Hoopples

A great place to grab a few drinks. Norm is a very friendly owner and always has a great bar staff.

Wow, there aren’t very many recent reviews of this place on here. Makes one wonder why the long radio silence since 2011. It probably has something to do with the fact that Hooples stays under the radar and is probably content to do just that. Hell, had it not been for the time my wife and I were told there’d be a 2 hour wait at Merwin’s Wharf we’d never had wandered over either. Our impatience paid off, that’s for sure.
Friday evening, sometime around 6:30. We drove up to the parking area conveniently located just adjacent to the bar/​restaurant/​piece of Cleveland history called Hooples. The first thing you’ll probably notice, at least I did, is the large patio area to the rear of the main building. This is definitely one of the greatest features of Hooples, hands down. It overlooks the city skyline and one of the historic bridges that spans the Cuyahoga. It’s just a fantastic place to be. Walk from the front, look for the arrow that reads «Patio» and you’ll get there. But what about the interior?
Hoopples is a bar, there’s no way around it. The interior is, well, the interior’s a bar. I’m not knocking it, it’s just what it is. It’s maid for drinking, and bitching, and secret trists, and just generally unwinding after you’ve put in a full day. It’s loaded with character and what I can only assume are decades of stickers and stories all over the walls. I really love the rotating refrigerator behind the bar. There’s a digital juke on the wall, some vintage-​y looking bowling game, sports memorabilia, a dart board, and apparently they’ve got live music in their «party room». We didn’t experience either music or the aforementioned room.
As for drinks, it’s basically a shot & beer joint with a half-​way decent beer selection. I don’t remember being given a beer list when we sat down but as soon as they guy mentioned Butcher & The Brewer Stop Hop Kaboom on draught, I knew what I’d be drinking. It’s not a craft beer bar, but you’ll manage. Ask about their bottles. They just might surprise you.
The service we had during our visit was simply great. I don’t know how else to put it other than it was genuine. It’s exactly what I’d expect from a real Cleveland spot run by lifelong Clevelanders. No bullshit. No pretense. Just friendly, helpful and accommodating. I never once felt like I was imposing.
While it may just be a bar, they’re a bar that serves food. Damn good bar food. Makes sense, right? The kitchen — really more of a coat closet with an oven and deep fryer — is just to the left when you walk in the door. I don’t know how they manage with that thing, but they do. The menu’s not huge and I think our server mentioned that they were in the process of revamping it so I won’t go into any detail. From what I remember it was burgers, sandwiches/​wraps a few salads. Not mind-​blowing but hunger killing. It was to be a gut-​busting session, indeed.
We started with the Hoopples House Salad — just a salad, nothing more. Iceberg lettuce, cukes, carrots, onions, house-​made croutons (nice, albeit greasy touch), diced tomatoes and a pile of shredded cheddar. It served the purpose of a salad which, lets face it, is just there to make you feel less shitty for cramming your face later. I did think that the plate they served it on made it nearly impossible to eat without getting half of it on the table. The Italian dressing was tasty, though.
Next came the buffalo chicken dip. As soon as I saw it I felt my heart react to the message my brain was sending it. «Best get yer mind right. This is ’bout to happen.» I don’t know what evil genius decided to combine Frank’s Red Hot, cream cheese, blue cheese crumbs, and cheddar, pour it over some shredded chicken and serve it with fried pita wedges, but give that man a hand. If you’ve never had what some people call «drunk food» go here and have this.
The burgers are hand-​formed, griddled and made to order. Just like the rest of the place, burgers here are not loaded with ridiculous, expensive ingredients and I doubt they’d get away with trying to sell Wagyu beef burgers for $ 16. They also don’t ask how you want ‘em cooked. It’s their way, so just deal. I got the bacon pepperjack and the wife got the mushroom melt. Both were devoured in minutes and the skin-​on shoestring fries joined them. Just damn good burgers.
Hoopples is a piece of Cleveland that I just recently discovered. I can remember driving by it for years on my way to work in the Flats. It looks better now than it did then. I wish I had found it sooner. Maybe I just wasn’t ready yet. I am now.

Baseball trip to Cleveland. Spent some time with Lisa the day bartender. Great spot with fascinating location. Draw bridge operates outside the huge windows behind the bar. Friendly staff. Cool outside space with live music and sports projected onto one of the bridge supports! Blue collar feel and prices with super hospitality.

Hoopples is a favorite local bar, it’s like our Cheers, to many Clevelanders! Herb and Norm are classic bartenders, knowing your favorite drink when you walk in the door. The fried pickles, buffalo chicken dip, pad thai & chick pea burgers are the best items on the menu! Watching the games being projected onto the bridge is perfect. #thisiscle

Went again with some friends this past summer. The bartender was a little surly, and there were a bunch of people there from a wedding party. We got shots, beer, and played the «bowling» game after escaping from W.25. It is everything that I could have wanted out of a divey bar. I love this place, it’s like Cheers, but Cleveland-​y.

