The Local Bar Strongsville — Restaurant in Strongsville

It's a dive bar and exactly what you'd expect: really bad planning/organization for the new years party, kind bartenders and well meaning staff doing the best they can to offset lots of poor choices by management. Cheap prices and cheap bar package so no serious complaints; you get what you pay for. Food was pretty okay and served something like 3 hours later than promised despite being pre ordered; they're very much so NOT a restaurant and not physically capable of feeding everyone an entree. Typical dive bar cheap liquor and lite beer only in plastic cups. The shuttle was hilariously badly planned (not the very nice driver's fault, he was booked incorrectly for far too short of a time with far too small of a vehicle and told totally different things than was advertised to party guests. But he was doing his best anyway. )

The owner Kevin is very responsive to texts and emails and tried his best to fix things, but honestly he just bit off more than he could chew with this party. I've worked in this industry 20+ years in NYC and Chicago everything from 3 Michelin stars to extreme high volume nightclubs, and there's just no way a plastic cup dive bar is ever going to be able to pull off a party of this scale smoothly. It always goes like this in the cheap joints and all the angry people need to relax. We stopped over in Cleveland driving home from Chicago to NYC after Christmas specifically because it was so dirt cheap to do new year's here: this is like 1990s prices, sixty bucks for five hours open bar and a disposable plastic plate of pasta they call dinner! I'm totally satisfied because I KNEW I was going to a dive bar in the boonies, but I think my partner was pretty pissed off because he didn't realize what we were getting into. Same for a lot of other guests we talked to. But 5 hours open bar (plus a plastic plate of pasta) was the price of 2.5 well drinks in NYC, so really all yall need to chill and enjoy the shitshow for what it is. You're at a dive bar in a flyover state and everyone is trying their best, calm your tits.

Suggestion for next year, if management reads reviews: cater in a buffet from a real restaurant. They claimed they were going to serve individually plated pre ordered entrees between 7-8 and our area was served after 11pm AND we weren't the last people. They got my entree wrong but I didn't bother correcting the poor smashed kitchen who had no chance in hell. I could see into the kitchen from where we were seated and they were in like 20 miles over their heads. Next year seriously just do a buffet with pasta and chicken, keep it open for 4 hours, and don't pretend you're physically capable of pretending to be a restaurant that makes steak and shrimp with your general expense ratio. You don't charge people enough money to hire and retain a large enough number of qualified kitchen staff. Admit to what you are upfront--a fireball, coors light, and potato chips kind of joint--and then everyone will be happy that their expectations were met. I would have happily paid sixty bucks for merely three hours open bar and some bar peanuts and just gotten dinner...

Writing a review for The Local Bar is like trying to describe a cheeseburger – it’s so quintessentially what it is that you end up spouting clichés faster than you can say “another round, please!” But here we go.

First off, it’s the epitome of a local bar. Seriously, if you looked up “local bar” in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of this place. You walk in, and you’re greeted by the friendly bartender who somehow knows your name even if you’ve never been there before. It’s like Cheers, but with more sticky floors and fewer scripted one-liners.

The décor is exactly what you’d expect from a sports bar and trivia hub. Neon beer signs, flat-screen TVs playing every possible sport known to mankind, and walls covered with memorabilia that screams, “We’re very serious about the Browns, Guards, and Cavs!” There's a section dedicated to trivia nights, complete with a signs announcing the next big event and well-worn tables where champions are made and egos are shattered. With live music from top local bands every Friday and Saturday, and trivia nights on Monday and Wednesday, there’s never a dull moment.

The patrons are your classic mix of regulars who’ve probably been there since the place opened and newbies who stumbled in looking for “that authentic dive bar experience.” You’ll hear conversations ranging from the weather to why the Browns are in a slump, all delivered with the passion and volume that only a few pints can inspire. Trivia nights are legendary, with teams sporting pun-filled names like “Quizteama Aguilera” and “Tequila Mockingbird,” battling it out for bragging rights and maybe a free round.

As for the food and drinks – well, they’re exactly what you’d expect. The hot dogs are an adventure, with styles ranging from classic classic to Chicago to creations you never knew existed. The tater tots are just the right amount of crispy, and the wings are…well, they’re wings. The beer is cold, the whiskey is strong, and the cocktail menu is exactly one laminated page long, with no fancy names or exotic ingredients. It’s glorious in its simplicity.

The Local Bar doesn’t lend itself to easy reviewing because it's not trying to be anything other than what it is. It's not a gastropub, a speakeasy, or a microbrewery. It's a bar. A local bar. And that's what makes it both impossible to describe and utterly perfect.

So, if you're in the mood for an unpretentious night out where the biggest surprise is how quickly the hours pass, then The Local Bar is your spot. Just be prepared to embrace the clichés, because this place is swimming in them and you'll love every minute of...

Booked 2 tickets for NYE - $80 each - was to include a steak dinner, live entertainment & open bar. What a disappointment - band was changed without any notification through the site we purchased the tickets from (advertised that this was to begin @ 7:00 pm but didn't start until 8:30 pm), dinner didn't offer any vegetable, when we EVEN requested mushrooms as an alternative or substitute, they said they didn't have any although EACH and EVERY steak dinner after ours that came out had mushrooms. Absolutely ZERO NYE decorations. When we spoke to the manager about our disappointment, she began turn it on us and tell us that we have NO IDEA how many problems they are having, (that's not our fault). She said someone (either herself or the owner) would be contacting us to discuss receiving a refund on at least 1 ticket but have heard absolutely NOTHING back from anyone up to this point. Huge disappointment, poor planning and terrible customer relations! $160 for 2 steak dinners without any vegetable, 5 beers and 1 glass of wine - what a deal! We ended up leaving at 9:30 pm and have no intention of returning based upon the non-responsiveness and or concern of the issues we shared and were very transparent about.

Update - first, you are 100% wrong that we received mushrooms even when we asked, second, your employee has definitely either mislead or failed to respect you enough to tell you the whole story and truth. Based upon your response, we certainly understand why things played out the way they did. You've really proven what a CLASS ACT you are. I didn't expect anything different based upon your previous responses to posts where you may have fallen short as well. To stoop to the level of name calling is shameful on your behalf. I am sure this entire situation and or how to effectively handle it is beyond your comprehension based upon what I've previously seen and have...