I have been to pretzel bell/down bar multiple times, and this is my assessment Pros: the food is very good! Their burger is very tasty and I've also enjoyed their salad and their soft pretzel. Their trivia on Thursdays is pretty fun, and they have a fantastic ladies night. Cons: Service is a mixed bag. I've had good service here, but sometimes bad and sometimes terrible. Cons: it can be a tad expensive if you don't go with their deals read more

As much as I want to come here for the location, the interior, and the staff, the food never hits the spot. If I'm rating the service - 5 stars. bartender and all service staff were top shelf. Food? 2 stars. I ordered ribs, and they came out very fatty, and wet, like they'd been boiled during the process. The fries that came with it were excellent. Our table also had Goat Cheese Frites and they came out cold, with the cheese inside not hot, or melted. So, cold cheese balls. I've come in here for their very cool happy hour and got a burger. That was fine. I'll only ever order a burger from here going forward. Oh, and the 3% surcharge on my bill at the end? Not cool whatsoever. read more

Great diet accommodation! Had the Varsity Burger, omit everything, sub white cheddar with tomato and lettuce, sweet potato fries on the side. A new Ann Arbor favorite! Quality of the meat was great, on their namesake pretzel bun. Stop in for it! [Low FODMAP, nightshade intolerance medical diet] Ambiance is great, the bones of a diner with a restaurant vibe. Really cozy, good volume level. Enough music to provide atmosphere without being overwhelming. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Varsity Burger, with a classic twist - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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I came here a few months ago and LOVED it. The sweet potato fries were exceptionally divine, they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. All our food came out hot which was very nice. The French onion burger was delicious, the crispy onion straws on the burger were a great touch. The service was great, we had a table outside and our server was checking in with us regularly to make sure we were doing okay. Great pricing for the quantity and quality of the food. I would love to come again! read more

The Pretzel Bell - Sweet Potato Fries, French Onion Burger - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

This is a place I've been wanting to try for awhile and while attending a downtown event we took the opportunity to add our name to the waiting list. We wandered nearby and waited about a half hour. The hostess seated us promptly after receiving a text message that a table was ready. The staff was hustling and yet still polite and attentive while navigating a very busy evening due to the event. I loved the private booth. It was comfortable and the vintage decor was interesting. We ordered drinks and perused the menu. We settled on some of their signature items - fish & chips, PBell Crunchy Bird and the Variety burger. We also ordered two kids meals. The choices offered for the kids are typical of most restaurants but the portions were generous. Our drinks were fantastic as well as our food. The tartar sauce with the fish & chips was delectable. The beer batter on the cod was also quite tasty. The Varsity had an awesome sauce on it with just the right amount of kick. The Crunchy Bird was flavorful and juicy - not dry like many other chicken sandwiches. Our waiter was training another server and was very polite and thorough. We plan to return and try other menu items. There is a parking strucure a short walk away and very, very limited street parking. The convenience of being able to add our name to the list and explore nearby while waiting was nice. We will return - need to try there famous soft pretzel. read more

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I feel cheated. Thought I was going to a historic U of M institution however I was hoodwinked. The original Pretzel Bell closed ages ago in 1985 and now new owners have opened another restaurant by the same name in a different location. The deception! The tomfoolery! Anyway I do appreciate the effort and also the food was good. That pretzel do kinda slay. Also that cheese sauce it came with was yum as well. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

The truly rudest DJs I've ever met. Truly shocking behavior. I brought 10 people downstairs for my birthday where there was literally not a single soul. I asked the DJ if we could hear songs from 3 different artists, and the DJ pulled me aside and told me I was being very rude to request a song the first moment I walk into a bar. This isn't etiquette I've ever heard, especially when the bar was COMPLETELY deserted. I wouldn't come here if you want to have fun. You'll be lectured instead. Guess the DJs are being paid to play their own music in an empty establishment. read more

My husband and I went to the down bar for the Christmas vacation popup in December and it was so fun! The themed drinks were delicious, as were the hot pretzel and potato skins (more like half a potato!) They really outdid themselves with the fun themed decorations; the ambiance with the decor and movie playing was amazing. read more

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I went a ladies night! On Thursdays, they do trivia in the basement and a $15 Caesar salad espresso martini and fries for $15 for the ladies! Great deal, mediocre service, but she was serving the entire basement. I was a little weirded out because I asked for my dressing on the side and they brought it out with it on it. Instead of offering to fix it because little mistakes happen all the time, they said It should be okay it's not too much dressing and plopped it in front of me. They definitely should've offered to take it back, but I didn't want to make a scene because I was meeting someone new. The ambience is cute and fun. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Popped in for drinks! We opted to sit outside and the service was good. Our drinks were good! The inside seemed large and welcoming!

