Otter Lodge

Used to go here with my softball team after our games.
Good traditional pub atmosphere.
Traditional Rochester pub menu with average pub food.
A little pricey but nothing crazy — would go back.
I went to the bar and ordered a bloody beer, had to explain to the bartender what is was. When he handed it to me he looked horrified, looked me in the eye and said, «That looks absolutely disgusting.» — Maybe he missed customer service 101 and simultaneously lacked common sense but wahtevs.

I liked it here. Great wings and very accommodating to our larger group for a small birthday party last summer! Actually, all of the bar food was really awesome. The only downside is the attitude towards having a minimum on your card. The bartender seemed to be so annoyed at us for paying separate and was very rude about it when I asked to close my tab (and was unaware of the minimum) I had no problem making the tab the minimum but the attitude of letting us know there was one was a turn off. I will definitely come back here again — the U appealing incident wasn’t enough to turn me away forever!

Not a bad place. All I had was a diet Coke but it seemed like an OK place. Lots of seating and they have a bar type menu. It did smell like last nights beer spilled on the floor when I walked in and the place is really dark inside. I ‘ll go for the occasional happy hour if others are going but definitly not my first choice.

A perfect place for happy hour. Free popcorn and awesome bartenders. After enjoying a few drinks our group ordered some appetizers and they were amazing! Wings, nachos, moz sticks, all great!

Decent bar. Tasty wings. Good prices. I have only been once but being surrounded by underage drinkers with fake IDs was a definite turn off. Wouldn’t go back to hang with the juvees. Wait until they get a bouncer.

Came here for drinks after a big dinner. Why so bright? Felt like I could perform surgery! Had a beer and a shot and had to go. Needed a space a little more comfortable.

Friendly staff, convenient location, but stinkiest bathrooms in Rochester short of being at a McDonald’s. As someone I knew used to say, if this is how dirty things are in public, how dirty is it back in the kitchen where the public can’t see? Simple things guys. They make a difference.

It smells overwhelmingly of fish, there was a puddle in the bathroom, the brights are too light. On the positive it is the only bar in Brighton and the bar tender was great.

Our same alumni group got together last night to watch our team in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA tourney and once again were at the Otter (as we have been for many football and basketball games this year). Last night we made up about ¹⁄₃ the crowd in bar in the early evening. We were disappointed by the two bar tenders who seemed almost rude and indifferent when serving us. For example when we inquired about our food orders and when they might come out (it was over 45 mins from time ordered) they gave flip answers. Last fall the gent who manned the bar by himself on Saturday afternoons was friendly and helpful but not the two last night… Disappointing.

Oh, I feel naughty. Reviewing a place while I’m sitting in it? I’ve never done this before, how wicked.
Otter Lodge is one of those odd places I have visited many times but not a single visit stands out. That’s good. I seem to have a talent for sniffing out odd situations and drama (I swear, sometimes it’s really not me) and always have stories to tell from places. This is not one of those places so I guess, oddly, I feel I can relax here.
Perhaps the staff is just so laid back there’s no room for odd incidents. Being a bar somehow I doubt that, but every time I’ve been here the only word for the staff is professional. Not in the sense that they’re excessively proper, but in the way that you feel like you’re dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing. It’s gratifying, it’s wonderful, it puts me at ease. And I guess I’m not the only one, the entire staff of the last restaurant I worked at tends to come here regularly.
Where do cooks go to eat? Where to servers go to be served? Where do bartenders go for a drink? That’s where you want be. Why? Because they know what’s up.
Don’t get me wrong, this place is not fancy. It’s one of those rare bars teetering precariously on the precipice between your casual neighborhood haunt and a dive bar. It is the restaurant workers natural habitat. They don’t coddle you here, like fine dining, and they don’t look down on you, annoyed and burnt out, like a dive. They’re just good, simple people who are, on a regular basis, phenomenal at what they do in a subtle kind of way.
No fancy cuisine but good bar food, usually a good craft beer or two here but they seem to do primarily domestic stuff. The key is how they treat you and how effective the service is. For me, it’s always been great.

Ironic I never went to the neighborhood bar before leaving home.
I came for our five year high school reunion during Thanksgiving last week. I was excited not only to see my classmates for the first time in a while, but I was also excited to visit the fabled Otter Lodge.
From the outside it looks really divey, dark, and dingy, but the inside is anything but. Decorated for the holidays, the interior is really clean and brightly lit. I had no problem seeing people’s faces and felt comfortable sitting and leaning on all the furniture. Even the downstairs area, which would be understandably dirtier, was so clean and open.
I’m comparing the drinks to the NYC, but the prices were unbelievably fair. $ 7 pitchers of PBR, $ 4.50 drafts of blue moon, and $ 4 fireballs? I couldn’t help but splurge and treat a few rounds on me. The bartenders were extremely patient and helpful throughout.
While I almost never go out when I’m back home, I’m glad I was able to demystify Otter Lodge and recognize it as a decent bar to visit in Rochester. Note: dancing pretty much doesn’t exist there, so if that’s what you’re looking for, move further downtown.

