The place did not live up to its current 4.5 star rating expectation. Walking in, as other reviewers alluded to, there is this sloppy-fast renovation job feeling with no attention to details- feels like those $10,000 makeovers they do on restaurant impossible. attention, restaurants: strings of light bulbs hanging from the ceiling does not a refined decoration make. Try not to get a glimpse of the kitchen as you're walking to the bathroom (shudder-luckily I didn't do this until after the meal). A lot of the menu tries to be superficially kitschy and retro, and while this can have value, it needs to be executed correctly...which it wasn't. We ordered the croquettes to start with, which were overbreaded, bland and underseasoned. The fried exterior gave some texture, but the mashed potatoes were so smooth and overmashed that these were just really boring. I don't want to compare the grilled cheeses to Melt, but since that is the gold standard in this area, the creativity was just completely lacking. The combinations have been done over and over before, and much better may I add. I had the panko chicken sandwich- once again, overbreaded, not enough salt, and the tots right from the freezer. All the dessert offerings, store bought. Really really disappointing selection. I would love to see them step it up with the food in terms of creativity and taste, and the menu is really aioli heavy as well (I find them to be disgusting). Service was piss-poor and inexcusable for the level of activity for the restaurant. Two hours for two people at dinner, and our server had an indifferent attitude and was not knowledgeable about the menu. We were waiting for our checks and heard the awful reggae tape on loop start over again. Sad. One star counts for good beer selection- however, I could think of multiple other places in a doable radius with a similarly extensive drink list and exceedingly better food. read more

SOOOOOO GOOD!!! The grilled cheese with gouda is fantastic! Try the mushroom cream cheese dip. Lots of beers and local flavors. Went here on a date, never saw the guy again but I keep going back for the food! read more

Amazing beer selection, consistently good food, a generally cool crowd, and nice staff. A place to drink in downtown Akron that doesn't involve d-bags. Thank gawd. read more

A gem in Akron. Absolutely amazing! It's staple is gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and having an expansive Ale/Beer selection. The Lockview executes both of these with charm and heart warming flair. The atmosphere is very chill and encouraging. Depending on what day and what time, a reservation might be necessary so call ahead. The menu is the perfect size: they offer 13 different grilled cheeses with a special grilled cheese of the day. They also have a couple other options that are cheesy but equally appealing (Veggie Burger, Mac n Cheese, Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich, etc.). I also would give their appetizers a try: Their Mushroom dip is sensational and their Croquettes are excellent. Their portions are spot on: just the right amount. Also, a place that offers Goldfish crackers, sweet potato fries, and Tator Tots as side options automatically raises the cool factor in my books. Staff has always been pleasant with me and gave excellent opinions on what to order. This place is perfect for nightlife, perfect for date night, perfect for big groups, I just can't get enough of The Lockview. Recommend to the moon and back. You can't leave Akron without trying this place out. read more

During the one week I spent on Akron, I came here four times. They have a great rotating beer menu, and the staff is awesome. The cocktails looked great, I just never had a chance to dabble in it as I made my way through their beer list. My last day in town, I left my sunglasses at the bar. Joanne called me to let me know they had been found after I had already left town. She very graciously mailed them to my home, and I can't thank her enough for it, as I've had this pair for years; we've been through some shit together. Between the staff, drinks, clientele, and atmosphere, this place is everything I could ask for in a bar, and will definitely be back the next time I'm in town. read more

I've been here many times and have always enjoyed the food, the environment, and the service. The sandwiches are really yummy and aren't those oversized gargantuan ones from that other grilled cheese place. Very extensive beer selection. The service is consistently good. read more

The sandwiches and burgers are delicious. Beer menu is overwhelming. Our waitress was super rude, she spilled the beer on table and our clothes and didn't apologize properly she didn't even suggest to bring new one!! I have been here 3 times and I liked this place but unprofessional customer service will keep me away from this place for sure. read more

