Spitfire Saloon

Bön Voyage, Spitfire!
It’s been real.
Cannot WAIT for the next incarnation!

This might be the coolest punk bar ever in time. Retro arcade games at the tables, a two-​story claw, a 25-​cent jukebox that features the bands of everybody in the neighborhood that you know, and $ 1.50 cans of beer. I’d spend half my life in this place if: a) I lived in Cleveland; and b) they weren’t closing down in a month so that the owner can «reinvent the concept.» Artists.
In any case, it’s noisy and dirty and cheap and local and regular, like a punk-​rock Cheers. Spitfire even features grammatically problematic signs explaining their refusal to carry AB-​InBev products. If you’ve never been, you have until January 16^th to correct this oversight and scratch something deeply essential off of your bucket list. It’s the perfect dive.

I always hear people say bad things about the spitfire but it’s really actually cool. They even have their own smoking section. The bartenders are always super nice & cool. The drinks are good priced. It’s not dingy or dirty. They have some old school games. It’s a really cool place. I’m a fan.

My work had a fund raiser here for an event we were throwing. I work for a motorcycle parts company so obviously this was the place to have it! I had actually never been there before though. I’ve met the owners through my old band mate what seems like 100 years ago and happy to say they did a rad job of making a nice little punk rock bar in Cleveland. The juke box (is tricky to use if you’re tipsy) is filled with Cleveland punk classics and all of my favorite punk from when I was young. We had an awesome time, raised a ton of money and somehow I didn’t break a leg when I traveled down the stairs to the bathroom in my stiletto boots. I definitely recommend this place for hanging out, drinks and music any day of the week. Plus they have bands there so the fact that it’s close to home is a nice bonus.

Good live music venue and a wide variety of drinks including microbrew and good booze. They didn’t charge a cover, there was plenty of seating and it had a fun punk vibe. My only complaint was the bartender chic who was nice to me, but caught an attitude with several of the patrons around me. Her constant eye rolling and irritation seemed a little over the top. I’d still come here again if I’m in the area.

First time I went here was in 09. Ten minutes after my arrival, I watched the door guy punch some drunk so hard, that the drunk almost landed in 117^th.

I love this place, cheap drinks, punk atmosphere, bands play some nights of the week, good beer selection, cool staff.

You’re friendly neighborhood punk bar NOW COMPLETE WITH CLAW MACHINES! Dive on in and stay awhile!

I love this place. If you haven’t been here in a while, or you’ve been intimidated by the idea of a punk bar, try to stop in. They did get rid of the fence around the stage – which lowers the harshness of the appearance. But I think the fence really became a novelty anyways. The bar itself has the dive+punk appearance that we all know and love, the cast of characters frequenting this place are all great people and fun to talk with, and the bartenders are cool with just the right amount of back-​talking sass most customers, including myself, both need and deserve.
The booze selection is actually perfect. I can drink some shitty cheap bear or I can get something delicious. The booze selection isn’t bad for this joint either. I can actually get a glass of Scotch – which surprises me. Sure, they don’t have an array of top-​shelf, which I wouldn’t want or expect here, but they have the right selection of necessities.
My favorite part about this joint is Thursday night. That’s karaōke night. But it’s not like you can just show up and sing. First, you need to get the rest of the patrons willing to participate. If everyone’s in, the bartender will break out the microphones and tell you to «fucking clap your hands» for whoever is going to sing. That back-​talking sass I mentioned… it’s in the karaōke too. What’s special about karaōke at the Spitfire is how you don’t get on stage. You just sit in your seat at the bar all lazy style and sing. It really turns into a drunken group singalong. And no, it’s not a bunch of punk songs, actually. The music mix is quite diverse.
Overall, I love this place. That is all.

It’s a divey punk shithole, but of course I mean that in the best way. If bands like Dead Boys or US Bombs mean anything to you, you’ll be right at home.
Friday and Saturday nights can get noisy/​busy to the point where you may have to stand, but I’ve also had a good time drunk-​relaxing with friends on a quiet Saturday afternoon.
The jukebox is some kind of homebuilt monstrosity, with plenty of raw and oldschool punk (and metal in January). They also have multi-​game arcade thing now in the front booth with like 100 old Atari titles.
The beer selection has gotten kinda fancy, just like everywhere around Lakewood. I’m fine with that though, as long as I don’t have to shout the 5-​word name of my $ 6 brew. You can still get a PBR if you’re nearly broke or hate yourself.
The staff vary from cool to outright funny. Talk to them if you get a chance.
Street parking sucks, but stumbling though traffic is arguably part of the charm.
I wish they served food, but there’s Taco Bell next door, KFC across the street, and Burger King over on Madison. Nobody cares if you bring it in, just don’t leave a mess.
Now That’s Class is more my turf (more metal, even better beer), and I didn’t actually go to Spitfire for the longest time (no good reason). But I’m damn glad both are around.
Don’t bring kids. Don’t whine. Don’t fuck in the stairwell outside the bathrooms or they’ll laugh at you on the video feed. Just be yourself, break some minor rules if you’ve gotta, and enjoy this little oasis of semi-​anarchy.

Asking if the Spitfire is cool is like asking if punk rock is cool. Yeah, you get it or you don’t. If you don’t, good… stay out.

While I am not a regular patron at many «punk» bars, this is a pretty cool place. It won’t be super clean, but that’s to be expected. The staff was nice and the environment was cool. I probably won’t go back, just because it’s not my thing, but if this is what you’re looking for and you’re in Cleveland, I think you’d like it!

