The River Merchant

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Clean bathroom, friendly ID checker/Bouncer & great 3rd floor! Very spacious! I think ibam going to…read moretry to get my AK-Rowdy friends to come out!

Great beer selection. Great patio. Great tunes…read more My go to spot in Kent. You can pick up Taco Tontos through a window in their wall.

Nice Patio

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View of outdoor music at night from the third floor outdoor patio

101 Bottles of Beer On the Wall

4.5(59 reviews)

I hadn't been to this shop in some time, but remembered it when I was in town visiting family. They…read morestill have one of the best beer selections around (and I absolutely judge my local beer stores harsher because of this). They have a limited but good wine selection. There is now a restaurant inside that was hopping when I stopped in. I didn't try any of the food, so can't speak to that, but it all looked pretty good. The bartender was very nice (we stayed for one drink) and the bar area looks great. Plus, there is a good sized parking lot.

Nice quiet bar with great rotational draft selections! Gets busy on some days but has plenty of…read moreseating with a great back patio to hang out and play cornhole!

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Beware Of The Leopard

4.8(6 reviews)

Fantastic cocktails and the dumplings are absolutely wonderful. Defiantly a go-to if you are ever…read morein the Kent area.

My friend and I came out here on a Monday night. The bar was easy to find, and very spacious inside…read morewith a large amount of seating. The inside is so fun, with a very eclectic feel. They have an extensive menu a very interesting and fun drinks that I haven't seen elsewhere. Many of the drinks reminded me of something that I may find at a tiki bar. Although we did not try any of these drinks this time, I would definitely come back to explore the menu further if I was looking to have drinks with a friend. The real reason we came here was because my friend had heard that a woman comes on Monday nights and serves homemade Thai dumplings. This was in fact, true, and we split two orders of dumplings. We tried the traditional dumplings with meat, and the vegetarian dumplings. We received.Five dumplings per order, that were served quickly. The price was fairly reasonable. We both agreed that these dumplings were very good,. My friend enjoyed The traditional dumplings the best, whereas I loved the vegetarian ones even though I typically don't enjoy vegetarian options. The servers checked on us frequently and left us with a small picture of water so that we did not need to keep asking for refills. The interior of this bar has a great ambience that I would recommend for a meet up with a friend or a date. They do not serve many food options, in the night we were here the only food that they had was the dumplings. I would be more inclined to come back if they offered other snacks or appetizers. I would however definitely try this place again.

Dumplings

Bar

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Game placed at table

Ray's Place

4.0(355 reviews)

I've been going to Ray's Place for 50 years, which probably says more than anything else I could…read morewrite in a review. There's something special about a place that can remain part of your life for that long. On this visit I went with the chili (which is a must with cheese and crackers), pickle fries and regular fries, and everything hit the spot. The chili was hearty and satisfying, the pickle fries were a great addition, and you simply can't beat the value. You can still come to Ray's, get plenty of good food, and leave feeling like you got your money's worth. Ray's has been a Kent institution for a reason. It's comfortable, familiar, affordable and filled with a lot of memories for me. After 50 years of visits, I'm still happy to walk through the door -- and I'm sure I'll be back again.

Solid 3.5 Rays always delivers. Whether it is their Clam Chowder on Fridays, the delicious locally…read moresourced burgers, or the terrific Lasagne. Yes, it's a bar, but family quality dining up till 8pm or so. Then, it's a college bar. Today was Clam Chowder and a Octoberfest (actually, Thirsty Dog Barktoberfest). You can't beat the beer selection (tap). Good place, good food, good beverages.

Hot Spicy Saut-ed Shrimp

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Long Island Amazing

Bell Tower Brewing

4.0(109 reviews)

Love the atmosphere here. Cool old refurbished building from a church. The Waite staff was super…read morenice. The German Pilz and the pub steak were fantastic.

Love this place! We…read morecame in after a number of friends recommended it -- we met the Brewmaster, Jennifer, and her mother, who gave us their recommendations. The beer was AWESOME (we took some growlers home) and the food was great. But you cannot beat the ambiance of this place -- it's awesome to see what they did with an old church. Definitely coming back soon!

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Blind Squirrel Pub

4.3(6 reviews)

0.1 mi

Food and service was great! Very friendly staff and food was delicious. Not a huge place but at…read morelunchtime it was not too crowded so the service was prompt and food prepared in a timely fashion. Definitely recommend!

My co-worker and I had a great lunch at the Blind Squirrel one Friday afternoon...juicy burgers and…read moredelicious housemade fries, plus friendly service that was just right...not too intrusive, but always attentive. The atmosphere is that of a cozy relaxed pub where you could hang out for a few hours and they would take good care of you! Not too loud to have a good conversation. Since we work just down the street, I have a feeling this could become a habit with us!

