Murphy’s Pub

Favorite bar in Clifton!
Free hot dogs, free popcorn, a rocking music selection (self selected by customers) and deals on drinks every night!
I am a college student and I love my Friday night happy hours, but as expected with such a great deal (double wells for $ 3 from 5−8pm) it is always packed.
On its most popular nights (beginning or end of school semesters) there is even a line outside with a one person out one person in system. It can be overwhelming and not always worth it, but plan ahead and get their early and you will have a great time.

Best bar in Clifton! I lived across the street while in college and although I have been graduated for several years I still regularly visit Murphys. I love trivia on Tuesday and they have awesome happy hour deals on Friday. And you can’t beat the free hot dogs and popcorn!

A college bar that welcomes a guy that was drinking before today’s college students were born? Sign me up. This is a bar in Clifton, so you can count on most of the patrons being younger, but anyone is welcome in Murphy’s, from medium hardcore drunks to serious hardcore drunks. Haha. I’m kidding. Mostly. It is a drinker’s bar though, not a place to be seen, so it’s safe to assume that there will be people in there drinking. That’s my way of saying that if you don’t like true dive bars, you won’t like Murphy’s.
A quirky layout of several small rooms attached to each other and two bars, there’s a spot for everyone here. Poke around and discover a new place to hang out. I’ve never encountered a staff member here that was anything but friendly.
They have free hot dogs on the rollers. I’m a bit past my bar-​hot-​dog eating days, but I bet I would have scarfed plenty of those in my college days. I have partaken in the free popcorn though! Nothing better to go with a frosty cold local draft beer.
If you’re in search of the higher points of culture in the city, Murphy’s probably isn’t on the top ten list. Stop in Murphy’s on a tour of the best dive bars in the city, spend a Sunday Funday here or pop in on a UC game day for pre-​game cold ones.

Hands down my favorite bar in Clifton! Why? You ask.
1. Cheapest drinks in town with different deals every day!
2. Free hot dogs and popcorn every night!
3. There’s always something to do: Darts, Pool, Trivia, Giant Jenga, Cook-​Offs, 2 Bars, Patio, Free Wifi
4. Strict 21+ policy
5. 3 St. Patrick’s Day celebrations: Halfway to St. Patty’s Day (⁹⁄₁₇), St. Practice Day (²⁄₁₇), St. Patrick’s Day (³⁄₁₇)
6. The staff has fun, loves their jobs, and really connects with their regular customers
Clearly I could go on and on but you just need to go. Now.

I’ll put it simply– Murphy’s is the bomb dot com. At most bars around the Clifton/​UC area, I am 22 and feel WAY too old to be there. This is not the case with Murphy’s. They are strict with being 21 and up which is a huge pro for anyone who isn’t a fan of people who look like their little siblings running around.
It is a «dive» bar (actually, it is #32 on the diviest dive bars in America, which makes it even better). When you walk in, you are greeted by a door guy who checks your ID, and you will also be greeted by the scent of popcorn and hotdogs for free. There is a front bar, middle room with darts, an outside patio, a middle room with darts, and an entire back room with darts, pool, and another bar. *tip: if you open your tab at the front bar, you can not get drinks at the back bar, and vice versa, unless you close out and open another one*
Happy Hour: Fridays are packed but rightfully so. Pretty sure it is $ 1.50 wells ($ 3.00 doubles). I have been here on a few other days, but my favorite is Thursday because from 6:30 — 8:30 it’s $ 1.50 wells ($ 3.00 doubles) and it’s not super busy. (I might as well just put the doubles price because that’s what most are interested in anyways). Great happy hour after class/​work, and none of your friends can give you the excuse of having to eat dinner because there’s food here…
Game Days/​Night Life: Great for watching Bearcats games. They usually have specials and even sometimes there are raffles and you can win prizes for next time. TVs are scattered around so you can watch. I like coming here at night too. They have a juke box and there is usually room to play darts.
In conclusion, I really like it here. You can tell all the workers love their job (especially the bar tenders); it seems like a family in addition to a workplace. Recently, I was here and they had a breast cancer awareness night. All the workers had pink shirts and the bud light girls were handing out pink draft beer for free. If you bought pink beer, some of the $$ was donated! This is just an example of some of the fun things Murphy’s does. They also have t-​shirts and hats for purchase. I gotta get one before I graduate. Cheers

