Latest reviews from Bloomington
| 76 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “Very nice location here, with a great patio overlooking their barrel room. Good service, flights available. Beer is mixed--their sours are pretty good while most of the rest of their beer is average at best. Some of the dark beers are OK, IPAs, very average. I had a port cutlet sandwich, which was pretty good.“ |
| 76 /100 101 N COLLEGE AVE “Big place. As previous raters have said, there's a tap room for the brewery downstairs. It was closed, either due to it being Sunday or it being COVID, so I sat upstairs. Big bar, tables. lots of TVS. Kind of a combo sports bar / college bar vibe. The service was good. Literally the first thing they told me was no hard liquor... the focus on the beer. 10 of their house beers on tap. I tried them all and they ranged from above average to very good. The house beers are not an afterthought here. The other taps have a nice selection of locals. Good tap and bottle selection, but no rarities. Plently of seasonals. Cheap flights available for the house beers, but not for the guest taps. Prices reasonable overall. Nice stop.“ |
| 78 /100 Big Red Liquors (Beer Store) 418 N. COLLEGE “Big store with dedicated parking lot. Nice selection of beers - regional, US, and imports. Recently expanded their build your own six pack so quite a few to choose from. A good selection of local beers. One of the main college liquor stores so plan on getting carded if you’re under 40 (even at the front door on Friday/Saturday nights).“ |
| 84 /100 350 W 11TH ST “Right next door to the brewpub. Large building but just a small bar with a few tables. Tours given twice on Thursday/Friday and three times Saturday and Sunday. Can get flights of 1, 3, and 6. Always have 10 sours on tap with several brewery only varieties plus 10 non-sours. Also have bottles available for purchase - had 4 fruit lambics and a couple others when I was there (carry out only). No food available here Parking lot between it and brewpub has improved with the opening of the Wood Shop but still crowded - might have to park on the street when its busy. A nice place and a must stop for the sour lover.“ |
| 70 /100 4060 PROFILE PKWY “Not far off of US 37 (soon to be I-69) in industrial area. Ample parking. Have all the regulars plus a few specialties (but no sours on my visit - you need to go to The Wood Shop for those). If you just want to drink some Upland beers in a relaxed environment and don’t want to eat, this is the place to go.“ |
| 70 /100 Big Woods Bloomington (Restaurant) 116 N GRANT STREET “Still hard for me to shake the Django’s vibe. New look reminds me of the 1990s, kind of a Southern Indiana jam-band vibe with the bright colors and paint-slash look. Was expecting Kokopelli drawings. Anyways, good service on a busy Friday night. Decent selection of beers, though I wasn’t crazy about the house stuff. Food was just okay. But certainly there’s potential here, and I’d give it another shot.“ |
| 80 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “This was my mid drive stop for dinner between middle of no where Inidiana and Indianapolis airport hotel location. Large open area, a few bars and a chill looking patio. I sat at the first bar once you walk in. Service was okay. Bartender bro kept dancing like a Nancy And that made me feel bad for him. I had three beers which ranged from gross to meh. Had a bratwurst sandwich which was easily the height of my visit. Grabbed a four pack for the aforementioned hotel and a sticker for my beer fridge.“ |
| 68 /100 The Irish Lion (Bar) 212 W KIRKWOOD AVE “Great place to get a good Irish meal but not much of a beer selection - typical selections for an Irish bar (did have Franziskaner Hefeweizen on tap though). Great food but nothing special on the beer side.“ |
| 58 /100 Crazy Horse (Bar) 214 W KIRKWOOD AVE “Watched the Hoosiers come back to beat Notre Dame when the IU students were on Xmas break. The banner above the door proudly announced that they were now serving Miller Lite on tap. However, they had a few decent taps - Bells and 3 Floyds - to counter that macro swill. The apps we got were OK, the service was pretty slow as advertised...but had a good time.“ |
| 74 /100 Big Woods Bloomington (Restaurant) 116 N GRANT STREET “Nicely renovated/decorated old house with a large covered porch. Decent selection of Big Woods beers and guest taps. Looking forward to trying the food next time. They need to decide what the name of this place is...Quaff On or Big Woods.“ |
| 80 /100 The Irish Lion (Bar) 212 W KIRKWOOD AVE “Cool pub with a decent beer selection. I really like the bar, really nice place. Food was really good.“ |
| 78 /100 514 EAST KIRKWOOD AVE “1st stop of the day, had several of the beers and a pizza. Pizza was good and a few of the beers were really good“ |
