Cock & Bull Public House

Cock & Bull Public HouseCock & Bull Public House
Cock & Bull Public HouseCock & Bull Public House
Bar, Eatery

601 Main St
Covington, Kentucky, 41011-1699
United States

(859) 581-4253 | map
cockandbullcincinnati.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.08
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
27
pDev:
8.33%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by WillWillows:
Photo of WillWillows
Reviewed by WillWillows from Ohio

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
The fish and chips are great, the home cooked chips are way beyond the pale. The burgers and the specialty sandwiches are excellent. But best of all they sell Boddington on draught. Sit outside on one of the nice wrought iron table and chairs, in the center street separator or alongside the street on a warm day and sip a Boddington's, eat and just enjoy. This is a great place and they have an excellent choice of Beer. It's not the Avon Pub in Avon Dassett, Warks, but then no place is.
Jun 08, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of Manta200
Reviewed by Manta200 from Kentucky

4.1/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25
The place is rather small but the selection of beers is very good. Among all kinds of local brews you will find beers from around the world as well. There is seating outside, on a nice day definitely something to enjoy. As a beer lover on Mainstrasse in Covington KY, this is the place to go!
Jun 25, 2019
Photo of RobinF
Reviewed by RobinF from Ohio

5/5  rDev +22.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5
My favorite place in Mainstrasse Village (Covington, KY). Cool vibe with an eclectic feel. 50 Taps of Craft and Local brews. Fish & Chips are crazy-good! Great outdoor dining in the summertime. Awesome place!
Dec 27, 2017
 
Rated: 3.88 by firkingroovin from Illinois

Apr 25, 2017
 
Rated: 4.46 by Michael914 from Illinois

Apr 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.34 by PassMeAZima from Kentucky

Mar 29, 2015
Photo of Duoglass
Rated by Duoglass from Kentucky

4.9/5  rDev +20.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Great beer selection. No bullshit. Good bar.
Jan 02, 2015
Photo of UrbanCaveman
Reviewed by UrbanCaveman from Ohio

4/5  rDev -2%
While tiny, this is a decent place to grab a meal, and to enjoy something from the just over three dozen tap handles they sport. The food isn't bad at all for pub food, and the beer selection is generally good, with several taps that seem permanently dedicated to staple beers (Franziskaner Wheat, Delirium Tremens), and a number of others which rotate.One feature the place has is "Pint Night" on Thursday evenings, where one featured beer comes in a glass you get to keep, and refills are discounted by a dollar. During the summer, there are more outdoor tables than indoor, and if you happen to have your dog along, the staff tend to be nice about making sure they get taken care of as well.

Most weeknights are fine, but the place does get a bit packed by a younger, dancier sort of crowd around the weekend. Unless that's your thing, you may consider clearing out before 10 PM on Friday or Saturday night.
Oct 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.92 by Doublechar0517 from Kentucky

Sep 20, 2014
 
Rated: 4.09 by chrismattlin from Ohio

Sep 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Long_Duck_Dong from Kentucky

Jun 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by chewy6935 from Michigan

Nov 12, 2013
Photo of Maximus_Prime
Reviewed by Maximus_Prime from Colorado

4.11/5  rDev +0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4
I went pubcrawling in covington and was happy to find an establishment with the beers I was looking to try that arent available in florida. They had 3 Floyds gumballhead and alpha claus on tap amongst others, which are 2 beers I have tried in a bottle but makes a world of difference on draft. Got there at the right time to find parking and a table before 5pm as it got pretty slammed for happy hour on a friday. The food was great for the $ and to soak up the beers but probably wouldnt have gone for the food alone. Since it was happy hour on a friday and packed the service was a little slow but under the circumstances had a great atmosphere and didnt bother me one bit after the fresh gumballhead.

