Cafe Bourbon Street

Walked in Monday night for drinks/music with a buddy only to be rudely and subjectively kicked out by an extremely unprofessional bartender named Dan, over what seemed to be a personal dispute between them. Dan threatened to shut down the mic night and cause a scene if he didn’t leave. This has been a normal location for me and other friends over the years, but definitely choosing to stop supporting this location if they can’t control their employees for what supposed to be a chilled environment. (Long story short, bartender Dan upset over something maybe personal and kicked out a friend when this is usually our regular spot.) I hopefully expect as a reputable business that they choose to correct this issue and hear back soon.

Hey. it's a punk rock bar. Can't go wrong if you dig punk music. Saw Idioms cover Gang of Four and could have sworn it was actually Gang of Four playing. So good!

Nice little 'hole in the wall' with great food. Cheap prices. Definitely will return. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

Enjoyed a show here. Bands with many instruments were mixed well and it sounded good. Staff was nice.

A seriously cool bar with great live music

A great place for a personal feeling concert with any band you may go there to enjoy. They have delicious pierogies made-to-order and a good drink selection.

Fantastic service and super cool bartenders. Pierogi's were so, so good. This bar is for those looking for a dark, dingy place to drink and have a good time. Fancy cocktail people? You might wanna look elsewhere. This place is for the simple and those who wanna chill. An absolute must during your time in Columbus.

We went here for karaoke on Saturday night. The place looks super sketchy from the outside, but once you get inside it turns into a warm and welcoming enviornment. They have books full of songs that you can choose from, and then you write it on a slip and give it to the Man upfront. Also, there is a cute little bar portion and a window where you get food. All in all, not bad.

Great dive bar with great drinks. It makes me feel like I am 7 years younger, but that may just be because it is a dive bar. The walls are all black, very dark, but it just gives it a dark, moody feel.

Cafe Bourbon Street is one of the most popular campus dive bars. It's not located on Bourbon Street. The address is actually Summit Street. It's best known for shows featuring local artists. The other thing is Pierogi Mountain, a takeout window. I like going to dive bars. It usually means you get cheap drinks and no one cares much about how you look, or smell. One bad thing is the lighting, how dark and hard it is to see. If you are looking for a place that sounds like this, then this is that place. The inside is very small. The first thing you actually see is the Pierogi Mountain window. It also has all the drink specials listed. There's always a cheap special. Lots of beer will be only $1 a can. The bar is around the corner, where you have to turn around to see the stage. All the time it seems to be incredibly dark. It's too easy to bang around into each other. The place gets super crowded when there's a show. I still would rather see a show here than in a big arena. It's much cheaper. The food is great too.

Pierogis were fantastic. They're about $1.75 per piece and about 4/6 is considered a meal. So I would say it is fairly priced. I was confused when we came in though because the lady who let us in did not mention how ordering works. There is a small window at the right side as soon as you enter. This is where you place your order. Don't waste your time in sitting down and thinking someone will come ask what you want. The baked potato, cheese, and bacon pierogi was our favorite or all that we tried. They put some caramelized onions on the side too! So yummy.

***I'm referring to the black WALLS!! Every wall is painted black.*** Cafe Bourbon Street is a campus venue spot for local music talent. Several smaller bands that are touring stop in.

Honestly, I've only been here for the Pierogi Mountain experience, but they do make really good jack and ginger's, and a pretty good beer selection. It is a dive bar, but sometimes those are the best. :-)

Being that I'm polish, I love pierogis but I am a pretty harsh critic. I can honestly say I was pleasantly surprised. The exterior and interior didn't scream "authentic polish pierogis" but once I saw the menu I knew it was going to exceed my expectations. And that's exactly what happened. They had some of the best pierogis I've ever had. The potato cheddar pierogis were my personal favorite and I think I couldn't eaten a pound of them. The only issue I ran into was parking and actually had to call to figure out where to park. You're allowed to park directly in front if there are spaces available. Other than that, everything was perfect!

