Char Bar

Cool dive bar with ice cold beer and a decent staff.
Glad I found this place in Columbus, need to frequent this place.

My husband picked this bar to set up a HH to see friends while visiting from the Bay Area. It was one of his favorites when he lived in Columbus,
It’s a dive bar, and I love a good dive bar. Preferably, a dive bar with clean bathrooms!
The bathrooms are kind of a long walk, but are clean.
The Manhattans well made, and the service pleasant.
As almost everything in Columbus, prices were cheap!

Check your ego at the door. This spot is super laid back and the perfect place to start or end the evening. It’s what bars used to be before all of the glitz and superficial flare. I hit Car-​Bar up a few time a year. The long Island Ice teas are no joke, were are talking a splash of coke and about 6oz of liquor! They won’t sneake up on you… they will bite you!

First introduction into Columbus, and it was exactly the «inside scoop» that I was looking for. It is an awesome dive bar with ridiculously dangerous and delicious long Island ice teas.

This place is great. You’ll feel like you walked into a hometown bar. The drinks are cheap and the staff is friendly.

Believe the hype about the long Island ice teas! These are the real deal. Zack makes an excellent drink all day.

I have never met more rude bartenders. Come here if you would like to get treated like shit.

classic bar that makes it easy to drink. kind of feel like you are drinking in your dad’s bar. what really sets char bar apart in my opinion are it’s…
— location, easy walk from downtown
— the staff, they know their shit and are efficient
— stamped tile ceiling (not as common outside of larger, older cities)
— the bar, a simple wooden bar that is well broken in with medium sized rail
— and most of all, the bar back. such a classical design and contains all the features of a classic chicago bar. mirrors, upside down glass, cabinets, & woodwork
enough hdtvs to enjoy the game, dart boards, & a fun crowd.

While in Columbus, OH for work last night we decided to watch the Steelers/​Ravens game at a local bar and were directed to Char Bar. Compared to Martini’s next door this bar was quite the change. It definitely had more of the dive, local, sports bar (I mean those in the most complimentary way possible). My friend and I had two drinks: He had Jack and Coke and I had Wild Turkey 101 on the rocks. Both were very generous with their pours and the bartender was very patient and friendly with everyone (the bar began to pick up as the night went on).
I really enjoyed the small, local feel of the bar and the only reason I am giving it 3 stars is that nothing exceptionally stood out for me. Still a great bar and I would definitely go back next time I am in Columbus!

Yes the Long Island Iced Tea’s are good but I’m not sure a good drink makes up for a rude waitstaff. There are plenty of other options in the city where you can get served a good drink with much friendlier service! Not sure we’ll make it back to the Char Bar anytime soon.

Cool dive bar atmosphere, reasonable prices, awesome staff… Great low-​key spot to grab a drink after a long day … Reminds me of Cheers a bit. Definitely recommend!

Stumbled across this place while in Columbus on business… absolutely loved it.
The bartender and regular crowd were friendly, welcoming and genuinely good folks.
Wish this place was back home in NYC instead of Ohio.
Highly recommended!

I understand the concept behind dive bars but this place smelled like your grandma’s nasty old couch. Not only that but if you pay for a song in the jukebox, the bartender and regulars had better like it. I paid $ 2 to play a rather popular country song and the bartender came over and turned it off after the first verse.
Bottom line, I would rather go somewhere else and pay another $ 1 for a beer.

That is an honest description to here, a dive bar. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s kind of what you expect from a dive bar. The set up, the atmosphere, the dart boards, and the people.
When we walked in here, it was a tight squeeze just to get in the door. But the people were polite enough to move out of the way. It’s not like other places where you have to squeeze yourself through an inch gap between people or shout at the top of your lungs ‘excuse me’ just to get through.
The people were entertaining if not polite. Majority of them were smiling the whole time. I’m not sure how many times I fist bumped people or even «Xed» them as the one guy put it. All in good nature and very pleasant to be around.
Now, honestly we just came in here to use the bathroom, two nights in a row. But that didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves while we were there to use the facilities. The bathrooms are a scary sight, but usable. While waiting for a friend I didn’t mind the mildewy smell, because that awesome old broken down piano with the missing keys was kind of captivating.

Dive bar. Not much more I can say.
Service was good, drinks were cheap, and the jukebox had whatever you needed.

Started at Martinis… had steak at Mitchell’s…and finished at The Char Bar! I highly recommend that gauntlet because I canceled my next day appointments and didn’t get out of bed until noon! Pretty good beer selection, they burn their drinks, and a jukebox! I think me and my girl dropped a Benjamin here on tunes alone and it was worth it.

If you are looking for a good old fashioned Dive Bar, Char Bar is it. The bartenders are friendly and make sure that your glass is always full, the locals are friendly as well. If you can convince your work associates, this is actually a great place to hoist a few cold ones and talk work as well!
This is on my short list of Must Visit when in Cbus.

If you’re staying downtown, you really need to visit this place. From the Rolling Stones pin ball machine to the creepy basement bathroom… this place is classic. Is it a dive bar… ehhh…not really. It’s not trying to be anything other than a place to drink. You are even likely to see some cheese ball Nationwide Insurance Agents in town for a conference trying to hit on some co-​eds.
Go here — order the Long Island, heck order a 2^nd one. Walk back to your hotel and write up a Unilocal review of the place!

Yes, it is a dive bar. A dive bar of AWESOME! In town for work and the final night after getting kicked out everywhere else we ended up here, and man, it was great. The staff are just what you expect, the beer selection was above average and the pricing was more than fair. They pour a generous whiskey and the juke box is solid. I would absolutely return to this place in a heartbeat. If you are attending a convention or in the Hyatt/​Hilton/​whatever chain nearby, and if you like dive bars, do yourself a favor and stop in. You will be glad you did.

Have been here many times, most recently Friday.
Love: Reasonable prices, specials that get you drunk (We serve hard drinks in here, for men who want to get drunk fast), darts, pool, jukebox, creepy basement.
Good: location in stumbling distance from lots of things, and never so crowded you have to wait forever.
Bad: Douchey red-​headed bartender. This guy has been a prick to me on more than one occasion, and I’ve never done anything to deserve it. All the other bartenders are normal/​friendly.