Blue Danube

Blue Danube is a great place to get a cheap beer or cocktail. I think it has great character, and it’s wonderful place to hang out when visiting Columbus or OSU. I just wish they had some more food there. Also known as the Dube, it was originally a Hungarian restaurant, hence the name. They on special occasions will celebrate this history by expanding their menu to include items like borscht and eastern European cuisine. It’s really good and wish they always would have it. This is the best bar on campus on gameday or to get a cocktail and hang out.

Food is ok, I go here a lot because I live close by. The service is inconsistent though. I went here for breakfast one morning and we were the only people in the restaurant for the hour we were in there. The server just sat and talked to the bartender the whole time and pretty much ignored us. We were finished with our food for about 20+ before she came over to ask if we wanted the check. Also there was a sticker in my food that must of came off a vegetable. At least you know the food is fresh but it makes me wonder if they even clean their produce before preparing it…

Thank god for the Dube. Had a shitty experience Sunday morning and heading to the Dube after was exactly what I needed. Been coming here for so long it feels like home. Lovely people, always large portions of hearty home cooking, decent bloody mary. No matter what else I order, fries are a must.

Low expectations, high reward!
It’s a dive… all the way around. Fun divey atmosphere, service is fine but not overly attentive, food is unhealthy and cheap, and they have a fully stocked bar– everything I love about a dive.
I got the Dube Fries and a gyro. The Dube fries were chili cheese fries and standard. I wouldn’t get the gyro again. Also got sweet potato fries and they came with this weird sauce that spilled on the bottom on the fry basket, which sucked. Aside from that, if I’m craving a cheap burger & beer, I’ll be back.
Wish they had a pool table!

Ok, so our family LOOOOOOOVES this place! My husbands Dad used to come here when he attended OSU.
The prices, quality & selection of food, the service, the atmosphere– ALL OF IT, gets 5+++++ STARS from us!!!
Keep up the great work!!! We will definitely continue to come and keep up with our family traditions!!!

Never crowded, the menu has plenty to choose from, staff is always nice, parking is easy, and food is fantastic!

Delicious unhealthy food, full bar, good service, good interior and ambiance. I need to visit this place again!

Dollar burger night is a good night.

There is a quote I remember in paraphrase from Eddie and The Cruisers II I seen x-​many years ago; the lead is with a fellow musician out scoping talent in clubs when a guitarist hits the stage with hair metal, 1980s virtuosity. Eddie says something to the effect «He’s enjoyable enough when you are listening to him, but once you leave you forget about him. His music has no soul.» This is how I feel about the food of the Danube.
It’s a greasy spoon/​bar institution that hugs High Street in North Campus, making it a noticeable landmark while driving, especially the mural of Vienna, blue on its north wall. But forget about it as a possible Austrian or Hungry ethnic restaurant;it is not. Its claim to fame is as a late night grub hang-​out for students to escape their flat pads, shared houses, and dank dorms deep in the darker hours. That’s how I used it, slouching at its booths into the earliest hours with textbooks and papers cluttering the tables, munching on forgetable appetizers, sucking on bottles of Icehouse.
Today it has changed a bit. The food is pricier, and that’s considering inflation. It seems to have become more dive bar than greasy spoon – which is kind of a shame, but it does keep the teenagers away – the townies, the skater dudes, the jailbate boppers – that once ran amuck in the mid-​90s.
The food here had never been good, and that has not changed. They focus on too many things and so don’t have a real specialty. My first trip back in a decade I decided to try the ruben. The sauerkraut was runny, lacking taste, and did not mesh with the corned beef. The corned beef was stringy – like Lady and the Tramp – and had little taste that I am accustomed too. I would not order that again. It was plain and not worth the price. Burgers here are decent, (or they were 10-​years ago) ;go with that. The fries were standard out-​of-​the-​box deal.
Beer choices were much improved and local, examples are Landgrant and a Barley’s ale that they switch out often. I had a flavorful wheat ale.
Of course the ceiling tiles are cool. Andy Warhol shout-​out, Brutus the Buckeye, cartoonish, abstract, derivative, graffiti like, and impressionistic chalked characters and scenes hang above your head; they are like attractive doodles on class note pages and black pen inked designs from backs of notebooks.
It could qualify as two stars but the service is good, it’s a campus mainstay, it’s not meant to be tops in the city. It is a Van Halen copycat guitar soloist, fun but not rememberable.

From living in the area for the past year and being a lifetime Columbus native, I’ve enjoyed many meals at the Dube. I am big fan of their burgers, and they also have really good gourmet style hot dogs. Their dinner platters are always filling. The only two things I’ve had there that I didn’t like was their Gyro, and a fish and chips blue plate special they had over lent. It’s very affordable, and I personally like the atmosphere. You can tell that the place has a history, and it’s iconic store-​front is always a welcome site when I return to the city. It is not for everyone, but if you enjoy places with great local flavor, cheap beer specials and greasy diner food then the Dube is the spot for you.

