Bar #50 Five O'Clock Lounge

One of the trademarks of the Lakewood dive bar is history. When you walk into one of them, they carry the wear, mementos and even the people from their decades of service. They have the layers of what made them unique from each generation that drank in their walls. One of our best examples of this in Lakewood is bar #50, 5 O'Clock Lounge.

The Five O'Clock Lounge is kind of amazing. The walls are adorned with neon signs, old pictures and music posters, and a piano. The booths, bar and stools are vintage and in great shape. There's a second room with a stage and pool table. The Five O'Clock Lounge feels the type of bar where punk or blues grew up. There is a large patio out back but permits have not made it through at the time of this blog for the allowance of drinking there.

The service was good. They were training a new bartender. There weren't any problems with her and their primary bartender was both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about good beer.

The beer selection was adequate. It was primarily domestic and cheap hipster beers but there were some nice options behind the bar. Normally, you'll be able to find a craft beer on tap as well.

There were some chips but they don't make food here.

We played their customized shuffle board game. We set up a poorly working game where we had three people playing but only two scores being kept. Whichever color slider you were using determined which team you were scoring for. It meant you might have scored the least points during the game but you could still be on the winning side in the end. Beer made that ok.

We went on a slow night where the stereo types of the bar stood out. As a dive bar requirement there was an old guy at the end of the bar. The rest of the patrons had tattoos and gauges. Everyone seemed friendly enough. I have found in my travels that the bars with the biggest jerks are the ones where the people are the closest to what society says they should look like.

The Five O'Clock Lounge is everything you want out of a dive bar. Your surroundings reflect the history that has passed through its doors, while celebrating what this bar is made for. The beer is the beer they want. The music is the music they want. The zombie walk that starts at the bar once or twice a year is the way they want it. The Five O'Clock Lounge is an unapologetic bar that has little it needs to be sorry for. The Five O'Clock Lounge is worth visiting and one you'll probably eagerly return to. Go check out Bar #50, don't worry they don't bite. Unless, that's what you want.

11904 Detroit Ave.

216-521-4906

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Bar #25 The Sloan Pub

Who is the best person to ask what bar you should go to? I could ask an expert, but answering myself is a sign of insanity. If I ask Facebook, I will get the most popular bars. If I google it, then I get the bar with the least complaints. This week we go to the bar recommended by people that work in Lakewood bars. Sloane Pub as picked by its peers as Bar #25.

Sloane Pub sets itself apart from the main stream bars. It even sets itself apart from the main street bars as the only one not on Detroit or Madison Ave. After passing signs telling about its humorous rules and love for socialism, I entered to find a clean and welcoming bar. The stools were comfy and had backs to them. The bartender was friendly, helpful and gave me my beer in a frosty glass.

They still have a juke box with actual cds in it. The patrons kept it running all night long and I liked every song they played. The unofficial song I was told was “I Want to Fuck you Gently” by the Tenacious D.

They had Labatt, Yuengling and a light beer on tap. Sloan Pub had enough different types of bottled beer to keep everyone else happy too. I had Yuenglings, my go to unoriginal beer. They cost me a dollar.

The Sloan Pub also has a shuffle board machine. The bartender made sure the machine was properly saw dusted for us before we played. I won the two games we played by a narrow margin. This included a final last ditch shot that knocked two of his weights out of the 4 point slot and leaving mine in its place...Which was more exciting than it sounds.

The regular crowd is a mixture of servers and bartenders from other bars (we came here by The Rush Inn's recommendation), old men and young townies. The locals, many of grew up on the neighboring streets, love this bar more than any bar crowd I've met so far. They carried a strong enthusiasm for Cleveland and Lakewood specifically. Everyone at the bar were friendly and always weighted to make sure if they were passing they didn't interrupt game when we were playing.

Sloane Pub aims to be a laid back, fun bar where you'll never feel judged. This is the bar to go to when you don't want to deal with the other bars. Sloane Pub is the type of bar where everyone knows everyone's name. The Sloane bar is a good bar to go to to be yourself. If you don't have a bar to call your own, come to bar #25, The Sloan Pub.

Awesome: Frosted Mug, Customer Service, Bartenders Choice

18196 Sloane Ave

216-221-2237

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