| 84 /100 Big Woods Bloomington (Restaurant) 116 N GRANT STREET “I liked this place, nice bar area and a great selection of beers. Sampled several of there and several were really good“ |
| 86 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “Large brewbub with a nice selection. Had several really good beers.“ |
| 86 /100 101 N COLLEGE AVE “Nice selection of there beers. You can choose the little tap room in the basement or the big upstairs bar. Both are nice and the beer is good.“ |
| 76 /100 World Foods Market (Sahara Mart) (Grocery Store) 106 E 2ND ST “Nice selection of craft and import beers. Prices were not bad.“ |
| 74 /100 World Foods Market (Sahara Mart) (Grocery Store) 106 E 2ND ST “Good beer selection although their eastside location has even more. Definitely worth a stop in Bloomington.“ |
| 76 /100 Big Woods Bloomington (Restaurant) 116 N GRANT STREET “Tiny, nice little spot in downtown.....basically an old house a few blocks from the town square.....parking can be iffy....Food is very good, but a little on the hipster side....another spot without regular burgers and such....you have to be in the mood for the menu.....plenty of house taps and generally a few guest taps that can be surprising.......Staff goes both ways.....really into it and up on the beers, or clueless....depends on the shift, I guess....wonderful fireplace during winter visits....nice spot, though the IU crowd can get a little boisterous while games are on.....but, hey, it’s Bloomington, IN.....part of the package.“ |
| 82 /100 Big Woods Bloomington (Restaurant) 116 N GRANT STREET “A little slice of Brown County in the middle of Bloomington - in the downtown area not far from campus and downtown. Nice guest taps along with their own beers. Great service. I was impressed - great place.“ |
| 74 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “Recently underwent a much needed expansion with much more seating. Also a better selection of their beers - usually have at least a couple specialties along with their regulars. Parking to the side but fills up quick - quite a bit of street parking and not much in the area, but still may be a challenge Friday and Saturday nights. Food not bad.“ |
| 70 /100 FARM - Bloomington (Restaurant) 108 E KIRKWOOD AVENUE “FARM is one of many "farm-to-plate" style restaurants popping up in the US, offering locally grown produce and meat in their food, as well as a nice selection of beers. Food is kind of like comfort food, but taken up a few notches in flavor and creativity.“ |
| 90 /100 101 N COLLEGE AVE “Here on a Friday afternoon with a handful of people in eating lunch and having a beer. Fantastic view of the town square and an open airy feeling inside with lots of beer taps, bottles, and signage to engage the beer geek. Our server was very friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive. Beer selection is excellent with both their own brews and extensive mix of guest taps. I wasn’t expecting much from the house brews and ignored them at first, but upon tasting a couple around the table my impression quickly changed. Had a Belgian Strong, Berliner Weisse, and a Hefe from the house list and all were outstanding. The food was good as well. Great place!“ |
| 66 /100 Uptown Cafe (Restaurant) 102 E KIRKWOOD AVE “A few good beers on tap, nice ambiance, good food, if not a lot of selection. However, quite pricey.“ |
| 84 /100 101 N COLLEGE AVE “College bar/beer geek place downtown. Tons of beer and in two days I saw a lot change. Slowest food service in the world. Maybe one guy in the back. A bit slow overall.“ |
| 86 /100 101 N COLLEGE AVE “Bar on the square downtown. Very nice selection of beers -tap list with many local beers. Surprised that we were able to sit right down coming in on a Saturday night (and seating was still available in the back). Incredibly noisy for the amount of people actually in the place (and this was before the live music started). Now they have their own beers, you can get a flight of any of their own beers but only full pours available for the guest beers. One of my favorite Bloomington pubs.“ |
| 54 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “Updated review: I have been here quite a few times since I have lived here over the past couple years. The quality of the food and service has dipped considerably over the years. Still very busy and often hard to get a table. They have added a few additional taps serving seasonal and specialty beers but this hardly makes up for the other faults. Frankly, I would avoid this place and go to the Upland production brewery if you want to try their beers.“ |
