy, no one will bother you or try to cut you off. I’m sure there is a reasonable other side to whoever’s story that was.
Anyway, back to the review: the food.
The Southwest skillet is my go-​to favorite! An amazing blend of chorizo, onions, peppers, fried potatoes, and an egg (prepared to your liking). It also comes with some kind of relish, but I’m not a fan of it. I usually ask them to hold it off.
As huge fan of brunch, this is one of the best deals in the city. Good food, good drinks, and a very laid back friendly staff.
My one piece of advice would be to lose the magician. he weirds me out.

The menu was very limited due to a concert. Service was also shoddy. My sandwich was all bread, very little chicken salad. The drinks were cold and good though and much cheaper than the concert venue. Shot girls were also handing out free samples.

Great space, staff, and food!
I was expecting typical bar quality food but it was so much better than that. We got wings (honey BBQ) and fries and they were fantastic. Way more food than we expected to get for the price.
I went to a private party there with about 60 people on Friday and it was a great space to reserve because there was plenty of room with a variety of tables and plenty of bar access. The pleace was still able to seat and serve other people that were not with the party in other parts – there are many different spots of varying size within Ladder 19 for different occasions. The party was catered there and the food was great for snacking and they reserved a keg.
Really need to come back for their brunch! Parking is my only headache with clifton but there is a lot behind the building. We were able to park around the corner for free.

First off, I had very low expectations, this location has either been a flop or vacant for about the last 20 years, but I was pleasantly surprised. I do however have to agree with the strong smell of maple syrup. I thought for sure they were baking something, but from the other review mentioning it, it seems to just be their «smell». Anyway, they have a decent beer selection, but could use an updated list (which they acknowledged), I tried ordering 2 different beers and both had been replaced. For food, I had one of the spicy burgers and it was really very good. I was impressed. The fries could have been much more well done, they were pretty white. My buddy ordered the chicken chili and a side salad, he also seemed pretty happy with his meal. I hope they do well and can manage to stay open, as it’s nice to have a decent restaurant on this side of campus.

Decent beer selections, very spacious, and has pool and darts. The Flaming Sgt. Pepper burger is well done. Big downside is the room freshener they have which makes the whole bar smell strongly of maple to the point it’s annoying. Great service!

The service at Ladder 19 is really bad. So bad that my friend and I didn’t even stick around to order. We walked in on a Saturday to check out a game and have a bite to eat. After reading over their Unilocal reviews, we figured we’d give it a shot. We walked in and a server told us to seat ourselves. Although, there were many empty tables, none of them were clean. Seriously, none of them. We ended up sitting at a table that was almost clean. We sat there for a while, looked around and waiting for someone to come greet us. We thought the guy that spoke to us initially would stop over but he never did. In fact, he walked past our table several times and never even said a word to us. With it being a game day and a Saturday night, I would expect this place to be pretty busy but it really wasn’t. Since they weren’t crazy busy, I just couldn’t figure out why no one had stopped to help us. After waiting a while longer, my friend and I decided to leave. We were not down with the idea of spending any of our money there. I have no deisre to return.

This is a mixed review. We went on a Sunday early afternoon, prior to going to a UC Basketball game. Had a short wait for a table — no problem. Here is the rest of the story.
Service — 1 star at best. Waitress was great and tried to help, however problem was we waited a real, real long time for our food. They just were not staffed to handle the big Sunday group. Wound up at a table for 4 and we sat with 2 other guys. When they brought the food for these other 2 guys, they asked for some silverware and were told, it would be a few minutes, since they are still doing the dishes. Really, how can you run out of silverware. Kitchen was woefully behind. Service rating is for the kitchen staff, not our server. She was great.
Food — 4+ stars.
We shared a burger and fries, and the chicken salad sandwich. Burger was excellent, only issue was that the size of the burger and the burger bun were out of proportion. Either make a bigger burger or use a smaller bun. Wanted cheese on our burger. How can you not have mozzarella.
Chicken salad sandwich was out of this world. Prior to ordering the sandwich we asked for a quick sample of the salad. Waitress was glad to bring us a taste. Don’t like chicken salad swimming in mayonnaise. This had just the right amount of mayo. Chicken salad sandwich is served on great bread, with cheese and bacon.
Need to go back during the week to try some other items. On Sunday, they has a limited menu and serve up some special breakfast skillet items (while we did not order these, they did look good)
So, averaging the food versus the service, came up with barely 3 stars.

I’ve been to this place multiple times and normally between 11pm and closing time. I didn’t order food but I did order drinks. Bartender was friendly, however the bar wasn’t cleaned off and had spilled drinks on the countertop. Two of the times that I’ve been there, customers have spilled drinks on tables and the dance floor and no one cleaned it up. I could understand if they were super busy but the place is hardly ever packed. In general: this place is a nice venue, but not kept up.