Overall a great establishment and would definitely go back again next time I visit!
Sep 05, 2013
Photo of ShanaRae
Reviewed by ShanaRae from Kentucky

3.73/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3
I really like Cock N Bull. It is one of my favorite places to take my kids for after school snacks and cokes. I like to sip on a pint. I like that it is nonsmoking and that they cater to breweries. Upland had an amazing sampling there. We had a great time. The food is ok, though I am not a fan of the bloody mary brunch. The service is always great and I will continue to go there, the beer though is crazy expensive. $7 bucks a two hearted ale.
Jun 18, 2013
Photo of phiberoptik
Reviewed by phiberoptik from Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
Cock & Bull is a pub by day and bar by night. By that I mean you can enjoy a meal and a beer up until about 10pm when the college bar crowd invades. (Can you tell Im past that phase?)

This place is small but a good vibe comes from it. Live music on occasion, great fish & chips (and other English pub food) as well as burgers. Actually a lot of the food is good and the menu offers a bit for everyone.

37 taps and several bottles make for a good selection. For this area, to ever have anything Three Floyds on tap, makes it a spot to be. Unfortunately its not there anymore, but there are some other nice crafts pouring right now.

Worth a visit or two or ten. It is definitely one of the better bars in Main Strasse.
Jul 27, 2011
Photo of Preismj
Reviewed by Preismj from Illinois

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5
Located in MainStrasse Village in Covington, this place had some of the better beer selections on tap that I've encountered so far in the Cincinnati/NKY area. Very pleasant bar with a great DJ. Started quiet when we first arrived and as more people came in, he began to crank the bass. The place was a bit small for the amount of people that came.

I recommend this place if you are a beer enthusiast, though it saddened me to see that about 95% of the people that were there had a miller or corona in their hands rather than one of the great selections on tap.

The beer, the service and the atmosphere are all great...the patrons could have been a bit better and being in NKY, you can still smoke in the bar. The people, allowance of smoking and closed quarters took away a bit from the venue.
Mar 27, 2011
Photo of Kelly88
Reviewed by Kelly88 from Kentucky

4.1/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
This place is located in a the heart of a great bar scene and a great neighborhood, Mainstrausse Village. The atmosphere is pretty good on week days. After 10 on the weekend there is a DJ and that brings in the college crowd. Quality is real nice. Great wooden antique bar with nice seating throughout. Beers are always clean and fresh. The food could be better but Hey it is a pub. The selection is the best i have encountered in the northern Kentucky:
Stella
Sierra Nevada pale Ale
Hopslam
Peroni
Great lakes burning river
3floyds Robert the Bruce
River town Bock
Schlafly Irish stout
Rogue dead Guy
Summit extra pale
spaten lager
Frankinsaser weisbier
Bells two hearted
Delirium tremens
Unibroue chambly noire
Harp, Guinness, smithwicks
Boddingtons
60,90 minute ipa
Stone ipa
Sam Adams Boston lager and seasonal
And some more stuff
Food is good fish and chips are the best. I also enjoy the dip sampler.
Prices vary from about 4-650 for draft.
I really enjoy this place
Feb 21, 2011
Photo of Yetiman420
Reviewed by Yetiman420 from Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
My wife goes here quite frequently for work and endorses the food.

This review comes after my second visit in a two year span.

Located in a charming historic district in North Kentucky, Cock & Bull provides an interior with lots of big windows and historic character.

They have plenty of taps and for serious BA's concerned about too many pedestrian English beers, they have a fine representation of American craft beers. The one beer I settled on was a Dogfish Head 90 Minute. They also had Bells Two Hearted on tap for hop heads.

Our food was exceptional for casual bar food standards. Some of the best fish and chips I've ever had and a very well spiced buffalo chicken wrap.

A great choice if you're in mixed company as it's a beer gem in a lively entertainment district. I fear some of the other bars around here care a lot less about good beer.

My only beef with this place, and Kentucky, is they're resisting the movement to allow people to breathe clean air indoors. Fortunately the only person smoking was a guy drinking Miller Lite. All the people drinking good beer weren't smoking.
May 02, 2009
Photo of bamadog
Reviewed by bamadog from Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -10.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5
I've been here a few times, but am just now getting around to review it. Probably a good idea considering how many postings there have been about people not reviewing various watering holes, so I'm just trying to do my part :)

Atmosphere is alright - typical bar that has a British type name, so you can rest assured they will have soccer on a couple of screens, but since it's also in Kentucky, there was also several screens with college hoops on too. Smoking bar as well, so if that bothers you, you could just jump across the Ohio and head into Cincinnati and not worry about it, something I seriously considered.