Ordered my soft baked pretzel to go and it came with warm cheese dip and honey mustard dip. It was about $6.50. The waitress who greeted me was friendly and led me to the bar so I could sit while I waited for my pretzel. The pretzel tasted very good! It had perfect soft and baked texture and the temp was nice and warm. The warm cheese dip paired really well with it! The honey mustard was a little too mustardy for me. I had to brush off some of the salt as it was a little too much but it tasted good! read more

The Pretzel Bell - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Our server was so sweet and really helped make our experience a good one. The food was DELICOUS the burger is totally reccomended. The pretzel ofc was good loved the cheese. Will definitely be coming back here when I'm back in Ann Arbor. read more

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I'm giving it a four because they didn't have my favorite bartender there anymore Eddie he was the man like he was the best if I had to get, he probably owns his own sports bar. That's killing it. I just need to find out where that's at because he made the whole journey to Ann Arbor worth it very disappointed that they let him get away and I wish they would kind of go back to just being in a sports bar. read more

Easily the worst Bloody Mary I've ever had. Chunky and way way too acidic. This is coming from a big fan of a dirty martini and lover of Bloody Marys. Service was fine and it was nice to sit outside while the weather was nice but my god learn how to make a bloody. read more

What a fun place! There were 6 of us during graduation weekend and all of downtown was packed! The food here was delicious as were the cocktails! The lobster ravioli and butternut squash ravioli were absolutely delicious and the portions were perfect! The other entrees were so good as well! Our server, Bar was so polite and accommodating as well as very professional. Our dinner and drinks did take a long time to get to our table but I will chalk it up to a very busy time. Would definitely go back! read more

The restaurant and staff were friendly and we were seated quickly. The food was good and came quickly out. There was no one dish that stood out, but overall a nice place to eat and great location downtown. read more

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We came in for a late Saturday lunch, and just didn't have a great experience with the service or vibes. The place was empty, but it took us quite a while to even get water, and food took its time coming out as well. Servers and hosts were not really out on the floor, and our booth was not well-cleaned. I ordered the smoked salmon toast which was good, and my friend got the smoked salmon omelette which was alright. Just kind of a let down:/ read more

The Pretzel Bell - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

3% surcharge, for nothing, whether you use a credit card or pay cash, and then they (illegally) "tax" the nontaxable surcharge. No one eat there, ever. It's lousy anyway. Bye! read more

I can't believe I've never been here before. My friends walked in on a Friday night (8 pmish) and were seated right away. We got seated at a high top table. The stools spin but are weird and are kind of lopsided. Service was kind of slow. It took awhile for us to order and for us to get our food What we ordered: - complimentary bread: we didn't know we were gonna get this! It came with butter - pretzel ($11): it was a solid pretzel and came with hot mustard and cheese sauce. The saltier bits were better. - burger ($19): I got mine medium rare and asked for aioli on the side. I got sweet potato fries that I enjoyed. I wish they were crispier though. - fried chicken sandwich ($18): my friends liked it. There's bathrooms in the back and there is a downstairs area (I didn't get to check it lot though). There are TVs around the restaurant that are playing all sports games. read more

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Solid spot for some classic nosh! Pretzel Bell has some history in Ann Arbor that I know I don't fully appreciate myself, but know there's a lot of nostalgia associated with it. Had a good margarita and crunchy bird (chicken) sandwich with tots. I asked for a side of ranch and I think their ranch is probably homemade, it was tasty and unique. Dining atmosphere is more elevated than just casual dining. Feels a bit like a sports club. There's also a bar downstairs in the basement, and food service down there as well, but I don't like going down there anymore because my last two times I got sick. (I think just due to it being a popular spot - lots of people and maybe not the best air ventilation/circulation in the basement.) read more

Excellent food and vibe. Do yourself a favor and order the sprouts appetizer. Those are the most divine Brussels sprouts I've ever eaten. They would convert even the staunchest sprout hater. From our table everything looked exceptional. The victors burger is the chefs kiss and the veggies were great too! Great service--was a little on the slower side but just enough to where we could have a great conversation and not be rushed. If you find yourself close to this place it's well worth a stop. read more

