Bodega

Osiris9588

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Bodega offers great food, small plates and pannini. The service is adequate, and never all that friendly--but who cares as long as I get my food and drink.

The selection in regards to beer and wine is very solid. With beer, other than an Arcadia Porter on draft, you have to go with the bottle selection. They offer many Rogue, Chimay, and Bells offerings in the bottle. The prices seem very far from cheap, yet not unreasonable.

It's a hot spot right now, so avoid peek bar hours. But the selection of food, wine, and craft beers make it one of the best stops in the Short North.

edited on 7/22/07: They remodeled and now have 50 beers on tap--a solid selection of imports and both local and national microbrews. Bodega is now much improved for BAs.

09-11-2006 20:40:56 | More by Osiris9588

apasternak

Ohio

4.81/5  rDev +15.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

Walked in late one Saturday night when bar hopping around the Short North. I was with a roommate and my girlfriend, and we found a table right away. I split a bottle of Chimay Red with my roommate, which was fantastic as always, though a little pricey. We ordered food, which considering this was towards the end of our crawl, was much needed. The nachos were excellent and the spinach dip was also good, despite my general dislike for the dish. Good food, good atmosphere and good booze. It was a good time.

04-04-2013 17:51:41 | More by apasternak

Chrysostom

Ohio

4.34/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $$

I was here for five or six hours the other day. The atmosphere is generally good, a little hipster-y, but the place becomes packed to the hilt after about 9:00 PM. No music or dance when I was there, which is a plus for me - I think they may have turned some on later in the night, I'm not sure. The patrons run the gamut from young hipsters to business travelers, and are uniformly interesting. Good beer requires good conversation.

Quality in beer is extraordinarily high, with reduction only for the lack of glassware (only about four different kinds) and the lack of a good high-end scotch selection (Obad 14 was the oldest and best scotch they had). Quality of food is moderate - it's not bad, but is a very small selection, not even covering all of the bases of typical pub fare (limited to chicken wings and sandwiches, pretty much) - and overpriced. Other gastropubs/food pubs do a much better job with the food, but this is primarily a beer bar, not an eatery with good brews, or half-and-half.

Service, when I was there earlier in the day, was excellent - 5 out of 5 - with prompt service, helpful and knowledgeable barkeeps, cheap or free tastings of random beers, and good conversation on many topics and debates about beer - even though it was my first time at the place. As it became more packed, wall-to-wall, the service degraded exponentially, as is to be expected.

Selection is 5 out of 5. St Bernardus Abt 12 is on tap, and every other St Bernardus is in bottles in the fridge. Huge selection of local beers (just about all of them, including some homebrews), including at least one cask-conditioned ale, about 50 taps - two walls lined with them - and maybe 150-225 different kinds of bottles, ranging from the most pedestrian (craft beer) such as Great Lakes, to the weirdest and rarest, such as never-before-heard-of bottles of gueuze, etc. They carry almost every Trappist except for Wesvleteren - Rochefort 6, 8, 10; Chimay Red, White, Blue; St Bernardus 8, Tripel, 12; Achel Dubbel; La Trappe/Koningshoeven Quad; Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel; Orval (including aged Orval), etc. The selection is ridiculously large - it rivals anything in Boston, New York, or Chicago. See it for yourself.

Food is average for a bar. The food itself that they serve, is good (although I've heard it's hit-or-miss), probably a 3.75 or a 4 out of 5. The selection is very small, but it's compensated for by the incredible selection of beers.

The beer is reasonable in price for a bar, 10 oz of St Bernardus 12 on tap going for about $10, a 750mL of Duvel going for about $16, so on and so forth - about 50-100% more than liquor store prices on bottles, as is expected for a bar. I think all taps are half-price during happy hour based on the size of my bill (only about $120 after twelve or more beers, about half from bottles). They have off-license, so they can sell you beer to go. The food is overpriced with small selection, and good, but not great. I give it $$ or $$/$ (2 and 1/2) overall for price. The beer is if anything underpriced. I'm used to drinking $30 scotches at most places that don't have good beers, so that may affect my thinking, but doubtfully so - the beer truly is cheap. For beer, $ - Inexpensive. For food, $$$ - Overpriced. Compromise rating - $$.

Overall, a 4.75 out of 5 - beer counts for more than anything else at a beer bar - and a strong recommendation.

03-23-2013 03:13:06 | More by Chrysostom

Chrome_Dome

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev -0.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Been to this place a couple times since October 2012, both during off-peak hours. Beer selection and quality is fantastic and constantly in flux. Definitely sense the younger Hipster and Craft Beer customer base. My value rating of 'reasonable' was a compromise, as I feel that while the food is delicious and of great quality, it is a bit pricey and I couldn't afford to eat there regularly. But, if you get the Happy Hour price on your beer, that is a really good value. At the end of my second visit, I was leaving just as they got into the swing of their evening business, and holy geez, this place definitely gets packed.

I totally intend to return to this place as often as I can and will continue to recommend to friends.