Quality is there, that's for sure - nothing especially mindblowing, but you feel it's going to be a pretty solid experience. It's fairly clean and easy to maneuver, spacey enough as well... Well, at least during the week. I've heard that part of town gets pretty crazy on the weekends.

Selection was nice - I counted 24 taps and they had some really nice beers on tap at the time - Ruination, Hopslam (which I kind of wish I got but I was really pleased with the...), Breckinridge 471, DFH 90 min., etc... There's also a full bar if you've got friends with you that aren't into beer.

Food is typical bar fare - deep fried everything, so you can't really go wrong, but don't expect much of a selection either.

Value - I would say fair and they run various specials at different times of the day and week, so you can kind of pick and choose whatever you're looking for. Compared to other places though, I'd say it was definitely comparable and not out of the ordinary in terms of prices.
Mar 05, 2009
Photo of ltjska04
Reviewed by ltjska04 from Kentucky

4.18/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
In the heart of Mainstrauss Village, this place definitely has the best beer selection in the area. It is pretty small and can get quite crowded and loud. It is also usually pretty smokey, which really ruins a beer experience. For me, the atmosphere isn't very good and the only reason I go there every so often is for their awesome pint nights on Thursdays. They have some great selections on these nights and you get to keep the imperial pint glass your beer comes in. There's a better selection than most bars in Kentucky and that makes it worth going to if you don't mind the smoke and noise.
Mar 03, 2009
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
This place was located on the southwest corner of 6th and Main Streets and the entryway was on the Main Street side. The door opened directly onto the restaurant area, which consisted mainly of restaurant tables and chairs, but with a few circular high tables and chairs. The left wall, facing aft (west) had a mural explaining the origin of "The Cock and Bull story".

Continuing aft, along the left side, was the zigzag bar with both a ceramic tap tower and a brass tower mounted right into it. The back bar, in addition to having another ceramic tap tower (!), was an extensive carved wood and mirror affair. At the far end of the back bar was their bottled beer cooler. Further aft, the space became a narrow passage- way with the washrooms on either side and the kitchen fully aft. The ceiling had a beautiful pattern, but I could not decide if it was actually pressed tin. The decor also included exposed ducting, vintage lighting fixtures, UK flags and bar towels ringing the entire overhead.

Beer: Twenty-five (25) taps with no BMC, running a wide gamut of American micros and English and German imports. Bottles totaled forty-nine (49) with an impressive selection that included a good bit of Unibroue, making me think of Rick Suarez and Caesar. Twelve (12) of the bottles were BMC products, BTW. Me? I drank local - Great Lakes Christmas Ale and Barrelhouse Dortmunder. My excellent beertender was Giles.
Oct 21, 2007
Photo of Bones54
Reviewed by Bones54 from Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -11%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
This place is located in a pretty cool area of Covington. To bad I was here during the winter, seems like the area is fun during the summer. The Cock and Bull has a very fair selection of beers considering the area it is located in (this is not a shot at KY, but more a shot of the beer selection at the bars in Covington). They have a nice selection of German beers, along w/ Arrogant Bastard, Dead Guy, and the local Barrel House on draft. The atmosphere here is great. A nice small beer with some attitude. Cheers to your Cock & Bull.
Dec 05, 2006
Photo of Brent
Reviewed by Brent from Kentucky

3.33/5  rDev -18.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
A rather small-ish place with some tables up-front and the back of the building taken up by the bar. Decor was okay, mostly free brewery advertising material from various English and a few German breweries (although an Abita Mardi Gras neon light seemed oddly out of place). Beer selction was what you would expect for a British-styled pub, solid but not deep. The menu touted the fish & chips as award winning, so I opted for that. They were good - the fish very crispy and not at all greasy, and the fries were nice and crisp, as well. Served with a lemon wedge, a cup of tartar sauce and malt vinegar at the table, so all bases were covered. Not an impressive place, but pleasant enough. The $5 pint of beer seemed a touch high.
May 15, 2006
Photo of cproioi
Reviewed by cproioi from Ohio