I'll go one further and state that this is the successor to the crown of Best Dive Bar in Columbus. Anyone still in Columbus from the days when you could hang at Bernie's all week and see the Queers on Monday, Guitar Wolf on Tuesday, the Donnas on Wednesday (not that anyone would want to), Oxymoron on Thursday and The Promise Ring on Friday now hangs out at Cafe Bourbon Street (okay, okay; maybe a few are at Carabar and a few are at Ruby Tuesday). It's not as good as Bernie's was then, but it's far better than Bernie's is now. They have karaoke on Sundays, and it's a good time. They have Gennessee, Stroh's, Lone Star and Pabst, and for the right price. So yeah, it's a dive bar. The stage is maybe a foot high. There are no windows, it's dark, there's a broken pinball machine. It's one of the preferred venues of the likes of the legendary, yet still underground, Cheater Slicks and so on. There used to be a delivery restaurant called Taco Ninja adjoined to it that was infamously rumored to deliver cocaine in addition to tacos. It has since been replaced with a wiener stand. There are no drug dealing rumors regarding the wieners yet.

One of the bartenders was a really nasty dude. He was angry about something . . . and not a short term problem like his car wouldn't start that day. He was angry like something had been eating away at him since he was a child and just couldn't get over it. It was a deep rooted anger. He hated his job and hated everyone who entered that place who asked him for a beer. It's like he wanted to say, "Get your own damn beer!" It's been a while, so he may not be there anymore, but it was a bad enough experience that I won't go back.

Super douchey service, mediocre food. A bartender at a another place recommended this place as a good place to get late night food and cheap drinks. He didn't mention the shit attitudes of the people working there. The girl cooking was busy and her shit attitude didn't help things. Also the pierogies were meh. The ones you get at Kroger in the freezer aisle are better. The bartender guy was worse. It was a close shit attitude race but in the end his shit attitude won out. Not that I'm in Columbus often but when I am and I feel like eating shit food and getting shit service I know just where to go. Just kidding I'm never coming back here.

Highly disappointed with the way my friends and I were treated here. We were barked at by the bartender Paul for having water. He yelled and cussed infront of the entire restaurant. After I was forced to place my water bottle outside the restaurant only provided an empty container of water.

I've been past this place eleventy billion times before but I never stopped in for fear of getting shanked. Cafe Bourbon Street is a sketchy looking place for sure. Then I found out- via Yelp of course- that it's apparently legit and has decent music. So of course I had to check that out. All in all, I'd have to say it's not a bad little dive bar. Sadly, there was no live music when I stopped in. However, the bartender had some nice records going on and the drinks were decently priced, so good times were had all around. If you, like me, are a fan of dive bars and decent music but have never stopped in here out of fear- give it a try. Take a friend and have a few beers- it's a good place to hang. One word of caution though: it'd be a good idea to take your own hand sanitizer. I'm wasn't joking when I said dive bar.

