Rafters Beer Pub

Rafters is the definition of a dive bar. If you’re looking for a trendy place with fancy drinks and 32 craft beers on tap, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a place to drink some cheap beer and get a heavy pour on your shot of Jameson, this is your spot. This is one of our go to bars when we’re looking to tie one on without dropping a ton of money. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $ 30 in here.
The atomosphere is exactly what you’d expect from a neighborhood dive bar. It’s kind of dark, the bathrooms are kind of funky, the décor is a mixed bag of old & new neons and other vendor swag. The mix that comes out of the jukebox can be extreme from one user to the next. The bartenders have always been friendly to me, but I have heard otherwise from some friends of mine.
We’ll continue coming to Rafters for those «beer & a shot» nights!

The worst part about this place is that it seems to have the potential to be a great watering hole! Physically, the place seems pretty alright. After living in Clintonville, just down the street, for over a year, we figured we’d check it out. Hearing that it is a shit hole, which usually is my thang, I wasn’t expecting much, yet I was somehow still hugely disappointed. The jukebox was playing all the worst music you can imagine – unless you’re the type that loves Skynard, Nickelback, Kid Rock, Puddle of Mudd, and Kesha. Not sure where these patrons are coming from, but they sure don’t seem like the type that make up my neighborhood demographic at large; must be the music that draws them in. After standing at the not-​at-​all-​busy bar for 10 minutes with expectant puppy dog eyes and having the barkeep look through me repeatedly, my ears began to bleed, so I decided to go somewhere else. Beyond the obvious need of upgrading the playlist, maybe a higher class of service would bring in a higher class of clientele? So it’s not going to be my regular place. But if it’s an anonymous indiscretion resulting in the clap that you’re looking for, I suspect this might be the place for you.

Whatta dump! I wouldn’t normally go near a place like this on a dare. There’s fruit flies buzzing around the back of the bar where the hard stuff is; so forget a mixed drink. The bartender only has the job cause she’s doinking the owner (ask here about their «trips» overseas, at his expense), so it’s not like she could make anything past a 7 & 7 anyways (she ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I reckon the fact she’s so top-​heavy is how/​why she got the gig in the 1^st place). The owner (also her boyfriend while she’s on the clock) is an old fuddy duddy, so nothing will ever change any time soon. There’s no food (not counting the chips in small bags behind the counter) so I’m not sure WHY anyone here would include «yum, yum, yum» comments in their review, except to guess that they MUST be employees or fellow drunkards, running up their tabs.
The homeless camp out back along the rail road tracks means the place is packed with smelly dirtballs around the first of every month (when the gov’t checks come). Even the juke box is stuffed with moldy oldies. I only go because 1) it’s 3 blocks from home and 2) well, it’s 3 blocks from home. There is no 2^nd reason. I like to shock my friends when they come from out of town, but the joke wears thin, quick, and we end up going anywhere else after the 1^st round. That’s about it.
Rafters: what shithole.

I like local bars. This is a nice quiet place to go for a cold beer and watch tv. Barmaids are friendly. Service is above avg. Prices very reasonable. I like the convenient location.

First bar I went to, upon arriving in Columbus. Karaōke night was fun, until I realized I was missing a dollar per $ 20 I gave to the bartender. The owner, however, is nice, as his girlfriend. The clientele is hit or miss, depending on the time of day. Mostly, they size you up and down, and don’t like chit chat with a stranger, no matter how often you’ve been there. I don’t return, mostly because almost every other place I’ve been has been better, and I don’t get ganked a dollar for every time I receive change from evening bartenders.
Also, outside sign has said «Bar and Grille» for ages apparently, but serves no food but for evening casserole (at least when I was there) on busy nights. The owner needs to re-​evaluate his staff picks.
No draft beers, also. Don’t ask for blended/​mixed drinks — it’ll just confuse everyone. ;)

Meh. That about sums up my experience here. I went in knowing it was going to be a «hole-​in-​the-​wall bar,» but that we would have fun and be someplace more chill then the downtown, Saturday night scene… But that all changed when we walked in…
After entering into an awkwardly quiet bar and having everyone stare as we entered, we were greeted by a not-​so-​friendly bartender who asked if we were «in the right place» (I swear I didn’t look like a hooligan, whatever a hooligan looks like).
He took our drink order and we turned around to have a seat, the only problem was that there were no seats. There were about 10 stools at the bar, which were all occupied, and then there were three booths, one occupied the other two had boxes of «junk» piled in them. So we stood near the bar talking until I realized that those in the booth had instruments. After striking up conversation, I found out they were the band and begged them to play (attempting to liven up the place).
They played Mustang Sally which got everyone (by everyone, I mean just us) up and dancing. The band was great! They were engaging and friendly and were actually quite good.
But other then the band I have a thumbs down on this place, the crowded, junk filled rooms and unfriendly staff and regulars do not make this place enjoyable, we left after one beer…

I have wanted to go to Rafters for a looooooong time, but we never really have the occasion… and it never really seems like the type of place you just stop in to for no real reason. Finally, my friend’s band was playing here last night, so a bunch of my friends and the boy and I descended upon Rafters. Eh, comme ci comme ca. It’s like Dick’s Den and the Crest had a love child. And I don’t really mean that in a good way. But not in an awful way, either.
I expected this place to be smaller, guess. The layout is weird — the bar is separated from a seating area (with a buffet that was not in use while we were there, much to our hungry chagrin). There is a lot of wood décor, which is why it reminded me of Dick’s. Beer seemed a bit expensive — I paid 17 bucks for three Miller lites and two shots of whiskey, and that was just one round, dammit. The locals also did not please me well — I got massively hit on to an uncomfortable extent by two very forward older ladies who would not leave me (or the boy) alone and repeatedly kept telling me what they thought of me and wanted to do to me. Effing yikes. Perhaps most disappointingly, there were no awesome buffont hair-​dos or mullets upon which to gaze, which was what I would hope for from a place like Rafters. Instead there were old people drinking wine, the aforementioned lusty women, and ladies who couldn’t dance at all. Oh, but there was a dude who looked like Rivers Cuomo who was wasted out of his mind and kept telling people to get the party started. I told the boy he should make it rain. That was kinda funny.
I dunno. Ultimately, I was let down. I’m sure it’s different when it’s just being a regular olé bar and there is no event going on. I didn’t find this place to be blue collar (like Keith) — if it was, I would have liked it more. I found it to be just kinda weird.

Your mileage will vary. Rafters feels like a bar that was plucked out of a nondescript, somewhat depressed small Ohio town and plopped in Columbus. At least, that’s what I’m guessing it would be like, since I haven’t frequented bars in small towns with the exception being college towns. Very blue collar and country (who would’ve guessed in the northern reaches of Clintonville?) describe the feel of the joint and many of its patrons. Some were looking pretty rough and tumble, like you wouldn’t want to accidentally bump in to them. I saw no beers on draft: it’s bottles ($ 2.25 for Stroh’s), cans, and well Jaegermeister (yuck). For me, it wasn’t what I was looking for that evening, but FYI they do have a stage for bands and according to the bars’ sign out front they have a «grille». Another unexpected find on Indianola Avenue.