We had lunch here on a beautiful Sunday afternoon so we sat outside. If you are a sports fan, there is a tv and a loud speaker outside so you can get the Sports Bar experience while eating outside. We had the spicy (it wasn't spicy) chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries and a Caesar Salad. Everything tasted good, BUT you have probably had a tastier version of everything at another restaurant. Our server was friendly and helpful and once we had ordered our food arrived quickly. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Pretzel crouton Caesar Salad - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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1). Plenty of seats available (i'm assuming they were reservations) but still needed to add our name to the list. The hostess wasn't friendly, as we checked in we were holding two small children. Upon coming back to get our seats the same tables were still open and the hostess gave us a high top table .... really? We have two small children! Then she asked us to wait 5 more minutes to get a table although the same ones were still open from when we initially walked in. 2). Food was boring and tasted bad. 3). Don't come here read more

Had a little time to kill- stopped in for happy hour. It's funny how pretzels can vary from place to place. Philly pretzels are totally different from Pittsburgh pretzels and this pretzel was distinctively different - in a good way. The cheese was tasty, too. They have a nice cocktail list and the happy hour prices were perfect. Staff was friendly, decor is fun. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Pretzel - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

The crunchy bird is so yum. Quick service and good vibes! Parking around the area can be a pain though so just a heads up read more

The Pretzel Bell - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

The service was amazing, thank you to our server Nathan! He was very quick and polite. The food was great as well. We really enjoyed the pretzel and mustard, as well as their dinner specials. read more

The food and service are acceptable but there is absolutely nothing on the menu that was served by the Castor family who owned the original Pretzel Bell at its original location on the other side of the street and block to the east. At its original location Mrs. Castor hung her collection of original Tiffany lamps, interspersed with old upside down table tops all carved up by students over many decades. In my opinion it is highly misleading to call it the Pretzel Bell. When the old one shut down they failed to protect the name so the new owners just took it for themselves. read more

Solid food with a great atmosphere. We sat inside and enjoyed the historical ambience. We have walked by this establishment 100 times and never pulled the trigger- it was always crowded or we had something else planned. Definitely a great destination with wonderful fair. read more

This was, without a doubt, the best meal I have ever eaten. I have never been so consistently and wholly satisfied with every part of my meal. My cocktail, appetizer, entree, sides, and dessert were all genuinely phenomenal, every bite felt like the best thing I'd ever tasted in my life. HUGE shoutout to the honey mustard as well, that was a game changer. The restaurant was lovely inside, and Jeremy was a fantastic server. I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. Language does not currently exist to express how positive my experience was. read more

Good outdoor seating. Nice options of drinks and appetizers. Great spot for weekends or game days, does get busy on game days but it's fun!

My wife and I go to The Pretzel Bell for happy hour at least twice a week. The appetizers are amazing, the cocktails are nice and consistent and menu has great selections! The staff is really friendly with awesome service! Definitely our favorite local spot. read more

Went to the basement for the Christmas Vacation pop-up. The speciality drinks were good, but pricey. The decorations and staff were great. I was not happy to pay a 3% surcharge to help cover rising costs. This was not a credit card surcharge, but a cost passed along to all customers regardless of payment type. Seriously!? Just raise your prices. Most likely will not go again. read more

Took the family to the sunflower farm near Belleville. And if you're in Belleville you might as well go the rest of the way to Ann Arbor. We've always loved downtown Ann Arbor and we're plenty hopeful that our oldest will go to U of M and give us an excuse to visit often. Anyway this time we chose to eat at the reincarnation of the Pretzel Bell which apparently was a thing before, and is a thing now. We were seated immediately on a Sunday afternoon. Got a nice booth with plenty of Michigan nostalgia and tables long victimized by key gouged initials and messages. We were quick to order and the food was equally fast in coming out. We started with the soft pretzel with honey mustard and beer cheese. The pretzel was warm and good but just a pretzel. The cheese was well received. I don't think honey mustard is the right choice; but we didn't spring for the spicy mustard. My wife and oldest split the mushroom pizza and Greek salad. They liked both a lot. The middle child had mac and cheese which she said was more like pasta and sauce than Mac and cheese. I always figured that was what that was. She also asked for and got carrots and celery instead of the offered zucchini. The boy had a pepperoni and mushroom pizza. Both pizzas were Detroit style. They were good, but not quite Buddy's level. I had the blue burger which came with bacon jam. It was good too. It could have used some lettuce and tomato to freshen it up. Finally, we wrapped with the ice cream sandwich and the cinnamon sugar pretzel which we shared around the table. A good meal for a very hungry family. Service was prompt and kind. 3.6 rounds to 4. read more

