Varsity Club Restaurant & Bar

This is a great place to visit in Columbus. Right across from OSU. Friendly service and comfortable atmosphere. Joe made us feel right at home and took good care of us.

This place is always great, great service, Love their hot Italian sub so damn good. Staff beyond friendly. Love going to this place when we are in Columbus.

So the good, cheap drinks, bar nuts, and cool atmosphere and alumni that you can talk to. The bad: went in on a Sunday afternoon, like 6 people at the bar. The two girls bartending were more concerned with their friends at the end and made us wait 20 minutes for the first drink. The guys next to us literally had to yell to stop the sorority fest to be able to pay for their food. Probably a great place, but the kids working the bar were helpless.

Really enjoyed the food, it came quick, it was hot and very tasty. The staff is also great, really caring and courteous. I'm already planning on going again.

Was a bouncer here 20 years ago. Came in for the first time since then. Still the same good food, great service, and wonderful atmosphere. Where has the time gone?

Came in during Country Fest. This Piace has Banger Pizza love it. Glad to find a great place with awesome food, service, atmosphere at a fair price.

My son goes to Ohio State and suggested that we go to the varsity club for lunch. This place was the bomb. My kind ♥️ of place. Great atmosphere from the minute we pulled up. I took my sons photo standing next to the statue of Woody Hayes. When we entered the staff greeted us right away and seated us. Very friendly. The service was outstanding. Food was excellent. If u are ever in columbus you have to check this place out. After exiting, you get a full view of the Ohio State football stadium. See all of you there.

Very friendly and helpful server. Cool college atmosphere. Food was yummy, menu was small. Would definitely visit again.

The Varsity Club is a lonely bright spot in the zone that surrounds OSU. They offer moderately priced beer and bar food is reliable and pleasant. We got some boneless wings with Buffalo sauce and they were fine. We also got a Hawaiian pizza and while it won't blow anyone away, it also hit the spot. Plenty of beer and drinks and we got waiter service at our table. Service was efficient and friendly.

Came here for a huge family reunion, rented out the outside and downstairs (which had AC!). Parking was decent, has a parking lot next to it. Had the deluxe pizza, vegetarian pizza, hot Italian sub, and dinner salad. Everything was just okay, nothing amazing. Italian subs were pretty good but really salty, added some of the salad into it made it better.

Not a bad joint for pub grub. OSU themed interior. Friendly service. Nice tap list. Food is OK and prices reasonable for quality. Free parking. Not a destination but not bad if in area.

An OSU staple! Cozy, warm, communal, delicious fried food, and plenty of TVs to view the sport of your choosing. If you want to feel the spirit of legends of decades past, come to the Varsity Club, indulge in a mozz stick, and down yourself in a frosty pint.

Hey...for a campus bar ..not bad, devent food and reasonable prices. For a campus bar pretty clean....today. It may be different on a FOOTBALL Saturday!!!!

Best Hot Sub on campus. Hot Sub is a Varsity Club tradition for over 55 years! The sub is served with ham, salami, provolone and American cheeses, tomatoes, chopped lettuce and Italian dressing. Pickles & banana peppers on the side. I felt the crunch of the bread and great toppings on the Hot Sub. The last time I was there in 2012, I had a pizza there and it was yummy, when I go back to The Varsity Club I will have their pizza again. With my Hot Sub; instead of fries or chips, I got their delicious Onion Rings. My friend enjoy a 10-inch Cheese Pizza and had leftovers The server was very nice and personable. Thank you Varsity Club for a great meal and I will get a pizza on my next visit.

Stopped in twice for lunch first time foos was decent but the waitress was unfriendly second time the waitress seem to have a attitude with us these were two different girls 3 people got the meatball sub no one Finnish it not good at all one got pizza it was ok boneless wing weee nasty over cooked probably won't be back

If you've never experienced varsity club on gameday, it's something you just have to experience. I'm sorry. I know it's crowded. I know you have to bring cash to pay at the bar. I know the bartenders don't really care. I know sometimes you have to slyly push a drunk girl out of the way and stand on your tiptoes to see the TV. I know the bathroom stallls are so small you can barely sit without your knees touching the door. But that's all besides the point. It's an OSU gameday staple. Suck it up, stop at the ATM (or don't, they have one by the front door), and go get yourself a $6 Bud Light. Get two while you're up there, it will be awhile before you can order again.

