While I'm not a huge fan of the bars in this area, R Bar is kind of the lesser of the evils. I've usually only come here because of organized events like happy hour meet n' greets. There's really nothing horrible to say about R Bar, but nothing fantastic, either. If you're in the Arena District for other reasons (like a hockey game, if that ever happens again), then this is a good option, but I wouldn't go out of my way to be here unless you have another purpose. Of the bars around, it's more hocky-centric than the others with their decor and general focus. A basic, pleases-most bar near the action. read more

I never actually intend to go to this bar, but it's nice, nonetheless. It's large, particularly in the summer, when the outside space is available. The bar is nicely situated in the middle so you can approach from all angles. TV screens are plentiful, and there's usually one or two good beers on tap. Generally, however, it's indistinguishable from any other generic bar. It's a nice jumping off point for a night, but there's just nothing special to draw you in. read more

I thought I had reviewed this place last month, but I guess I didn't. We went there to watch the NLCS game on TBS since I'm cheap and don't have cable. We sauntered up to the bar, and asked the bartender which of the many TV's might be showing the NLCS (it was about an hour before first pitch). She had no idea what I was talking about. I clarified; "The National League championship game". Still, no clue. "The Cardinals and Brewers major league baseball game on TBS". She finally said that she didn't know anything about baseball, so she'd need to talk to her manager. Seriously? You can't just tell me that you can or cannot turn a TV to TBS? In the end, we got a manager to put it on the absolute smallest TV in the place (think Michael Scott's plasma). I'm convinced that every bar in the arena district sucks. Please prove me wrong. read more

Cool spot but $9 for 2 bud light bottles is a touch excessive in Columbus, Ohio. Inside the arena at an outside bar are a bit over-board. Lower your prices and I'll come back... PS. Clean your bathrooms. They are disgusting. read more

I have mixed feelings about this place. I rarely frequent the arena district bars, but when I do, R Bar is my top choice. Most of the bars in the area can get really crowded with "bros", but R Bar at least has a hockey feel to it so it keeps some of the "bros" out. If you are going to watch hockey, it is a great place to go. You can typically get a table if you plan accordingly and the service is decent. The food is just OK, but again, there isn't a lot of options for hockey bars in this town so it is a give and take. It is nice because if you go for the duration of a game and stay for 2-3 hours, the servers get it and don't rush you. The prices are reasonable for both food and drink. If you are looking for more of a "clubby" place in the arena district, this isn't it and don't try to change my hockey bar into one of those places! :O) read more

I know this is supposed to be the "hockey bar" but its actually my least favorite pre Blue Jackets game hang out. The place is just too small for my liking. I just do not like being elbow to elbow like that. Also compared to other places around the arena they are more expensive and their beer selection is small. read more

One word review: Nauseating Cliff-notes of this review: If you are coming here for food... Don't. A fast food place will save you money for the same or better quality. I really wish I had taken pictures of the restaurant and food, just to support what I'm saying below. I understand that we are in the middle of the pandemic, but restaurants should be open for carry out, if it's not something they can handle. Unfortunately, there were so many warning signs that should have turned me away, but I didn't trust my gut(more on this later). When I called the restaurant, the man that I spoke to made me feel like I was bothering him(I only called so they would make more money than if I purchased through UberEats). I placed the order for my friends and I, despite his nonchalant attitude and was already worried once I got off the phone. Once I entered the restaurant, I was shocked to see how disheveled the place was. The bar was covered with junk, almost as if it was someone's office space. The entire place was a mess and this is when I genuinely started having concerns that the food was going to be subpar. I ordered a CBJ burger with no bun (lettuce for buns) and upgraded my chips for a side salad for an extra $2. My friends ordered a ranch bacon chicken wrap (sub side salad) and a buffalo wrap (buffalo on the side). At first glance, it seemed everything was copacetic. But half way through my burger, I notice some very off textures and that it was missing the peppercorn mayo. After investigation, I realized that the tomato was mins from spoiling and the pickles were mushy and had an off flavor(took both off and rolled with it.) I should have order something else when he said the burger was broiled, and that they couldn't take a temperature. Both of my friends made similar comments including, "it's edible but definitely not great," and "I wouldn't eat here again." Once I got to the side salad which was fairly large, I became even more disappointed. I could only stomach 3 or 4 bites. The cheese seemed as if it didn't have properly refrigeration, it was limp over the salad as if it was warmed slightly. Next I had to take a few dead leaves out of the salad, but the green peppers and tomatoes seemed fresh. After eating my burger and a few bites of the salad I wished I hadn't. I felt so nauseated after recounting the meal and the messy restaurant, I had to lay down just to prevent myself from seeing it all again. For instance, I had to stand on folding up bar mats just to sign the check. In conclusion, once I saw the condition of the restaurant, I should have left and went to a drive through. Disgusted that I spent $36 here because the food was worth $12, on a good day. Worse takeout experience ever. read more

