CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sometimes even the most pretentious of foodies can’t resist a craving for some classic bar food. Wings, burgers, and everything fried always are an ideal companion for a cold beer and a laid-back atmosphere.
Northeast Ohio is full of too many dive bars to count. Even the popular West Side suburb of Lakewood has a seemingly endless number of dive bars for locals to choose from. Better yet, many of the low-key drinking establishments also serve nearly every bar snack you can imagine. If you time your visit right, many dive bars also offer food deals and happy hour specials to make your bill that much cheaper.
Here are 12 underrated happy hour food deals at dive bars in Lakewood to serve as a guide for getting the best bang for your buck at a local bar.
1. Riverwood Café
18500 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
There are ways to save money on almost every night of the week at Riverwood Café on food and drinks. The specials are always rotating, but there are a few staples like half-off appetizers on Mondays at $2 tacos every Wednesday. Game nights are for wings, with 69-cent chicken wings while there’s a local game on TV. All of those deals aren’t even touching the daily food specials and deals on drinks, which is probably why Riverwood touts itself as having the best happy hour special in Lakewood.
2. Plank Road Tavern
16719 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Plank Road Tavern is one of Lakewood’s most under-appreciated patios, and the bar is always offering happy hour deals on food and drinks to convince customers to stop by. Ivy’s Kitchen at Plank Road Tavern serves up bar staples with a twist, from build-your-own sandwiches and burgers to loaded tater tot bowls. Wednesdays are the prime time to stop by for a burger and a beer night. If you buy a burger, the beer comes complimentary. The menu also changes on a regular basis with the kitchen offering an eggroll, a panini, and a cake slice of the week to keep customers coming back to try what’s next.
3. Lakewood Village Tavern
13437 Madison Ave., Lakewood
Lakewood Village Tavern is a quintessential dive bar on Madison Avenue. It’s so old-school that the best way to figure out what food specials are going on is by checking out the chalkboard behind the bar. Whether it’s a dozen mussels for $4, tacos for $2.25 apiece or a ½ rack of ribs and sides for $10, there’s always a meal deal to be had at LVT. Aside from whatever recipe the kitchen chefs up on a daily basis, Lakewood Village Tavern is another staple spot for burgers, wings, quesadillas, and other bar snacks.
4. Kelley’s Pub
12545 Lakewood Heights Blvd., Lakewood
Kelley’s Pub on Lakewood Heights Boulevard is another underrated tavern for drinks, bites, and good vibes. The pub is known for its $5 kegs ‘n eggs specials on Sunday mornings before Browns games, but that’s only one of the its many food specials. Kelley’s has daily specials from $2 tacos on Tuesdays and Thursdays, $2 fish tacos on Fridays, and homemade beef stroganoff on Wednesdays for less than $8 a plate.
5. The Winchester Music Tavern
12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood
The Winchester is a hub for all things cool in Lakewood, from drag brunches to boozy bingo events. It also happens to be a bar with a great food menu for brunch, lunch, and dinner. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, the Winchester offers $5 small bites like quesadillas and sliders, some of which are vegan-friendly. Winchester also hosts a 3-course vegan menu on Mondays that is not only delicious but usually comes at an extremely reasonable price.
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6. Two Bucks
15609 Madison Ave., Lakewood
Two Bucks is a bar built on the premise of a good deal based on its name. Not everything will cost you just $2 from the chain with a location on Madison Avenue. But the bar does have a daily food specials menu to encourage diners to try out this expansive menu. Mondays are for $10 one-topping pizzas and flatbreads and $2 off wings. Tuesdays at Two Bucks are for $10 burgers and sandwiches, and the bar takes $2 off mac and cheese dishes on Wednesdays. Thursdays feature $2 off wings again as well as munchies, AKA the Two Bucks version of appetizers.
7. Merry Arts Pub and Grill
15607 1/2 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Merry Arts dubs itself as Lakewood’s oldest pub. Aside from being a great bar, it also offers its own daily food specials. Instead of Taco Tuesday, Merry Arts serves Patty’s famous tacos on Monday and Thursday evenings. The following day, customers can opt for 75-cent jumbo wings. One of the best deals, especially for sharing, is two burgers for the price of one on Wednesdays with the purchase of a beverage. Fridays are always for the weekly fish fry while Saturday is more of a toss-up with a chef’s special menu item. Sundays are for steak dinners, with deals on New York strip and filet mignon for dine-in customers.
8. Rush Inn
17800 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Rush Inn is another bar with discounted food deals on a daily basis, and it has the added plus of serving food until midnight. Mondays are for loaded tacos for $3.50 and on Wednesdays, the kitchen offers a cheeseburger with fries for $8. Tuesdays and Thursdays are discounted wing nights, but the prices vary. Rush Inn offers a fish fry plate with sides for $17 and pierogis for $13 on Fridays. Sunday is steak night with an 8 oz. New York strip with fries, broccoli, and garlic toast for a low price of $12 a plate.
9. Buckeye Beer Engine
15315 Madison Ave., Lakewood
Buckeye Beer Engine is another local watering hole that does bar food the right way. They make it even more enticing to stop by for a beer and a bite when they offer so many food specials. During happy hour on weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., customers get $2 off of any starters or wings. There are also daily specials, like 75-cent wings on Tuesdays or half-off boneless wings on Wednesdays. On Mondays, you can get a complete meal of a burger and a beer for just $10 total, and it might be one of the cheapest and most-filling bites in town.
RELATED: Buckeye Beer Engine: Northeast Ohio’s best weekend brunches, breakfasts
10. Mid-Town Booths
16934 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Mid-Town Booths has an unconventional deal on Mondays thanks to Slackers Kitchen behind the bar. With a purchase of a drink on Mondays, patrons can dine on whatever is cooked in a crock pot for free. Crock Pot Mondays are a delicious mystery at Booths. Recent crock pot meals included kielbasa over mixed veggies in sweet chili sauce, Mississippi stew, and meatball and sausage rigatoni. It’s a taste of home cooking from a bar with an equally comforting atmosphere.
11. Around The Corner Saloon and Café
18616 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
Around The Corner is a popular spot for drinks, but some patrons might not realize the kitchen offers a span of weekly wood specials. Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, the bar sells wings for just 69 cents each. Monday features a two-for-one burger special while Wednesdays are for $2 tacos. It’s an ideal spot to sit and stay for a few drinks and turn to some low-cost bar food to soak up the alcohol.
12. The Foundry Concert Club
11729 Detroit Ave., Lakewood
The Foundry is a popular spot for seeing a punk rock show or participating in trivia night, but it also has a budget-friendly food menu that gets even cheaper with weekly specials. Aside from the burgers, it’s hard to find a dish on the menu that costs more than $10. Tuesday is also wing night at the Foundry. Eight bone-in wings cost $8 while a pound of boneless or cauliflower wings sells for $6 during the special, and there’s always a rotating monthly wing sauce for those in the mood for something different.
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