Game day experience only! But they very much give off a vibe that they are bothered by you spending money there and make it as inconvenient as possible to do so. I showed my ID 6 times to get from Lane to a stage w a band and back. It's fun being treated as bin Laden! ATMS broke down (mobile pay is more efficient guys! We knew this 10 years ago)

Some might call The Varsity Club a campus bar oh, some might call it a campus area landmark, some may refer to it as their go-to location for OSU sport activities Oh, and some may call it their choice when they organize events with friends-- I confirm that I referred to it in all these ways. The Varsity Club and I became friends decades ago. I am thrilled to say that our friendship has endured ups and downs and changes and I'm a better man because of that relationship. I think I am maybe not a better man but a good man as I've met great friends there, I've eaten tremendous pizza, I've had super beers, I've been in crowds, I've had the laid-back experience, it's all been a pretty cool place to be and experience life. PIZZA AND BEER... I, am one that really does like the Varsity Club pizza with cold beer along w super Friends. Of course, decades of thousands have seen all of the upgrades and renovations occur along the way. Nobody will or can ever tell you that the culture, The Vibes, the environment, the legendary history of The Varsity Club they perpetuate in the campus area has ever changed because they have not. Just go. Just take it all in. Investigate the history of The Variety Club. Eat pizza. Drink beer. Have a great time. Enjoy friends. Isn't life about fun, frolic, friends and forever.

Oh, Varisty Club. I don't know whether I should hate you or just embrace you. I tend to only visit when I get pressured to do so by friends. Every time I go, I'm annoyed by their weird liquor licensing rules, long lines, and aloof bartenders. However, I still find myself there on the weekends during OSU games. The one time I really did enjoy myself was over the summer after a friend's wedding, which happened to be close by. We got there pretty late and they offered to stay open a little longer for our group. There were around 25 of us and we were looking to keep the party going after a rowdy wedding reception. It was really cool of them to accommodate our group and we had a blast. I've never had the heart to try the food, but the drinks are what you would expect for a sportish type of bar. My biggest piece of advice is to pick and choose wisely when it comes to planning your visit.

You know. This is a bar. Like, a bars bar. Bar vibe, bar drinks, bar food. Came in on a rainy Monday night, not too many people there but the staff was fun and welcoming! I got Mozzarella Sticks and Chicken tenders, both good! I don't have much else to say, like I said, it's a bar. I'd go again though.

While shopping in the area, Tony and I decided to grab something to eat. I always try to find a diner or such in the areas that have been around awhile. I was able to find this great little location near Ohio State College. There was a few mixed reviews but we decided to give them a chance. I was lucky to find meter parking around the corner and we walked from there. I put in $2 to be on the safe side and not get a parking ticket. We were greeted immediately by the bartender and told to take a seat anywhere we would like. We grabbed a booth near the windows to catch some cheerful sunday's. After looking over the menu a bit, we ended up ordering to share a small batch of Hot wings with ranch & bleu cheese for dipping and a sandwich called the Varsity. Bathrooms were clean, restaurant slightly busy but nothing to write home about. Pictures from the past hung generously on the walls. Well our food...ugh could of have been better. Wings were tough and old like yesterday wings... horrible!!! There was only 8 in the batch and we left a few behind...the sandwich was pretty good. Loved the cheese whiz on it added a cheesier taste. Hey if you go, please review! I hope you have a better meal. But great ambience!!!

Ate here several times. There's a great bar with great bar food. This place proudly beams of Buckeye pride. Very clean and the service was great.

Varsity Club is one of the oldest bars on the OSU campus. It certainly looks like it. The inside looks like it could still be the 1950s if not for all the big screen plasma TVs. It's most popular when there's a game of course. The other times it's usually empty. If you're looking for somewhere to watch OSU football this a favorite. It might be the best place but if you hate big crowds then forget it. They really pack them in here. If you are ordering something off the menu it changes depending on if there's a game. They have a limited food menu, in order to provide faster service. It's pretty much pizza, salad, and wings for the football crowd. The pizzas are about $12 for a large. If you're looking for healthier options get a salad for a few bucks. They have bottles of PBR for good prices. If you hate crowds go during the middle of the week or for the happy hour. When it's not a game day they have the full menu. It may not be the best but Varsity Club is one of my favorites. It's somewhere any Buckeyes fan has to see a game. The crowds suck so be ready to knock someone out to get a seat.

