best dive bar in columbus, wait staff is awesome, very friendly feels like you are back in the 60's kind of decor/grandpa john's basement cool OSU and other sports stuff on the walls. great drink/beer prices free hot dogs, pretzels and other snacks great crowd of regulars, new people always welcome busy for all sporting events, in a good way pool table/pinball/ and great jukebox selections read more

The best hole in the wall bar you will ever go to!! The inside gives off vibes you can rarely find anywhere else in Columbus! The deals are great and the drinks you get are awesome! There are free snacks, which is a nice homey touch!! I love the locals, they are a hoot! I came here with a bit groups of friends and I will be back! Worth the drive! read more

Smelly dive bar with cheap drinks and local flavor vibes. Most of the bartenders are nice. Heads up: cash only. read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - Exterior view walking up to Johnnie's Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Holy nostalgia, Columbus! In town for the OSU lacrosse game and visited Johnnies on the recommendation of a friend. Snacks outta large plastic tubs, old school beers, and a juke box playing Patsy Cline. I felt like I was back at the neighborhood bar my grandpa used to drag me to ("shhhh, don't tell your grandma!") I fell madly in love with this place, and if you're missing the days gone by, pop in, they've never met a stranger and you'll feel right at home! Tip: cash only read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - Neighborhood bar that welcomes you right in! - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Great dive bar. Cheap beer/drinks. Cash only which is cool. Reluctantly let us run a tab.

Johnnie's has cocktail prices that are some of the best around. It's much cheaper than any bar in the 5th Avenue area. That's really the biggest reason to think about coming here again. All the hipsters want to find the worst bar possible, so they should check this out. The bar is not a beautiful place but the cocktails can make it better. I was horrified the first time coming here. It's an abysmal looking dive bar. The bathrooms are revolting. It has single toilets in each and the men's room door won't lock. The best thing is the really cheap cocktails. It has whatever for about $2 even when it's not happy hour. The name says it's a grill but there's no food here except the bags of chips. It used to cook food long ago. The food must not have been good. It's okay because there's other bars there with food and there's the Chinese restaurant. The clientele is an interesting bunch. It has the wannabe hipsters trying to impress their friends about how they find the worst dive bar. There's also the one skank covered in makeup here all the time. I would come again if invited for cheap cocktails. It's some of the cheapest beer and cocktails. There are many bars in Columbus that are cleaner, but they don't have the cheap drinks, and there can be some interesting people watching. read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - Inside - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

A mix of positives and negatives. Small, which is okay by me. Definite "neighborhood bar" atmosphere, some of the older regulars were pleasant to chat with while at the bar. There's no music playing, only a pay-to-play electronic jukebox that has lots of 25¢ songs, bummer. This bar only serves alchole (full bar and beer), no food, but you're welcome to bring food in. I do like the down to earth vibes here. They do have one pool table, $1 per game, which is fun. read more

Best dive bar in Columbus and maybe the world. They only accept cash and the pool table is nice. The regulars are entertaining. Fun cheap booze what could be better? read more

Went Johnnies to Glen Avenue Grill, It was midnight, there open til 1Am, 5 mins later 3 PATRONS walk in , Bartender, Stef, tells them they are no longer serving, wasn't nice about it, in my opinion, told them to go to Burns Pub on third ave, way to lose customers, Johnnies on Glenn Avenue read more

A+ neighborhood bar, cash only but when the beers are $2, it doesn't matter. Local crowd is nice and friendly. They have a pool table but enough tables and TVs to sit and enjoy a game. Will definitely be back. read more

