Rohman’s Inn and Pub

I almost hate to review this place because my experience was so perfect and I hate to give away my secret awesome bars! Yes, I would call it a dive bar, but one of the highest order. The drinks are cheap and the bartender is super friendly. There is as other’s have said a four lane, manual reset-​pin bowling alley on the second floor. Also on the second floor is an awesome dining room. There is nothing divey about the dining room at all. It is a clean and well kept restaurant with excellent food. I had a steak and it was just right with fresh veggies and mushrooms. The service was great up there as well. I stumbled on this place when looking for things to do while riding my motorcycle up around the Hawk’s Nest. If you are into real relics with heart and soul visit this place, I know I will certainly be back if I am within 50 miles.

So I may have ended up at Rohman’s Inn and Pub for a different reason than most. My boyfriend and I didn’t just happen upon it. We actually came across a review online and went, «One of the oldest dive bars? Let’s do it.» So we jumped into our car, decided on a Pennsylvania day trip, and drove over to Shohola to check this place out.
Rohman’s Inn and Pub is quite a place. We drove through a lot of winding roads to finally find it, only to park right next to the railroad tracks and convince each other that we needed to head inside. From the outside, it definitely looks like a dive bar — and like a place where there are a lot of regulars, which I’m pretty sure is true. However, we were pleasantly surprised when we walked inside.
There is a pool table, some seating, an arcade game or two, the bar, and an old coal stove. We decided to sit on the end of the bar, where the bar stools actually rotate in and out. When you need it, you pull it out, and you can just rotate it back in when you’re done which helps create more space at the bar. You can definitely tell the age from the place but it had a homey feel. Although many of the patrons seemed to know each other, they were still pleasant and polite to myself and my boyfriend and struck up a conversation.
My boyfriend chose to drink beer while I tried out a gin and tonic. The gin and tonic was well-​balanced and not overpowering at all. There was a funny sign on the wall that was definitely a conversation piece; in fact, the entire quirky, old, interesting nature of this place is a conversation piece. My boyfriend and I each had two drinks and a shot; our total bill came to just $ 17! We didn’t get to go up and look at the old-​fashioned bowling lanes but they do sound quite fun.
While the drive to Shohola isn’t something that I’d be willing to do constantly, I may find myself driving back another weekend for a cool getaway and some great drinks. Definitely worth a stop in for any of you adventurous travelers and drinkers out there.

You can’t make this up. Deliverance on the Delaware River in Pa. Near the NY border. Old and dusty legendary pub that has a few old fashioned, still used bowling lanes where you must manually pick up and reset the pins. Cool bar stools that tuck into the bar and rotate out. Really a place to stop in for a visit before it is nolonger exhists. I worked nearby in Lackawaxen in the late 80’s and we used to drive on a dark, deserted road for a few miles and end up here to shoot pool and unwind. We have friends who come here every winter for the Olympics aka Man Weekend, which I hear is out of control. A banjo less man continued to wave at me as I pulled away and drove off.

Great gathering place coal stove great to gather with friends wonderful to bring your tourist friends a bit of history with a kick enjoy a a pint of Guinness shoot some pool bartender is real nice scrapbook of famous patrons from long ago worth a stop !

Someone told us about this place while we were parked with our bikes along rt. 97. So, when it was time to get a bite to eat, instead of going to Cedar Rapids we went to find Rohman’s. There were a bunch of bikes parked among the few cars, and a tired dog curled under a table that some patrons were seated at outside.
So, in we went and it hits you right away, This is an authentic hole-​in-​the-​wall place. Friendly locals and service. Since it was lunch time, I ordered a cheeseburger and fries along with a drought beer. I ordered it cooked medium and it came out perfectly. A decent size burger with lettuce; tomato; onions (on request); and a side of mayonnaise. The fries were fresh and crisp.
I will certainly be back again during the fall.

This place is the most homey dive bar imaginable. People have drunk here since the 1840’s, You can’t mess with the winning formula.

Loved Rohman’s. Walked over from Barryville, NY. Train tracks run right in front of the place, and it sits on a bluff overlooking the river. Me, my husband, a few locals were only drinkers early evening Easter Sundy. Place is heated by a coal stove that looks like it dates to the 1800s. Bar stools are curved pieces of iron topped with wooden discs that fold under the bar (not super comfortable, but super-​old). Very nice barkeep handed us a scrap book upon finding out we’d never been before. I love this kind of local history — so it was cool to see photos of the place in its heyday, read a few of the many articles that have been written about Rohman’s over the years, and look at copies of pages from the guest register when it was a grand hotel — guests included Charles Lindbergh and Clara Bow. We also got a tour of upstairs self-​set bowling alley — a must –see. Our five drinks cost $ 10 (bartender bought us the last one). Definitely a great spot to visit if you are in the upper Delaware valley. Kitchen wasn’t open, so can’t comment on the food.

This place is awesome! It is from pre-​civl war times. It is old and smelly but that is kind of the appeal. The beers are super cheap and I hear they have good food, although I didn’t try any. You can go upstairs and check out the old bowling alley as well! We went on a slow night but they were having beer olympics the next day and have karoake at night and it gets packed out! Awesome spot to see!

It feels like the oldest dive bar on Earth… and it may actually be!
Don’t be afraid to eat, get the Prime Rib or Prime Rib Sandwich

Sometimes the dirt doesn’t wash off.
In the case of Rohman’s Inn, a relic from pre-​Civil War times, the dirt is over 160 years old. It served as a hub in days of yore, first as a town meeting, even before Shohola became a town, and then as a watering hole for visitors from NYC who were dropped off via the Eerie-​Lackawanna train.
We were basically the only patrons in this definition of a dive in Shohola, PA, straddling the border between this state and NY. (If you’ve hit NY, you’ve gone too far.) Two inches thick of dust (read: dead skin) cloaked the countertops and walls (okay I am absolutely exaggerating, but for story’s sake… .) My jaw dropped when I found out the price of my tasty gin and tonic: $ 2.50.
The décor was a mix of old and new. Pool tables and a rather impressive TV are juxtaposed next to vintage signs such as «Everybody can bring happiness into this room, some by coming in, other’s by going out.» Jukebox upstairs and down. An interesting feature is the swath of military and servicemen patches proudly displayed along the back bar. Like you can tell the age of a tree by counting its rings, you can tell the age of the patch by the dust and soot.
Best part of all? The bowling alley on the second floor. Four lanes of duckpin bowling, must have been forty or so heavy cannon-​ball-​bowling bowls (one with about 20 fingerholes)… and you better believe you have to restock your own pins and roll back your own balls by shimmying down the gutters. Keep your own score.
A place I won’t soon forget. Finding it was like writing the start of your own horror movie, but the sheer awesomeness of this place outweighs the sketch.