Thought I was going to watch the game at a «local» hangout but was disappointed. Service was slow, atmosphere tense. Not a fun local bar with a welcoming vibe. Perfect place for that reality show where they revamp the place.

Contrary to its name, there is neither an otter nor a lodge here. Now where will I hunt the wiliest of river-​dwelling creatures?

Cool little hole-​in-​the-​wall bar that happens to be within walking distance of some nice neighborhoods. It’s nothing glamorous and I probably wouldn’t eat much of the food there, but it’s a pretty relaxed atmosphere for a night of drinks and darts. They have a decent beer selection and the tab is always reasonable. The bathrooms are downstairs where it always seems to smell like chlorine. Basically what you expect from a local dive bar.

Great scene to watch football, awful food and service. Honestly the worst place I’ve eaten at in longer than I can remember. Granted it’s bar food but everything was pre cooked and frozen. The chipotle chicken salad was all lettuce, half a chicken breast cut up and a couple olives and slices of onion. We were shorted on the awful wings and the cheesy fries were inedible. I ended up going next door to dunkin donuts and bringing back in a breakfast sandwich. They didn’t get the hint so I wrote it on the receipt.

This used to be one of our favorite spots when we lived in the neighborhood. It was close by and we could always get a bite to eat and enjoy an evening out.
The last time we were in it was nothing like we remembered. A lot of the seating had disappeard and it wasn’t easy to just grab a spot to sit down. They were having happy hour and it was very crowded with a buffet full of usual pub grub. We ended up squeezing into a high top for two in a corner… tried the buffet, grabbed a beer and then split.
It is a shame the atmosphere has changed. I can see grabbing a quick beer or staying for happy hour if you are in the neighborhood…. It just isn’t as comfortable anmore.

Located in a strip mall in Brighton, the Otter Lodge is easy to miss. I came here after a late shift at work. My buddy suggested the place since it was close to his house and also because it satisfied our 4 criteria: open late, decent draft beer selection, bar food and TV screens.
I’m writing this review a few months after going. To be honest there is nothing memorable about the bar and I have not been back since. However, they do have an above-​average beer selection, low-​key atmosphere and a friendly crowd. I was there to watch game 7 of the NBA finals and it was not overcrowded. It seems like a good place to watch the game, without the busy atmosphere of a place like The Distillery.
That being said, the bar itself is a bit dingy. I would have given it 3 stars except that the service was bad that night. The bartender seemed content chatting with regular customers instead of taking my drink orders. Also, the bathroom is pretty disgusting and is in need of a major renovation.

This is a good place for people in their upper twenties and older. There’s plenty of room, good prices, and the music is never so loud that you can’t hear yourself think. It’s great venue for catching up with friends. The bar food is usually delicious – perfect fare for a midnight snack. I like the chicken & cheese quesadilla the best, and the loaded nachos are great for sharing.
Tip: Ladies, bring a light sweater or jacket because sometimes it gets cold with the A/​C, which is probably a good thing when it gets crowded.

Love it here. Been here dozens of times. Great bar atmosphere and all the food is delicious. Drink prices tend to vary by bartender with the newer staff members charging a bit more. I’d almost go 5 stars here but the bathrooms as mentioned by others are horrible. Wish they would do something about that but I’ll still come back.

I’m suspicious of any restaurant in a strip mall but after my first step inside the Otter Lodge I became a fan. There are a bunch of HD TV’s around the the large bar. I’ve been for lunch, dinner and in the evening for drinks. On any given visit you’ll see diverse patrons ranging from young professionals, to guys from a local service station to older white hair couples.
They have a pretty big menu. My first visit was for dinner. We ordered a burger and wings. The burger was average and the wings were excellent. I love ketchup with my french fries and was disappointed because there must have been some bad ketchup on my table. It sure didn’t taste like Heinz. I like ketchup so much I almost considered not going back, but I gave it a second shot because the wait staff was friendly and the prices were reasonable.
My second visit was on a Friday during lunch and it was very quiet, but the service was quick. We shared had the Cuban Panini and Philly Cheese Steak — both were good, but I’ll probably get something different the next time I go because there is so much to choose from. The ketchup was better this time!
The evenings are busy and it can be tough to find a spot at the bar to order a drink — just the way a good bar should be. They have some great specials and a fun crowd. I just wish smokers didn’t stand directly outside the front door because I hate walking through smoke on my way in and out.