[I KNOW for a fact that I have reviewed this place before. I just don't understand where my reviews disappear to...like, if they were getting flagged and removed, they are supposed to send you an email notifying you of such, and for what reason. I've only gotten like three of those ever, yet places I can specifically recall reviewing will just disappear. Anyway...on to the review.] This is one of few places in town that I didn't learn about through my own exploration. Our fearless leader, Christina, first brought me here because it was her neighborhood bar back when she lived in Grandview. The bar is literally a converted old house on...you guessed it...Glenn Ave. On either side of it are...residential houses. Across the street from it are....residential houses. On the other side of the alley are...oh, you get the idea. This makes for a very interesting drinking environment. I don't think "neighborhood bar" has ever been more accurate. You walk into the living room, I mean bar, and immediately notice a gigantic collection of bier steins lining the room. There are largish tables spattered around to sit at, and a doorway into the dining room...I mean, second seating area. More tables. Nothing too fancy here. Just a place to drink. It's been a while - I don't venture to Grandview often, and even less often to drink (I learned that lesson in 2001!), but as I recall, there is nothing on draft. There is a patio. There are pool tables, in what probably used to be a kitchen or something. Cheryl said in her review that, after her trip, she realized she might be incorrectly using the word "dive" to describe bars. I've been trying to get people to understand this for a long time. St. James Tavern is not a dive bar. Ace of Cups is not a dive bar. Short North Tavern is not a dive bar. I got dive bars for days. I got dive bars I won't even review because they are so off the radar you don't know they exist. And I want to keep it that way. Johnnie's is in Grandview so there is no way to keep it off the radar, but folks, THIS is a dive bar. read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - a television in the background - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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This is Grandview's local-yocal bar... it's nothing like the trendier spots along Grandview Avenue just a few streets away. I grew up in Pittsburgh and places like Johnny's exist in every neighborhood, around every corner. But in Columbus, these little home-grown bars seem more the exception- especially in charming little neighborhoods like Grandview. It's just a white house with a bar, a tv and a pool table. You might even miss it if you don't know to look for the neon light in the front window. Johnny's is not charming, nor quaint, nor gritty, nor character-ridden. The bathrooms aren't particularly clean either. The floors and walls seem a little dingy, but it'll do for a brew and local flavor. Johnny's does not serve food, but you can bring in your own pizza or purchase small bags of chips and drink to your heart's content for dirt cheap! read more

Dive bar in the best sense of both words. Neighborhood joint. Was told by oldsters years ago that it was a third shift factory worker place during the war called Honeybunches. True? Who knows. Who cares? A beer and a shot for the discerning drinker. I get cans of Blatz here. No joke. Brought a huge group here for my wedding rehearsal dinner after hours, and they still talk about this place. Next round is on you. read more

**FYI- Cash only** This place is like stepping into a time machine. It's a super chill, casual bar in the middle of a residential street. Drinks are strong & cheap, service is great and you can smoke on the back patio. Overall, a totally fantastic, little old-school dive bar. Ps: I mentioned going to this bar to my dad once. My dad said that it was where he and his friends used to go and that "it really hasn't changed much since Lyndon Johnson was president". Sounds about right to me read more

Yeah, buddy! I've never met a dive bar I didn't love, and Johnnie's is no exception. (I am actually in Cup o Joe right now and just heard some scraggly looking dude say, "it's on the same street as Johnnie's... you know, on Glenn Avenue..." I think he's talking about them closing? NOOOOOO... aaaaaand I should turn up my headphones and stop eavesdropping....) Last night, Tara, Susie, Bryant and I decided to take a trip to our lovely CM's favourite divey hangout, to witness the glory for ourselves. And witness we did! Replete with hard-boiled locals who have a penchant for the Beatles (hey! cool!) on the jukebox and well-chilled Miller Lites, this bar-that-is-basically-in-someone's-house, tucked away in Grandview residential, is pretty freakin' awesome. It was very obvious that we did not belong... and I know this because it is very obvious when non-locals walk into MY local dive bar as well. However, everyone was as pleasant as one can be to intruders, and I'm certain that if I lived in Grandview and came here often, I could make the plethora of sports-watching gentlemen and their surly ladies love me. Drinks are cheap and service is prompt; there is a pool table in the back room and from what I heard, the jukebox is pretty amazing, too. Didn't realize Johnnie's was cash-only, but I'm glad I had cash. My parting note is that there is a small back patio, complete with a sign that warns patrons to stfu and don't use obscenities (see picture) because of the bar's location in a residental neighborhood. Pretty sure the four of us broke those rules, so it's a good thing we took our party to Bono Pizza after an hour or so. Still, I loved Johnnie's and if this was my hood, you'd know where to find me. read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - Lolz! - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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This is a dive bar. And that's a GREAT thing. Cheap beer, cheap pool, and peanuts. I came to this place at a friend's request, and it's got atmosphere and character. It's the kind of bar that walking past you wouldn't give a chance, and you'd be suffering for it. Locals come and go, and even stranger are the people that talk of visiting it a few times a year because they came here back in the day. What does that tell you, when old clientele that no longer live nearby still make an effort to come back? read more