Blue Jackets fans take note, if you aren't at the R Bar, you're missing out. This is THE hockey bar in town. So much so that during special events, players like Rick Nash take time out of their busy schedule to pour drinks. Rick Nash is soooo dreamy. Great happy hour from 2pm-9pm. $2 bottles, $2.50 domestic drafts, and $3.50 for Guinness on tap. Yum. Service can get a little slow on game nights, especially during the witching hours from when offices close until the puck drops. The huge diamond shaped bar usually has three or four bartenders and two bar backs hauling butt popping off bottle caps and pouring drafts. The shot of choice at this CBJ bar is the "Stinger," tequila, blue curacao, dropped in some Smirnoff Ice. Deceptively potent. The patio doesn't have furniture just yet but I hear it's coming soon. The kitchen isn't open just yet either (I think they are aiming for the 2010 season) but patrons can order from a couple pizza delivery places and the staff will take care of everything else. Four flat screens behind the bar, a couple more scattered throughout, and a big projection screen for game nights. When the Blue Jackets win the Stanley Cup, it will DEFINITELY make an appearance at R Bar. read more

I'm not a hockey fan, but sometimes I end up here...usually on my way to an event in the Arena District, or at the very end of the night. It's scary both times. R Bar is a quintessential sports bar centered around hockey. There are TVs everywhere, so if you're not into buying expensive CBJ tickets but just want to drink with some friends, this isn't a bad stop. Coors Light and other popular beers are a-plenty. I wouldn't say I like R Bar, but it's conveniently located and it makes for some really hilarious people watching. I would give it a shot over places like Brothers or the Park Street Complex (minus the Tavern, which isn't so bad). read more

I rarely find myself in this part of the arena district unless (a) I'm with a VERY close friend for their birthday/bachelor/bachelorette party or (b) I'm headed to R Bar. Blue Jackets season is starting up again, and there's no better place to watch them play. I love the setup they have here. The decor is very sportssportssports but it also looks very well put-together. The central bar is great in maximizing bar length, which can be really important when its crowded during games, and I've never had to wait long to get service at the bar. Beer selection isn't too bad, but I'm all about the special CBJ tallboys of Labatt Blue. Bartenders are great, even when it's crazy busy. Haven't tried the food here yet, maybe if I get here early enough to get a table during a game I'll try it out, although that might be unlikely... read more

Two signs said 1/2 off apps, wings were clearly under appetizers on menu but we were charged full price. When asked about it, we were told that wings weren't part of the appetizers. No mention of this was ever told to us. No fine print or asterisks anywhere. read more

R Bar Arena - Sports Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Atmosphere is very relaxing and would tell ppl to check it out if they were downtown. Open patio and great for big groups. Good size bar inside. A lot of tvs for sports fanatics. read more

R Bar Arena - Open patio n a lot of tvs to enjoy - Sports Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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Nothing nice about this bar witch is why I like it. 100% pure dive/hockey bar. A great place to grab a beer and play some pool before a jackets game. The food is what you'd expect from a dive bar nothing fancy but the chicken wings I had were good read more

Great bar for a good inexpensive lunch downtown! Great for an after work happy hour! Great servers and a fun local bar atmosphere!!! Oh and the best part, THE hockey bar on game nights!!! read more

Best hockey bar in OHIO. Food is average, drink prices are good. This place gets slammed on Columbus Blue Jacket (CBJ) games. Patio is good. If you are a hockey fan I highly recommend going here. Also, the have a lot of cool hockey memorabilia (mostly CBJ) hanging all over the place. They have pool tables too. read more

This place reminds me of a blue collar version of Bar Louie. I have no idea where my mind formed that idea, but it just did. If you ever want to be around hockey fans and watch hockey, or pregame before a hockey game, or celebrate after a hockey game, then this is the place. There's hockey memorabilia adorning the walls and even seat backs. There's a pool table. There's a popcorn machine. There's always some good beer special, which typically includes Labatt. I was blown away at how good their pizza is. It's like crazy good. I'm also always surprised at how nice and clean their bathroom is. There's a good vibe of people here and the testosterone definitely outweighs the estrogen levels, but it's not meat head or aggressive testosterone, which is pleasant. I've been over dressed here a few times and that will get you some looks but whatever, no biggie. read more