The best dive bar in Clifton. Just enough off the beaten path that it isn’t packed, but just big enough that there’s room if it is. Consisting of about 4 different rooms and a small, outdoor courtyard, there’s a place for whatever you’re looking for. Lots of dart boards, a pool table and free hot dogs /​popcorn. There’s even a small parking lot (which is super rare in Clifton). It’s just perfect.

This place is perfect for all crowds. Great service and cheap drinks. Free popcorn and hot dogs. Pool, darts, games and a patio. This is the regular place for everyone. Come on in!

A great college bar in Clifton, good music, cheap drinks and free food! I have never been when it is too crowded and have always had a good time. Nothing negative about it.

This was my favorite bar in college. I spent MANY weekend and weeknights here. I take pride in saying that I was a regular here when I was living in Clifton.
The bartenders are super friendly, the drinks are strong, and usually there is a good crowd here. It is a decently sized bar with pool tables in the back and a sectioned off outdoor area.
The best part is there is free popcorn all night and free hotdogs until 12!!! Definitely check this bar out if you are looking for a nice dive bar.

A great chill bar for college students in the Clifton area. Got lots of activities like pool and darts to keep people entertained. Super cheap drinks because it is a college bar. Music is pretty good.
The best part is free hot dogs and popcorn! 5 star rating!

Fun place– just pick your night carefully. The college kids can ruin it on some nights. Aim for weeknights and holidays– you know, good alcoholic drinking times.

$ 1.50 Long Island iced teas, free hot dogs and popcorn, darts… What more do you need?

This is one of the best bars there is — I was a regular when I lived in Clifton and love going back whenever I’m in the area.
There’s many things that I love about Murphy’s… Dylan is a bartending god! He makes a great drink and puts on a great time. Also, free hot dogs and popcorn, and sometimes pizza and chili. There were more than a few times in college that my dinner consisted of a hot dog, popcorn, and a few beers. They have great monthly and daily drink specials. It’s a great place to play some darts, play some songs on the jukebox and throw back some drinks.
They have a few arcade games, pool tables, and many dart boards. Murals of the Bearcat through UC history, and just has a great laid back feel. Definitely a place you can roll into any day of the week in whatever you like and have a good time with friends!

One of the better dive bars in Clifton. Not the Ritz… But also affordable. They have a courtyard for smoking, pool tables, multiple bars and rooms, and the place can get bumping Thur through Sat. Definitely one of my favorite spots to kick it old-​school in Clifton. ^_^

A totally decent dive bar. It’s got an easy to miss, nondescript front just like I like. From what I could tell, it was a real dive bar; not the kind overran with hipsters, but the kind overran with old people. I love that. It is conspicuously larger than it looks, with three rooms that snake around through the back. Being that it’s a true dive bar, the restrooms are in the sort of shape one would expect.
There are pool tables, two areas to play darts, foosball, as well as a touchtunes jukebox. And you know how some places have free popcorn and you’re like, «awesome!» Well, so does this place. BUT THEY ALSO HAVE FREE HOT DOGS. FREE. HOT. DOGS.

