Little Rock Bar

We went to Little Rock for the first time the other night and were disappointed. We live in the neighborhood and had been meaning to go for a while. We went for an event promoted as «The Mess Around — A monthly dance party.» There was a DJ using two turn tables, but unfortunately there was no dancing. Two couples were valiantly trying to dance to the music and even asked multiple times for the DJ to play anything upbeat, but he ignored them and spent the night smoking outside. The mixed drinks were extremely weak (not too expensive though), so I would suggest beer or wine if you end up there. We were forced to leave because the music was so slow and un-​dance-​able (but also so loud you couldn’t carry on a conversation). The place is nice enough inside, but they need a new DJ.

it used to be no whites allowed previously. new owners changed everything. this place is great. I recommend the happy hour.

This has been our new joint since moving to Italian Village. It’s a great place to go with a group because it isn’t ever crowded to the point of being un-​enjoyable. The bar is really big so you can usually grab a seat there, if not there are plenty of tables inside and on the patio for you and your crew to hang out at. Almost every time I have been here they have a DJ that gets part of the crowd up and dancing.
My complaint is that it is just too damn loud! I’m not sure if its the acoustics of the building or if the music is actually just turned up way too loud? I go to a lot of loud bars so I’m used to this kind of thing. However, at this bar its just like one notch too loud — to the point that my ears hurt. (please turn it down — just a tad! :)
Jailhouse/​Paddy Wagon is another great feature of this bar. The food from Paddy Wagon is so yummy and they have a great variety of tasty treats for you to enjoy. We will end up here a lot on our way back from the bars if we need our «4^th» meal.
I think this place will start becoming a lot more popular as the apartment buildings surrounding the area are built and bring more people to the Italian Village/​4^th St. part of town. I think this may be the next part of town to take off — crossing my fingers!

This is one of those bars that doesn’t get the attention it deserves, in my opinion. With a great beer list, friendly bartenders, and a ton of space, it has so much going for it.
I often recommend Little Rock for workweek happy hours, since it is rarely busy. You can bring a big group and you’re almost guaranteed to have plenty of space for everyone, whether you want to sit or stand.
There’s a decent little covered patio area on the side of the building. Parking has never been an issue– lots of street parking, as well as available spots in the Veritas Church lot.
Oh, and Paddy Wagon’s kitchen that they operate out of here is a step above standard bar-​food type fare. I really like this place!

The Manager /​Owner is a pretentious guy that made my experience unbearable. I was with a buddy or mine and the manager was ‘deejaying’ on his spotify and played Bohemian Rhapsody — which is a really enjoyable song to sing along with. We started to sing along and he stopped the music and started complaining and insulting us.
The beers are overpriced the management is terrible. I will never be going back. I was hoping to have a bar close to me that I enjoyed going to.
Loosen your hip belt up manager guy there’s a whole world of interesting people that aren’t smug and terrible to be around.

What a great little gem of a bar that’s tucked away and seems relatively undiscovered! Parking is plentiful and the service is great. The Paddy Wagon folks have a little counter in the back and the food is decent and goes well with the excellent selection of brews. Also, free jukebox, ALL THE TIME! Lastly, good happy hour special ($ 3 craft beers!). Can’t wait to go back to this edgy little bar.