Standard pub fare - pizza, sandwiches, wings, etc. service was really good. The real draw, however, is the environment. Great hangout during, before, after a game.

Nostalgia alone makes this a great stop! My parents in the late '50s and now my kids at osu so we had to stop to eat at the Varsity! Lunchtime crowd was light so we were able to get right in. Quick service with a smile and was very helpful. Picky kids of course would have prefered a larger menu selection but beer, burgers, salads, and pizza are college staples. Fun to look at all the pictures on the wall and enjoy the atmosphere. Winter weather meant outdoor seating was closed but that looks nice too!

Such a nice classic bar to go to in the OSU area. Beers are very very cold pizzas awesome and the staff are really great.

I've lived in Columbus my whole life (outside of college and grad school) yet never gone to Varsity Club...until now! My sister recently started renting an apartment close to VC so we had dinner there one night. I love the OSU atmosphere when walking in. You have no doubt this bar proudly represents THE Ohio State University. The food is a grade above typical bar food. You get a decent-sized portion of food for the price and it didn't take long for five orders to be prepared. Overall, good food and probably will go back to see what the bar is all about!

Before I start tearing it apart, the one saving grace is that we got our food for free. Otherwise, it would probably be one star. We walked into this restaurant hoping to be in and out in like 45 minutes. We ordered two pizzas almost immediately. What followed next was an absurd wait filled with very little updates as to the status of our food. Eventually, we decided to just say we needed it to go and they said it would be a few more minutes. Seeing our visible frustration, the manager told us our meal would be free. Once we got the pizzas, they were incredibly okay. I feel like it's something I could've made in my dorm kitchen with a store-bought crust. Maybe if you're a drunk college student looking for a late-night snack, it would be good, but otherwise just go to Pizza Hut. It'll taste about the same and cost a lot less.

This is my go to on game day. Let me specify I'm from Florida and this is where my dad hung out in his undergrad years at OSU. The service is always good and the pizza is some of the best around! It's always fun during football season to be around the other fans and have pizza and beer. I went here the first time in 04 during the OSU/UM game and while its had a face lift since then, the charm and good vibes still persists. If you love pizza and beer you have found the best pizza in Columbus! It's also super close to the stadium so if you're craving pizza before game day, look no further, but there will be a wait!

Casual restaurant/bar very convenient to the Blackwell Inn. Went in for a quick lunch. The waitress was friendly, our order came out quick and it was tasty. The fries and fried Zucchini were perfect and the beef and bean burgers lived up to all expectations. I also loved the vintage vibe.

We were visiting our son at OSU and stopped in for a CV late lunch. Sat on the patio. Service was great and staff was very friendly. My wife had the veggie burger she liked it. My daughter had the cheese pizza which was excellent. My son had the chicken tenders and fries and I had the classic VC sub. Both were top notch. Great atmosphere. Will go back!

Don't know where to start. Food is so unappealing that you look at it and wonder if you should even try it. Saw the one bartender serve someone well over the limit and laugh with friend at the bar about it. This is a small city bar in a city overloaded in bars. Not worth the visit the only good part is how friendly the waitresses were(only reason it isn't a one star).

Definitely try this place. Great server. She engaged us...really friendly. Good place to watch current sports events on TV. Great selection of beers. Excellent pizza. Vibrant atmosphere. Definitely try this place.

Stopped in for lunch with a friend that was having a meeting on campus. First noticed how nice the place looked inside. Was my first time there so I dont know if that was how it always looks or if it was recently remodeled. Plenty of TVs and room to be comfortable. We both ordered the grilled chicken sandwich, with a side salad in place of fries. The salad was way bigger than a side, was happy about that. Lettuce seemed fresh and crisp. Chicken was hot and cooked just right. Had a nice grilled flavor to it. Could have maybe used a little more seasoning. I was happy with the lunch and would probably return. BTW.. they had the ugliest juke box i have seen at the front.

