Winking Lizard Tavern

Freaking Amazing loving the Winking Lizard great service great atmosphere awesome sports club do the Winking Lizard

Came here last year on a road trip and loved it so we came back. Even with a different menu and seasonal beer change, they still were excellent. If driving through Cleveland like us, it’s an easy stop off the 90 and worth it for a drink and a bite.

The food is decent, but the service is always so slow. Three out of the last four times I’ve been here it has taken about ten minutes to just be able to place a drink order and that’s while sitting at the bar. It’s not completely the bartenders fault I guess. They have a huge bar and seem to only ever have one person working the bar as well as having to make all of the drinks for the tables. It always seems to be fairly full at the bar and the restaurant usually has a fair amount of occupied tables so it seems like they should have more staff.
The wings are okay, but the ribs are really good. The ranch is made from scratch if you order a salad, but for some reason it’s packaged when you order it with your wings. It tastes completely different than the salad dressing and isn’t very good. The good news is this place is cheap, cheap, cheap. Liquor drinks for around $ 6 or less and most meals seem to be around $ 7 or $ 8.

Closing Times are wrong on Unilocal.The game was on so loud the waiter couldn’t hear us order and we couldn’t hear each other talk across the table. When I asked to turn it down a little I was told it’s a sports bar and they wouldn’t turn it down at all. Pretty poor customer service in my opinion. At least the burger was good.

I’m trying to be fair because I came here in the midst of a Browns game — so the place was packed. But the waitress had absolutely zero personality and it was obvious she didn’t want to be there. The buffalo chicken wrap was decent but I was surprised to get pre packaged sauces. The price was decent. I didn’t get silverware until I asked for it. Not a horrible place but it wasn’t a memorable experience that makes me say, «hey if you visit Cleveland be sure to eat there.» I’m sure there are better places to eat. Sorry guys —

Great restaurant within walking distance if the Rock and Roll hall of fame. Highly recommend!

Glad we stopped here. The service was the best and the food was excellent. We sat out on the patio and it was a great atmosphere.

I had the turkey burger and it was flavorful and well cooked. The fries weren’t my favorite but they were edible for sure. The bartenders were attentive and they had a great beer selection and mlb package so I was able to watch the Cubs game while traveling for work.

Very disappointed this location converted from Winks to Winking Lizard. While the ownership is the same, the menu and food quality was a notch above with Winks. WL has a ton of beers but the draft selection at Winks was much better. WL has too many standard no-​rotating handles.

Service was great! The brisket needs to become more than a seasonal selection. It was juicy, tender, and had a smoky flavor. So far the best item I’ve eaten at Winking Lizard. This location is definitely one of the best in Cleveland.

This place is pretty much the epitome of A-​OK. I’ve been here twice, one time being for post-​5K drinks and the other for opening day drinks and dinner with a small group. During both visits, the service was great and the beer and food was exactly as expected. Nothing more, nothing less.
I will say that from what I’ve seen, this bar is more my speed than any of the other sports bars downtown. Less people and a little easier to handle.

Just stopped in for a beer. Service was slow and there weren’t that many people when I was there. Didn’t eat, and didn’t see any food come out, so I can’t comment on that.

Excellent service and the food was great too! I tried a new beer and the server told me the story behind it which added fun to trying it. Very attentive service and the sausage sandwich was great! Seems to be changing names soon and joining what is part of a existing chain. Hopefully the staff stay!

I’m going to settle in the middle and call this a 3.
I’ve had a few dining experiences that were 4’s, including their:
Orval Bison burger (¹⁰⁄₁₀)
Garlic ribbon fries (⁸⁄₁₀)
Original ribbon fries (7.5÷10)
Bavarian soft pretzel (⁸⁄₁₀)
I’ve also had some not so great experiences including their:
Thai peanut wings (⁴⁄₁₀)
–They were overcooked and just not a good flavor. (and I LOVE Thai peanut)
Beer cheese dip (⁵⁄₁₀)
–Very bland, not much flavor at all
In one experience, my waitress was unable to get my World Tour Card to register the beers we tried. She said that if I took my receipt to my usual location, they would be able to take care of it. At my next visit (at my usual location) they explained that only Winks can enter their receipts into the system (because Winks had it on tap and my location only had it as a bottle) and they could do nothing for me. It was only a few beers, but the whole thing left me a little peeved.
I experienced slow service on all three occasions, but I attribute it to the times that I go there (either 5:30pm or noon). Both of these are peak times, so I don’t hold it against them too much.
I love the Winking Lizard chain as a whole, this particular location not so much.
It was more out of convenience as I was working across the street at the Federal building.