So happy I discovered Ladder 19. It’s a GREAT Sunday brunch place! The owners did a fantastic job renovating the place and kept a subtle fireman theme. I love their bottomless mimosas and bloody mary’s with a brunch option for only $ 19 which I felt was a good deal. I think this is offered on Saturdays as well.
When it came time to order our food, our friendly server informed us that if we wanted one of the skillets it would take about 35 – 40 minutes because it was so busy. We opted for a cup of their signature white chicken chili while we waited. I’m not a huge fan of chili but I have to say this is the BEST THING I HAVE EVER TASTED, I would go back for just this!
Our skillets came out about 40 minutes later, and it did not disappoint — well worth the wait! While I wish it wouldn’t have taken as long for the food, our server gave us a heads up and we were able to enjoy the mimosas while we waited.
I haven’t been there during the week yet for lunch or dinner but will for sure go back and check it out.

We came here for a group outing after a meeting. We were given the front area along the windows (this was arranged ahead of time for our group). There were about 20 of us ordering drinks and food, so I’m sure it was pretty chaotic, but between the 2 servers and bartender, we had WONDERFUL service. They were attentive and fast, in spite of how many people as we had in our group. I ordered the bacon goetta fries — they were awesome, but next time I’ll be sure to ask for some extra ranch as there wasn’t enough. Mondays are a great day to come — free pool all day, the Ladder Classic Burger is only $ 5 until 9 pm, and they have $ 10 buckets of beers. I can’t wait to come back for brunch and try their bottomless mimosas!

Decided to give this place a whirl. It’s in the location of the old Zino’s Resturant up on short vine for all us old timers who remember
Place is pretty cool bar staff is super super nice. They made out first time a blast! It’s just a college bar/​Resturant
We thought the best appetizer was the Bosco bite stuffed cheese soft pretzel bite the marinara sauce was amazing
They kept pimpin the ghetta fries which were just OK I think if they would trade out the sour cream and use a white breakfast gravy on them they would be phenomenal
My partner got the raging Cajun burger and it was really good I got the bow wow burger it was just OK the goat cheese they use is really musty instead of creamy
Over all we really like the place and they seem like they have some really good happy hour deals so I will be trying it out for happy hour for sure

The building’s look gave me high hopes but those were quickly dashed. First of all, the appearance of the restaurant is awesome. The fireman theme is really fun and the restaurant is spacious with a fantastic patio. The menu boasts a variety of foods and many that are compatible with my food allergies. They even have a wheel you can spin and when you spin said wheel, it lands on a shot that you can drink for $ 5, or so they say… when my boyfriend spun the wheel, our bill reflected that the shot was actually almost $ 7 so be aware. Our service was the worst I have had in a long time. The drinks came out fast but we waited over 30 minutes for our food and when it was brought out, my boyfriend ordered the quesadilla but instead was brought a flat bread. He ended up eating it because we were so tight on time but he couldn’t finish it because it was so gross. I asked for my meal to come with sauce on the side because of my food allergies but that request wasn’t observed either :-(no one brought us silverware or napkins so my boyfriend went behind the bar and got them for us and our waitress and the bartender watched him and seemed relieved to not have to put on the extra effort. I don’t eat in the university area often but I certainly won’t make it a habit of eating here! The happy hour prices were good but the rest of the experience was so sour that I will spend my money elsewhere.

Bookmark this now!!! John and Lori have hit another home run classic. Much classier and upscale than their Woodies. This place is great for anyone anytime. We had top echelon burgers, soups and salads. Even the desserts were great. Of course good selection of brews and more but best of all is the look/​feel and service with this place. Run like a world class restaurant, run by people who really care.

Somebody call 911… this restaurant is on FIRE! Great food and awesome space. The chef has been known to bring orders to your table himself, very personable. Only disappointment– the «bottomless» mimosas and bloody marys at brunch have a limit of 10 per person, and you can’t mix & match between the 2. I can’t imagine drinking that many, but it’s a little misleading. Have yet to have a bad meal here, this place is a must try!

Great addition to Clifton. So well built and décor is detailed w the theme. Large spaces and good service. Went for lunch and tried the:
½ house salad: great portion, yum & like their house dressing
½ cali chkn sandwich: delicious and huge half
Sweet Potato Fries: good
Fried Fish Sandwich: awesome flavor and HUGE

I have only been there for a happy hour so far and I must say this is a huge step up for short vine. The décor and architecture is beautiful, they have large garage doors so that the whole place feels open and airy when they are open. As for the drinks, they have some great specials for happy hour and they usually have a appetizer special as well. On the day i was there it was 2 dollars off and drafts and $ 3 for the nachos — I didn’t get the nachos, but they looked enormous and full of toppings. The next time i come in i will be ordering those!
Probably about half of their drafts are local with the usual suspects accounted for. This is an absolutely great place for a happy hour if you work anywhere in uptown.
I will be back to try their food, everything looked great that came out. The bartenders were very freidnly as well.