| 74 /100 Finch’s Brasserie (Restaurant) 514 E. KIRKWOOD AVE. “Upscale restaurant a block from IU. Ambiance is very nice, and they have a great patio with a view of the Sample Gates. Service is excellent but the servers are hardly beer experts. Beer selection is small, but focused. Probably the best place in town to get sours/Belgian beers - they usually have at least one sour or lambic on tap and several in the bottle menu. Food is good but extremely pricey. Most entrees run $30-40. Beers are more reasonable at around $6-8 each. Overall a good place to stop in if you have money to burn.“ |
| 88 /100 Big Red Liquors (Beer Store) 418 N. COLLEGE “My go-to place in college and still an awesome stop for beer & booze...great selection, friendly, knowledgeable staff and good prices. I always load up on my trip back to the Great White North...“ |
| 82 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “Came in for a sour release and stayed to eat lunch. They’re expanding this location so a little construction going on at the time. But what they have already is nice. Beautiful building with an outdoor patio that has plants and hop vines growing. Very friendly staff, food was delicious, decent draft selection. I’ll definitely be back.“ |
| 78 /100 Big Woods Bloomington (Restaurant) 116 N GRANT STREET “Came here for a Founders tap takeover with friends. New restaurant that replaced Cafe Django. They renovated the entire building, and it now has a much nicer feel to it. Big patio space. Beer selection is good - 24 taps, about one-quarter of which are Big Woods (their affiliated brewery) and the remainder are guest taps. Did not try food. Prices were around $6/beer. Service was fine. Overall, a nice spot.“ |
| 70 /100 Bloomingfoods Market and Deli (Grocery Store) 3220 E. THIRD ST. “High end natural foods with a decent local beer selection. Nice to grab some good food and beer and head back to your hotel room for a feast!“ |
| 80 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “(Visited 05/2014): Upland’s brewpub in Bloomington is located on 11th Street not too far from Indiana University. Parking is available in a lot as well as along the street next to the building. The exterior of the large brick building has hop vines growing on it. Inside, the door opens to a host stand. Table seating is in nearly the whole space, with a bar in the rear. High ceilings with fans, and burnt sienna colored walls. Brewing equipment is visible through large windows in the back, and there is a board listing the beers on tap. There is also a separate building housing their barrels, and a patio in the rear. The beer selection consists of 10 draughts. On my visit that included standards like Firefly, Wheat and Bad Elmer along with seasonals like Breakfast Berliner Weisse, Maibock and Vinyl Tap. The beers are decent for the most part, with the Sour beers being standout. A sampler is available. Service during the Secret Barrel Society tour and during dinner was good. The tour was informative and provided many samples straight from the barrels, and our server at dinner was attentive and friendly. Food at Upland is pretty good. My macaroni and cheese was enjoyable. All in all this is a worthwhile brewpub to visit.“ |
| 70 /100 Feast (Restaurant) 581 E. HILLSIDE DR. SUITE 104 “Feast is primarily a gourmet restaurant/bakery/cafe with an excellent beer selection. Ambiance is small indoor space with ample patio seating. Service is usually good, but they can get bogged down when busy. The beer selection is good - 30 bottles or so which regularly rotate. Food is amazing, hands down my favorite restaurant in Bloomington. Very reasonably priced, especially compared to the lackluster and overpriced offerings on Kirkwood. Beers run for around $4-5 each, and entrees are between $15-25. They also recommend beer/wine pairings for every dish. Very much worth a stop if you are in town.“ |
| 66 /100 Bloomingfoods Market and Deli (Grocery Store) 3220 E. THIRD ST. “A whole foods grocery/co-op on the east side of town with a decent beer selection. Alright if you’re doing some shopping here, but not worth a stop otherwise, as you won’t find anything here that you can’t find elsewhere in town, and their selection is limited by Bloomington standards.“ |
| 72 /100 4060 PROFILE PKWY “Great food and a great atmosphere. The food really is delicious, and pairs with their beers nicely. If you ever get a chance to try their sours do it! They are amazing.“ |
| 80 /100 World Foods Market (Sahara Mart) (Grocery Store) 106 E 2ND ST “A very strong selection of both US and imported beers, and they are usually $1-$2 cheaper than Big Red on rare craft beers like Hopslam, and Goose Island’s belgian wild series. The only problem with Sahara is that they sometimes keep beer on the shelves too long, so be sure to check the dates on the bottles. Otherwise, a great place to find some great craft beers.“ |