Winks is always a sure bet in my book (I prefer it over the original Winking Lizard). I love the reclaimed wood table tops and the vintage Cleveland concert posters (Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and the like…).
Their turkey burgers are the bomb dot com paired with a customized Coke Freestyle creation.
Winks has a copious amount of indoor seating and large patio for Cleveland’s warmer months.

We were passing through town and met some friends at Winks. The atmosphere was fun and welcoming. We particularly loved the Christmas Story leg lamps that adorned the bar and hostess station!
For a Saturday night, the place seemed a little slow. Our friends chose it specifically because they felt it would be okay should their two little boys get rambunctious. As it turned out, they were pretty mellow and fit right in!
Our server was super nice. He gave us some excellent suggestions of craft beers. My husband loved the Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout, I enjoyed an amber and an oatmeal stout. Very tasty!
The food was also very good. We had a salad with the cucumber wasabi dressing, which was delicious. I enjoyed the cheese dip appetizer, which was huge and definitely a dish to share.
It seems like this place is really more for the weekday crowd, as they close the kitchen on Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm. But the menu was really interesting with lots of yummy sounding options like wings, interesting sandwiches and unique pizzas. They also cater to the Cleveland Browns games and have lots of great happy hour deals.
The next time we’re in Cleveland, we’ll definitely be back!

We were in there on a wednesday night; brought at least 10 of my co workers in there. We were there just to drink; i had the beer flight. I loved the peanut butter cup porter from Willoughby Brewing. We got in there at 910; and the bartender promptly shouted ‘LAST CALL’ at 9:20. 9:20. PM. Who closes their bar at 9:20? You have 10 people (and they would have emptied kegs) and you kick them out to go to another bar? at 9:20? Why? What the hell?
Enjoy your fate just like the rest of the Galleria.

I work in the tower connected to the Galleria where Winks is located. We go there often just due to the proximity to our office.
Tonight we were having some co-​workers who are from out of town out for Happy Hour. This was a true disappointment to share with them.
Either they had the server covering too many tables or he just didn’t care. It took at least 30 minutes to order and receive our drinks from when we all arrived. Once we finally had them the server never stopped back to check on everyone at the table.
Their Happy Hour deals weren’t anything to be overly excited about either, and it ends at 6pm which is disappointing. We came straight after work so many of us were hungry. But with no real variety in Happy Hour specials we didn’t bother. Also unless you’re a big beer drinker there really isn’t too many specialty drinks on their either.
We had plans to go to the Westin instead and next time we will definitely head elsewhere!

My review is coming from a strictly drinking perspective. I came here on a whim while walking through Cleveland with the boyfriend. We were on our way to the rock and rock hall of fame, and came across this place. We wanted a few beers so we decided to check it out. The inside was decorated in a rock and roll/​sports theme. We arrived around 3 on a Sunday evening and there were only a few other people there.
Their draft list was pretty awesome… First of all, it was electronic. The screens informed you of the beers they have on tap, where the brewery is located, what alcohol percentage it is, what type of beer it is, how much a glass is as well as a sample and what type of glass the beer comes in. Pretty informative for a draft list. The electronic draft lists also displayed what people checked in on untapped… So when I checked in my beer on the app, my picture came up on the screen– pretty awesome!
The bartender was extremely helpful in helping me decide what I wanted to drink. I was looking for a triple IPA and he convinced me to try founder’s devil dancer… It was awesome. My boyfriend was Ecstatic because they had southern tier’s Phin and Matt’s American ale. After that I had the Great Lakes spacewalker… Another awesome beer. My boyfriend had southern tiers live. Overall, we had a great experience. Great service and great beers!

While staying at the Hampton Inn down the street, I came in here for dinner one evening.
I had the French Onion Soup and the Cobb Salad. The French Onion Soup was to salty. The salad was not bad, but the vegetables did not feel as fresh as they could be.
I also had a pint of one of the many local IPAs they carry, then had a sampler of five other Ohio/​regional IPAs. The Ales were all excellent — I enjoyed them very much!
I sat at the bar and watched some of the Cleveland Indians vs. Detroit Tigers game. Lots of large flat panel HD TVs permeate the place.
Service was good. I’d come back here again — maybe try the wings next time. The place closes at 9:00 pm during the week.