Cheese and beer? Sounds perfect? Sadly, the service is seriously lacking. I used to frequent this gourmet grilled cheese spot weekly. However, the food isn't worth the awful wait service. read more

Great place to go for drinks in addition to the unique grilled cheese experience. They also have other sandwiches, and no need to make a reservation. Fun location downtown! read more

Probably the best thing about the Lockview is the beer selection. The food is yummy, pretty much just sandwiches. Nothing too crazy or exciting, but everything tastes good. It seems like they have a lot of turnover in wait staff. There's always new people but the service is generally fine. All the grilled cheeses are good, but IMO the best menu items are the ham and pineapple sandwich and the panko chicken sandwich. read more

Mevandbmy wife go here time to time and Its always good. Most of the sandwiches are really tasty. The best one is probably the mashed potatoe filled sandwich with gravy on the side. Also a wonderful selection of beer. Not always enough seating or parking unfortunately being in downtown can be a challenge. read more

The Lockview has a reputation for their grilled cheese sandwiches, so I decided to try it out with my teenage daughter. There are about 12 types of grilled cheese sandwiches, but to my surprise there is not a "ham and cheese" option - lots of pesto, havarti dill, grilled apples or other unique ingredients, but not the traditional ham and cheese. Oh well, we went with the traditional american on texas toast. For an appetizer we selected a basket of deep friend pepperoni. When it came out, I was so excited - I LOVE crunchy pepperoni, and this basket did not disappoint. It was heaping with steaming hot quarter sized rounds of super crispy pepperoni with a side of marinara. The pepperoni was awesome, then I tried dipping it in the marinara - which was ICE COLD. I tried to be polite and ask the waiter if the marinara was supposed to be cold, and he said that it was. I couldn't believe it since it just didn't make sense with the hot pepperoni, but the waiter offered to heat it up. Once warmed it was a much better match for the appetizer. The sandwiches were good, and came with a side of cheddar goldfish. We enjoyed our meals, but both agreed that it wouldn't be a destination worthy of making a special drive to get to, but if in the area we probably would stop again. read more

Love this place. The beer selection is great and the food is great. For a pub, it's hard to differentiate yourself, but this place does. The atmosphere is good, the staff is super friendly and the service is fast. I love love love the fish taco! I get it every time with tator tots. I also like the option to enjoy classic Lawson's Chip Dip too! Definitely go for a great, easy meal! read more

Amazing beer selection (lots of craft beers!!!) and a lot of great variations on their grilled cheese sandwiches. Their grilled cheese do not top Melt, but their food is still great. I loved hanging out here with my friends when I still lived in the area. read more

I was sad to see the Lime spider go, but have been impressed by the Lockview's yummy Grilled Cheese sandwiches. Grilled Brie cheese? Yes Please! This is a great location to meet up with friends or hang out before a free Lock 3 show. read more

This is a cool little restaurant/bar in downtown Akron. The place has a friendly vibe to it and are known for the different types of grilled cheese. The service was pretty quick and the prices were pretty fair. If I'm ever back in Akron someday, I'll check it out again. read more

One of my favorite places in downtown Akron. They have a great list of beers on tap and in bottles. I love sitting upstairs on the rooftop deck. The food there is good, I've had a good cross section of the sandwiches and each have a unique twist that help them stand out. We need more places like this in Downtown Akron!!!!!! read more

Not sure what happened last evening but we observed 3 tables walk out due to never getting their food... we were the 4th. After an hour wait for a table, we were told repeatedly that our food would come out in another 20 minutes. We waited 50 minutes and then left. The waiter said the wait staff was overwhelmed and didn't know how to handle things. He pointed to the fact that Lockview was offering full service to their rooftop patrons and couldn't handle it. Not sure what was the issue but they lost a great deal of business last night and they lost ours for good. read more

This is the kind of neighborhood bar and grill that I like. Quite, dark, a ridiculous beer selection, and a menu of simple but well thought out and fresh items that are easy on the wallet too. Perfect for the first stop when you want to go out for the night. In the summer when the rooftop is open nothing is better then spending the night drinking and eating up there with all of your friends. read more

