Urban Artifact — Restaurant in Cincinnati

What a cool event venue! I got to see the inside for the first time last night. They definitely go for the shabby chic look - all the stained glass windows were removed by the previous owners and there is paint peeling from the ceiling. But it still has beautiful, blonde wood floors and they’ve strung up festive strands of lights!

Our party was quite small which made the room feel particularly spacious. Even with large tables, a bar, a lounge corner and a band playing! The most this venue holds I think is 220.

The bathrooms are downstairs in what I assume is the bar space that is open to the general public.

Tables and chairs aren’t included with the base rental price. It’s $10/guest. You’re welcome to use an outside provider, but I would recommend using theirs. Their tables are made by a local artist. They are the same size as the usual circle, Event tables. But the wood they’re made of is so very beautiful that there’d be no need to rent table cloths! The chairs aren’t foldable, but rather very stylish and sturdy, and a bright copper cooler that looks perfect with the venue!

This could be a tough space for a caterer as they don’t have a very big kitchen and no elevator. I would think that very little could be made...

THE spot for live music in Cincinnati! Don't bother with Riverfront "Dead", where it's been sanitized of all art and memories, and your presence is a reviled inconvenience. Urban Artifact has multiple sound spaces, an outdoor park atmosphere, some amazingly tasty and unique brews, and the staff? Where do I even start? Knowledgeable of their (and all other) products, smiling, friendly, genuinely happy you came. Welcome you like a friend of years, dare I say part of the family. The patrons were equally amazing, I wasn't there just getting drunk. I was there MAKING FRIENDS, with tasty drinks of course. Remember that? Diverse attendees, cuties abound, all open and friendly and happy to be there too. I went on a whim with someone I barely knew, and didn't spend a second on the wall shuffling my keyes as the only guy there alone. I was engaged, approached, people actually asked me my NAME. Helped an employee move some equipment. My cohort had to come find me. The music was just as diverse. (I think some ska/punk and reggae rock, with glitch edm downstairs?) This is what a venue should be. If someone says "let's go out somewhere tonight"... well I know...

Did my wedding here. Overall extremely positive experience. The price was pretty competitive with most other venues, and they were able to accommodate our special requests. Several great opportunities for photos both inside and outside. They had several recommended caterers who were familiar with serving the venue (We went with mazunte). The inside of the venue is beautiful and comfortably sat 100 people for dinner with room for a dance floor.

A few minor downsides - first, the surrounding area isn't exactly "picturesque". Also, you have to share a bathroom with the bar downstairs for your events, which was less than ideal for us but didn't turn out to be that big of an issue. I wasn't big on the fruit sours at first but they grew on me and now Gadget is one of my favorite beers. Also, it was a little bit challenging to get ahold of the staff at some points in the planning process, but we got everything resolved in the end. Also, you should be aware there is only one bridal suite.

In spite of the minor gripes I am mentioning here I think it still warranted five stars and I would definitely go...