I’ve only been over to Little Rock Bar a handful of times, but I am fan of the atmosphere. Every time I’ve gone has been pretty brief, since I really just go to pick up food at Jailhouse Rock inside. The bar itself offers a great selection of craft beers at reasonable prices, and I think I paid about $ 3 for a Lagunitas during happy hour which is awesome. There’s a cool little covered patio to the side where you can take in some fresh air and eat at the picnic tables.
The parking situation can be tricky. They do not have a private lot, and the only parking is on busy 4^th Street or one of the side streets (only where parking is allowed). I haven’t had an issue parking yet, but I could see the area begin to fill up on spots as more businesses move into Italian Village. Apparently, you can park in the Veritas church parking lot at 2^nd and 6^th, which we were a little wary of due to all the private lot signs posted.
As for Jailhouse Rock, it’s owned by the guys that run the Paddy Wagon food truck, and they offer many of the favorites you’re familiar with plus a whole lot more. You can get their popular brisket, but I’ve really just been there to get hot dogs which seems to be the main focus on the menu. This last time I had the Chicago and Lunch on the LAWn dogs, and they were both pretty tasty. The Chicago was pretty standard, but the Lunch on the LAWN had potato salad, crushed kettle chips, baked beans and cheddar cheese, and it was definitely my favorite. Along with these, they offer a Mikey’s dog, equipped with pizza toppings and the infamous ‘Slut Sauce’; a dog topped with their awesome brisket and BBQ sauce, and they even offer some vegetarian dogs.
See the website/​menu here:
Overall, Little Rock Bar is a pretty chill place to grab good drinks and great food. They have live music often and a free juke box when they don’t! The hot dogs here easily match up with Dirty Frank’s, so if you want to skip the lines downtown, give this place a shot.

Love this bar. Great food. Cheap drafts. Awesome crowd. $ 3 drafts until 8pm (more than 2 dozen to choose from). Approachable and creative dive cocktail list. Incredible food window in the back (get the spicy grilled cheese!). Karaōke and live music from time to time with a decent sized patio off the side of the building.
My only complaint is that it’s more of a Friday spot for me now and less of a weekday happy hour since they stopped providing WiFi to their patrons. I love heading out to a bar from the office around 4 to catch a drink and finish up some work before heading home, but this is no longer possible. The only scuff on an otherwise beloved neighborhood gem.

Little Rock might be my new favorite bar. Stopped in with the wifey last Friday, then came back with some friends the next night. As soon as I walked in here, the place just had a good feel to it. We ordered some food, that they bring right out to you, and had a seat at the bar. The bartenders on both nights were really friendly and efficient.
Friday night was karaōke, but with a limited song selection. I’m usually not a fan or very tolerant of any karaōke night, but the people belting it out were actually pretty decent.
Saturday night there was a DJ… this guy… I have no idea what the dj’s name was, but it seemed like his first time working anything other than a house party. It wasn’t the music being played, it was actually a great mix and honestly added to a great Saturday night. It was his setup, equipment and style that were aggravating. Songs cutting off right in the middle, trying to be funny that kind of thing. Still though, we all had a great time and quite a few people were out cutting a little rug.
The food is good, the house drinks are great and the beer selection kicks ass. This is probably going to be my new go to spot.

Great place! Little Rock has become one of my favorite places to be. There’s a beer type for everyone (or if not a beer person then there’s excellent cocktails), a super great staff to serve you, and a welcoming atmosphere. Come for $ 3 craft beer happy hour (3pm-​8pm) or for an evening event. Always a good time at Little Rock!

Small but cool. Large bar in shape of square. They have a few tables also. The smoking patio is enclosed in plastic to keep the wind out, nice.
The setup for live music is cool, built in extra plugs/​power. It does not seem like there is room for anything but acoustic., but I am okay with that.
The beer selection on tap is very good, 30 mostly local beers. They even have a cider and some seasonal beers on tap.

Extensive draft selection, with an emphasis on local (Ohio) beers. Plus, they have Bell’s Two-​Hearted, so who’s complaining?
Pretty quiet on the Thursday night that I met an old friend, which meant we could actually catch up without shouting at each other, or worry about dodging hipsters and/​or bros for a decent seat.
Easy parallel parking on 4^th Street just outside, which gives Little Rock a major leg up on anything in the Short North. And, the bartender seemed genuinely happy to see us, and to serve us.
Once all the construction is complete on 4^th Street, and the local population has doubled in size, Little Rock may become as annoying as any of the establishments in the Short North. Until then, a diamond in the rough. Go now, before the hipsters and bros show up.