4.3/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Was the first stop on a small pub outing two friends and myself went on. The Cock and Bull provided us with quick and friendly service that was reasonably priced. Their selection was good but not the best I've seen. The only problem was there was a band playing and while the band was very talented and played really good old R&B and Soul they had the volume up too loud for the small bar. Inside the bar it was hard to hold a conversation with a person sitting next to you, and ordering a drink was an adventure. When we went outside we still found it hard to hear each other. So my only complaint was the sound person needed to adjust the volume and EQ's of the board to better fit the venue.

Drinks ordered: Guinness.
May 04, 2006
Photo of fightingwords
Reviewed by fightingwords from Kentucky

4/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5
This place is the place I go when I want an English sized pint filled with super fresh Import beer.

The atmosphere is a little bland, but the place doesnt have much room to be flashy...the usual English pub style and a comfortable bar to at which to sit and drink. I think the real atmosphere is the Main Strausse Villiage in which its located. There are as many bars as there are personalities and they are all in a safe area with wide sidewalks, good parking, and close proximity for pub crawling.

The quality is top notch, they always have fresh well maintained taps with resonable rotation and a good fridge of bottle for those who aren't in the mood for draught.

The service is always good busy or not provided you aren't a jerk and tip appropriately, remember this area gets over run with college dance club punks and this bar doesnt put up with stiffs like the other macro serving establishments will. The bar tenders can serve you a pint like a champ and my lady says they are fair with their liquor drinks

The food is what actually got me in the place. Good menu of pub food prepared fresh. I recommend the Bull burger, Pub Chips and the Spicy chicken wrap.

The selction of beers is European (English, Irish and Bavarian for the most part) and they rotate some of their taps monthly. They are known for having little events like the Spaten keep the pint night when they had Optimator.

Good pricing for the biggest pints you'll get in the area...I can't say anything bad other than avoid this place late on Thursdays and Fridays because of an uncomfortablely large crowd.

Give it a shot just after dinner and you'll won't be dissapointed.
Mar 01, 2006
Photo of frazbri
Reviewed by frazbri from Ohio

4.03/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5
Located on the Main Strasse in Covington, we stopped here after a Bengals game. A pretty decent looking pub, that doesn't go over the top for that "british" style. A solid collection of imported beers, but not much in American craft beers. They had Hoegarden, Franziskaner Hefe, and Muphy's Stout amongst their draft choices. The most notable US tap was Sam Adams.

The food menu was mostly your basic pub fare, but did also list steaks and a couple pasta dishes. They touted the best fish and chips in the greater cincy area, and they were tasty.

The service was stellar. We had one of those rare waitresses that was seemed to anticipate our needs. She was on top of it all, even if she couldn't pronounce Franziskaner.

Overall, this is a good little bar. I'd give this one another go.
Nov 23, 2004
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Reviewed by AtLagerHeads from Ohio

3.64/5  rDev -10.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
The Cock and Bull is in the center of the redeveloped old German section of Covington, part of a massive effort to change the character of the old riverfront gambling and prostitution center for greater Cincinnati. The section of Covington where the Cock and Bull resides is full of fully and partially restored old historic buildings, each with a bronze plague giving the original date of the building.

The pub itself is a good effort at creating an English style pub and misses the mark, but in so doing creates a nice beer bar worthy of some attention. The taps are clearly an effort to offer some better beer and in addition to Guinness carry the lovely Murphy's stout as well. The bottled selection is also a good effort with some decent craft beers from the US along with good representaion from several European brewers.

Service is friendly and helpful. The prices are fair and the food looks to be a minor attraction. On-street parking might be problematic on many nights, but lots are available within a half block or so from Mainstrasse.
Jan 04, 2004
Cock & Bull Public House in Covington, KY
Place rating: 4.08 out of 5 with 27 ratings