Lets just get the bad out of the way. I hate touch tunes! An sometimes you get charged random prices for the same drink but whatever, it’s like a dollar extra.
Now for the good… Perfect location and will be even better when the damn bridge is finally open (so you can walk cross the bridge for skateboarding/​brunch/​pizza). The view from the first floor is lovely and even more so from the space upstairs. I went to an event up there a couple of years ago and I was blown away by how now it is up there! Well maintained woodwork everywhere, a separate bar and facilities, and well, again with the view. It’s worth mentioning twice.
Service is I guess normal? It’s fine. It’s what it should be. Hoopples gets crowded and the long narrow set up can be a tiny bit claustrophobia-​inducing. Fortunately, they have a very solid patio out back. In warmer months, games are even projected on the bridge! This is a fun spot for casual birthday parties and group happy hours, and you’ll often see softball teams celebrating there in the summer.

Great place to have a drink. Super solid bar tenders. Good clientele. Awesome view!
That said, don’t eat here. I got really sick.

Been here many times to see Glenn. Went early recently to actually eat here for the first time before Glenn and the kitchen was CLOSED!!! Apparently on a huge night crowd wise, the owner’s son wanted to save some $ by not bringing in a kitchen person!
BTW, bartender (Herb) rocks and always has been solid. A true asset.
OK, the owner’s son told us and others we should have had leftovers before we came since it was the day after Xmas! Nice! Another couple order food I’m but he would not let them eat it!
Of course we left after the first set to go to a legit place to eat and they lost out on more drinks if they had food. The bartender suffers for poor decisions from management. Usually a good experience from Herb but not even his great service can save this.

Good times here! Nachos are THE best and burgers even better. Importantly, great service.

Four stars for the food. Great selection of beer and decent bar food.
5 stars for the patio and the view. Great view of downtown Cleveland. On Friday nights, you get a great view of the fireworks from the Indians game

This place is one of my favorites. It is a very casual place with an excellent patio!!! If you are looking for a place to go where you can just sit and relax and have a good bite to eat, look no further.

Ok… I have eaten here twice — and it’s not just a fluke. Its good. Like — really good. For bar food…
I’ve tried the lobster mac & cheese, the lobster quesadilla, and the loaded fries (I told you — I come here for bar food). All were excellent — although certainly imitation crab. Again — keep your expectations at «bar food» (if I haven’t mentioned that already). But — they do bar food right… and inexpensively.
Stick to beer or a simple mixed drink. The wine menu consists basically of «white or red» — but you shouldn’t expect anything more than that here. It’s not that kind of place..

i love hoopples, and if i were more of a bar-​goer, i would go every week. really, i give the bar 5-​stars because of their AMAZINGGG spinach & artichoke dip!!! SERIOUSLY, IT’S SO EFFING GOOD with those little pieces of fried pita bread with parmesan cheese. DROOOOOOOOL.
the atmosphere here is a nice, laid-​back, with very few bro-​sightings in my experience.
but really, the spinach & artichoke dip. #boom

Major Hooples has the best view in the city.
Their tacos are pretty good too!
Hooples has a long history of being a Union bar and they still keep that feel. They’ve had a mini-​renovation which includes a party room upstairs, a decent kitchen and new siding. Their walls are still littered with old memorabilia from it’s life in the 70’s including my favorite anti-​Jane Fonda bumper sticker.
I’ve always been impressed with their service and they’ll bend over backwards to make your groups happy both in the party room, down at the bar or on the patio.
Now, about the tacos (I’ve been on a Taco Tuesday kick):
They have chicken, beef or black bean tacos. They’re bursting with meat and personally, I thought the chicken was a top-​tier taco! Wash it down with a PBR or one of their drought beers and I call it a good Tuesday. I especially like Hooples on rainy nights because for some reason it just seems cozy looking over the bar towards the city and seeing the rain fall down on the various bridges.
Anyway, Hooples is top rated in my book. Glenn Schwartz or no…

One of the closest bars to the rowing club, so it sees a fair amount of people after they come off the water. Wound up here Tuesday night with a few of our team members for a quick one after practice. Didn’t eat a lot before so we decided to split some nachos to go along with our Summer Shandys. We almost told the waitress after waiting for, oh, about an hour, to forget the nachos… and when they came they were nothing special, definitely not worth the hour long wait. The others ordered tacos and chicken wings and they came out a good 30 min before our meal which could have taken me about 4 minutes to put together on a plate.
I’ll be back here because the patio looks phenomenal and one of the girls in our group said that they project Indians’ games onto the side of the bridge in the summer… and because it has a great view of the river and downtown. I just probably won’t be ordering any food again.