Thanks to the Unilocal Elite Country Jamboree I got to experience Little Rock Bar for the first time! We were allowed to park in the Veritas Church parking lot nearby, which was great, and I also appreciate not having to deal with the chaos and insanity that is parking in the Short North.
The place is decked out in lots of music memorabilia from the owner’s personal collection and his previous bar. The bar is even designed to look like the frets of a guitar neck. How cool!
The 30 beers on tap were diverse and the bartenders were knowledgable on their styles and tastes! It’s a cool place and when I go to that area with friends for a drink I’ll definitely recommend it.

Great Beer Selection and great décor. The bartenders were super nice and recomended great beers. The crowd was a good mix and the view of downtown from outside was sweet also. This place was well down. The flow and seating was also done well.

Nice place! Hell of a beer selection on tap. Came in on a Tuesday. $ 3 brews and karaōke. Everything is nice new and rock and roll kitchy. Definently worth checking out.

We were looking for a bar on a Friday night that wasn’t too crazy but busy enough not to be super awkward (just you and the bartender = not a fun night). While we were discussing our (oh-​so-​limited for people who don’t like crowds but can’t make it out on a weeknight) options, I remembered we had passed this bar the week before and thought it looked like it could be a good time.
It wasn’t crowded inside at all; patrons were lined up around the bar, which sits square in the middle of the room, but all of the indoor tables were available. The patio was a bit crowded, but since we quit smoking (LE GASP), we weren’t terribly concerned with the patio. Craft beer menu chalked on the far wall had a pretty decent selection; their site says they have 30 beers on tap. Beers were about $ 5 for a pint. Service was good, although not outstandingly-​spectacular.
They seem to have a symbiotic relationship with a food truck that I’ve seen parked outside a few times, but it’s a truck that charges six bucks for a pork taco. For six bucks, it better be four pork tacos. So I have no review of their food because I would never pay that much for their food.
I really liked the space. Dark and clean, decorated with gueeee-​tars and LPs lining the walls. There’s an Elvis lamp up in a corner. I dig it. One of the bartenders looked like a young Don Johnson. Maybe. It’s kinda dark in there.
Go here if you want: good but old-​fashioned tunes on the sound system, craft beers on tap, room to breathe, clean bathrooms, a cool-​looking bar that’s not overrun by students or hipsters.

Little Rock opened just this Wednesday (June 26) and I had the pleasure of checking it out Friday (29^th). You wouldn’t have known, though, since the bartenders were quick and efficient. When I came at around 11pm, there was a sizable crowed, but not to the extent where I couldn’t grab a table.
When you walk in, you are welcomed with a wide open space with a large bar that takes up a majority of the middle of the room. Little Rock definitely has a rockabilly/​50s rock feel to it and it looks like they have an area that can be used for live music eventually (small ensembles) and even a projector and screen near the entrance (not sure what for yet). The venue is mostly concrete and brick walls so I can imagine when this place gets busy, it could get a little loud. Add live music to that and you’ll probably be happy there’s a patio outside.
Overall, it will be very interesting to see what kind of a place Little Rock turns into. Add to the fact that I was actually bar hopping east of Summit (we came from Seventh Son) and I’m also very interested to see what happens in this area in the future.
Unilocal wouldn’t let me post this as the website, so here is their official facebook page for those who are interested:

Great opening on June 26 ’13. Very interesting interior with some brick, distressed wood, a contoured bar, subway tiles, high pressed tin ceilings and pendant lights. Lots of cool rock-​n-​roll memorabilia, especially if you’re an Elvis aficionado! Very cool juke box. Great outdoor patio on the 2^nd Avenue side. 30 craft beers on tap at very reasonable prices. I hear they may add some live music and food once they’re open a bit. Great addition to the 4^th Street corridor! Maybe they’ll add a 4^th Street patio someday too. It would be fun to sit there and watch the traffic roll by as the sun goes down.