This almost got two stars, but I had to reconsider. For what it is, a neighborhood dive bar, it's just that. Johnny's is smack in the middle of a street of houses. Maybe it was one once. I don't know. It sure smells old. This isn't the kind of place to order a glass of wine, my mistake. But a game of pool? Heck yeah! Grab a PBR and rack 'em up! Because of the smoking ban in Columbus, the familiar odor has disappeared and unmasked the true flavor of Johnny's: staleness. Not complaining, really. Like I said, for a dive bar, they nailed it! Ultra friendly, ultra cool. Leave the pretension at the door. read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - This is it! - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

I don't get there that often but without a doubt it is the best dive bar in Columbus hands down! Great patrons and nice staff!

This is a...unique...place. I've never been in a bar that was quite so confusing, spatially speaking. But it has some definite benefits like the low price of drinks. Even as I write this review though, I'm not sure that I can adequately describe the experience I had there. Other reviews describe this as a neighborhood bar, and that definitely seemed evident when I was there. I was there with a group of people, most of whom were also not regulars, and while nobody was confrontational or anything like that, it definitely felt like we were being observed the whole time. I don't spend a lot of time in the area, which decreases the likelihood that I'll return. But if you have if you have a hankering for some cheap drinks (and you have cash on hand), this might be a good place to check out. read more

Great place. Awesome selection, great service and prices are well under other local bars. All the staff are super chill and relax. Great place to enjoy a drink and wind down for the day! read more

I realized when I walked into this place that I may be incorrectly applying the term "dive" - this place is about as dive-y as you can get. First of all, it's in the middle of a freaking' residential area. No private booths here - if you're not at the handful of bar stools usually occupied by regulars, you're sitting at a series of long folding tables like you'd find in a bingo hall. Paying with a credit card? LOL. No you're not. Drinking a beer that isn't made by Anheuser or Miller Coors and doesn't come in a bottle? Ain't happening. Since there's only a single-stall bathroom and a lot of people with bladders to empty, some woman I'd never met kidnapped me, took me to the hidden men's room, and made me keep guard. Twice. Since my party and I were n00bs and everyone else seemed to know each other, we felt like we were intruding on a private party in someone's basement most of the night. read more

The ULTIMATE dive bar. Grab your own bottle in the back, cash only, odd smelling house of unique character/culture. The bathrooms are adorn with an "apartment" door lock. Beer selection is decent. Prices are cheap. What more can you ask for on a residential street in Grandview Heights? Bring all your friends for the "experience". read more

So the cocktails come in high ball glasses. The short cylindrical glasses that I never see, but love to drink out of. And the drinks are strong and cheap. So in that sense, they win. Or I do when I go there at least. Or I did when I went there. That one time. Two days ago. There are 4 1/2 parts to this bar. There's the room with the pool table. The room with a semi-circle bar peering over a cafeteria style table setup. The "kitchen", which resembles a VFW hall in both function and clientele. The screened in smoker's porch (which, in the winter, is also covered in plastic) and the random room that you walk through to get to the porch. That room gives you the "employees only" feel to it. Like "maybe I took a wrong turn". Or perhaps a "what the hell is going on here?" feeling. So Johnny's feels less like a destination than a "why the hell not?" kind of spot. It's clearly full of regulars. And they seem like decent people. It's worth its weight in awkward drinkin'-on-grandpa's-back-porch novelty. read more