Super cool bar back.

Garlic Cheese Curds w/ Sweet Chili dipping sauce

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Outdoor signage

Brewhouse Pub

2.0(6 reviews)

0.4 mi

I was enjoying my 19th birthday when I met a girl who had the same birthday! I told her happy…read morebirthday while she had a drink in her hand and hugged her. I did not reach, point, or even touch her drink. When a security guard with facial hair and glasses walked over, took the drink out of her hand, and asked me to leave. When I asked if he meant me, I complied and walked out. But I had not done anything wrong, and it honestly felt like a personal attack. I had multiple stamps from previous bars saying that I was underage. He gave me no explanation or reason. And he did nothing to the other girl, who was drinking after taking and throwing out her drink. All I wanted was to dance with my friends for my birthday, and I didn't get to because I was kicked out almost immediately.

Erik the security guard was terrible and ruined my experience, he slammed the bathroom door open…read morenailing my arm which I have previously broke. Definitely won't come back till he is gone

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48oz UV fishbowl. 9oz of vodka, your choice of mixers

Loft

3.0(23 reviews)

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Went there with a friend from Iran. The bartender would not take our order. He served people on…read moreleft and people on right and ignore us like we don't exist. I had to wave him down after waiting for 30 minutes. The man yelled at me and said he won't serve us and posted us to the manager if we had more to say. The manager was no help. He blamed it all on saying that I should not have ever waived at a bartender as it is rude. What was I supposed to do after waiting thirty minutes, start dancing or something. Don't go there if you don't fit in the crowd. Definitely stay away if you look middle eastern. They don't like us there

Rude bartenders that really don't care about customer service. I'm sorry but I won't come back to…read morethis bar after experiencing rude and disrespectful bartender. Drinks taste like they water it down. Don't leave your drink on the bar if you not completely done with it. One of the bartenders ( short male with pony tail and a little bread ) took my drink when I wasn't done with it and tossed it. One of the ladies I don't even know stood up and told the bartender why you took her drink if she wasn't done. He then proceeded to say "there was nothing in her f**king drink". Just totally rude like I came for the band not for the rude service. He then proceeded to make a joke by making me a tiny drink with sprite and blue syrup and put a shot glass in it and said here your drink. Like sir I spend my money here and for you take me as a joke is not right. The other bartender that wear glasses replace my drink " thank you" but wouldn't give me the rude guy name because I was going to report him to the manager. Then the guy with the glasses saw me writing a review on my phone then started being rude telling his friend next to me " why is she sitting here if I'm going to write a bad review" and started to laugh. First why are you all in my phone. I came to support the band that is why I'm sitting here. SMH I wasn't going to write anything about glasses until he started talking about me. I just hope something change out of this because you can see by the reviews that the bartenders just doesn't care about the customers. Pro the band was amazing even tho you couldn't see them. It was like a wood door covering them while they played. I honestly just came to support the band.

Dominick's

3.4(5 reviews)

Dominick's isn't my favorite place to go out in Kent, but it is really fun sometimes. They play…read moregood music and it is more chill compared to some of the other spots which is nice if you aren't looking for a super crazy night. I will say that compared to other bars in the area, the bartenders are very friendly and personable. It is a big reason I like to go. They are known for their dom boms which are some sort of shot with cherry and vodka in it. They also have orange and peach flavors.

Dominick's is your typical local bar. I definitely wouldn't classify it as a dive, because they…read morekeep it nice and clean with plenty of space and nice pool tables. But, I would say it's not like the other more trendy college town bars. We've been here many times for just the casual drink and for music events. We've never had bad service, and they have plenty of beer options (cans, bottles, and drafts). They also have a large patio with outdoor seating out back which is somewhat hard to come by in Kent.

Play your faves from your phone on the digital jukebox

Long bar for plenty of seating

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Clean and spacious seating and pool table area

157 Lounge

2.8(46 reviews)

Went here to celebrate my friends birthday weekend. This place is much better compared to other…read morebars and clubs I have been to. The space is smaller, but I had a lot of fun. The bartenders are quick with their service as well as kind, and the outdoor area is very nice. Many men would try to talk to us, but most were respectful and respected boundaries. I highly recommend their vodka crans and lemon drop shots! (I've heard bad things about the owner, but my personal experience was fine).