Good Ole Reliable Rock! Hadn't been to VC for six or seven years, so it was nice to be back! My Son and I stopped in for a quick lunch. Some things never change (which is good). Great Buckeye décor, plenty of bar seats (except for game days), and tables and booths everywhere. We sat in a booth in the bar and our server quickly waited on us. Fast friendly service and a light crowd for mid week lunches. We grabbed a couple of favorites for lunch: Hot Italian Sub (covered in meat and toppings) and a chicken tenders basket (who doesn't like chicken and fries?). Food came out hot and fresh and always at a reasonable price. Most items are $5-$12. We grabbed our bill and we were out fast. VC always has good drafts, full bar, and a great outdoor patio for the warmer days and game days. Game days, this place is packed wall to wall, but other times, it is a good 'tavern like' atmosphere. Thanks for staying consistent as campus turns into a modern retail store front and the history of OSU disappears.

Every Big 10 college town has one of these type places near the campus/stadium...and for The Ohio State University it is The Varsity Club. We hit this place on a summer afternoon so we did not experience any of the monster crowds we heard are here on game days...but we still enjoyed ourselves. We saw the game day patio out back so it is easy to see where all the people end up in the fall...but for us it was inside. The food was typical pub grub but good at that. We had a BLT (nice sandwich not overloaded with anything and it had a tomato that looked ripe), julienne salad (the usual but fresh and fine), and the buffalo chicken breast sandwich (nice generous portion and nice bite to the buffalo sauce). French fries were good but not over the top. All in all this was a nice stop. They had a nice bar that ran the length of the room and many beer selections...both on draft and in the bottle. Full service bar...which we are sure gets a workout during the school year. Give it a try.

One of my all time favorites. Surprisingly good pizza and subs. Great patio and drink specials with friendly staff.

Stopped by the Varsity Club after three home games this year. Sucked after Oklahoma, was awesome after Penn State, and cold and wet after Illinois. I don't think the current students apprecite the VC like us long timers do because for every under 25 there, you can find 5 over 30's, 4 over 40's, 3 over 50's, a pair of over 60's, and a guy on social security for a decade. This place has been a campus institution since the 1950;s and their patrons on game day reflect it. It has been a few years since I stopped in to eat and drink as opposed to drinking in the parking lot tailgating before or after an Ohio State game. Use to come here after wrestling matches and they usually get a good crowd. Have to say the service and atmosphere were great, but the food let me down and it was not a good value at all for the price. I got onion rings, a chicken sandwich, and two beers and paid over 20.00 for luke warm, greasy fried food and a bland sandwich. At least the beer helped wash the disappointment out of my mouth. Friend got a delux 10 inch pizza and two beers and was over 24.00. Not sure how the VC has value for todays college students who will keep coming back year after year like so many of us have. If they want to charge game day prices on non game days,their food has to be better and your portions bigger. While I have not drank my last beer there, I have more than likely eaten my last meal.

Was at the OSU for a conference. Very typical college bar with typical college bar atmosphere and service. Luckily they had cold beer which met my tempered expectations. Watch your step when you leave via front door as they have dangerous steps. Not sure why they wouldn't construct a ramp which would make it accessible and be less of a risk for liability.

This was my first visit to the Varsity Club, so as a virgin let me share my experience. First, it is a hop, skip, and jump from the stadium, so it is packed on game day. You really must plan accordingly to even get in. The outdoor set up is pretty cool and plenty of out houses for the daring. A little tip... Women go down stairs there is no line and pleasantly surprised on how clean the bathrooms were. Now it is crazy crowded and beer cans all over the ground. The beer cans confuse me as there are plenty of garbage cans??? But back to crazy busy... I really never had to fight for a beer or a cocktail! In my book, at a college bar, that equals a 4 star rating! I thought the prices were reasonable, but then I graduated a long time ago... LOL! I have to say the Entertainment value after the game is money. If you are offended by really drunk college kids, you may want to go somewhere else? I am easily entertained, and never knowing what you will see is up my alley! It's totally wrong but whateves! The music is great! Oh order the pizza because it's crispy and wonderful! Plus, I at least now know it soaks up booze! The VC is the place to go... It was my first Buckeye game and I wanted the whole experience! Next time I go to the game, the VC will be a stop!

This has a great place to meet friends and the food is really good. The pizza has amazing cheese and great taste which is more then what I can say for some of the other pizza places. The burgers are nothing special, but it was not bad. The food is pretty decently priced too!