This place should have its own category under dive bars. The only places close to as divey as this place, that I have been is the Hey Hey Bar on Whittier or maybe the Sycamore Cafe in German V. Since I know these places, this obviously is a good thing. To the reviewers that have a hard time finding it, how? Its on Glenn Avenue and the street goes house...house...house..house....house....house..house...Dive Bar... house....wait back up, there it is, park. Once your in it is a throwback, but you'll find millionaires drinking with welfare cases in this place. It is cheap and kinda faded, but people who come here love it and it is a great place to hang out with friends or to meet some new and interesting folks. Been going there for years and hope its there for many more. read more

What can I say about Johnnie's that hasn't been said yet? It is an awesome neighborhood bar - everyone is friendly. It does have a mini back patio and it does have TWO bathrooms. The men's bathroom is hidden through the door to the side of the bar. With that said, women... fully expect a man to be in the "women's" bathroom from time-to-time as the men's isn't well known that it exist. Ironically the bar is cash-only, but the juke box does take credit card. There is a pool table where people are more than willing to play pick-up games with each other; and there is a pinball machine in which I'm not sure if it actually works - there is always a table up against it when we're there. There is a mixture of people that frequent Johnnies some are 20-somethings and others are not as young, but everyone is friendly, holds conversations with each other, and mingles well. If you are looking for a real dive bar, then this is your place! read more

If you like glamor bars, lack of attention from bartenders and high priced drinks...DON'T GO TO JOHNNIES!!! This is the BEST local bar in central Ohio. The staff are great, and for $20.00, you can have more than enough to get you through the night. Check pretentiousness at the door, once inside, you can quickly become a "regular" as conversations are plenty. Check out Johnnie's! read more

I came down to Columbus for a friend's wedding. Before my drive back up to Cleveland I had a couple cold beers at Johnnie's. I wish this bar was 130 miles north. This was the highlight of my trip and showed me the real Columbus. read more

I've been here once and would definitely like to go back to get a solid grasp on this place. It's a very interesting little dive bar tucked away in a residential area of Grandview. Like, really I had no idea this place was here. When we walked in we were immediately greeted(?) by turned heads of the regulars who didn't seem thrilled to have 8 or so of us 25- to 30-somethings crashing their party. I could just be really paranoid, since it was a new place and a new crowd... No one was heckled or stoned or anything. We ordered some Bud Lights (nothing fancy here, folks) and went to the side room to play some pool and hang out away from the bulk of the crowd. This bar is tiny, so it still kind of felt like we were crowding the place, but once people loosened up we all enjoyed ourselves. I think if I were able to come here a lot and felt more like a regular I would enjoy Johnnie's a lot more. It is definitely the diviest place around - and not in a novelty 'we're a dive bar' way. If you're a fan of the off-the-beaten-path, check this place out. If you're into small plates or shooters, this ain't your spot. read more

What can I say about one of the best dive bars around my area. Bartender Rachel is great and always friendly and it's great to have UTZ pretzels and cheese balls to munch on. Many times they will have food in the back that's free for you to enjoy (leave a donation please) that is made by different patrons. Great place to hang out. read more

Wow! What a great place. Turn the clock back to when neighbourhoods were important and everyone met at the corner bar & grille. Couldn't be a better atmosphere and the prices are unreal. Here in SoCal we are used to $5 beers at Happy Hour and $10 drinks. 2 beers and a Jamesons.... $7....need I say more. At 11:45pm more people were arriving than leaving; on a Wednesday! Be There! read more

Johnnie's Glenn Avenue Grill - Another great night at Johnnie's with friends... - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

If your grandma ran a bar out of her rec room it would be exactly like this. And I mean that in the best possible way. read more