First tried 157 about 18 years ago. At the time, the atmosphere was great, as was the service. I…read morehave no idea how they stayed in business this long. When my friends and I, 4 in total, arrived. We were the only 4 in the establishment. We walked in to find 3 of the staff just sitting at the far of the bar hanging out. They told us to sit wherever we wanted. A bit later, we were provided menus, just under the 9:00pm happy hour. We ordered a bunch of martinis. Most were served in an okay time-frame. Personally, I think 15 minutes is a bit long for serving us 2 short of what we ordered. The final 2 were served 25-minutes later and nobody had serviced our table in the meantime. Upon receiving the last 2, we were told we'd be charged with the happy hour prices, which we later found we were not. We also ordered sushi to go. We ordered 2 types. The order was given incorrectly but we didn't feel like sending it back and waiting another 30-40 minutes for someone to actually visit our table. With only 10 people in the building at this point, 6 of who were getting drinks only, it really shouldn't have been that complicated to get 2 sushi rolls put incorrectly for the order. The place seemed dingy and while the sushi ended up being great, I'm not sure any of us would be back.

Dance floor

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Mary Ann D.

6 years ago

Best new restaurant in college town of Kent OH. Great food, drinks, & service. Don't miss their signature cocktails, pomme frites, grilled shrimp, or Big Kent sandwich. Very safe cleaning protocols & distancing for inside dining. Needs our support during these COVID-19 days and well worth the visit. read more

Taylor S.

5 months ago

Our server Brielle C. was an amazing server, she made sure we were well taken care of and my first experience here was a great one! She is very polite and helpful, and you should definitely ask for her if you are visiting. Thank you again Brielle! read more

Randy E.

5 years ago

If you're headed there on a weekend, I strongly recommend a reservation. You can also pick up a local craft beer or a nice bottle of wine from the shop on your way out. read more

Fred T.

5 years ago

This is a first class establishment. We had brunch today. The coffee and food was delicious.

Ya N.

4 years ago

It was nice view. Drinks are okay Hum food are also good. Would come here again. Nice view read more

Casey M.

3 years ago

Thank you for your kindness and great food. We will be back to try something else..........

Gail H.

4 years ago

Food, service are excellent if I lived in the area I would be a regularhighly recommend

Tom G.

2 years ago

First time visit and found it to be a hidden gem. Great atmosphere and delicious food.

The River Merchant - newamerican - Updated September 2026

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My work, a group of 10, had their end of the year dinner party here in mid December of 2025 and we…read morewere overall, happy with our service, food, and experience, despite service being a little slow and prices a little high and some food a little bland. I'd give this a 4.25 stars. If you read my reviews, you know that terrible car accidents happen to me after work dinners (see review on The Industry for one such example). Thankfully, dear readers, I did not have any car incidents after THIS specific work dinner. Haha! Anyway, The Bistro of Green is in a strip mall five minutes from my work office and is an institution for locals in the area - people in my group were reminiscing about coming to Bistro multiple times a month before Covid, back when they were open for lunch. The menu seems to change often. They do have a couple specials on a board outside the door that are not on their printed menu, just FYI. Our dinner took over 2 and a half hours, starting with complimentary bread and our drinks of choice. The free bread was fine. I ordered a seasonal cocktail, the Apple Cranberry Sangria, despite cocktails not having a price listed (see menu picture). I tend never to order things that do not have the price listed but the cocktail sounded too good to resist. It was yummy and very sugary and fruity, with added mint leaves that definitely brought it up a notch! Our party also split 4 appetizers: the hot peppers ($13), baked provolone ($14), calamari ($16), and flatbread ($16). As the portions are not meant to be shared between 10 people, I only had a little bit of each. I wasn't into the peppers (too mushy) but the calamari was my favorite! I could see myself ordering this as a dinner just for myself in the future. Two thirds of the hot pepper dish was ignored by the group in the end. For my main, half of which I took home as it was getting very late and my drive back home is almost an hour, I chose to get the Bistro burger (medium rare) and fries ($18). This was chosen based on cost alone - even though I really wanted a chicken or steak dish, I just could not afford them. I am only a lonely assistant, not a CEO! I debated getting one of the other sandwich options, also both $18, but the lack of pictures either on Google or Yelp made me just stick with a burger. My lack of funds kept me from being too adventurous for this dinner, sadly. Next time, I'd be down to try their fancy grilled cheese (or steak, if someone else foots the bill). The burger was good, although not amazing, and the fries were that nice mix of just oily and crispy enough. Service was okay. Things apparently got busy at the bar, so it took longer than it should have for us to get our drinks and food throughout the night. As for vibes, it was nicely decorated for Christmas, lights were dim, and Christmas music played softly in the background. No complaints here! In the end, for a sangria, burger, fries, tax, and tip (plus a 3% surcharge for using a credit card), my dinner cost me over $40. Can you imagine just how much worse the bill would have been if I hadn't gotten the cheapest thing on the menu? Next time, I will also remember to bring cash. And choose a more unique dish.

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