This was our band’s first time playing in Cleveland. The Spitfire is fantastic! Good and cheap drinks, great serving staff, and the owner was real cool. This is definitely the place to hit to end out a night of drinking with friends. The beerzooka was fun too!

It took a lot for the Spitfire to win me over, I must say. I wasn’t in love immediately, but I’ve been wooed and I even feel like there’s potential for a star upgrade! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves…
The atmosphere is definitely a divey punk bar and Spitfire does it well. The walls are decorated with creepy-​cool art and wild objects hanging from every corner. The beer-​rocket (Beer-​zooka, right? Beer-​cannon?) is a little scary at first, but absolutely wonderful once you’re over the sound of breaking glass and you stop wincing. The bar takes up most of the room inside, but that’s ok because everyone I’ve ever rubbed elbows with here has been friendly and fun! I can’t say much for the bartenders because I never really got an opportunity to order for myself or squish my way up to the bar. It has been fairly crowded every time I’ve been here (we recently went when they were showing a film).
The problem: The bathrooms! It’s terrifying to go downstairs! Especially after a couple of drinks! Those things are dang-​er-​ous! Or maybe I’m just off kilter in the first place. Either way, I usually try to get someone to go down with me, mostly to make sure I make it down in one piece, but partially because I feel like some crazy monster-​ghost is living down there…
Don’t worry. I don’t get it either.
Anyways, after some struggle, I’ve been converted and look forward to coming back!

Things started off so good…
I love punk rock bars and know what to expect. While it was crazy hot with no air conditioning — I get that. That’s how dive bars roll. I was amazed and impressed by the Beer-​zooka — a «cannon» that lets you shoot your empty beer bottles into a wall and shatter them. And I was totally excited that they actually had a GREAT craft beer selection. Typically dive bars don’t offer you much choice and you resign yourself to a PBR as part of the «when in Rome…»
My friend and I ended up here after a stand up comedy show, and we were excited when we found out they were having a movie trivia night. The people sitting next to us were pretty friendly, so we felt like we kinda had some friends. I had to laugh at the chicken wire enclosing the stage where bands set up.
At the end of the night though, I wanted one more beer before we hit the road. Despite being midnight on a Wednesday night with maybe 15 people in the bar, the bartender skipped us at least twice, and we waited about 20 minutes. Finally, we just got our checks and left. There’s nothing that makes me sadder than wanting another beer and not getting one.
Regardless, I’d happily come back and give it another shot. Yay for punk rock and craft beer!

Call me crazy, but I had always been slightly intimidated by this bar and the crowds I imagined it drew.. .
That is, until this past Thursday night — I figured, what better occasion to muster up the courage to walk into Spitfire than when a good friend was hosting a Beer Tasting?
As my friends and I found a booth by the bar, I was caught off guard by how comfortable I felt there — making me nostalgic for punk and ska shows at the old Grog Shop — the vibe was edgy without being too tough. While sampling five craft beers and struggling to choose a pint (all for only $ 10 people!) we were very impressed with the selection and prices. The Beer Tasting was actually such a success that Spitfire is going to be holding them on a monthly basis.
Coincidentally (and conveniently), the Umami Moto food truck was parked in Spitfire’s back lot. The staff at Spitfire was encouraging us to bring back the food we ordered inside so we could enjoy with our beer. Very considerate and very cool.
One of my friends summed up Spitfire perfectly when he said: «This is what Garage Bar wishes it could be.»

If I still went to bars with any sort of frequency, the Spitfire would be at the top of my list of regular haunts. The Spitfire is the kind of place that makes wanna-​be dive bars wet their pants and crawl under their beds.
It’s beat up and kind of dirty with cheap drinks and a great jukebox (if you’re an aging punk like me). If bands are playing, it’s too loud and you can never be sure what kind of mayhem might be about to happen. There’s also the flagrant disregard for the the county-​wide no smoking ordinance, which is a nice touch.
The bar reminds me of a long since razed hole in the wall I used to frequent, and the bathrooms remind me of Speak in Tongues. Those kinds of conditions usually scare off most folks, but for me it just feels like home.
The Spitfire is definitely not for everyone, but then again, neither am I.

Probably Cleveland’s only real punk rock joint.
Bands play behind chicken wire, there’s lots of dudes with tattoos and the juke box rocks hard. My kind of place ;)
They even have a great beer selection as well. Lots of imports and micro-​brews.
Certainly never a dull moment.

Spitfire somehow combines almost all of my favorite things about my favorite bars in San Francisco all at once. The only two things I don’t like are that it doesn’t have a patio (a very minor thing) and it’s not in the SF Bay Area (major bummer dude, like totally).
There’s a non-​functioning pinball machine, a stage with a chain link fence in front of it on which punk bands often play and flat screen TVs that are usually showing something like stand-​up routines and Adult Swim in CCTV. If you’re particularly sensitive to cigarette smoke, you might want to reconsider going in.
Above all else though is their kick-​ass slogan — «fuck hippies, fuck yuppies and fuck you!» For my SF Bay Area bretheren, I’ll put it this way — it’s a combo of Zeitgeist and Lucky 13 without all the hipsters, holier-​than-​thou attitude and the pot (it is Cleveland after all).
Christmas Ale (a wonderful bitter & spiced elixir of 7.5% alcoholic goodness) is available on tap during the holiday season… as if one needed another reason to go here…

Here in Chicago we have a few bars that remind me very much of Spitfire — but I’m not sure any of them are as cool or consistent in terms of crowd, bartenders, beer list or loosey goosey smoking laws (not to mention cheaper).
That said, it’s like a smaller, better crowd-​having version of Delilah’s with music like Cobra and bartenders like Kuma’s. If I lived in Cleveland, this would be my bar. Period.