R bar, otherwise known as the Ratchet bar. Terrible service, and just all around awful. Would recommend if you want to go somewhere that smells like a urinal and want mediocre drinks. read more

Terrible service. I sat at the bar and ordered a LaBatt while my friend decided on food. The LaBatt never came and when the bartender came back she told me because my friend was unable to make a decision on food fast enough, no drinks would be allowed, despite the fact that the bar was almost empty. Further, the bartender admitted that she may have missed my drink order, but that it didn't matter because my friend was taking too long. I just moved down here and was looking for a good bluejackets bar, but if the bartender can't handle a simple beer order in the summer, I see no reason to come back during a crowded hockey season. read more

This may be a hockey bar, but they are also an amazing every other sport bar when there's not hockey on. Just popped over to watch the NCAA tournament and there was a nice crowd of people but not too crazy. Probably gets to be too much during CBJ hockey games. Love the bartenders. They are really nice and quick. Free popcorn get it's own star on my rating. I just love popcorn and beer. Also, we extremely surprised at how much I liked their chicken quesadilla. I'm VERY picky about my quesadilla's and theirs was pretty darn good. Also, decent bathrooms and lots of TVs. All in all a really great sports bar in a good location, but not in the middle of the main party street... which is a good thing in my opinion. read more

Myself and coworkers come here almost every day for lunch and the occasional beer tower. We have found the staff to be extremely friendly and accommodating to our many requests and the service has always been fantastic. The owner is friendly and even helps out when things get busy in the bar. Would highly recommend to anybody passing through the Arena District. P.S. Check out the daily food specials, they are clutch! read more

The best place to be before and after a Jackets game in the Arena district. Good drinks and service with a variety of food.

WHAT A BUNCH OF CROOKS!I I never wrote a Yelp review before, but felt I had to based on my experience there for the NCAA tournament games this weekend. Like a lot of people, we were there from out of town. When I walked in, I bought a Yuengling from one of their roll away bars. I was changed $4. Then I bought another one from a different roll away bar. I was charged $5. The I got a table which advertised $2.50 Yuengling's all night. When the waitress came over I asked about the beer special and what I was charged at the bars, she said that the specials do not count during "special" events. I asked her to check her order "iPad" thing and asked her how much it showed for a Yuengling while I watched. Came up $2.50. She said "oh! look at that. Lucky 4 you." If you are visiting from out of town for a game, watch out for theses CROOKS! read more

Waited 50 minutes and asked about our pizza and was told it would at least would be another 30 minutes at least. Just disappointing that at no point did a waitress or work staff tell us it would take that long and then act surprised when we were frustrated how no one said anything. Seemed like an inexperienced wait staff on the floor, or a staff that just didn't care to inform customers. read more

Came here for some late night snacks after a night out with some friends and was so disappointed. First, our loaded nachos took 45 minutes to come out, and then when they finally did come out, they brought us beef nachos instead of chicken. So they took it back, another 45 minutes later and we finally got our loaded chicken nachos which were dry, no cheese or sour cream or salsa. Just nachos, dry shredded chicken, olives, and lettuce. 2 stars for the fun atmosphere, bar staff was mostly attentive, and the DJ was entertaining...but the food service was just soooo bad. read more

Great bar! My favorite in cbus when I lived there. Nice bar staff and not a d bag clientele, like most arena district bars. Highly recommended. read more

What a great place to go to before a game or just anytime you want hockey. Prices are reasonable and TV's are always set to a hockey game. EDIT: They have food now, not great, but solid bar food. Cheap too! read more

Decent hockey themed sports bar. Free Pop Corn (which ran out at some point the evening I was there) is the stand out feature. Nothing special in terms of beer selection and the food menu was a little lacking. Standard bar far but nothing that jumps out at you. Pizza/Burgers/Wraps and that's about it. I had their wings which were average tasting but larger than normal. (The drumettes were practically the size of an actual drum stick). I went there for a Hockey game though, and not the food, and in the case they delivered. Most of the TVs will play Blue Jackets games if one is on but they were happy to switch a TV for me to play a game from my home team. They have one large projection screen in a corner, TVs behind the bar and miscellaneous TVs scattered about. There were definitely some blind spots and a few seating areas with no TV close by, but there are definitely site lines from every seat. All in all, a decent place to catch a game. read more

