Wonder Bar

I had come here about a week ago with some colleagues after work. The place was nearly empty, but it still took about 40 minutes to get our food.
The food itself was pretty bleh. Certainly wasn’t fresh or made in-​house!
Service was kind of snobby and obnoxious. Drinks were pretty meh.
I think this place gets the east 4^th overflow from other bars. Probably won’t go back unless I have to.

I came across a very unique section of the Cleveland downtown. There were lights and nice bars and restaurants in this area and Wonder Bar looked pretty mellow so I walked in. They had a huge selection of bourbon. The bartenders were really nice and sat down with me and had a nice chat. I would suggest this to anyone for a quick drink.

Super slow service :(almost missed the Indians game. A place on easy 4^th not prepared for a crowd? No «wonder» everyone who comes to Cleveland calls this city a dump.

Nice staff. Fine beer. Menu a bit limited for me. Heard that nothing is fried, so at least it might be a bit healthier… obviously negated by the beer you’re probably going to have. No wings on the menu is a surprise.

Extremely edible pizza, good brew, and fun atmosphere. I will come back when I need a good carbo load!
Great spot for Indians and Cavs pregame!

I’ve stopped in here quite a few times while making my way through the east 4^th bar scene. Every time, the entire experience is very «Meh». The bar is either annoyingly crowded or there’s no one there. The service is always kind of slow, regardless of how busy they are. The bartenders never look thrilled to be there and never go out of their way to make you feel welcome. And when the bill arrives, I always feel like I’m paying a little too much for the service I just received. Not saying this is a bad place to hang out, but it doesn’t have a lot going for it. And with other awesome bars in such close proximity, I always feel like there’s definitely somewhere else I could getting better drinks and better service.

Don’t get the house light beer. I repeat, do not get the «house» beer. The place is alright, laid back and casual. Service was attentive and nice. But the house beer is a joke– its Bud Light in a Cavs glass. Can’t hate on the whole place though. Not bad.

This was part of a self-​directed Pub Crawl in Gateway District. Kind of a cool spot. Really gets busy as the night grows old and they work hard to keep everyone in high spirits! Phenomenal beer selection, great staff, and it’s just a fun place to hang out.

Wonder Bar is my go-​to hang out! Great drinks, delicious food and very friendly staff. I love that the draught list changes often so that I can try different beers without having to give up my favorite bar. The staff is very knowledgeable and already knows which beers my husband and I will enjoy.
Overall chill atmosphere where the staff genuinely cares about serving great food and drinks!
P. S. Be sure to check out Taco Tuesdays… you will not be disappointed!

Came here twice — once after a horrible breakup and once for an after-​work drink and dinner. Both times, same experience — terrible.
Reeling from the horrible breakup, I told the bartender that all I wanted was some strong whiskey. I got a glass of something (I don’t know if the bartender even told me what it was), and while the drink itself hit the spot, nothing else in the place did. The price was neither great nor awful, the bartender was not attentive (barely checked back on us and the bar was NOT crowded at all), and my friend and I left feeling «Eh.» Post-​breakup drinks are supposed to make you feel better. This place made me feel worse.
A few months later, we decided to try again. The same friend and I grabbed some beers and sandwiches after work, and our experience was more of the same. We waited forever to get our beers and had to ask for food menus, as they were never offered. Once we ordered our food, it again took FOREVER for it to be delivered. What was supposed to be a quick bite turned into a nearly hour-​and-​a-​half long visit — and we were sitting at the bar, which, again, was not crowded. We were frequently forgotten by the bartender, and the food was only average. I think I got a chicken sandwich? I don’t even remember, that’s how good it was.
I would not recommend Wonder Bar. The service is awful, the food is subpar, and you can get similar, if not the same drinks, anywhere on East 4^th in a much friendlier atmosphere.