Ohhhh V.C. How do you manage to pack so many wasted people into one bar? At any given time on gameday there has to be 4000 people or more in this bar. It is THE place to go for a Buckeye game. When bringing people to a game that don't know about how nuts everyone around here goes for Buckeye football, Varsity Club needs to be either your first or your last stop on the tour. It's hard to put into word just how many people get crammed into this place before / during / after a game. I tried to snap some picks when I was there for the season opener and posted two of them to this review, but this was already hours past the end of the game (at least 3 hours). Let' put it this way, it is so busy there are 50 port-a-pots set up around the outdoor drinking areas because there is NO WAY any mortal bar bathrooms could handle the amount of use that this many wasted people would require of a restroom. OVERCROWDED. Always. Someone is going to run into you, step on your foot and spill beer on you. At least once every few minutes. Know this. I have found that the best way to deal with it is to pound overpriced beers until you also are wasted. Then step on someone's foot and spill beer on them. Instead of saying 'Sorry" like a normal person would, you only then have to look at the person and scream "Go Bucks!" at them, loudly.

This place wouldn't know how to serve a beer to a person sitting at that bar for over 20 minutes if it hit 'em in the face. Disgusting as I sat there watching 3 college bartenders goofing off while I sat there seeing if they would even look at me. The place was not even busy. So stupid, don't give these guys a profit for such horrendous service. Go somewhere else. Nostalgia not worth the pain.

Delivery is amazing. Always have the food quick and it's quite delish. My personal fav are the wings, dinner salad, and onion rings. The bar itself is cute. Not usually very busy unless it's game day. They and the place next to them (Pepsi point) throw one heck of a tailgate. I would most certainly recommend varsity club for anyone on canpus. Great prices. Amazing parking, decent drinks. Come try!

The bar in the food is really good except I walked by the kitchen and saw some bald guy licking the side of the oven question of all but I would definitely come back

This place has Great atmosphere and Excellent Service. Spicy garlic Wings were outta this world! A Very cool Sports bar and a Landmark that has been there since 1959. Lots of nostalgic pictures all over, and definitely a great place to hangout before and after the football Games. Our server and Bar tender made us feel like they've known us forever. Definitely was a great choice.

Went here before the Northwestern Game. It was packed to the gills. We wanted to grab some food. There's an eating area and a drinking area in the back. To sit and eat, you need to literally hover over the tables. You also have to fight for your tables, not physically, but some people may try to cut your or the previous table will take it upon themselves to give the table to someone else, for a variety of reasons. I would not recommend eating here before a game, but I would say that the food was good. I'm not sure if it is that day or in general, but they only take cash. Overall, I'd probably go back.

The patio is large, and there is a separate bar out there, which is nice. The music wasn't loud enough. The drinks were a tad watered down for our liking. The tables were wobbly. The restrooms were clean. The bartender was friendly.

Service is always slow at this restaurant, even when there is a small crowd. Last night there may have been 10 people in the entire place, but drink and food orders were still slow. The food quality was passable by bar standards. I ordered a meatball sub with fries. The sub was pretty good, though I could have gotten the same thing at Subway for less money. The bar does have a pretty good beer list. The bartender wasn't familiar with the mixed drinks my friends requested, but they were able to find the drink recipes.

Came to Varsity Club with some colleagues after a boring awards dinner. We arrived around 10pm on a Saturday night and the place was pretty dead. I'm guessing all the cool people were in another area of town (my evite must have went to my spam folder). I figured that this place would have some really good bar food seeing how it's about a minute 1/2 walk from the stadium where the Ohio State Buckeyes (booo) play and I'm sure gets crazy packed on game days. Well I was wrong! The wings looked like they were pulled straight from the Tyson's bag and heated up in the oven. The French Fries, while good, were the size of q-tips. Clearly, we didn't stay here long. The food wasn't good, in my opinion, so I wouldn't recommend coming here to eat. However, the service was excellent and the bartender doesn't mind pouring a lot of alcohol in your drink...which was very much appreciated by me and my crew.

2.5 Stars This is a pretty typical campus bar. That being said, they've got a great patio area and decent food. The service has always been hit or miss. It's crazy busy for OSU home games. For me, the best time to go is any time during the summer to enjoy the patio while school's out and the "bro" crowd is at a minimum. Damn, I'm getting old.

