Arnold's Bar and Grill

A true Cincinnati icon. A place everyone should visit at least once. The food and atmosphere is fantastic. They do collabs with breweries around town and usually have food stuff on tap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arnold's is Cincinnati's Oldest Bar since 1861.

 

 

 

 

The most charter in a bar. The history adds to the laid back vibe. That's some great beers rotating. Not the most tap handles but it's still solid. They get a good amount of limited local brews going through which I love to try. The food is good. Have a hot brown if you aren't worried about your heart or weight! Mmmm.

Had dinner at Arnold's while staying in downtown Cincinnati for several days for business.

A: This place is over the top with character, but not in the fake just purchased from a warehouse way. The feel and atmosphere is unbelievable and has developed legitimately over 150+ years. When TGIF, Applebees and other chains screw junk to the walls, this is the place which they are trying to emulate.

Q: My wife and I both had several beers here and had no issues with quality. They arrived quickly in shaker pint glasses and with some head.

S: Prompt, friendly and professional service that while not experts on beer, were helpful.

S: This place seems to focus on local beers when venturing into craft. They had beer from local breweries as well as a contract brewed 1861 Porter designed to emulate a beer served in their early days.

F: Food was good, pub plus, but nothing amazing.

If you are in the Cincinnati are, go visit this bar. It may not have the best food or the best beer selection, but the experience of sitting and absorbing the history of this place is wonderful.

We visited this 150-year-old pub in downtown Cincinnati before going to the ballgame. It was a bit of a walk compared to some of the newer, prefabricated joints, but well worth it.

The atmosphere is very charming, and rare in this country, where we tend to tear down anything which we perceive as too old. Much of the original architecture is still intact; it is narrow (like most of the town), with two levels. The upstairs dining rooms include a water closet (toilet) behind closed door, as well as sinks to wash your hands in the dining area when finished. There is also a bathtub in the middle of one room which I can only assume was used to make speakeasy gin at one point.

The beer list is respectable, and by no means exhaustive, but accommodating to all tastes. Macros as well as craft offerings, heavy on the locals. They only have four taps, but one is a house porter brewed by Christian Moerlein.

Service was very friendly and efficient. The waiter was very enthusiastic in reminding us the beers we ordered were brewed in Cincinnati (well, contract-brewed, but I didn't want to quibble).

Food was also tasty, and you'll find some innovative offerings to match the typical pub fare, such as tilapia/gouda fish tacos. The fish & chips were crisp, as opposed to soggy, which for me is the tell-tale sign of pub food quality.

Anyway, worth a stop in Cincy for the experience. It's a shame more buildings like this haven't been preserved or been put to better use over the years.

Last month, I happened to be in Cincinnati during Bockfest and ended up at Arnold's over the course of the night. I couldn't be happier to have stumbled upon this place. The feel in the bar was fantastic. There were tons of little rooms everywhere in this place and every room made you feel like you were stepping back in time. The selection on tap wasn't great that night because they had reserved all of the taps for the Bockfest, but the experience of being in that place made it worth it. If you're in the city, make a point to visit Arnold's.

Currently celebrating their 150th anniversary. Local brewing company Christian Moerlein has introduced a Porter, respectfully titled 1861 Porter for the year Arnold's opened. Unfortunately I was unable to try it this past Saturday as they were sold out. It is only available on tap at Arnold's.

The bar is decorated with antique signs that have presumably been hanging since they were new. It adds to the charm of Cincinnati's oldest tavern. Decent beer selection available including local Moerlein, Hudepohl, Burger, Schoneling, Rivertown, and Mt. Carmel.

Non-smoking (as is all of Cincinnati)

The food is a bit pricey compared to what I normally like to spend but you get what you pay for. The food is worth the price. Stage area for music at no extra charge. Love Arnold's!

If there ever was a place in this city that is pure Cincinnati, this is it. The oldest bar in the area!
Located in a historic building with plenty of it's prohibition history still left for everybody to see. They also host some of the local beer festivals and starting points for others.
They have good food and a covered/heated beer garden. Upstairs there is a bathtub which they used during prohibition. Plenty of history and stories in the walls of this place. Just a very cool place to have a beer.
A true treasure in Cincinnati. Do yourself a favor and stop in here for lunch on a nice spring day and enjoy a beer and relish in the history that this place provides.

I stopped in at Arnold's for a bit of Bock beer to kick off Bockfest. Dim, tavern style lighting, has an antiquated presence that delivers a nice sense of history for one of the oldest bars in America. A few Barrelhouse taps, Hudy Bock, Christian Moerlein, a few megas. Not extensive but a few good craft selections. Even with my own glass ware, the pint plus three growlers to go set me back nearly $50. The draft beer was quite fresh and tasty.

I'd go again for a pint of two but would look elsewhere on a better deal on to-go brew.

What a really cool place to stop into. I did not know this was the oldest bar in town until I got there, but the atmosphere is just great. Really cool vibe as you walk in. The selection was more the decent with Barrelhouse, Great Lakes, and Morlien represented from the local seen and some Sierra Nevada, and Rogue as well as some more common imports. This was definitly a quality place and one that I really would like to go back to. I didnt have nearly enough time to hang out here, as I had many other stops to make, but this was definitly a cool little local place to hang out.

I can't believe that we're the first to review Cincinnati's oldest pub! Anyway.... here goes:

Visit this place! The atmosphere is awesome... what a great old place. This place drips history! I love the outdoor (covered) courtyard. The food is fantastic. Last time I was there was a late Thursday night, March 1st (The beginnining of Bockfest). Arnold's is a key location for Bockfest. This night they were hosting the selection of the Sausage Queen!

I had a Bock sausage plate over cabbage with applesauce. Scrumptious! This was washed down with Christian Morlein Dopplebock... DOUBLE SCRUMPTIOUS!

Ronda Androski, is a gracious hostess and knows how to throw a good party. They have live music every Thursday, Friday & Saturday... they get some really top knotch local acts!

There beer selection is constantly rotating with the season with emphasis on local offerings.

The Bier Band HIGHLY recommends Arnold's!