Stamper’s Grill Pub

We used to come here every Wednesday for trivia.
Things have really gone down hill over the past year.
The food is unpredictable – sometimes you have a nice portion and all tastes good and then other times we’ve been served black as night burnt/​charred sliders.
The waitstaff is like a revolving door and when you plan to order a beer, make sure you have five backup options as they’re always out of your first four selections.
Hopefully they get back to how things used to be.
UPDATE:
Stampers is closing at the end of May. We’re all really sad to see it go. A lot of fun memories playing trivia.

$ 1 Beef Taco Night on Wednesdays. Good size and very good flavor. $ 2 bottles of domestic beer as well make this a great place to grab a quick bite after work.
Atmosphere is pleasant. Great bartenders, many TV’s and when the juke box is on it isn’t crazy loud.

Updating my review. Not sure what the heck happened to this place. New management took over leading to a lot of issues. First, what the heck happened to the beer list? What used to have a ton of craft beers on tap and in bottle now is mostly the buds and millers of the world. Second, where are the people? A Thursday night and 4 people in bar? It says a lot. Third, where did all if the regular bartenders disappear to? That’s just bad business.
I give Stampers less then 6 months and they will go under. Very sad because it used to be so great

My girl and I went to Stamper’s in the afternoon one day to try it out, they were not very busy for a game day so we easily found spots at the bar. We were not greeted by any bar servers, so after a few minutes, I smiled and motioned towards one of the servers who was busy watching the television, we should have left, but I was hungry and wanted a beer. The server seemed very annoyed, but finally asked what we would like.
We ordered beers and asked if we could see a menu, and if there were any specials.
We were told that we would have to pay as we ordered. Their menu was very limited, with only reheated frozen items on it. We ordered no food, paid for and finished our beers, and left for someplace else.
I’m not sure if this is normal for this place, I see in other reviews that some have had burgers and other food, some even gave them good reviews, but our experience was horrible, and I’ve just got to be honest about what was observed.
I really wanted to like Stamper’s from the looks and atmosphere, but there’s no way!

I’ve been here before and the service and food were about 3 stars. I’m giving them one star because I stopped in at 10:50 on a Monday night and the bartender was just locking the door and said they were closed.
The menu on their website says that they’re open until 2:00AM, their Unilocal profile says they’re open until 2:30. My wife and I would probably have spent $ 20-​$ 30. Now I won’t go back. If you’re looking for a late night drink, this isn’t the place.

Place has really come around for the better. Better beer, wayyyy better food. Wish they would get better bands than the same ones that play every night at other bars on the near West Side. I usually come on Saturdays when they open and there is one lady working the whole restaurant so the more people come in the more you have to wait for the smallest things. She seems to forget what we asked for and is very short with us due to the fact that she wait on the whole place, bar and all. Yeah, she keeps all the tips but the customers suffer…

BAND AID in my food! This is the first time I’ve ever tried stampers. I ordered a black bean veggie burger with fries to go. Once I got it home (and it did smell and look delicious) I covered my burger in the sauce provided, and placed the top bun on my burger. It was then that I saw a weird rounded piece of silver tape. Upon closer inspection, it was a band aid that someone had wrapped around their finger with duct tape. I was sick to my stomach and couldn’t believe my eyes!
I immediately called stampers and told them what happened. The manager just kept laughing and telling me stories about how he once found glass in his food and things like this happen. He offered my next meal for free. NEXT MEAL?!? are you kidding me?! I said I wanted a refund on my credit card. The manager stated how difficult this would be to do, but he would try. Needless to say, I will NEVER return to this place.

Oh Stamper’s, how you cease to amaze me through the years. Now I remember why we all stopped coming here. Food is mediocre at best and way overpriced.
On this particular evening, a group of us came up to see an Irish band from Columbus. We came in early, had dinner and drinks. We continued to order drinks after our meal. Right as the band was about to start, the owners approach us and ask for a $ 5 cover per head. I thought that was supposed to be a «door» cover? May be petty on my end, but principle here. Just dumb.
Service was good though!

Good food, great beer list, decently priced, solid crowd, awesome employees, overall a great time!
Finally made it out there this past Wednesday for Trivia night and loved it! Trivia was a ton of fun. There were a ton of regulars, which IMO means there’s clearly a reason they keep going back. And, like I said I think it’s because of the people who work there, the food, and the beer list!
I had the hummus wrap — grilled veggies, hummus, more veggies, wrapped in a warm pita… DELISH and super filling. Decided to make a healthy meal not-​so-​healthy and got the fries after hearing good things and they were GREAT. Get the spicy cajun mayo to dip those fries and the wrap in. even healthier — and even more delish!
Service was great and the owner was walking around talking to everyone. Love that. Love the regulars. Love the environment… I’ll definitely be coming back.