Worst experience I've had at a bar. It's cash only and there's an ATM next door, that's okay, just super inconvenient. Not the reason why I'm giving it this rating at all. My rating is based on my first visit on a Friday night, so take this review appropriately as maybe the service is better at other times! The atmosphere was pretty chill, enough room to where I felt comfortable. Went to the bar to order a drink, noticed some specials on the wall. My friends didn't have cash and they ordered drinks, so I spent my only $10 to help them out since it's a cash-only bar. They asked how long they served drinks and the guy was like, "Maybe another 35-40 minutes." ...ok, 2:05 AM, got it I guess... A little uneasy, wish he could've just stated an exact time. My friend ordered a double Burbon and coke and the guy handed him one shot of Burbon... He's like, "Oh, I ordered a double Burbon and coke." The bartender said, "You mean you want coke with it?" Ugh. Okay. So, they went by the ATM while I waited with no drink, still doing decently okay. They came back and asked what I wanted, I wanted my usual vodka gimlet (vodka & lime). They ordered me a double and I was handed a short glass... I was instantly like... Ugh. This is going to suck. So, took a sip and realized this guy makes super strong drinks. This is fine, ok... So I force a little down to make room for more lime juice so I can actually enjoy my drink... I'm afraid to talk to the bartender bc he's already been not-so-nice so my friend asks him for me if I can have more lime juice in my drink. Bartender says, "I put enough in the first time." and puts MAYBE a splash more of lime juice... ugh. I've worked in service. If someone wants something a certain way, I don't question it at all, I just ask "how much?" like any respectable person that respects what another persons wants... If it costs extra just tell me, don't question my wants. Seriously. So... Super disrespectful. He made one order wrong and questioned us/was disrespectful on two things: "You want coke in it?" And "I put enough the first time." Yeah. The story tells itself, just take it for what it is. If you want to be treated like crap, that Asian dude is your man. I really hope something changes about that attitude... That was... The worst 'buzzkill' (and I hadn't had anything to drink beforehand)... Maybe people are into this kind of stuff like being questioned about an order... Yes, you're right, I have a vagina!!!! Yay! Now that that is cleared up, PLEEEASE give me the lime juice I kindly asked/paid/am willing to pay more for, K? Thanks.

Meh. Only been here once, wasn't impressed. Small, dirty, divey - but not in the charming, local kind of way. In the "we're located in the bad part of town and you might contract something from touching stuff" kinda way. Tiny stage for live acts, and in rectangular room so that only 5 or 6 people can actually SEE the stage. Bad beer selection. Bad liquor selection, too - they were out of Tanqueray and Jack?! Apparently the bar attached is called The Summit, but doesn't have any signage, so it appears to be Cafe Bourbon Street, too. So the friend who I was meeting here went into that bar, and I in the other, each paying different covers - chaos ensued. Oh, and it was an unintended "battle of the bands" between live acts at both bars, because the paper thin wall separating the spaces failed miserably to keep the sounds to their respective sides. I drove in circles for a while trying to figure out where to park, and ended up parking - I think illegally - on a nearby street, but hey, my car was still there when I ducked out early to go home and shower off ol' Bourbon Street.

I came here for $1 tacos on Monday nights (eat in only). It was good, I'll be back for the tacos. Two of us were full on 3 tacos each for about $6.50. The extra 50 cents was because I chose to have both salsa and sour cream when you usually only get a choice of one. I'm just gluttonous like that. The salsa was not spicy in any way, but sriracha sauce remedied that easily. The place was pretty empty while we were there. At one point we were the only ones there. The music was a little loud but not bad. I think I'll have to go back to get a good feel of this place.

The Cafe Bourbon located right next to the Summit is the dingier of the two. They do quite a decent job of brining in local and national music but are horrible in publicizing the events and do not have a webpage or MySpace. Its mostly rock-n-roll but sometimes they get some other types of music to color it up. Yes the place is dark and dingy and probably not in the safest neighborhood. The pluses are cheap food (very limited, if open at all), decent prices for beer and of course cheap shows - pretty much what you would expect from a local club/venue that's in a university area. The sound is really not that bad and ranges with the band (more often), but the small size of the venue can always get you upfront for an up-n-coming music artist. Shows start quite late and headliners typically do not get on till midnight. Parking is an issue since streets fill up quickly on a weekend show and you will end up circling for a while. All in all, this place is something you would only visit for the music and leave right away, but the experience is worthwhile.

This bar is heaven on earth. Rich divey atmosphere with great food and live music. Very intimate setting with great prices, also our bartender Fiona was top-notch. Our band played here and we miss her already. Great place to play or hang out at!