Another «I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place!» review. Also filed under «places I’ve been going to forever» and «places where everything is good.» Bar, breakfast joint, happy hour hangout, late-​night dinner spot, hangover relief — the Dube is the cure for what ails ya. Hungover? Breakfast burrito? Jonesin’ for some Greek food? Gyro, souvlaki, shwarma, veggie — you’re covered. Want a hot dog? They’ve got it more than two different ways. Need rabbit food? Salads galore. Big omelets, check. Chicken and rice, check. Grilled cheese? What kind of bread and what kind of cheese. Big basket of curly spicy fries? Oh baby… Campus area super-​cheap happy hour, great food, and a dive-​bar feel that makes you feel like you’re hanging out at home (maybe it’s the wood paneling) — always my favorite place for casual dining and drinking.

Personally, I love the Dube and have many a fond memory of this place. However, it is not for everyone, I mean — it’s a dive, in every sense of the word. If you don’t like dives, I would not recommend this place at all.
The menu is huge, the food is never great, but always satisfying. The variety is amazing — you can get typical American bar food (hamburgers, salads, greasy appetizers), Mexican (quesadillas, burritos, huevos rancheros), Greek (gyros, greek salad), French, Italian… do I need to keep going? I’ve had a smattering of items on the menu, my two go twos are the Dube Deluxe Burger (burger with blue cheese and bacon, I get it with guac on the side, delicious) and the club sandwich. If you want to make it a platter, you can add 2 sides for $ 3 — sounds expensive, but worth it. But really, try anything try everything — especially try the Dube Nuggets with Berries Inferno sauce — it’s freaking delicious! (and not actually spicy).
On top of all the food choices, there’s a full bar lots of beer choices, and great happy hour prices. One thing I will say is that so far the Dube has one of the best Bloody Mary’s that’s I’ve managed to find in Columbus. Perfectly spicy (for me at least) just the right amount of tomato, and if you ask, they will give you extra olives.
Lastly, I can’t write a review without mentioning the cool ceiling tiles. They are an awesome way to make the Dube more unique.

I become increasingly fond of the Dube every time I go. In typical dive dinner fashion, they have lots of food choices and while none of them are exceptionally fantastic, they’re all mildly tasty and not too expensive. The décor is probably one of my favorite things, very dark and cool. My waitresses have been great for the most part, only one has ever been so so, they’re friendly and always willing to help you check out the menu or grab a cheap beer (I’ll drink any beer if its a dollar fifty for tap).
All in all, I definitely recommend it if you’re hungry and in the area.

Painful experience in most recent Dube experience.
Setting: Lunch time. And, we ordered the blue plate specials, soup of the day & a Greek salad.
Seriously terrible slow inattentive service. Did I mention it was lunch?
Better quality food & portions at Wendy’s. Ouch.
Highlight: vander mill peach ginger cider.
Fries were mediocre. Cole slaw looked spoiled. Salad was sub par.
Time for this timeless local dive to step it up!

Maybe I got lucky but I’m confused on the varied ratings for this place. I dig this place, the sevoxe was good, the food was good with great prices and the ambiance is cool as heck.
I got there early… around six pm… to meet a friend. There were a couple of people and the bar and one table of two. I chose a booth (unfortunately there wasn’t anyone to let me know it was seat yourself) and starting checking the place out. Cool Tiffany type light fixtures and an awesome idea for a ceiling for a «divey» type bar. Apparently you can bring in any decorated 2×2 ceiling tile and they’ll put it in the ceiling for you. The result is a very interesting, very varied work of art… very cool!
Our server, Fiona… is that really her name or just a «stage» name… was very attentive and helpful with suggestions for food and also the beer menu. Speaking of beer menu, they had about 8 – 10 draft choices, one being PBR, and a few different crafts plus the standard Americans. I took Fiona’s advice and got an ale from barleys.
There are a lot a choices on the menu… and I mean a lot! You could pretty much have anything you want. D like to try the steak and shrimp for $ 9.99 but I was in the mood for a salad. I ordered the Greek salad and added a steak cooked medium rare and a side order of pickled beets. So… the salad was big and delicious… and you know how sometimes you get a salad and it mostly lettuce and not much other stuff… this was just the opposite. It had tons of hot peppers, feta cheese, tomato, really delicious Greek olives, and cucumber with some lettuce. They have homemade dressing which was fab. And the beets were so good too. My only complaint about the food was my medium rare steak was rare… I mean bloody rare… at one end and medium… I mean brown. at the other. Still, the flavor was good so I can deal with it. My friend ordered the spaghetti and meatballs and thought they were fine. We shared a piece of pie which they get delivered from Just Pies… it was apple crunch and total amazingness. Great crust, filling and topping. Try the pie!
I’m glad I stopped here and look forward to the next visit.