This place had me sold at "13 varieties of grilled cheese." YUM. I had the #13: Harvarti dill cheese topped with artichoke hearts sauteed in a garlic and lemon infused oil on rustic italian bread. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmm. Not too garlicky which was my worry. Also three cheers for the fried pepperoni appetizer. That's something unique that I've never seen before and delicious (deliciously bad for you I don't even want to know what kind of fat trap meal I consumed. Be prepared for grease.) If I had a complaint about this place, it would be that our waiter could have been slightly more attentive, but it didn't negatively impact the meal. It probably would have cut our lunch about 5 minutes shorter so we could have gone back to work. read more

Huge beer selection, good wine, and creative menu. Had to wait 25 minutes on a Saturday evening... not too bad considering the restaurant isn't huge. read more

I have eaten here on numerous occasions. Most (not all) of the servers aren't really that great and certainly not very friendly. When you order a chicken salad and it comes without the chicken, it gets a little frustrating. Especially when you then have to wait and everyone else finishes their food. Also, it's pretty hit or miss when it comes to acoustics. If you don't like having to scream at the top of your lungs to hear the person you're sitting with, don't stay when it's full. If it's fairly empty, then you should be good. However, the food here is pretty good. read more

There are two great things about this place: the sweet potato fries and the rooftop patio. Those together have made me a return customer, but I definitely don't think the entrees are anything to write home about. It's nice that they have a variety of grilled cheese, but after having been there three times I couldn't tell you from memory what I actually ate, because nothing really stood out. My third time I tried the fish taco, which is more of a wrap. It was alright, but again it didn't blow me away--essentially it's just breaded fish and coleslaw in a tortilla. I toasted the half I had left over and i think toasting it made it better than it had been when it was originally served. This would be a good place for a casual date or to visit with a group of friends. Again, the patio is awesome and the sweet potato fries are the best I've ever had! read more

LOVE this place Great atmosphere. Cool music. YES the food and drink are great. Tomato soup and 13 different grilled cheese sandwiches is just the perfect comfort food. On Friday evening we enjoyed the winter sangria with tomato soup and a pork sandwich. It was truly delicious. read more

Good restaurant. I think it's more of a bar than a family restaurant, but we stopped in just to grab a bite to eat. Everything on the menu has cheese - they have a zillion kinds of grilled cheeses and of course, a delicious homemade macaroni and cheese. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, and while we were surprised by the "bar-ness" of the place, we still enjoyed our meals and our time there. read more

We'd been in the car all morning so I really had to pee, and when I got to the table, our waitress asked if we'd like to order, and being all about making good time on the road I said sure, even though i hadn't looked at the menu. So I put my finger down and took the number nine. My wife I think had the number four. They brought us water with ice, and we waited. If you're on a road trip and you forgot your phone's car charger, note that the available outlets at the Lockview do not work. No biggie, I charged it via USB in the car, but if I told you about that I would be completely off subject. The food: My sandwich had cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and roasted red peppers - in short: the same exact ingredients as the strata we'd had for breakfast on Christmas day. OK, fine. My wife liked her sandwich. The cole slaw was good. But here's where reading the menu comes in handy: their sandwiches come with goldfish crackers on the side. Blerch. So I ordered a side of sweet potato fries, wanting something mildly sweet yet savory to dip in ketchup. But guess what the menu that I didn't read says!? The sweet potatoes are coated in cinnamon sugar! Try dipping THAT in ketchup. Other than that, we had good food, and I might try it again. Especially if I wasn't about to be facing six more hours in the car that day, and I could dip into their sizable beer selection. read more

Love love love! I love the quirky little hipster atmosphere along with the art on the walls. The food is really good. I love the grilled cheese with goat cheese and sprouts. Their sweet potato fries are so good. They're like dessert. read more