I was recently asked, " If you had to pick one bar in town to only go to, which would it be and why." Easy. Cafe Bourbon Street. Here's why: $1 taco Mondays, $1 hot dog Tuesdays, $2.50 PBR tall boys, good local & national live shows, records, friendly bartenders (when it's not 1:30 am), karaoke, dive bar atmosphere minus the pee smell, a mostly decent crowd and it's less than 5 minutes from my house. What more could you want?

Awesome place. Perogi's to die for. Definitely a must visit. Don't be deceived by the outside. If you pass it by you're missing a great spot

Bier Stube and Bernie's aside, this is truly the epitome of dive bars in Columbus. Even if Bourbon Street didn't own a liquor license, there's little doubt in my mind that gutter punks would squat here and drink warm beer in the back until the cops showed up regardless. It's that kind of place. If you've ever been to Bernie's, I guess it's easiest to imagine this North Campus hole in the wall as its above-ground partner in crime. Not like there are any windows or sources of outside light to fool you in to thinking you aren't in a basement anyways, but you get the drift I'm sure. The tackiness and unkempt nature of this bar is the pure essence of punk rock, distilled in to a 30'x20' room that houses it all. The walls are sparsely covered in random knick knacks that couldn't have come from anywhere but a dumpster, the bar is decorated like the ruckus room of your creepy bachelor uncle, and the ceiling is a mess of stray wires and shoddy drop-paneling that may or may not have been used to keep asbestos in check at some point in the not-so-distant past. In other words, this place is perfect for a first date. Along with a truly random assortment of live acts, Bourbon Street also hosts punk rock karaoke on random nights of the week (Tuesdays maybe?). What better way to pass the time on a school night than by drinking 20 cans of Pabst and singing a duet of "Where Eagles Dare" by The Misfits with your new love interest that you met in Cultural Anthropology 200. Share a 40 of Olde English with her behind the dumpster after the bar closes and you're sure to get at least a warm peck on the cheek at night's end. That's right, they sell 40s here. As if a place that looks like it might have been condemned three or four times before it opened wouldn't sell malt liquor by the gallon, right?

Great place to get your alternator replaced. They only accept company scrip money from pre-war coal mining towns, but it's a small inconvenience.

Friendly bar tenders and cheap beer. This is a trend in Columbus, and that's a good thing. This place is definitely dark, dank, and dirty, but it has character. It's not exactly in an area that I would normally hang out in, as it seems to be in the middle of a war zone. Also the very strange pairing of bands is a bit much. I like diversity, but noisecore, bluegrass, metal, and pop just don't go together. The food coming out of the kitchen smelled great, but I unfortunately didn't have anything. Next time.

I like this bar a lot. It's really dark and dirty though. Good luck with the nasty bathrooms. That aside, it's a fun place to hang out and had reasonable drink prices. The food is actually really good, and there's a lot of vegan and vegetarian gourmet pierogis to choose from. They usually host punk and metal shows from what I've seen. I've always had a good time.

Dive. Bar. Reasonably priced, and really dark. Every thing is black. Looks like they habe bands sometimes. Bar was packed when i stopped by. If not for smokers would have thought they were closed. Highlight was connected perogie place

So it's a dive, but I like dive bars. Great vibe to the place and their Sunday night karaoke is crazy amazing and fun. Drinks were cheap and the Russian bartender just added to the cool feel of the place. I'm looking forward to going back.

What amuses me about my review from last year is that the Velvet Underground tribute was actually at The Summit, the bar connected to Cafe Bourbon Street. Having been to both of these places a bunch in the last year since then, I can say that while yes, I find the bathrooms at Bourbon Street FAR more acceptable, I think I actually like Summit better as a space. Bourbon Street is smaller, darker, more crowded and more hipster. The sound is Not Good. And yet somehow, Bourbon Street has a sign outside and Summit doesn't. Huh. Oh and if you're with the band and getting free beverages, the beer is Genesee... which I'm kinda sure isn't alcoholic (and definitely not tasty) in the least. Yes, it's true. I am classy. :P

if you love dive bars, cafe bourbon street is perfect. the pierogis are incredible, the drinks cheap, and karaoke on saturdays is a blast. frank is an absolute angel. i dont live in columbus anymore but when im in town i have to come here!!