Been going to Stampers for years but been turned off the last two years. Was the place in Fairview to go but changes have driven alot of locals and families to Bonnie’s and the Tavern. Place needs a serious facelift. Service on my last four visits has been very poor and menu is just not what one would expect.
Beer selection are great but the last three times I ordered a beer they said they were out. Not like it was a rare beer. Sierra Neveda Pale Ale (as I sat beneath the umbrella) and Labatt Blue! Our friends ordered a Miller Light at 7 on a Sat and they were out of that and Bud Light, makes you wonder.
Have had good experiences but not lately. Want to like it but they need to step up I. All faucets. Came in a Thursday st 10:15 and told fryers were off and no good. The girl was lazy and did not care. Other places in town serve to midnight and 2 am so was OK.
Good beer if they have it, everything else needs work. Owners seem ticked off and lost some good servers.

Read my check-​in. WOW. First time I’ve been here. This is AWESOME! phenomenal beer list, AWESOME cocktails from what I’ve had so far. Awesome food and menu! WOW!

Update to a previous positive review: Great selection of beer and upgraded tvs. Don’t be surprised if they have a live band during a major sports event (makes it a poor place to watch a big game). Food is decent but they try to keep it gourmet vs. Standard American. The owner is not friendly at all. She has met me a dozen times and still says nice to meet you. Tried to schedule a fundraiser with her and she never bothered to call back after collecting all my information. I’ve decided to take my business elsewhere. I’d recommend the Fairview Tavern across the street for the price and quality. If variety of beer is what you want go to stampers and then the tavern to eat.

They have wonderful beer list, passable wine and a patio. Would I indulge in sitting down for an involved paprikash-​kinda dinner? Nah. Would I give their Brussels sprouts another try? Not so much. My agenda here involves sitting on a patio on a wonderfully starless city summer night letting the breeze play with my hair and watching the eager citizens consume beer and fired goods as I sip on my Riesling.
And if the violin girl comes back one of those nights, I will call it my urban utopia.

Stampers is a solid local establishment. We like coming here for the trivia night on Wednesdays. There is a cool, varied crowd in here at all times. Good beer selection and a decent menu.
Food:
Overall, the menu used to be better and much more unique (ex: braised short ribs poutine dish) now its just ok — much more typical bar food but still quite tasty. I understand, as they are quick to tell you, that they have a tiny kitchen so can’t do much. But I also know that the food used to be so much better and unique than it is now.
Sliders used to be SO GOOD when they used this special spicy mustard on them. Now they’re the same as everywhere — cheese and pickle. :(I miss that spicy mustard so much. And for this, I just don’t get it — your kitchen is so tiny that you can’t keep some mustard around?
Brunch is quite good and I’d say the meal I prefer to eat at Stampers but then I do looove my brunch. Good menu options and yummy drinks made with fresh-​squeezed juices.
Good specials — Wednesday night is Taco Night and my friends RAVE about the pork tacos. Dollar hot dog bar during Browns games — say what?!
Oh one more thing — get the brownie!!! OMG I don’t even eat sweets but this is the shit for real! Warm brownie with vanilla ice cream is so gooey and amazing. A must try.
Events:
We love the themed events they have on a very regular basis. Tribe spring training party, Browns game specials, etc. We went to a really cool event sponsored by Sierra Nevada which was a benefit for the Ohio City Bicycle Coop. Bring in an old bike part, get a Sierra Nevada item. We’re talking sweatshirts too, not just a ball cap or something. Awesome! Lots of live music here too and not just on weekends. Trivia night as previously mentioned is a lot of fun, live-​hosted and you can win prizes like free beer/​desserts and Stamper’s gift cards.
Atmosphere/​service:
This is a family owned and operated spot. Mr. & Mrs. Stamper are ALWAYS there as well as their kids a lot of the time. If you’re a regular, they recognize you and definitely treat you right. Service is almost always good. We’ve had a few bad patches with not so good waitresses but the usual ones are spot on. Meredith is the best!
Overall a very good bar with above average food and great themed events. I really wish the food hadn’t taken a bit of a slip. And my mustard… wah wah. Five stars if they get the mustard back. No joke.

Nice local bar with solid food and a great beer list. Friendly owners and good service. Bonus points for being bike friendly and giving discounts to cyclists.

Patty Melt, yum o, soup was delish, sliders the husband got, glad I didn’t, waste of $ 4.00. That night Dort and Bells on tap were discounted for happy hour and that was a bonus, we both drink this.
The waitress Meradeth was exceptional. We are glad we went there for our diner date that night.

hmm… service is always dismal. not sure why, and since the kitchen is so small, food takes forever.
food is good, not over the top great. decent beer list.