I'm not gonna lie, I was kicked out of this bar two years ago.. I took off my shirt... But the jackets won so what the hell right! Anyhow, since then I have changed my shirt wearing ways and have moved above said bar! Jackets fan thru and thru, this bar is by far my bar! Ha! Say that three times fast! Ok down to business! The food specials are great! For real Great! Beer specials are Great! Burly when not on special.. Beer is par for the corse with other downtown locals! The staffers are the shit! Frisby runs the bar like a gman, Alexis is a saint and always has a smile on her face! MJ is great unless you're an asshole.. In which case I would sit somewhere else as she might put u on ur bum! And even the door guys don't mind striking up a conversation, literally they have nothing else to do, I've never seen this place get "dangerously" outta hand. For all these reasons.. My bar is the R Bar! Just remember to keep ur shirt on!!! read more

R Bar Arena - Our bar the R Bar - Sports Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

The R Bar is a great bar in the Arena district! It's pretty much known as a hockey bar! Great place to watch the Blue Jackets or a great place to go before or after their games! Good prices on drinks too! read more

Cool bar, especially for you hockey fan types. The R Bar represents the only true hockey bar that I have found in Columbus. They do a great job of ensuring the Blue Jackets are on (with sound) for every game, as well as showing many our of market team games. Lots of cool hockey photos and autographed memorabilia on the walls. The only down side to this place is they can get so crowded prior to games that it can be a challenge to get a drink. The staff has been friendly in my experience. With the NHL having a labor dispute, I'm sure it has been hard on their business, so if you get a chance, stop by and have a drink. read more

Lemon raddler CITRUS!!! Not my style. This little bar is fabulous for hockey game days. It seems like the theme they are going for.

Let's go jackets! Make it 16 tonight! Cbj. Perfect place for food. Drinks. And of course STINGER SHOTS!

Best hockey bar in town, food's pretty decent and service is always good. Go Jackets!

First of all, I'm a huge hockey fan not just the Jackets, so this bar is great to watch any and every hockey game. The food is pretty good for having a small kitchen. The biggest issue is the service. Very slow, even on off nights when there are only 10 people at the bar. Sometimes I feel like I did something wrong by asking for another beer. The hockey draw helps this bar out but if the service continues like this why would I go there when the season is over? I can get attitude at much better places in Columbus. Funny I have mentioned the service issues to several other hockey fans and they all agree. Could be a tough off season. I hope not because I do like having a hockey bar in Columbus. read more

Can I possibly take stars away. The servers were trying but the management was horrible! ..i simply ask to talk to them and after 20min of waiting for that, Frisbee kicked me out instead of seeing what was up. Even the bouncers served bothered... read more

Love the atmosphere outside. However, waited 20 minutes just to be approached by waitress. Took another 10 for her to take our order and forgot our drinks. Meanwhile, multiple tables ordered and ate after getting here AFTER us. Food is mediocre at best. read more

The beer was cold that is about all we can say for this place. We were in Columbus at a convention for 5 days, we ate at the R Bar for lunch one day, was told we couldn't get the daily special because we were with the convention, then our bills were rounded UP without consent or explanation. Sent an email to the address on the website and never got a response. We won't be going back. read more

Been to R Bar many times. It is THE hockey bar in Columbus. The atmosphere is outstanding for a sports bar. Food prices are a little high, but everything I have ordered over the years has always been very good. My biggest complaint is the practice of not honoring happy hour on days when there are events in the area. This place makes a fortune during Jackets games, and probably doesn't do too bad during Clippers games. I assume the same policy applies for concerts at Nationwide. If I am not mistaken, the same folks who own R Bar also own the Three Legged Mare. The same happy hour policy is in place at that establishment. I have been to other bars in the Arena District that honor happy hour regardless of what is taking place in the area. R Bar has drink specials during games, but very limited. Bad form, folks! You're making enough money without pulling this stunt! read more

Went here after the Dierks concert, extremely under staffed and the employees just socialized while they were getting slammed. Asked for a simple drink, vodka and a SPLASH of cranberry and got a cranberry vodka. read more

1st time there, not very clean and pizza was horrible. There was 8 customers in the place and it took 15 mins to get a drink.