St. James Tavern

 

This is a smaller hole in the wall bar with less than 15 tables. It has 2 pool tables, is rarely overcrowded, and has quality beers on draft at lower prices than normal. What makes this place nice is that the drafts are always reasonably priced and you don't have to rely on happy hour specials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Great selection with great prices and the music is always on point. This is the first place Black Note and Doom hit my lips if that says anything about the quality of beers they are getting here. Lucky to have this place so close to my house, don't come here enough.

 

This place is a gem. Sweet music, great beer for cheap, awesome bartenders and a few pool tables. What else do you need? I was in the other day, Two Hearted, Maharaja, North Coast Anniversary Saison, Lagunitas Pils, all for cheap. Nice and divey, and let's hope it stays that way.

 

Long time reader, first time poster. I travel the US every week, from NE to CA to the SE, and the first thing I do is check BeerAdvocate to find out where to find a local brewer, a place with Belgians, or a decent place to eat.

St. James is the kind of bar I would spend every day in, if it were available in the Houston area. A great owner (Michelle) who knows her beer, and knows how to keep an eclectic crowd of mostly college kids, with a few beer affectionados thrown in, happy. Two pool tables, nice music mix... just a nice place.

Tonight, they were serving Bell's Two Hearted, Avery IPA, Chimay White, Founder's Red Rye, Hennepin... some others. They had Chimay Red, a couple of Frambois' (Pomme, Peche') and the standards in bottle. Just enough variety to keep me coming back from Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Oh, and most importantly, 3.50 pints for the domestics. Can't beat it in Columbus.

St. James is the best dive bar for the artsy crowd, period. And yet it is situated just South of Weinland Park (a rather depressed neighborhood). I am consistently surprised how packed it is, mostly by younger folks (think college age). Imagine a small two room bar, wood veneer walls and a couple pool tables with tall tables on one side, a thirty-foot bar and a few tall tables on the other The music choice is top notch.
The bartenders are awesome. They are all very knowledgeable in beer and they are beer nerds themselves. They have several varieties of glasses and they occasionally serve in the correct, brewery-labelled glass.
The selection is a dozen taps, which rotate occasionally. KBS was available here, along with GI Dominique and Chimay White. Right now they list the following: Two Hearted, Oberon, Red's Rye, Rogue's Brutal Bitter, Hennepin, Avery IPA, Maudite, GI Minx, and a few others. Their bottle selection isn't anything too exciting, but it appends the draft selection well.

I love this place. The tap beer selection is $3.50 for all pints. Higher ABV drafts run more but these are the best prices around without happy hour discounting. Current drafts include Bell's Oberon and Two Hearted Ale, Ommegang Hennepin, Rogue's Brutal Biter, Avery IPA and other great crafts which they rotate. They are getting ready to add a couple more handles so selection will be even better. Good glass program and pretty knowledgeable staff.

I much prefer this place to Bodega or Surly Girl because service is much quicker, friendlier and you can actually get a drink and a good whiskey without waiting for 20 minutes.

The atmosphere is very laid back. Great, eclectic juke box. Two pool tables. Place is very clean with great woodwork, hardwood floors and friendly, neighboorhood patrons. I don't live around it but I make it a point to stop here on my way home for a pint or two.

Service is fast but only the owner (Michelle) and one other bartender (Ann) seem to really engage non-regulars. The other bartenders are still friendlier and faster than Bodega or Surly Girl. If you have a friend or two and want to really enjoy yourself, try this place over the Short North, self-impressed pubs.

This place is fairly hidden in the Itailian Village section of the Short North. A fairly small bar area with a seperate area with tables. They used to have bands play upstairs but ran into problems with that. The beer selection is more focused on bottles than taps, but they try to keep a good selection of the taps they have. A discount at happy hour and staff and owner are both very friendly and helpful for some who may not know what beers to order if they are not an expert on the different styles.

The St. James tavern offers a quality selection of European beers and Domestic mircrobrews. The atmosphere is somewhat grungey, populated by indie kids wearing thrift store clothes and those janitor key chains.

The main advantage of a visit to the St James is affordability--all pints being only $3.25--and here is there most recent draft list:

Bell's "Two Hearted" IPA
Bell's "Winter White"
Flying Dog "Doggie Style" Pale Ale
Harpoon Hibernian Ale
Three Floyds "Alpha King" Pale Ale
New Holland "Mad Hatter" IPA
Avery New World Porter
Old Dominion "Oak Barrel Stout"
Rogue "Brutal Bitter"
Arcadia "Amber Ale"
Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter
Guinness "Irish Stout"
Harp Irish Lager
Stoudt's "Scarlet Lady" ESB

Not too shabby. Plus the juke box is solid and the staff is laid back and cool. It's off the beaten path and most certaintly worth a visit on any craft brew tour of Cow town.

Bar is off the main drag, but has a decent crowd on weekends, dont know about dueing the week. It doesnt take much to fill the downstairs bar though, since the bar area is like a hallway..the 2 pool tables are off the bar and provide a little more room. As was said before, the jukebox is good stuff, the beer selection is ok, the people are a mixed bunch which is great if you like to socialize, the upstairs has bands, but charge a cover, usually for me it's been $2-$5. And they accept credit cards, which is important to me.
Good bar, not too fratty, not too slummy.

The St. James Tavern is located on the brink of a not-very-nice section of Columbus, not too far from dowtown on the corner of 4th and Detroit (if that tells you anything). Parking can be found on surrounding streets and in a lot on Detroit.

Inside the bar is on the right and is very narrow. There is a small area reserved for pool on the left. The bar definitely has a political slant, with some subtle and some obvious giveaways. There is also an old-school Galaga arcade game.

The beer selection is not bad. They have around 10 taps with offerings from Founders, New Holland, Bell's, Avery and others. The bottled beers number in the 40-50 range, with selections from DFH, Bell's, Unibroue, Young's, Sierra Nevada etc. $3 pints during happy hour is a nice bonus too.

The service here is perfect for the laid back atmosphere. I was there on a Monday early evening and it was quiet and the bartender was friendly and talked beer a bit with me, but otherwise just kept to herself. The jukebox was pretty quiet as well.

Food at this establishment appears to be limited to single-serving bags of potato chips behind the bar.

Overall this bar has a couple things working against it, namely the location and the political bent, but if you are looking for a place to enjoy a good beer and a game of pool in an easygoing atmosphere then this place is worth a look.

Former dive on a desolate section of North 4th St. Attracts the nearby younger Italian Village crowd, who are improving the formerly downtrodden neighborhood. Several micros on tap with reasonable prices. Don't judge on outside appearances, much more inviting inside, with rough hewn wood panel walls, a comfortable wood bar, and freindly owners. Good jukebox featuring alt rock bands & a side room with pool table. No kitchen, so eat before you come. Upstairs area with small bar (no draft) which has featured local artists works, & sometimes local bands, but space is limited, and watch those stairs after a few. Recommended, a good beer bar with a nice artsy/divey mix that seems to be gaining popularity.

I sought this place out twice finally being successful on my second stab. The look is of a formerly busy neighborhood bar and if you slide up on N. Fourth the fast one-way traffic will push you right past it- good luck getting back there. Found one of the very few on-street spots not realizing that they have limited spots off-street on Detroit. Anyway this is a down and dirty drinking place with a few good taps and a smoky, noisy atmosphere. OK if you're into that.