Such a disappointment. I suggested a friend to go and check this place out. There was 2 – 3 tables with people and a few more at the bar. We placed our drink order then the bar keeper told us very nicely and apologetically that the kitchen could not take our food order because they are busy. I am 38 and eat out very very regularly and this is the first time i heard such a thing. I suggested that she took our order and we are just going to keep enjoying our beers until the food arrives. Nope ! She cannot do it. By the end of the first beer she came to take our order but we were both turned off and left. Very odd place. Odd service. 2 stars is harsh but what else am i going to rate at a restaurant. Food is the main thing, right?

Hmmm…
First off, I’m bummed this place no longer has live music! I’ve been here for a few jazz shows and the music was always great. Unfortunately, I think this will impact the draw to the bar.
Second, the food is well… meh. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich with tater tots for $ 13.00. The sandwich was literally just some pulled pork on a white baguette that one would find at any supermarket. The meat and barbecue sauce were good but there was really nothing more than that to enjoy — very one dimensional. The tater tots were really no different than any tater tots you’ve probably had. Once again none of it was bad but it was certainly not worth $ 13.00…more like $ 5.00-$ 6.00.
My friend got the tacos which he said were pretty good. He was disappointed with the chips that come as a side however. They were just tortilla chips you would get at the grocery store with a little cup of salsa, not bad but underwhelming for the price.
The beer list was pretty good — they had some interesting drafts.
In summation, it’s not a bad place to stop in for a beer but don’t get your hopes up for killer atmosphere or worthwhile food.

Dropped in here to meet up with a few other people. I’ll be honest, despite the neon sign outside, I’ve never really noticed this place in my travels around E.4^th; I also probably won’t go out of my way to return to it either.
The beer list is pretty impressive – and chalked just to the right of the bar for easy visibility in the seating area – but the rest of this place is pretty ordinary. Service wasn’t great; I understand that it was a cold, slow Tuesday, but I don’t think the bartender should be hanging out with his phone at the end of the bar while waiting for me to read the beer list. I didn’t eat any of the food while I was there, but one of the people I was with ordered two of the tacos and seemed to enjoy them.
Overall, not a bad place and worth a drop in if you just need a table and a few beers, but not an E. 4^th destination place either.

I know for sure that I have written a review on the Wonder Bar previously but it has mysteriously disappeared. Grr.
This is my favorite E4th bar. We always have fun here and you never know what band might be playing. It is totally laid back so just come and relax!

Very non descript. It lacks identity more than a migrant worker crossing the border. Other than that, decent drink prices and okay music. Wife and I had a manhattan and other cocktail for 13 bones. That seems reasonable downtown. They were both good. No real douches in there. Obviously choice view out the window at east fourth. I don’t get what’s «wonder» about it, but would definitely go back for a peaceful drink. Reminds me of an old man bar with better lighting and less Budweiser advertising. More tolerable than that glorified college pizza parlor, Map Room.

I have been to Wonder Bar quite a few times, and it has become almost a regular spot for me on the weekends. It is my bar of choice for the end of the night, because they have this great coffee drink called a Sicilian Kiss. Perfect nightcap.
I like this bar because it is not usually that busy. I know that sounds crazy to some people, because usually the point is to go to a bar to meet people and hang out with friends. I go to a bar because I want to drink around some people. But, I don’t want to wait more than 5 minutes for a drink. Came in here this past Saturday and it was actually so busy that there were no seats at the bar and no bartender acknowledged us for 7 or 8 minutes, so we went elsewhere.
Service is usually very friendly and prompt. When there isn’t a band playing, the music is alt-​rock hipster music, which I appreciate. I will keep coming here on any night they aren’t packed.

I would say a 3.25−3.5 stars for this place.
I spend most of my time here during the weekends, grabbing «end of the night» drinks with friends and residents of East 4^th. The décor is fairly plain and there’s nothing too exciting about the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, from time to time, the bar gets mediocre scream-​o bands to play, which completely destroys any possibility for conversations and a bit of hearing in my right ear.
However, the service at the bar is always prompt when we first come in. I don’t spend more than 5 – 6 mins waiting to be served, unlike many of the other bars downtown, where you wait well into your 50s for a drink. They usually have a good list of craft brews and ciders available for the craft brew enthusiasts. They have a fairly delicious Zombie Killer cider that usually hits the spot as a dessert drink of sorts– slightly tarte cherry flavor.
Usually when I buy at least 3 – 4 beers, my tab is about $ 20.00 after tip, especially when they’re 2 or 3 out of the 4 brews are craft beers.
I have not tried their food yet, but I will be certain to in future.