From the moment I set foot in this place, I knew I was going to be a fan. This is the quintessential industrial working-​class dive bar. Complete with union bumper stickers on the beer cooler. Very cool location. Big windows behind the bar not only let in lots of light even on those gray Cleveland days, but also give great views of the working river and downtown.
Food took quite some time to get to me even on a less-​than-​packed Tuesday night, but I’ll overlook that since we were drinking and having a good time. When I did finally get my patty melt, it was really good. Fries are very above bar average — thin, crispy, with good peppery seasoning.
Hooples also has a bar bowling machine which is awesome and seems to be a CLE dive bar phenomenon. Never saw one before moving here.
My one and only complaint about this bar (and the reason it does not get 5 stars), would be my experience the other night when I thought I’d buy the first round for our group of about 8. I ordered 2 pitchers — Dortmunder and Summer Shandy, nothing too fancy. After I got my food, I went to pay my tab and to my utter shock, two pitchers and a sandwich came to 43 bucks! I asked the bartender because this must have been a mistake, and she informed me that, no, pitchers are $ 18!
Now, I will admit, I did not ask how much they were before ordering them, but SERIOUSLY? 18 dollar pitchers! F&*%K! I have never, in all my Sconnie-​beer-​drinking life paid that much for a pitcher. EVER. Even for Guinness and the like. Holy shit!
Anyway, the food was really pretty good. Much better menu than I was expecting. Beer selection completely adequate for this type of place. I will definitely be back, but I’ll steer clear of the pitchers. Damn!

If this doesn’t scream Cleveland, I don’t know what does. Hoopple’s has a small but nice draft beer selection, friendly people, Union workers lined up at the bar, and a bowling machine.
I have only eaten here once, and that was for taco night. Those were solid, as was the beer-​battered asparagus (healthy!). If you’re looking for gourmet food, Tremont’s just around the corner.
I’m giving 5 stars for atmosphere, amiable bartenders, and the excellent view of the Cleveland skyline. It’s truly a great place to have a beer and bowl a few frames.

This place is a Cleveland institution. Been around for 5 million years… and I can see why.
They have one on the best views for a local watering hole. Nestled far on the west end of the flats, the bridges and waterways are breathtaking. Catering to everyone from the iron workers to the OC trendsters, Hooples doesn’t discriminate. The beer selection leans a bit more on the domestic side, but they had enough craft beer for the snobs ;) Not that I’m a snob… but I can’t do Bud Light ;)
The food at Hooples is pretty good too. On my most recent visit, I had the mac n’ cheese with added bacon. YUM.
The bartender was really nice and accommodating… especially considering our group may have been a bit obnoxious ;)

I’m not sure I’d actually call this place a dive or a hole in the wall. I’d best describe it as just an average bar. Something I might find at the end of my street in the suburbs. I enjoyed it. I’d also call the patrons there average as well. Just normal people. I can’t remember the last time I went out to a bar and didn’t run into at least 2 or 3 people that annoyed the heck out of me. It was refreshing and enjoyable.
I didn’t really enjoy my burger all that much though. I think it was too fatty for me. Also I thought the prices were (very slightly) too much for «a place with a one page laminated menu» (as my friend said). I did love the greasy fries though.
I’ll definitely add this place to my regulars list.
An average rating for an average place, however I’m willing to bet the more I go here the higher my rating with be in the future.

This place feels like it has withstood the test of time; buried in the bowels of the city. The views of our fair city from the picture windows behind the bar are outstanding, especially when there is traffic on the Cuyahoga. Recently, the owners installed 5 new taps, including 2 great IPA’s (Bells & DogFish). The food has been taken up a notch as well with a larger kitchen providing some of the best spicy Garlic wings — juicy, crispy, meaty, finger-​lickin-​bone-​suckin goodness + great fresh cut fries! They’ve got burgers and sandwiches, but I was content eating wings.
On game nights, the patio provides the best seats as a large image is projected onto the pillars of the bridge overhead. They have a bowling machine inside and the whole place has that nicely worn, warm feeling.

So my first time attending a place based on a Unilocal review ! I agree with my fellow Unilocalers.
Inside, the fake wood paneling, large windows overlooking the river and the decaying industry along it with downtown in the distance. This and the union bumper stickers on the walls gave me the sense that I had stepped into Delores’ bar from 2^nd Season of the Wire…
The view of downtown is one that I had not seen before of Cleveland: looking up at the downtown buildings with the river just in front of you.
Our bartenders were friendly and attentive.
The French Fries were above ‘bar’ average: Slightly crispy, thinly cut, without being drenched in oil with very light pepper seasoning. My compadre got a chicken sandwich and their beer selection was what I expected — domestics plus Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada, and Great Lakes. I was disappointed that there were no happy hour specials. I was a bit suprised at charging $ 2.50 for a 16oz PBR (are bars raising prices for PBR to milk money from the hipsters ?)(I must be spoiled with $ 1 for 12oz at my regular dive bar).
For a Friday happy hour, the crowd was pretty mixed: some old-​timers, some professionals just off work, and some regular Clevelanders.
I was looking for an unpretentious [guess I’ll say dive] bar for a few drinks — found it. Unfortunately, the bowling game is up to 50 cents a game.