Come for the grilled cheese. Stay for the fried pepperoni. Started coming here three years ago during the WGC- Bridgestone Invitational. The Lockview is a must whenever we're in Akron. If the rooftop is open, eat up there. Fried pepperoni has to be ordered at the bar downstairs but they'll bring it to you upstair. I'm a fan of the #6 (cheddar cheese, bacon and red apple) but there really is nothing bad on the menu. They're beer selection is pretty hard to beat. read more

We've already returned a handful of times since our first visit just a couple months ago. Food is always amazing, staff is friendly and service is quick. The menu is fabulous for meat eaters, veggies AND picky kids. This has definitely become one of our favorites! read more

The focuses on grilled cheese sandwiches and they are really good and there's a lot of variety. I love the tomato soup. The place is medium sized but is often crowded. I think that's due to the quality of the food. Parking can be a little tricky if you can't find on street parking right nearby. But it's probably worth the walk if you're up for a grilled cheese sandwich. There's more on the menu then grilled cheese but I don't remember what else. We go there fairly often. read more

Great variations on grilled cheese sandwiches. I had a grilled cheese with grilled apples and bacon and it was very good. Started with a fantastic basket of sweet potato fries and also had the soup of the day, a sausage corn chowder that was very tasty, even if it only had a few pieces of sausage. The draft beer appeared to be a reasonable selection of micro-brews/craft beers and in bottles they had a selection that appeared to be endless. Ate at the bar and the bartenders were very accommodating if a bit hipsterish (which is neither a positive or a negative to me). Felt more like being in a bar/restaurant in Brooklyn or The Village, which I do think is a good thing, especially since it's very hard to find anything in the Akron area that doesn't have 8 locations. read more

Designer grilled cheeses. I really can't ask for much more. Even while understaffed and swamped we still had decent service.

Hip crowd and okay food. Good selection of beers. The menu seemed very promising describing the gourmet grilled cheese options. The chips and store bought packaged dip were nothing special. The cheese, apple, and bacon sandwich was just okay due to the bland toasted white sliced bread. French fries were cold. It seems like a college-crowd favorite. Attentive waitress serving our table was much appreciated. read more

Everyone has to try lockview at least once! Awesome grilled cheese, endless beer selection and a very chill atmosphere. Their Mac n cheese bites are amazing! read more

My go-to bar downtown. Great beer selection. Nice mix of professionals and calmer college kids, and grilled cheese!

this place has amazing cocktails (I'm not much of a beer drinker) and amazing appetizers (I'm not a huge fan of grilled cheese), but that tells you a lot because that is what this place is known for, yet I still love it! The staff is somewhat slow at night when they're busy, but definitely worth the wait. No other places like this around, that's for sure. read more

I've been here twice, got the veggie burger once and a grilled cheese the second time. Both good meals. Their tater tots are the best!! And they have an excellent beer selection! read more

One of the best places in Akron to enjoy a beer, spirits, great food, and good people...

Now, I've never been to Melt, but I know these two places are comparable. However, I've heard much better things about this place! They have so many menu options, endless sandwich combos, and good appetizers. Although you may not need one, these sandwiches are big. Just delicious. There are a lot of flavors going on in one sandwich, so be prepared when you walk into this place, that you know what you're getting into. You just may have to unbuckle your jeans on the way out the door-one of those kind of places. I can't really say much about individual sandwiches because I've only been once so far, and obviously just ordered one sandwich. But I can say that what I ordered was pretty bomb. I got the mashed potato, three-cheese, pork (and other things I didn't know was on there I'm sure) sandwich. SO filling. Seriously, wear sweatpants or something. Very dark and intimate feel to this little place. I actually expected it to be bigger, but it's definitely small. We went in mid-afternoon, like an early dinner, and we didn't have to wait, but it was busy still. We didn't get any drinks here, but it's a definite sandwich and wash-it-down-with-a-beer kind of place. Perfect for that, get the feel of this place yet? Definitely a good place to grab dinner after a day in the city-or even lunch. read more

Always a fun drink selection and the panko chicken is to die for. I crave it all the time