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The Best Bars in Cleveland

Cleveland has a strong craft cocktail scene, and much of it sits on the near West Side, where Tremont meets Ohio City. The best bars in Cleveland start there. The Velvet Tango Room on Columbus Road has long carried the torch for classic cocktails, measuring bitters by eyedropper, playing jazz on a grand piano and asking guests for patience while each drink is built. Between Tremont and Ohio City, Porco Lounge & Tiki Room pours from more than 300 spirits, squeezes its juice fresh and serves Filipino bar snacks, reviving a tiki tradition the city lost when the Kon Tiki closed in 1976. By Lincoln Park in Tremont, Cloak & Dagger opened in October 2020 and writes each menu as a book, the current one a fall bestiary called Cryptids. On Duck Island, Flower on Freeman is a newer neighborhood lounge, and downtown on East 4th Street, Society Lounge hides its speakeasy below the stairs. The Velvet Tango Room asks for business casual dress. These are the bars we would start with.

Browse every Cleveland barBest cocktail bars in Cleveland
  1. Porco Lounge & Tiki Room
    Tiki Bar

    Porco Lounge & Tiki Room

    Porco Lounge & Tiki Room calls itself an exotic hideaway between the historic neighborhoods of Tremont and Ohio City, a hidden oasis of fun and escape that serves only the finest spirits and freshly pressed juices in its exotic cocktails, with Filipino food from the kitchen. The Spirited Awards have placed it in the U.S. top ten four times: Best American Cocktail Bar in 2020 and Best U.S. Bar Team in 2022, 2023 and 2025.

    2527 W 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113Wed-Thu 5pm-10:30pm, Fri 5pm-11:30pm, Sat 4pm-11:30pm
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  2. The Velvet Tango Room
    Cocktail Bar

    The Velvet Tango Room

    The Velvet Tango Room describes itself as a Cleveland treasure and cocktail haven where exquisite drinks, live music and an intimate ambiance await, a Columbus Road institution with a dress policy and reservations for the front room. It opens at half past four on weekdays, at five on Saturday and at two on Sunday.

    2095 Columbus Road, Cleveland, OH 44113Mon-Thu 4:30pm-12am, Fri 4:30pm-1am, Sat 5pm-1am, Sun 2pm-9pm
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  3. Cloak & Dagger
    Cocktail Bar

    Cloak & Dagger

    Cloak & Dagger is a Tremont cocktail bar on West Eleventh Street with a fully vegan cocktail and bar-bites menu, a reservation book and a line of merch and gift cards. Happy hour runs four to six from Tuesday to Thursday, and the room opens at four every day but Monday, running to one on Friday and Saturday.

    2399 W 11th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113Tue-Thu and Sun 4pm-12am, Fri-Sat 4pm-1am
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  4. Flower on Freeman
    Cocktail Bar

    Flower on Freeman

    Flower on Freeman describes itself as a neighborhood cocktail lounge in Cleveland's Duck Island, between Tremont and Ohio City, bringing what it calls a fresh bloom of provocative and elegant libations: craft cocktails, small plates, beer, wine and single pours in a room that blends classic elegance with modern playfulness. It opened in 2025 and runs to two on Friday and Saturday.

    2102 Freeman Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113Mon-Wed 4pm-12am, Thu 4pm-1am, Fri-Sat 4pm-2am
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  5. Society Lounge
    Speakeasy

    Society Lounge

    Society Lounge calls itself a swanky speakeasy, reached down the stairs from East Fourth Street through what it calls the broom closet, into an era where socializing happened face to face and hats came off indoors. Its passion, in its own words, is concocting cocktails with acute attention to detail, the finest spirits, freshly squeezed juices and syrups made from scratch, with bougie snacks and desserts on the side.

    2063 E 4th Street, Cleveland, OH 44115
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