I really enjoy coming here. I had lunch by myself and was totally comfortable. The staff and…read morepatrons are all very friendly and engaging. Today I had the burger and fries with a Bloody Mary.

Franklin House in Valparaiso is one of my favorite dive bars to hit up when I'm in town visiting…read morefriends. Fun vibes, tasty drinks, and solid food. Karaoke? A total blast. Games? Plenty to bring out your competitive side. Basically, it's the perfect place to pretend you're a singing and a dart champion!

Always crowded but moves along and u can get a drink while u wait…read more Had Phil as our server and he was really hustling!!! We started with blue cheese potato chips! Very tasty Husband had the walleye and said it was excellent!! I had Parmesan crushed white fish, excellent too!!! Cold draft beer was great too!!! Highly recommend

Nice people good prices but it is a dive bar so keep your expectations in line. They have some…read morevideo games pool table and other games. They also have burgers but I have not tried them.

This is your typical dive bar. Crazy busy at night with an unpredictable crowd. The bartenders are…read morefriendly. There's lots of seating. The bathrooms are the worst in the entire town. Sketchy! But......if you go here for lunch, it is a calmer place. The food is really good. You can sit outside too and watch the traffic on Calumet. So depending upon what time you go here will depend on the type of time you have.

Northside Tap in Valparaiso is the kind of place where your drink gets poured and your worries get…read moreignored lol in a good way. Friendly staff, casual vibe, and a solid selection of drinks. Perfect spot to hang with friends, catch a game, or pretend you're an adult who has it all together.

Clean, well organized, extremely friendly staff! I come to…read moreRock and Roll at Monday Night Karokee! George the DJ is an absolute beautiful soul! Great times with even greater people !

Stopped in for a pint after work. I was greeted by the bartender, Max. His energy was palpable…read moreand welcoming. I ended up staying and socializing for a couple hours and had a great time. The price is comparable to other bars in Portage. Would recommend 10/10, ask for Max if you stop in

My wife and I spent several days in Valparaiso to both visit her sister and introduce me to the…read moretown where both of them went to college. I had always wanted to go there and am very happy to say that I totally enjoyed the visit. While there, we visited a lot of places and ate most meals out. Ironwood was one of them. Most of you know that I have serious OCD when it comes to craft beer. I like to try new breweries, always rate my suds on Untappd, and rarely drink beers that I have already had, unless there are no other options. So, of course I was going to try the breweries in Valparaiso. This one just happened to be owned by one of my wife's college friends. The brewery is in a nice little building. I'm sure it was probably a home before the remodel. It has ample parking in the back next to a small little patch of woods, probably about the size of a normal backyard. There were birds all over the trees, reminding me that I had made the stupid decision to leave my camera in San Antonio. My eyes immediately fell on the flight boards. They are set up with 9 spaces so that they can easily match the beer to a number, as they had nine choices to choose from. I asked for all nine to be on one, and she let me have them half-filled. I love beer, but never want to feel buzzed, if I plan to drive. In this situation, I just wanted to taste them. I liked all of the beers here. My two favorites were the Triple XXX Belgian Triple and the Cricket IPA. I also really liked Goliath's Demise barleywine. Barleywines in general are not my favorites, usually because they are not fresh. This one was fresh and not cloyingly sweet. My wife, as most of you know, is not a beer drinker- AT ALL. For that reason, we left after I finished the flight and a couple of small glasses of my two favorites. The atmosphere was very cozy. The local patrons who came in were all very friendly. One lady at the bar spoke with us as if we were there with her every day. The owner's husband came in and placed a plate with smoked salmon and crackers on the bar for everyone. And, most notably, there was not a TV in sight! Imagine, a place to cozily sit and converse with fellow beer drinkers without sports blasting in your ears!

Stopped here for a drink the other night. Very cute, small bar that's off the beaten path. The…read morebartender and patrons were very nice. I had the Ruthenia (Imperial Stout), Commodore Porter (Porter), and the Mead. All the drinks were very good and the prices were cheap. There's various of sizes that you could get (3oz to Growler size). Menu changes frequently. Will be back soon!

I'm shocked this place is a 3.8. We go there almost weekly and only once have I had a meal that I…read moredidn't like. It was the lime chicken taco things. Tasted like lime, too much and wasn't for me. But that's ok, the salmon is the best in valpo and the southwest chicken salad is fantastic! Not every meal is for everyone. The servers/bartenders we frequently see and know are Jordan, Adam and Abi. All are great at what they do and no matter how hectic things are, they are always welcoming, courteous and attentive. The drinks they serve are always consistently on point, no matter who is making them. That's a huge plus in my book. The only real negative I have about the place are the chairs at the bar. I get angular is ascetically pleasing to management, but to customers it's annoying and provides nothing but extra work. I have to move two chairs to sit down, how does that make any sense. Quit overthinking the chair alignment at the bar, I beg you. Of course it won't stop my wife and I from coming almost every week, but I truly hope one day I will walk in there and see the bar chairs straight and not angled. Anyways, if you want a place with great food, very clean, unbelievable workers and an ambiance unlike anywhere else is NWI, you will want to go here. Side note, if they could just add a steak to the menu that would make it perfect.

The space is great. The drinks were great. The store was cool and found some good stuff. The food…read morewas mediocre at best. Maybe it was what we ordered but the hot chicken and biscuits was just ok. The breakfast burger was way over done and fell apart as soon as you picked it up. It was a mess and not in a good way. The service was good but we sat at the bar which was nice. Would try again but maybe eat first.

First visit and most definitely not my last. Had a Short Rib Sandwich that was absolutely…read moredelicious. Highly recommended this spot in Downtown Valparaiso! Austin & Paige were very welcoming and will definitely be back.

We like the music and salads. Drinks are good. Entrees are limited if one does not eat cow and pig…read more Salmon is cheap farm-raised Faroe Island import, which is ethically a no go since those people butcher porpoises and pilot whales by the thousands every year in a blood lust festival. The wholesale delivery service does have wild-caught salmon for a minimal increase in cost. Like most of the wait staff in Valparaiso, attention (eye contact) is cursory and superficial, which shows that the customers are to be sold but not really appreciated as their sole income source. Eg: Dirty fork with dirty dishes between courses: "Do you want to keep that fork?" We realize that it is Indiana, but take a ride over to Gambas for some service training. It really is not about the wait staff.

I've lived in the area my whole life and just started visiting the Oasis…read more Let's start with the best part, the service! The ladies that work here usually get to know you pretty well! Your second visit they will ask if you want the same thing you had last time. To be fair, there's one young bartender that sits on her phone more than she works. But, I've been told you'll have that. She's nice but you find yourself waiting longer than you should for service. The food is hands down awesome! You wouldn't think it would be anything crazy but it's consistent and good every time we go in. My friends love the wraps, burgers and I'm a fan of really anything I've had there. The wait for the food isn't bad when you consider they have one person on staff that tends the bar, tables and food. Yes, it's a lot of fried foods, but the lettuce, tomatoes and other items are fresh! As far as the feel, or "ambiance"... it's a bar. It's an awesome small town bar feel where everyone that stops in probably knows one another. Everyone is friendly to one another and those from out of town are always welcomed. Stop in and give it a try.

Total dive bar. Friendly service. Can sit inside or out. They have games to play and TVs to watch…read more It's what you would expect, so don't go in thinking anything other than dive bar. Cheers!