A good dive bar is always nice to find. Stumbled on Rafters today and am glad I did. Great service and reasonable priced drinks and a nice selection of cold beers. Great place to wander in and have a seat at the bar. Staff and patrons make you feel welcome with great conversation. Will definitely be back. read more

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Great place to get a 28oz chilled mug of beer for $4. Pool for $1.50 really nice table. Friendly staff. Usually an older crowd.

Such an amazing place! Cheap drinks and always a fun vibe! Service is always quick and the bartenders are very nice.

Friendly average neighborhood beer joint. If you want foo-foo drinks with umbrellas, look elsewhere. Friendly regulars, good bartenders, wonderful owners who actually made a rather sizable donation to my dog's surgery when he had cancer. They care very much for their customers on a personal level. Two pool tables, pinball machine swapped out periodically and they recently added darts and GIANT Jenga and Connect Four. Euchre Tournaments on Tuesday nights! Five TV's to catch the Buckeyes or your other favorites! read more

Rafters Beer Pub - a drink in a glass - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

Meh. That about sums up my experience here. I went in knowing it was going to be a "hole-in-the-wall bar," but that we would have fun and be someplace more chill then the downtown, Saturday night scene... But that all changed when we walked in.... After entering into an awkwardly quiet bar and having everyone stare as we entered, we were greeted by a not-so-friendly bartender who asked if we were "in the right place" (I swear I didn't look like a hooligan, whatever a hooligan looks like). He took our drink order and we turned around to have a seat, the only problem was that there were no seats. There were about 10 stools at the bar, which were all occupied, and then there were three booths, one occupied the other two had boxes of "junk" piled in them. So we stood near the bar talking until I realized that those in the booth had instruments. After striking up conversation, I found out they were the band and begged them to play (attempting to liven up the place). They played Mustang Sally which got everyone (by everyone, I mean just us) up and dancing. The band was great! They were engaging and friendly and were actually quite good. But other then the band I have a thumbs down on this place, the crowded, junk filled rooms and unfriendly staff and regulars do not make this place enjoyable, we left after one beer... read more

Stopped in here for a hot minute because I was waiting on a take out order and had a few minutes to spare. I've always wondered what it was like inside this place as I've passed it numerous times going back and forth on this stretch of Indianola. It's not very big but it's definitely a dive bar. It's very dated and it's dark. I could tell that most of the people in the bar were regulars and from the neighborhood because they definitely gave me the once over. I ordered a mixed drink and it came in a plastic cup which was odd to me but be careful because they were not chintzy on the liquor. I couldn't take a picture because it was so dark in there. Not a bad place to drop in but didn't exactly feel welcome either. I probably wouldn't stop again. read more

This is a nice cozy place to sit down with friends. The drinks are priced very reasonably. It is a cozy place with no drama.

Rafters is the definition of a dive bar. If you're looking for a trendy place with fancy drinks and 32 craft beers on tap, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a place to drink some cheap beer and get a heavy pour on your shot of Jameson, this is your spot. This is one of our go to bars when we're looking to tie one on without dropping a ton of money. I seriously don't think I've ever spent more than $30 in here. The atomosphere is exactly what you'd expect from a neighborhood dive bar. It's kind of dark, the bathrooms are kind of funky, the decor is a mixed bag of old & new neons and other vendor swag. The mix that comes out of the jukebox can be extreme from one user to the next. The bartenders have always been friendly to me, but I have heard otherwise from some friends of mine. We'll continue coming to Rafters for those "beer & a shot" nights! read more

Whatta dump! I wouldn't normally go near a place like this on a dare. There's fruit flies buzzing around the back of the bar where the hard stuff is; so forget a mixed drink. The bartender only has the job cause she's doinking the owner (ask here about their "trips" overseas, at his expense), so it's not like she could make anything past a 7 & 7 anyways (she ain't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I reckon the fact she's so top-heavy is how/why she got the gig in the 1st place). The owner (also her boyfriend while she's on the clock) is an old fuddy duddy, so nothing will ever change any time soon. There's no food (not counting the chips in small bags behind the counter) so I'm not sure WHY anyone here would include "yum, yum, yum" comments in their review, except to guess that they MUST be employees or fellow drunkards, running up their tabs. The homeless camp out back along the rail road tracks means the place is packed with smelly dirtballs around the first of every month (when the gov't checks come). Even the juke box is stuffed with moldy oldies. I only go because 1) it's 3 blocks from home and 2) well, it's 3 blocks from home. There is no 2nd reason. I like to shock my friends when they come from out of town, but the joke wears thin, quick, and we end up going anywhere else after the 1st round. That's about it. Rafters: what shithole. read more

I like local bars. This is a nice quiet place to go for a cold beer and watch tv. Barmaids are friendly. Service is above avg. Prices very reasonable. I like the convenient location. read more