Food was great, but service was absolutely abysmal.
First of all the place was noisy, as in barely able to hear the conversation you’re having with others at your table. We walked in and had no idea if we were supposed to be seated by someone, eventually we figured out we were supposed to just take a seat. Once we sat down, no one handed us menus, so naturally we grabbed ones left over from a different table.
As we predicted, no one ever came to take our order until one of us finally got the waitress’ attention. The fact that this even had to happen is ridiculous: restaurants should ALWAYS make sure to serve customers when they sit down. Food its sweet time making it out of the kitchen, and then tasted good, but wasn’t worth the horrible experience we had to go through to get it.
tl;dr: If you’re going to go, don’t go during peak hours (like Sunday brunch).

This is an old favorite from back in the day that I’ve re-​discovered. I don’t drink anymore, but they have a full bar. I noticed the other day that they had absinthe, and multiple brands to boot!
They have a huge selection of food. My favorite is the steak and shrimp dinner with a side salad (oil/​vinegar). The steak was one of the best I’d had in some time. The service is always fast and friendly.
To top it off, they have a juke box with Jimi Hendrix AND Billie Holiday (among a bunch of modern rubbish).
Heaven for $ 10 bucks and change. I’ve been back for repeats several times and try to bring my friends and business associates to experience the Blue Danube.
On a bad day, it’s a great old diner, but it’s usually much more. It’s becoming a regular stop. I only wish their hours were longer, because it’s hard to find a good spot in the Columbus late-​night scene. Support this landmark.

Not sure there is much to say that has not already been said. The ceiling art is freaking cool. We had a huge group that came in for a birthday party. They seemed to deal with us pretty well. The food was really good. Had a wide variety of food to choose from. I would like to go back again the next time we are in Columbus.

I have to give The Dube 5 stars just for being a faithful home base that comes through in times of indecision or dragging-​of-​feet. They have a huge menu that caters to whatever mood you’re in. The prices are fair, the staff are laid back, friendly, and fun to chat with, and the bar is full. I repeat, they have a full bar.
My friends and I have been coming here for years mostly for the atmosphere and the company, and we are die hard fans. It’s been long enough that I can say some of the food may be a little high for what you get, but taking into account how large the menu is, the quality of the food is generally very good. The vegetarian chef salad is heaping with vegetables and toppings and pre being vegetarian, the BLT was my go-​to belly-​filler-​upper. The fan favorite item is definitely their zesty curly fries — think you can handle the zest?! Bet you can’t.
They have an old-​school jukebox that has really gone by the wayside with the addition of the now-​found-​everywhere TouchTunes box machine thing. The ceililng tiles are decked out with custom artwork — all you have to do to become a part of this fascinating art show is buy your own tile and bring it in and they’ll hang it up. The Dube doesn’t come off as the cleanest of restaurants but I’ve never seen anything shady or alarming. Pinky promise. The women’s bathroom has come a long way from a shower curtain and is now complete with a working lock!
Here are some examples in which The Dube has come through in times of need:
«Hey, my family is in town, including my little siblings! Where do we go that is affordable where everyone will find something they like?» THE DUBE. They have mac n’ cheese, spaghetti, AND hot dogs.
«Hey, it’s Sunday and I want brunch but don’t want to wait for an hour!» THE DUBE. Seat yourself all days of the week, brunch on Sundays, always somewhere to sit!
«Hey, I have a big group of people, where is there a not tiny restaurant in this city where we can all sit together? And quickly?» THE DUBE. Put tables together or grab one of the two Big Booths, perfect for you and 5 of your friends.
If character, convenience, and casual is what you want, to The Dube I say!

Not really my style of place, strange characters but I do love me some people watching.
Our waitress was nice and cute, the other one that stopped by our table for a minute brusque and just somehow turned me off.
We came for sunday «brunch» which did actually have some good stuff.
I was tempted by the breakfast pizza and after seeing it at a table on the way to the bathroom
(The bathroom where the door doesn’t close so you are peeing behind a shower curtain… classy)
They have a great, huge menu and had it been dinner I would have been tempted by the oodles of fried food like the green beans or fried mac n cheese morsels.
(Yes, I eat bad when it gets dark out, it seems safer and more acceptable– don’t judge me)
I went with the vegetarian chef salad adding spinach and onions and it was pretty tasty,
The sprouts and sunflowers added a nice crunch, everything was fresh, yum.
The man had the breakfast burrito which was also pretty darn good.
Fast and tasty lunch for $ 15 including a tip, not bad at all.
Maybe not for date night or a classy girls night out, I’d save coming here for a bad hangover hiding behind oversized shades and in front of a greasy bacon breakfast pizza.