Pins & Needles Lakewood — Restaurant in Lakewood

My husband and I are weekly regulars at a lot of cocktail bars and restaurants in the Cle/Akron areas because while we don’t live near anything good, we will travel for good cocktails and vegan food, lol. Pins & Needles is one of our favorite places to go! The décor and atmosphere is so fun and really well done for the 70s-era vibes and the cocktails on the menu reflect the times with old-fashioned era-appropriate classics and fun spins on classics that range from light and fruity to rich and boozy and we have actually had some of our favorite cocktails ever here! The menu rotates seasonally, but there’s always something for everyone. (Get the Midnight Cowboy for sure though, it’s one of the best).

It’s great that we can order food from upstairs too because Mahall’s has amazing vegan options and a regularly rotating menu as well. We also love chatting with all the mixologists here - they’re all very welcoming and personable and since we come here a lot we’ve gotten to know a lot of them, so shout out to Carl, Rosie, Connor, Michael, Autumn, and Eric upstairs!

We don’t really go to this venue (Mahall’s & Roxy) for concerts and prefer the low-key and often quieter atmosphere of Pins and Needles, though we’ve also taken big groups there since it can accommodate a lot of people and the space is great for both types of outings. We’ve also brought a lot of people here for their first time and they’ve loved the drinks...

We came from Columbus to Cleveland specifically for this dining/drinking experience for my fiancé’s birthday (making reservations a month in advance)…. We showed up to a “please wait to be seated” sign and weren’t acknowledged for 15min so we decided to walk up to the bar where a gaggle of people crowded around (whom we later found pictures online were staff members/their friends) doing shots. While approaching the bar we STILL weren’t acknowledged by the bartender… meanwhile 2 separate couples showed up behind us, younger and older, and neither of them were acknowledged for 15-20min either.. needless to say all 6 of us left bc no one served us or even said hello.. this was the sole reason we travelled here, and to be let down this badly by this experience is reason enough to tell everyone not to bother...

Concept is good but unfortunately not executed well :/ I’m not one to leave bad reviews but I came here on a Friday night and this was just a not very good experience. The bartenders weren’t not very nice at all they either totally ignored you or acted like you were an inconvenience, took a little over 10 minutes to get 2 drinks after ordering them as well with us being the only people ordering at the bar at the time. They also closed a whole hour early when there were plenty of people in there. Not to mention it just felt very dirty in there. I get that it’s a basement and a 70s concept but I’ve never seen so much dust caked on furniture in a public place in my life. I had really high hopes for this place because I love Mahalls and the concept but i unfortunately don’t think I’ll be back...