Rafters Beer Pub - a bar with neon signs - Dive Bars Near Me - Columbus, Ohio

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I first starting bar hopping in a town known for its dives. I'm no stranger to sticky floors, junk all over the walls, low lights, limited tap selection, the works. And I hate overpriced hipster bars with a passion. I usually feel more at ease in less uptight places like this. So I thought this place might hit that dive bar sweet spot. It didn't. Rafters isn't a typical dive. It's an *unwelcoming* dive, which means its one redeeming trait is ruined by standoffish staff and weird clientele. I stopped in for a beer on a whim, and the entire place was filed with silent people staring into space while the same people kept pumping an endless stream of quarters into the jukebox to play bad rock from the early 2000s. The whole vibe is kind of, well ... depressing? Off-putting? It's like trying to introduce yourself to someone new at a party and they're aggressively disinterested in talking or making eye contact. I ordered a Bud at the bar and the bartender immediatley closed my tab (without asking me) and put the receipt in front me with a pen before I'd even finished my drink. For the uninitiated, that's bar-speak for "I don't want you here." I get the feeling that if you're already a regular here, then you probably love it. But if you're a newcomer, just skip it. They probably don't want you there, and I get the sense they want you to know you're unwelcome. Best take your custom elsewhere. read more

I have wanted to go to Rafters for a looooooong time, but we never really have the occasion... and it never really seems like the type of place you just stop in to for no real reason. Finally, my friend's band was playing here last night, so a bunch of my friends and the boy and I descended upon Rafters. Eh, comme ci comme ca. It's like Dick's Den and the Crest had a love child. And I don't really mean that in a good way. But not in an awful way, either. I expected this place to be smaller, guess. The layout is weird - the bar is separated from a seating area (with a buffet that was not in use while we were there, much to our hungry chagrin). There is a lot of wood decor, which is why it reminded me of Dick's. Beer seemed a bit expensive - I paid 17 bucks for three Miller lites and two shots of whiskey, and that was just one round, dammit. The locals also did not please me well - I got massively hit on to an uncomfortable extent by two very forward older ladies who would not leave me (or the boy) alone and repeatedly kept telling me what they thought of me and wanted to do to me. Effing yikes. Perhaps most disappointingly, there were no awesome buffont hair-dos or mullets upon which to gaze, which was what I would hope for from a place like Rafters. Instead there were old people drinking wine, the aforementioned lusty women, and ladies who couldn't dance at all. Oh, but there was a dude who looked like Rivers Cuomo who was wasted out of his mind and kept telling people to get the party started. I told the boy he should make it rain. That was kinda funny. I dunno. Ultimately, I was let down. I'm sure it's different when it's just being a regular ole bar and there is no event going on. I didn't find this place to be blue collar (like Keith) - if it was, I would have liked it more. I found it to be just kinda weird. read more

Your mileage will vary. Rafters feels like a bar that was plucked out of a nondescript , somewhat depressed small Ohio town and plopped in Columbus. At least, that's what I'm guessing it would be like, since I haven't frequented bars in small towns with the exception being college towns. Very blue collar and country (who would've guessed in the northern reaches of Clintonville?) describe the feel of the joint and many of its patrons. Some were looking pretty rough and tumble, like you wouldn't want to accidentally bump in to them. I saw no beers on draft: it's bottles ($2.25 for Stroh's), cans, and well Jaegermeister (yuck). For me, it wasn't what I was looking for that evening, but FYI they do have a stage for bands and according to the bars' sign out front they have a "grille". Another unexpected find on Indianola Avenue. read more

Great local dive bar with friendly staff and the owners are great only bad part is the grille sign out front but hey who really cares right there is a great Asian take out next door. read more

The worst part about this place is that it seems to have the potential to be a great watering hole! Physically, the place seems pretty alright. After living in Clintonville, just down the street, for over a year, we figured we'd check it out. Hearing that it is a shit hole, which usually is my thang, I wasn't expecting much, yet I was somehow still hugely disappointed. The jukebox was playing all the worst music you can imagine--unless you're the type that loves Skynard, Nickelback, Kid Rock, Puddle of Mudd, and Kesha. Not sure where these patrons are coming from, but they sure don't seem like the type that make up my neighborhood demographic at large; must be the music that draws them in. After standing at the not-at-all-busy bar for 10 minutes with expectant puppy dog eyes and having the barkeep look through me repeatedly, my ears began to bleed, so I decided to go somewhere else. Beyond the obvious need of upgrading the playlist, maybe a higher class of service would bring in a higher class of clientele? So it's not going to be my regular place. But if it's an anonymous indiscretion resulting in the clap that you're looking for, I suspect this might be the place for you. read more

Living in Clintonville is great and the addition of the Crest and Savor Market being turned into a bar is great news. I've been to Rafters several times and all the reviews are pretty dead on. Unfriendly patrons, and a cluttered, dark atmosphere. The big deal breaker for me is smokers being allowed to light up sometimes inside. The bartender shooing them out to the patio as I walked in doesn't get rid of the smoky air. The Altoid tins are also a dead giveaway. Each month, I hope someone buys them out and brings the place into the current decade. read more