Murphy’s Pub is exactly what it is and you either love it or hate it. I’m not much of a get crazy super drunk kinda person but if this place wasn’t crawlin with them I think I would have enjoyed my time here a little more because the bar itself is great!
It seems tiny from the outside but it’s actually like 3 or 4 rooms back. Each with a different feeling. The front of the bar is typical dive bar feel. The drinks are cheap. They had some good craft beer on tap which was again a pleasant surprise. They even had free hot dogs! Which after seeing hot drunk people get, this is def a good thing. I enjoyed one myself and it was delish.
The next room back is darts, and some open tables, tv’s etc. The third room back is a pool table and other bar games. There’s actually a lot of do here! Since there was a dart tournament going on (yeah idk) but we kinda got shafted. Oh well, we still made it fun!
The bartender was kind of annoyed at the dart people but was nice to me. I think we just came on an odd night where people were getting rowdy. If I’m ever over this way I wouldn’t mind stoppin in for a game of darts, or a nice cold one. Solid dive bar for sure.

Met up with some Unilocalers here after an event. It’s a pretty normal bar– expected beers on tap, good for loud groups. They have free popcorn and hot dogs, which I didn’t partake in.
We DID try to play darts, and got darts from the bar and then started playing at one of the four dart boards before another patron came up and informed us that it was «dart league» night/​time/​whatever and could we please «give them some space.» The board was free– there wasn’t anyone waiting to play on it, and the bar loaned us the darts, so I’m guessing it wasn’t an official bar dart league, so I’m really not sure why we couldn’t play? We didn’t finish our game, and didn’t feel like the «regulars» were very welcoming because of that.

I randomly ended up at this bar and it reacquainted me with crazy college kids. Within a minute of being there, a guy I just met handed me a shot of tequila and then myself and 4 others with him downed them. Not a bad start.
It is much larger than I thought and has tons of rooms where you can roam through, just don’t breathe too deeply as the Axe Body Spray might get ya dizzy. :) The outdoor patio reminded me of Arnold’s as it is enclosed on all 4 sides. Unlike Arnold’s, smoking is allowed (at least everyone around me was) and it was a little offputting. Oh well. The highlight (or lowlight to most people) included a guy chugging from a pitcher, stopping for about 10 seconds, and then regurgitating right back into the pitcher. Ah, the future of America…
I was able to try some of the popcorn, and while it can’t hold a candle to Knockback Nat’s corn, it’s still a nice treat and can soak up a little of the alcohol. I did see a few people eating some of the hotdogs too, but I wasn’t about to add a dog to my belly.
I am certainly not a college kid anymore, but it was fun to dip my toe back in the water and see that pretty much nothing has changed as far as college bars and how people party. If I was back in college, I would probably be at this place at least 2 or 3 times a week.

Quintessential College Bar.
Darts, pool, Foosball, juke box, smoking patio, cheap drinks, you know the drill.
Be prepared to deal with collegiate patrons and the associated scuttlebutt. In the heart of UC’s southern residential district is nestled the Irish pub that is Murphy’s. They do a fantastic job of checking ID’s, as occurred to me last night for the first time in roughly a fully bearded eon.
Free hot dogs! That’s pretty awesome. The staff is very kind. Men’s bathroom has no mirror so remember to look goOoOoOod before you get out there, not that you have to impress anyone here. This is a casual place with a bunch of Frat boys and Sorority sistas.

Although I’ve only been here a couple of times, I definitely think it’s worthy of five stars. The atmosphere is a little too «college-​bar» (maybe because I need to try to keep in mind where it’s located… duh) to me at times, but overall it is enjoyable. I think it makes a difference that I come with people I intend to hang out with all night. I think it would be a little difficult to mingle nicely at times otherwise (that could also be because it seems like everyone knows at least a handful of people that they didn’t come with here and I’m an outsider from Cleveland). I also really like that there are divided rooms, which makes it almost like separate bars, depending on who wants to play pool, play darts, sit at the bar or smoke outside.
I also LOVE that they have popcorn and hot dogs. Those are two of my favorite foods! Who doesn’t like snacks with their beer?! Or a good hot dog and a cool brew?! Murphy’s knows what’s up, that’s for sure. When we get the chance while visiting Southern Ohio I really enjoy coming here!