Bar on Buena

Just happened to be in the area of this place and was pleasantly surprised when I stopped in. OK I guess overall. Not what i would call a beer bar. Decent lineup. I happened to have my kids with me and - at first - felt like i was not welcome. That changed when they realized my boys were pretty awesome and I am sure - future beer drinkers!! Burgers are good and definitely a neighborhood place.

This place was my first love. They have a very creative draft list with about 14 of them on a constant, interesting rotation. The bottle list is quite nice, and if you’re a whiskey person, this is the place to go. The bartenders are very friendly and very knowledgeable. The atmosphere verges on neighborhood dive bar but with gastro pub food and a great beer list. This bar has the *it* neighborhood factor. It is the older, cooler brother of the Fountainhead (The Bar on Buena was the first endeavor of one of the owners of the Fountainhead). Sure, the Fountainhead went and got a fancy business degree and is all like "look at me!". But this older brother is the guy who you actually want to hang out with. Go to the BOB (as everyone calls it), sit at the bar, and enjoy yourself.

Parking was hell on Friday night. the place is on a somewhat small street near Montrose and Brodway. Small but yet roomy with a lounge (couch) area, kind of an open space in the middle. This place had about 25 or so taps and 100 other bottles, some taps I had not had before. Geared more towards Euro brews and especially German. Ambience was O.K. about half full and mostly a 25-35 year old crowd. Nice overall place for the location.

Stopped in for the Oktoberfest event of sorts that they were having back in October with drink4satan. The owners of Bar on Buena also own Fountainhead, which was doing their harvest beer festival the same day, and they had a free shuttle back and forth between the two locations for those who wanted to partake in both events. After stopping in at Fountainhead for a pint, we decided to take them up on the offer and check out the still-unknown to us Bar on Buena. There was some patio seating available, and the front windows were swung open, giving you the feel that you were still in the bar when you were seated out in the sun. Our waitress was actually from Germany, which seemed pretty fitting giver the event that they were having. They had a good selection of oktoberfest beers on tap from both Germany and the US. I actually ended up with a Schlenkerla Helles (too hard to pass that up on tap) and then finished with a Hacker-pschorr Oktoberfest Märzen. I had the hummus plate, which was very acceptable, and he got some sandwich that he was quite happy with. There was also live music in the bar (a decent bar-rock band) as it got later in the evening. Overall, a comfortable pub with a good tap selection. Not the most geeky place inn town, but definitely not a bad stop if you are in the area.

My new local haunt. Great for summer with outside tables. The interior is classy, with nice dark hardwood behind the bar and a low level of lighting at night time. The beer selection is actually quite awesome, a very good variety of styles and geography. I’d be surprised if you didn’t find something here to fit your mood, and that’s just the tap list. The bottle list is also extensive, although focusing on 12 oz. bottles instead of 750s to share (this is not the place to find rare Belgians). The food menu isn’t extensive, but definitely quality -- the burger is one of the best in the city. Overall, though, I’d opt to walk the couple blocks to Bar on Buena over taking public to Hop Leaf on most nights.

Stopped in again today (11/8), they had some gems on draft like Unfiltered Schlenkerla Ur-Bock, La Trappe Isidor, Founders Porter ($5 pint), and Surly Furious. It hit 70 degrees today, so they had the large front windows open with little patio tables outside. Enjoyed a B.O.B. burger that was decked out with pork belly, a fried egg, and Red Dragon Cheddar. Gave Kumas and Bad Apple a run for their money. Local crowd of all ages. Give B.O.B. a try if you haven’t been... 03-23-2009 The space was fairly open with table seating in the center, some loungey couches in the corner by the window, and more private booths along the side wall. The atmosphere was laid back and cozy, there’s a very "neighborhood" vibe here without pretense. The jukebox was surprisingly good with a variety of classics. There was a patio area outside with tables for the warmer months. On the bar there was a card listing 10 Bock biers, including Schlenkerla Fastenbier (with an optional side of bacon, lol), Celebrator, Aventinus, Vitus, Capital Blonde Doppelbock, and a rare Steinbier, Granitbock. Their German taps alone blew away Resi’s selection, (which I visited on the same day). Metro Dynamo, Cane & Abel, and Lagunitas IPA were some of the other drafts. The beer menu was well organized, listing draft beers with their serving size, ABV, tasting notes, and price. Bottles were listed by country of origin, also including size and pricing. There were a few sour ales in the Belgian list, which was nice to see. Plenty of English, German, and Trappist options, more than what’s listed on their website. US craft bottles seemed to be slightly limited, but there were several staples like DFH 90, Founders Reds Rye, Alpha King, and Lakefront Riverwest Stein. Other gems like Carnegie Porter were under an "around the world" heading. Robyn was the bartender, and she was really great (since left to be head chef at Fountainhead). Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the selection, and about beer in general. Service was quick, generous tastes were offered, beers came in branded glassware with proper pours.

I live right around the corner from this place and it has been a weekly staple for my friends and I. The environment and music are really chill and relaxed. Service is usually good but has been slow at times when it’s really busy. They have very tasty food and a well rounded beer selection that caters to most styles. It can be a little pricey but they have daily specials (like a tasty Monday burger and fries for $4) that makes it easier on the wallet. Beer prices are fair for the most part ($4 or $5 for many of the micro pints and $7 or $8 for some higher alcohol rarer ones).There is an outdoor patio which is nice but a large section of the front is a garage door that is opened when the weather is nice, thus creating a open air environment. Unfortunately the weather is cooling now but the inside if nice and cozy. Good place to bring a date too, if you so desire.

Love this place! The bar and restaurant area have true character- sometimes a jazz musician plays softly in a corner, or the PA system might play the collected oeuvre of The Clash. The list of about 20 draft beers is always astutely selected and includes reasonably priced flights of beer.There are also great selections of bottled beer, wines by the glass, scotch, etc. A sleeper that I only discovered recently and I’ve lived around the corner for years.