| 62 /100 The Irish Lion (Bar) 212 W KIRKWOOD AVE “By no means a beer destination, The Lion has always boasted a fabulous atmosphere as its primary selling point. Good location, decent beer selection, and better than average (although usually too greasy) food, it’s a Bloomington institution. Perfect place to enjoy a couple pints in the late afternoon sun if you can snag one of the coveted booths up front.“ |
| 78 /100 101 N COLLEGE AVE “This is the kind of place Bloomington had been screaming for for years. Marvelous location on the square, well appointed decor, and a really nice list of beers (including bottles, though I never tucked into these as the draft list was always more than sufficient on my multiple visits). Service usually good, though occasionally a bit inattentive. Points docked for relatively high prices (not outrageous, just more than necessary for Monroe County) and for the occasionally suffering ambience (college bros, vastly too loud live music). Still and all, essential spot.“ |
| 80 /100 514 EAST KIRKWOOD AVE “I’ve stopped in several times, but have held off on rating Lennies until I ate there, which was today. The ambiance is good and the service is great. A nice selection of beers too, and they have rotating taps in addition to their staples. The food is a little pricey, but it’s good. Definitely worth a stop if you’re in B-Town.“ |
| 92 /100 World Foods Market (Sahara Mart) (Grocery Store) 106 E 2ND ST “LOTS OF USA and INTERNATIONAL BEER! Be careful about discounted and individually priced beer though, they tend to keep onto it for WELL past the bottling date if you catch my drift...“ |
| 62 /100 Crazy Horse (Bar) 214 W KIRKWOOD AVE “Surprised to find this place wasn’t yet in the database. Back in the day, the whole "Around the World in 80 Beers" angle promised some kind of selection (even if the vast majority was and is macro swill). Still, a convivial atmosphere, decent pub grub, and a solid place to quaff some Gumballhead or similar.“ |
| 68 /100 World Foods Market (Sahara Mart) (Grocery Store) 106 E 2ND ST “My only complaint, not knowing the Indiana Sunday laws, you can’t buy beer on a Sunday. We stopped by on our way out of town on Monday and filled a shopping cart. I was able to pick up several Indiana beers and a bunch of others, to hopefully share with the bottle liberation group. They have the beers grouped in sections, makes it easy to find things. Worth the stop, just don’t go there on a Sunday.“ |
| 76 /100 350 W. 11TH ST. “Stopped in for dinner and a few beers on a Saturday night. We had to wait about 30 minutes, so gave me chance to try a couple of their beers. We got a table and I had a sample of a few of their other beers. All were solid offerings. Food was good as well as the service. Our waitress had the beers memorized and knew what to say. Well worth the visit.“ |
| 78 /100 514 EAST KIRKWOOD AVE “Visited on a Sunday afternoon, college crowd watching football. We were able to get a sample of 6 of their beers. They were all good, especially the IPA. We were told it was an Indiana Gold Medal winner. The service was really good, and he was very knowledgeable about all their beers. Food was top notch as well. Would visit again when in the area.“ |
| 62 /100 4060 PROFILE PKWY “The west side tasting room is located a short ways off of state road 37. It’s a small tap room that seats about 20 with a single bar. The selection is limited to Upland mainstays and seasonals, though usually they have a few more things on tap than the brewpub. Prices are very reasonable and service is quick. Worth a stop if you want some Upland ticks and the brewpub is busy. It would be nice if they had a few guest taps.“ |
| 74 /100 4060 PROFILE PKWY “Opened about a year ago, this is the new home for most of the regular Upland releases. In addition to tours they have a small tap room that is open every day of the week except Mondays and Tuesday. Sundays are a great time in particular because all pints are $2.00. Whether you are a ticker or have a personal favorite you are hard pressed to find a better deal.
The tour itself is a pretty typical experience. The guides are knowledgeable but do not expect any rare samples. Otherwise it is worth a visit as it is only about a five minute drive from the brewpub. Even if you just stop in for a single drink you’ll be glad to spend the time.“ |
| 78 /100 Finch’s Brasserie (Restaurant) 514 E. KIRKWOOD AVE. “I finally made it to Finch’s. Based on the tap list it is something I should have done a long time ago. Though limited to eight or nine they are not filler. A nice range of local, regional, and international options means you should never walk away disappointed.
The food is good though expensive. In fact that might be my only critique. In contrast to the Tap this is even more expensive a place to get some rates. That said if you want to impress people and are going in the area anyways then at least drop in for one drink before you head to the square.“ |
