Flaherty's Thirsty Ear Tavern

Flaherty's Thirsty Ear TavernFlaherty's Thirsty Ear Tavern
Flaherty's Thirsty Ear TavernFlaherty's Thirsty Ear Tavern
Bar, Eatery

1200 West Third Ave.
Columbus, Ohio, 43215
United States

// CLOSED //

Closed 2010
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.1
Reviews:
5
Ratings:
5
pDev:
8.29%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by Osiris9588:
Photo of Osiris9588
Reviewed by Osiris9588 from Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
The Thirsty Ear is the headquarters of the Columbus Blue Alliance. On a CBA night when a national act is performing, you can expect to pay a hefty cover. When bands are playing here you can not really hear yourself think, let alone carry on a conversation.

However, when there is no live music, it's a somewhat quiet spot to try an extensive selection of brews, printed out for you to peruse on a list. You can always find an array of Belgian, other European, and American craft brews.

They also carry a good sampling of Irish whiskey, Bourbon, and Scotch. And everyone awaits Eric Clapton to show up--as he married a Columbus woman and has made an appearance at Blues Station downtown.
Sep 11, 2006
More User Ratings:
Photo of Dogbrick
Reviewed by Dogbrick from Ohio

3.84/5  rDev -6.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Thirsty Ear is located in the Grandview area on 3rd, right down the street from Byrne's. There is a small lot in front (be careful not to park in front of one of the other businesses during restricted hours) with additional parking in the rear.

The inside is somehow smaller than it looks from outside. There is a small stage right next to the front door. The bar is on the right and there is seating on the left. Interesting breweriana and blues-themed decorations. There are a couple TVs over the bar too if you feel like snubbing whatever act is performing on stage.

The beer selection is pretty good. There are 18 taps with CBC Pale, Hoster's, Harpoon and even Monty Python's Holy Grail. The bottled selection is around 100 with notables from GLBC, CBC, Sierra Nevada etc. Unfortunately the beer didn't seem as fresh as it should have.

Service was good on a Weds evening.

I didn't try any food, and I'm not sure they offer any.

Overall this is a cool little spot, especially if you're in the mood for beer and blues.
Oct 13, 2005
Photo of Beguiler
Reviewed by Beguiler from Ohio

4.7/5  rDev +14.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
There are 18 beers and Strongbow cider on tap, along with a beer menu that boasts over 120 beers in bottle. They usually have at least one tap that changes every 2 to 3 months (last time I was there they had EKU 28 on tap) and always seem to have a seasonal on tap. The beer menu breaks them down by country, then by style and ABV.
Very useful information for us beer geeks.
A great neighborhood spot with fine music, even with the space limitations they are working with. They keep promising that they are going to expand. The one thing that you can be assured of is that it will always be clean and for a blues bar it is free of smoke even though there are plenty of smokers there. It’s known as the home of the blues and a whole lot more and it lives up to that reputation by bringing in great blues acts but also classic acts like Big Brother and The Holding Company. The staff is always friendly and helpful and they have recently reopened their kitchen with a really good menu.
Overall not the biggest place in Columbus but one of the nicest places to spend a night of good food, good music and great Beer.
Feb 06, 2004
Photo of AtLagerHeads
Reviewed by AtLagerHeads from Ohio

3.8/5  rDev -7.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4
A pretty nice spot in the northwest. Limited off street parking could be an issue and entertainment is limited to certain nights for blues.

The beer selection is decent and the service is adequate. This is the best spot in the area unless you care to the Irish pub scene a couple blocks north at the Brazenhead Pub. Not a bad choice in this area.
Oct 04, 2003
Photo of Wildman
Reviewed by Wildman from Ohio

3.9/5  rDev -4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3
Okay, if you want to have a good selection of microbrews while listening to some fine music, this is the place. Located the the Grandview Heights area of Columbus, it has a good selection of microbrews on tap and in bottles. It promotes itself as a blues and rockabilly club and usually caters to those type of bands. It trys to give that feel to the club, but sometimes I believe it limits itself by setting up too much seating. They could get more people in to see bands if they cut back on the seating. Other than that, it makes a fine choice if you wish to see live music, but don't want to be limited in your selection of microbeers.
Jun 04, 2002
Flaherty's Thirsty Ear Tavern in Columbus, OH
Place rating: 4.1 out of 5 with 5 ratings