Stampers is a bit of an anomaly. If I had to describe it in under 20 words I’d say Stampers is the soul of a gastropub stuffed into the meat suit of a neighborhood sports bar. The building that houses Fairview Park’s Stampers has the look and feel of an old VFW post. There’s a patio outside, booths and high-​tops inside and the requisite long bar along the back wall. Among the other notables on the inside are several very large HDTVs (apparently for the sports crowd as all of them were tuned to the same football game during our visit), a stage for live music and a large projection screen — movie nights? Overall, the décor was comfortable in a strip mall eatery kinda way. But I didn’t head to Stampers to gawk at the furnishings.
Stampers has one of the best beer lists on the far west side of Cleveland. They’ve got an intelligently constructed menu of 24 constantly rotating taps that’ll have even the most nerdy beer nerd quivering with anticipation. According to their website the list is updated three times a week. Other Unilocalers have mentioned that they felt they had a more Belgian slant to their beer selection. While there were several Belgians on the list, I didn’t get that. I thought the beers were a cosmopolitan mix of foreign and domestic craft brews.
The beer highlight from our visit was the Sierra Nevada Best of Beer Camp 2012 brews they had on tap. Every year Sierra Nevada releases a mixed boxed set of brews from its beer camps (Google it) and Stampers got their hands on four of this year’s winners:
Imperial Pilsener (Beer Camp #43, Sticke Pilsener) — A doubly hoppy version of your standard straw yellow Czech-​style beer
Imperial Red (Beer Camp #65, Redoric) — I’d call this one an IPA with an extra dose of malty goodness. Perfectly balanced.
Floral IPA (Beer Camp #53, Long Stem IPA) — Whose idea was it to use rose petals and rose hips in an IPA?! Breathe deeply and savor this one.
Oatmeal Stout (Beer Camp #45, Snowed In Stout) — A nice oily, chocolaty, heavily roasted thick mouthfeel brew. This one would be great in front of a roaring fire. When you want more than a Guinness.
Now for the food. Stampers menu is a great example of what happens when you have a chef that actually thinks about the food. It’s concise, easy to follow and full of great American comfort foods. Here’s the rundown of our experience:
Soft pretzels — I don’t need to tell you what makes a good soft pretzel. When you have one like this you’ll just know what I mean. Three soft doughy sticks sided with Dijon mustard and some of the best cheese sauce I’ve ever had — creamy, tangy, smoky, it had it all.
Goat Cheese Salad — This salad is nothing new to the scene but it’s still one of my favorites. Mixed greens, goat cheese, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette. The half-​size was the perfect portion for one.
Southern Style Pork Tacos — A trio of pulled pork goodness. Flour tortillas filled with ample scoops of honey BBQ pig topped with spicy slaw, smoked cheddar, and fresh pico de gallo. The pork was tender and juicy and the spice level perfect.
Chicken Paprikash — I love me some Hungarian home cookin’ and chicken paprikash is tops on my list. Stampers has managed to make one of the best versions of this historic comfort food I’ve ever tasted — sorry mom. The spaetzle were cooked perfectly, soft eggy dough that held on to the creamy sour cream paprika sauce for dear life. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the mixture of both thigh and breast meat was a nice touch. I can see myself coming back just for this dish. True food porn.
Stampers Bar was a pleasant surprise. If you can find it in yourself to not judge this book by its cover you’ll be rewarded handsomely. This place has a fantastic beer list that easily holds its own against heavy hitters like Tremont’s Tap House and Strongsville’s Brew Kettle and some of the best pub food I’ve had since moving back home three months ago. You’ll get friendly service, belly-​filling grub and an itch to come back before you’ve even walked out the doors.
P.S.
Stampers is bike-​friendly (any two-​wheeled variety will do) and they’ve got a killer iron bike rack outside to prove it. You also get 10% off when you ride in.

I was surprised how unhappy I was with my experience at Stampers, I was disappointed with the overall atmosphere, service, and food. I do admit that the beer selection was nice, but the Unilocal offer was a tab confusing. When you check in, you get 50% off drinks, well that means one drink… Also after I had inquired about the offer, I felt like I was being watched like a dog. I mean really, I just wanted to have a good time.
The «pizza» is smaller than a loaf of bread, not good at all. I was surprised that the appetizer selection was so small also. I guess the prices were average for the area.
Just not the best experience, but I think I would give it another try in the summer to see the patio. But for now, you can find me at Tommy’s across the way :/

I’ve been wondering about what was going to become my local townie bar since my move to fairview park and now I’ve found it. I’m not sure what the other reviewers are talking about by pricey beers. Not only is their list of micro brews extensive and unique, I think it is very reasonably priced. And they have a really cool beer flight option on all their drafts that I haven’t seen anywhere else in Cleveland.
As for their food, it is the typical bar food, but done in a very a-​typical way! As in NOT fresh-​from-​the-​frozen-​section. We had a crab cake appetizer that was definitely home-​made and very light on the filler. I was told they are also well known for their beer battered mushrooms and potato skins, I’ll be back to try both. For our mains we had the pulled pork (great), the turkey rueban (great), and the fries are delicious!
Also as a bonus, they had music playing, but it was at the perfect volume that you could talk at whatever volume (hush tones included) you wanted to, and didn’t need to shout at the person a foot away from you.
All together I highly recommend a trip to Stampers… I look forward to going back for the food, flights and music!