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On a visit to Ann Arbor in August, Nate and I had been wandering around campus for awhile and gotten pretty warm, a little hungry, and quite dehydrated, so we stopped in to Pretzel Bell for a drink and a snack. The interior of the bar is really cool, with curved wood accents and fun booths. They have outdoor seating available but we opted for the a/c since there were only a few other people inside. The hibiscus rum punch (bacardi rum, lime, hibiscus syrup, and peach syrup) and Churchill's breakfast (four roses bourbon, cold brew coffee, maple syrup, and torched cinnamon stick) were both excellent cocktails. Rum punch was slightly sweet and fruity/floral, and the bourbon drink was smooth, creamy, and delicious. Nate also got a mystery $2.50 beer which turned out to be Rolling Rock, which was pretty refreshing on a hot summer day! We ordered the cheeseburger sliders - 3 for $10 and they were a pretty nice size, with crisp pickles, buttery buns, and melted cheese. I had no complaints other than the fact that the QR code menu wasn't super obvious to me. Our server was great and really friendly. The best part was paying the tab using the same QR code on the table - super quick and convenient. read more

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My roommate and I decided to check out Pretzel Bell for a restaurant week lunch and we were excited because of the great things we had heard about their burgers. Out of their restaurant week offerings, the crunchy bird called out to us the most. We also got a beef stew-one of their winter specials-to share (it was alright). The presentation of the crunchy bird was really nice and I really enjoyed the crisp texture but the taste was a bit bland. I wish there was some seasoning or something to add to the flavor of the chicken. The bun was also not as soft and fluffy as I would've liked and was more on the denser side. I'm summary, wouldn't come here for a chicken sandwich but might come back to try a burger and their cocktails. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Crunchy bird - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

In AA consulting at "The" local hospital and staying downtown at the Residence Inn. Just a brisk walk to Pretzel Bell...and I wouldve walked further after my superb dining experience. You hear a lot about Ann Arbor being a "Foodie Locale" and I think most college towns will make that claim. This restaurant exemplifies and proves this to be true. I generally travel solo so I find myself seated at the bar. Jeramie welcomed me and acknowledged me even though he was very busy covering a Bday celebration at a table behind me. I ordered a quick beverage and then ordered the pan roasted chicken breast with a creamed spinach side, and the cauliflower risotto (picture included). I could not have been happier with my decision. It was plenty of food, and the chicken was done superbly, moist, but not over done. As the restaurant was very busy, and he was the only bartender, the manager stepped up and was assisting with dispatching plates of food for the wait staff and didnt relent until all were caught up. I even commented that the price of fame is extra work. I will be back. In fact, I will be here next week and this will be at least one night of my plans. ps...please menu photo posters...stop with the terrible repetitive pics that add nothing and arent straight on as seen below. If we cant read them, they aren't necessary. I do appreciate everyone adding recent menu changes, make sure they're readable. I also wish yelp would eliminate repetitive pics. No one needs to see 10 pictures of the same menu. Cheers! :) read more

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Why was the egg benedict's sauce tangy? Where was the biscuit in the eggs Benedict? When the biscuits came, why were they horrible? Where is my onion soup? Why are people getting scolded in the kitchen? Salad was alright? The swivelly high chairs were fun though, and ambiance was alright. read more

The Pretzel Bell - Traditional Eggs Benedict - Bars Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Terrible service. You have to beg to order a watered down drink. 45 min later you'll get it. Nacho chips were stale and the 3 slices of avocado on top were crunchy. I couldn't cut the avocado with a knife easily lol. That's crazy. I had heard bad things but wanted to give them a chance because they decorated the downstairs bar like Christmas Vacation. Overall just have nothing nice to say. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ literally nothing special except a corner location. read more

Downbar is the closest thing to a home town bar you can get to in this chaotic city! The staff is all so welcoming and kind. Jeramie, robin, and prea all make you feel like you have known them your entire life and really cater to their crowd. I have never seen a more efficient bar in operation at peak business. If you want good drinks and a good time i highly recommend this spot! read more

A great spot! I love the story behind the pretzel bell! I got a salad when coming here and it was delicious. Our server was super nice and accommodated all of our dietary request. read more