If you are a dive bar fan as I am, Johnnie's is a must-see. Nestled into northern Grandview on a side street, this little hideaway is a bit of a fish out of water in its neighborhood. You walk in here and feel like nothing has changed since about 1985. There are cool old porcelain booze bottles and beer signs everywhere. Spuds Mackenzie stands watch behind the bar. Old Ohio State pics have been cut out of magazines and framed. The clientele is amazing. Most of these people look like they haven't left the walls of Johnnie's in years. The bar is always full, no matter what time of day I've gone here. People show up on Sunday just to read the paper. Everyone knows each other. It feels like a club that everyone loves and wants to be a part of. People regularly order pizza and just give it away to everyone in the bar. There's a lot of color in these characters. A 60 year old lady came up to my friend and me (who were both with our wives) and repeatedly told us we were cute and that we should flirt with her 60 year old friend because it was her birthday. She was truly at a loss why we weren't more willing. This sort of thing is pretty much the norm at Johnnie's. The drink prices are amazing. You're not going to have a full range of top shelf booze, but you can get a STIFF drink for about two bucks, and there's a full range of cheap beers. Come to Johnnie's with friends, watch the local character, and get your buzz on super cheap. You won't be sorry. read more

What a strange little place. If it looks like the bar you've walked up to used to be someone's house - that's because it probably was. On a residential street and tucked right up against several little grandview homes, Johnnie's isn't the same as Johnnie's Tavern down by Marble Cliff, but you still get a bar that seems so old that it came with the neighborhood, elbow to elbow seating at folding tables, and ice cold beer in bottles. Cash only and proud of it, this is where you go when you need just one more drink for the road. I guess there's a patio out back, but to be honest, I never made it there - I spent my time in the main bar and didn't even think to look. read more

I hadn't been here in 10 years since leaving Columbus but it looks exactly the same. Great neighborhood dive. Dive bar without the gross dive smell and feel. Awesome bartenders and people watching. Cheap drinks. read more

I do not get to Johnny's Glenn Ave Grill nearly as much as I would like. My first visit was about 3 years ago when my wife and I walked in looking for food and were told that the "Grill" part in their name didn't really exist. O well, no we try to come back as often as possible as it is only 1/2 block away from my house. Free peanuts/pretzels, great South Park pinball machine and of course, cash only. The beer is cheap and any mixed drinks I have ever ordered have always been made strong. Sure it is a local hangout, but I have never felt unwelcomed and thought the bartender was very nice even when we were asking a ton of "first-timer" questions. My guide to a stellar night usually includes this place as a first stop. (Mickey's as the last). read more

Went on a Saturday night, there was a person there that couldn't figure out the ATM machine. The police showed up to ask him about what he was doing. They ended up cutting his card in half and letting him go. Cheap beer :) read more

I've only been to Johnnie's once, but while I agree with the dive bar label I was amazed at the diversity of the patrons I saw: blue collar, white collar, college kids, lesbians, etc. The clientele was surprisingly very diverse. What attracts them all here? I'm not sure, but it's a nice alternative to the well-known and typically higher-end places on Grandview Ave and tucked away on a residential street. It's kinda like a secret for these in the know and the good thing is there are other off-the-beaten-path neighborhood of 5th x NW/the Columbus part of what people consider Grandview. read more

The most interesting bar I've been to in Columbus. This place has the cheapest drinks around and they give you a heavy pour. Good pool table, historic decor, decent jukebox and a pinball machine. A great little secret and an easy place to meet new people read more

Johnnie's is the epitome of dive bar. Cash only. Domestic (cheap!) beer. Jukebox. Pool tables. Scary patio that you access through the "kitchen" -- no, they do not serve food despite "Grill" in the name. Crowded space in an old house that's been around since the earlier part of the 20th century. Crowd ranges from 90 yo alcoholics to 20something hipsters to everything in between. The regulars here are amazing. Amazing, as in the people watching. A total gem in a residential neighborhood. Always an experience. read more

This is my kind of bar. "Grill" was probably appropriate at one point but alas, no operating kitchen (at least no menu). This is in every sense of the phrase, a "neighborhood bar." Pretty much a "shot & beer" place that boasts of a couple TVs and a pool table in a decent-size room to the side. Maybe not a 'dive-bar' as its '50s decor is very-well maintained, but you'll get a local crowd (nice people) and VERY cheap drinks: I had 5 bottles of Lite for under $9! Better than most "social clubs" back in Pittsburgh. I recommend Johnnie's without hesitation if you're looking to have a relaxing drink and you're near the West 5th/Glen Ave area. read more