I would really rate this place a 3.5 but I'm feeling generous today. Let me preface this review by saying I didn't go to OSU, I'm not even from Ohio, and I'm old. So I know this is a college bar but I just don't get it. Why put your beer cans on the ground? There are trash cans all over the place? With that said, wear your galoshes or some shoes you don't care about. The place gets pretty packed and I guess it's the place to be if you're not in the Horseshoe. There aren't a lot of TVs so it's kind of hard to watch the game...So why did I rate this place 4 stars? The pizza of course! It's crispy, the pepperonis are smile tasty little guys and it's just delicious with a beer. If you're in the Buckeye state, want to feel like an OSU student/alumn, love pizza, are warmly dressed, have rainboots on, hate using trashcans, then stop on by the Varsity Club.

I've never been here when it's not absolutely swamped. But the staff seems to expect the swampings, and they adjust accordingly. They're not jerks about the huge crowds clogging up the bar and entry way, nor the drunks ogling the waitresses. The beer is great: nice selection, reasonably priced. Three pints of craft brew, a sub and a side of onion rings only cost $25. The food is simple, comes from a very limited menu, but tasty and precisely what you'd expect. The crowds never prevent me from coming back here - it feels nice to rub elbows with all the other fans in town for a game before wandering down Lane to the Schott or across the street to the Shoe. It's like a tradition - you deal with the hassle because it's so fun.

My favorite bar around the Ohio State campus! The student crowd is mainly upperclassman and graduate students, and seems to be where alumni in the area gather as well. Since graduating, whenever friends are back in town for an event (wedding, football game, etc), we always end up at the VC for a night of drinking, singing along to the jukebox (which is awesome by the way), and talking about the good ole days. I've had the food at VC many many times...the pizza is delicious and great to split with the table over pitchers of beer which run around $7. Service can be a bit spotty at times, but service at the bar is always quick and friendly. Pretty much, you can't go wrong with any of the food on the menu. The addition of the flat panel TVs a few years ago was a marked improvement and makes watching OSU away games and other sporting events much more enjoyable. I really enjoy sitting on the patio when the weather is nice, and the outdoor bar has good service as well. The only real downside of the VC is the bathrooms...I can only speak for the women's but, especially on gamedays, it can get pretty nasty in there. I avoid VC on OSU home football game days...I refuse to pay $4 for a can of Bud Light, plus you can't even move once you get in. But the Friday night before a game, I am totally there. You can't beat the atmosphere! Can't wait until I am back in Columbus for a visit to make a trip to the VC.

Varsity club is a timeless tradition at Ohio State. I hadn't been back for 10 years and went in this past weekend before the game. What fun memories I have there! IT was packed before the game, but it is to be expected. Our group of 8 did find a table and had great service from the waitress that was working our section! Came through with new rounds of beers when everyone was finished. The outside patio was crowded and loud too just like I remember, but its fun hanging out with great fans on a Saturday! They do accept Credit cards most days, but not game days. Too many people!

I mean it's the Varsity Club! One of the places to be on a football Saturday! So much game time excitement packed into one little area. But beyond those infamous Saturdays, VC is also a restaurant with a nice little patio. The crowd is a lot smaller, so you can grab a seat and relax. Service is fast, friendly, and efficient if you pop in during the lunch hour. The food menu offers a variety of items from salads, pizzas, burgers, etc, and there is often a special. They have recently introduced a gluten-free pizza, as well. Whether on a game day or another day, it is a nice place to stop by.

If you are taking people to a OSU football game this should be one of the first stops on your journey down Lane Ave. The beers are not as expensive as the rest of the strip, the pizza is actually pretty good and the atmosphere is alot of fun! It is an OSU staple that must be tried on game day at least once and on a non-game day at least once.

I cant believe I am the first to review this place. I must say I love this place for OSU games on Saturdays in the fall. There is no better place to be other then in the game. Beers are cans and $3-4 each and there are so many people you know getting several adult beverages into their stomachs you cant go wrong. As for the pizza, its not bad...but I wouldn't ask my advise on the food. We never eat here! If you know this place from Saturday Football games, then you know how to do it in Columbus in the Fall.