The former Extreme Weiners has been replaced by a vegan friendly cafe!! Lara whips up some fantastic empanadas and gaspacho -- specials change as she is inspired by local produce offerings. Definitely good eats!!!

People seem nice, and they have good beer prices. (2$ PBR tallboys). But, I think there's a 10$ credit card minimum, which i found a little... odd for a bar that's so dirty. Regarding the upkeep - there's a dive, and then there's a dive. The men's bathroom had a horrible sewer smell, and they had no soap. I had to hold my breath the entire time i used the bathroom, because i didn't even want to breathe through my mouth. I think it's a little disrespectful to customers to leave the bathroom in such bad shape.

Best dive in town. I have to fully disagree with Amanda S's review. This is a place I like to go have a drink (happy hours are the best). The bartender is always spinning some top notch, or weird but interesting records- and each one has their own flavor. I love the variety of happy hours there. I've found there is plenty of places to sit; a row of 'new to them' bar stools, 3 booths, and several cafe style tables to accomadate the amazing creations that have been developing in the cafe's kitchen (see Melanie B's dead on review- and she's right that gazpacho is killer!!!!) They've been doing some nice aesthetic stuff to the inside, but you probably wouldn't notice if you've ever only gone there to chow. The stage is small, but if it were any bigger, it would take up too much room. I've seen bands there countless times and seen bands everywhere... it's the perfect size for the venue size. As far as angsty hipsters, I'd say they're welcome, but not the norm.

I've only been here twice, and it wasn't for very long each time. i can see why the place has become one of the most mentioned names in Columbus music bars, though. It's a place without contrived touches (although the one band i saw there was all blow and no go) and probably provides a slice of that CBGB's shitty but real feel that some young people crave in our media saturated culture. Speaking of the word "shit", i hear it's the uncontested headquarters of the Columbus Shitgaze music genre. The beer prices were palatable, and i liked the overall feel of the interior. It's one place i intend to go more often to catch bands in the near future.

Excellent staff here, some of the best bar food I've ever had in Pierogi Mountain, and cheap as hell drinks. One star off for parking and whatever is up with that bathroom, but otherwise a cool dive bar that embraces that term.

my friends and I rented a house right across from this dive bar gem this past weekend. we not only stopped in Friday, but also Saturday! loved the bartender Frank! the food there was also incredibly delicious! will go back for 1$ blatz next time I'm in the area!

Two friends of mine who relocated from Cleveland to Columbus describe Café Bourbon Street as "the most Cleveland place Columbus has to offer" and I would have to agree with them. Café Bourbon Street has the same atmosphere as Cleveland's Now That's Class and the same quality vegan and vegetarian food. The veggie hot dogs are the best I've had (I'd recommend ordering them as described on the menu, with ketchup, mustard, and relish), their falafel tacos are great, and their fries come well-seasoned. In addition to being delicious, everything is dirt cheap -- the best of both worlds! If I lived in Columbus, I could easily imagine Café Bourbon Street becoming one of my regular late night dining destinations. That said, it may require a particular kind of person to appreciate Café Bourbon Street's atmosphere. It's dimly lit and loud, even when there's not a show, and I would imagine that not everyone wants to eat their hot dogs with Wire's Pink Flag blasting in the background. But, if you're looking for good, cheap vegan and vegetarian food late at night and you don't mind being pummeled by some post-punk while you eat, Café Bourbon Street is perfect.

best dive in town if you like gritty rock and rollers. frank the bartender rules, ask him for a cuba libre. good place to chill and be left alone during the week. decent shows during the weekend. the bar connected to it, the summit, is only open when there's a larger show. i don't know why the summit doesnt have a sign or advertise in the paper.