Port Lounge & Smokehouse — Restaurant in Ohio

TL:DR- I had never heard of or been to this place before and had no idea what to expect. If you, dear reader, are debating whether to dine and drink at this place, don't think about it anymore, just get yourself here! Their "food season" is mid/late April to September/October-ish, since they smoke meat on-site outdoors. Great drink prices, expansive outdoor seating, awesome location with a few Buckeye Lake docks out the back. My experience below:

-What an adventure! Had a gig here as a keyboardist tonight, as one of the bands I'm in (called "Main Street Mix" from the Reynoldsburg area) played a few songs during their "open mic evening" (every Wednesday). It's set up so any band, solo musician, instrumentalist, etc. can come on the stage and "sit-in" for a number of songs, after the core house band plays a few numbers (mostly country, but I'll get into that in a few lines).

After my entire band was finished, we switched out our equipment, and the "core" house band members started playing again once plugged in again. After a few of their songs, a guy who was sitting at a table with drumsticks came up and took over the drums, and a guy (Conway) who is literally headed to Nashville in a month took over the electric guitar. Then after another couple songs, the bassist switched, and a couple vocalists came and went, etc. It all went smoothly, and sounded great!

After everyone decided to take a break, the rest of my band left, and while I was disassembling my keyboard setup, another guy came in with his own keyboard, and set up. As I was packed up and getting ready to leave (around 10pm), the owner (Mark...if I remember correctly) came up and we chatted a bit about my band, and he convinced me to stick around longer to see the next "set" the band was going to play, as with this particular keyboardist, they play some more musically involved songs.

This is where the music changed from country, to more blues-rock (much more my thing lol). I planned on only staying for a few songs, as I was starving, and the establishment wouldn't start serving food until next week, when the main meat smokers are ready. I told Mark I was headed out, as I was hungry... but he told me to "stay put... I'll find you some food". So I took a seat at the bar, and 10 minutes later, I had a heaping plate of pulled pork, beef brisket, pork and beans, and macaroni and cheese, and a ice-cold Coors Light in front of me.

Turns out, Mark still takes catering orders in the "off-season", and just came back from an event earlier that evening, so he had extra servings that didn't go out to the event, and so what I got was the BEST barbecue-type meal that I've ever has, as far as I can recall! And free of charge too (as they aren't officially serving food yet, and I imagine it would have gone to waste otherwise, and Mark said he saved some for himself for his own dinner!)!

Both meats were extremely tender and savory, the beans were sweet and tangy, and the macaroni was probably the best I've ever had. Everything as far as I know is completely homemade, and I was told on regular days during the season, Mark gets to the smokers around 3am every business day to start the meat in the smokers. I believe it... this taste doesn't lie! There was also this mango-chili type BBQ sauce that was awesome as well, however I forgot to ask what exactly that sauce was.

After I finished the mountain of food, it was about 11:30 or so, and the music stops at 12:00 a.m., and since I was in such high spirits, I decided to re-join the "open mic" festivities for the last twenty-odd minutes... but playing the bass guitar instead! With the same keyboardist, the original drummer from the start of the evening, Conway on electric guitar, and myself on bass, we closed the night with "jammed out" versions of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, and "Purple Rain" by Prince... very different than Luke Bryan or whomever at the start of the night, and I love it!

An end to my night that I, without a doubt, did not see coming, but it was a blast, and I'm glad I welcomed it...

It’s not just a dive bar, it is THE dive bar. My all time favorite dive bar. This is one of those places that makes you realize you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Lovingly seasoned with equal parts charm and questionable life choices.

The lighting is dim enough to be forgiving, but bright enough to see that yes, that is the subfloor you’re walking on. The mix of bar stools have just enough wobble to keep you on your toes, and the tables are characteristically balanced by coasters that have probably been around longer than I have been alive.

The entertainment here is a people-watching paradise. Regulars who have undoubtedly earned their own barstools tell tall tales with newcomers from all around the lake. On a good night, you might even catch a live band whose members could easily be mistaken for the cast of an 80’s road trip movie. If you’re lucky, karaoke night might reveal a future star—or at the very least, someone who really believes they are.

The beer is so cold it’s usually accompanied by a slight coat of frost. The number of liquor choices is higher than most of the locals can count. And the best part? The prices are the lowest on the lake, and lower than almost any other bar I’ve ever been to. Just make sure to bring cash because they do not take card at...

The food was good but the experience was awkward. Food- we had shrimp and brisket and both were great! We had asparagus and Mac and cheese as sides, and both were good. The food I would give 5 stars. And the experience 1 star, which is how I got to three stars. Experience- I’m still not sure how to describe the experience other than awkward and uncomfortable. The staff wasn’t helpful in explaining how they run stuff despite us saying we hadn’t been there before. You order food from one area and drinks from another- which is fine but would have been helpful to have been told. And overall interactions felt forced, as if the staff didn’t want to interact with people. I do have to say there was one lady who seemed nice and was helpful in getting some of our food that came from the grill out. We ate and went down to Horvaths to enjoy a couple drinks on the water, which we would have done at The Port if we didn’t feel like outsiders. Maybe it’s because we got there shortly after opening that day or maybe they have new staff… either it might be some time before we give it...