My Wonder Bar experience could be summarized as «meh.»
We wandered in on a Friday night. There is nothing really that memorable about Wonder Bar. It’s pretty much seemed like a nondescript bar. There are the obligatory few/​several flat screen TVs, some tables, chairs. It seemed to take a little longer than average to get a drink, particularly since it wasn’t that busy.
The guy to girl ratio was about 4:1. All the televisions were set to post game wrap up of Cavs game… snore…I don’t mind a little post game wrap up, but come on Cavs lost by over 20 points the game’s over… time to change the channel.
The music selection was interesting to say the least. Katy Perry, reggae, Rhianna, pretty much everything except jazz was playing. I don’t really care, but it seems like Wonder Bar is lacking an identity.

Hooboy, Wonder Bar. You are not thrilling at all. Loud, but not thrilling. Well, other than the first time I came and you were dead quiet and not thrilling… still.
After striking out with Chocolate Bar, we hopped over to Wonder Bar, hoping for an improvement upon our last visit, but we were so wrong. From the outside, it seemed like it was the most exciting place on E. 4^th, but we probably should have just followed the mob of Santas coming out of the bowling alley. They seemed to know what was up.
Alas, we still went in, lured by the loud music and the promise of a fun crowd. After my infamous «Poo-​tini» over the summer, I decided to just stick with a dirty martini this time. Of course, this was after the bartender (note: this is the same bartender that ignored us in my previous review) handed us menus and stood in front of us sipping a Frappucino or something and gossiping while we stared at her, giving her our best thirsty eyes. Finally, she took our orders. What we got was NOT worth the wait.
I got a martini with some – seriously, this is what I think they were – Mazetti spanish olives – NOT martini olives. These suckers were smaller than nickels and one was only a half olive; the other two were a combo of smashed and pimento on the bottom of my glass. Shayna R. had the gingerbread martini which was tasty and smelled good… but the curse of the «Poo-​tini» struck again. Her martini was garnished with a snowman Peep. (It kind of reminded me of that time everyone in college thought it was clever and cool to soak gummy bears in rum or vodka to make «alcoholic candy», but it really just ended up being a goopy hunk of gelatin that stuck in your mouth and held the alcohol in there for a little too long. Stick to jello shots if that’s what you’re going for.) I love Peeps, but I certainly don’t like the idea of my Easter favorite sopping up brown liqueur and being so degraded; Shayna really didn’t like that tiny snowman staring at her the whole time she was drinking, much like the men who were sucked into the game and staring at the TV. And the Courtney Love look-​alike staring off into space. And the overexposed woman staring at the men staring at the TV. Everyone was staring. And bored. Which made me bored.
This bar is confused, if you ask me. Is it a bumpin’ college bar? A sports bar? A classy martini lounge (I would rule this one completely out because those martinis are not worth it at all)? A jazz bar?
Wonder Bar, get over your identity crisis and try again. And stop with the weird garnishes and lame olives. I have a little hope, since this area is so enticing to me, so I only downgraded one star. You were better than Chocolate Bar.

Upgrading my review to 5 stars!
Held my 30^th birthday party at Wonder Bar last night and had an amazing time. Their new chef whipped up an amazing custom menu for my event. I’m a picky vegetarian, and he was able to create multiple vegan and vegetarian items that my meat eating friends even enjoyed. The manager — Andrea — was so nice and accommodating and did a great job to make sure my event went off without a hitch! There happened to be a jazz band playing, and it helped to make the night even more special.
I highly recommend Wonder Bar if you’re looking for a nice little place to grab some food or drinks — or if you’re looking to hold a private event. The staff will take great care of you!