12-19-2012 15:51:51 | More by Chrome_Dome

rodney4130

Kentucky

4.14/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $

What a pleasant surprise Bodega was. Our original plan was to hit up Columbus Brewing Co, but when that was closed (on a Saturday afternoon?), we decided to see what this place was all about.

Honestly, if I wasn't driving, I could've hung out here all day. Great selection, cheap prices, friendly bartenders and clientele, good music....what else do you need?

It's in a fairly nondescript building, but that's okay with me. If I lived in the area, Bodega would totally be my neighborhood bar. A total surprise of our Columbus beer tour, and a place that I'll be visiting again the next time I'm in the city.

07-29-2012 15:05:51 | More by rodney4130

secret_knot

2.78/5  rDev -33%
vibe: 1 | quality: 3 | service: 1 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I've been here on more than one occasion and while the tap selection is impressive, the overall experience of coming to Bodega leaves a lot to be desired. The service is non-existent, the vibe/attitude so "too cool for school" that it borders on nauseating. Yesterday, after 10 minutes of sitting AT THE BAR without ANY acknowldegement by the staff (we counted 4 behind the bar), we left and went a few doors down to Surly Girl Saloon (where were enthusiastically welcomed by the bar staff). If all you want is a good craft beer selection and have plenty of time to kill waiting for someone to serve you, by all means, head on over to Bodega. But if you've got that much free time, take a trip about 30 minutes east to Brews in Granville. Better tap selection. Attentive, knowledgeable bar staff. Consistently good food.

04-02-2012 19:22:32 | More by secret_knot

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.78/5  rDev +15.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $

A co-worker and I cut out of our conference at the convention center at 4:00 to get to Bodega before the happy hour rush. We sat down at the last open table at 4:20 and the place was standing room only from there on out...and this was on Monday.

The beer selection is pretty much as good as you can get for high quality micros. I tried to stick with lower ABV session beers and went with Souther Tier Eurotrash Pils ($2.50), Weasel Boy Scotch Ale ($2.25), and Brooklyn Maple Porter ($2.75).

My buddy, who can not drink, had the plate of thee fish tacos for $9. I had one and it was very tasty. Lots of other tempting small plates on the menu.

Yes, I did a double take and made some verbal proclamation about $2 craft beers. It is too good to be true.

I didn't pay much attention to the hipster element. Had a seat by the window and a table of cute college girls next to us. No need to focus on hip dudes.

The server was efficient and thorough to the point she went back to the bar to get me a note from the bar of what was no longer and now on tap.

I met some other Columbus beer people during my visit to town and they rolled their eyes and complained about how crowded it gets at Bodega. If you plan to get there early, it's a great destination at the best value I've found in my extensive beer travels.

02-17-2012 02:59:39 | More by Yetiman420

cneville

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +4.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

50 drafts, but the happy hour is really what seals the deal here. get here before 5, and you can sit comfortably for a few hours drinking 1/2 price craft beer. The cask is excellent, and the selection is always varied and consistently good. The bottle selection is nothing to sneeze at either. As mentioned many times--it's a hipster mecca, and it gets crowded quickly. If you see past that, you'll have a good time. Bonus perk--being right on High St., it's easy to take a bus home so you don't have to drive (which you certainly won't want to after $3 Dogfish 90 for 3 hours). Food is good. Not why you come though.

10-04-2011 01:41:52 | More by cneville

deadmule

Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Bodega has the best draft selection in Columbus. I think that they are the only bar in Columbus that always has a cask condition beer available. It has a great happy hour that features ½ off drafts and Mondays they have $1 grilled cheese. There is a good amount of parking on high street but you have to pay the parking meters. If you do not mid walking a couple blocks you can find some free parking on some of the side streets. Their food is hit or miss and is a little high priced but it’s better than most bar food. Service can vary but I have never had any issue getting a beer. But I only go during off times when I can get a seat at the bar. The major downside for me is that it can get extremely crowded. Overall, I think that Bodega is a great bar but I would definitely recommend not going during their peak times.

09-29-2011 14:35:14 | More by deadmule

Knecht

Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$$

The beer selection here is, undoubtedly, spectacular. The only other bar in Columbus with a competitive draft selection is Bob's Bar. What will ultimately sway you on Bodega is your take on the atmosphere; it is, without question, the definition of "hipster central." Some patrons are surely in there for the great beer selection, but I think the majority are there for the reputation more than their enjoyment of a particular beverage. If you can look past this (which I have no problem doing in the face of 50+ quality beers on tap), then you'll love this place. But just be forewarned.

Service here is generally pretty solid, which is surprising given that the place is packed almost 24/7. They also have a solid menu of appetizers and entrees that generally pair well with the beer.

I think the debate for best-beer-bar-in-Columbus boils down to Bob's Bar and Bodega, and I think most people's preference comes down to what they want out of the atmosphere. If you want a more laid-back locale where people are generally more knowledgeable about their beer-of-choice, then I'd recommend Bob's. If you prefer the "hipper" locale in town, and would rather err towards a slightly larger yet (arguably) diluted beer selection, then Bodega is your better bet.

08-30-2011 03:44:26 | More by Knecht