Winking Lizard Tavern (Cleveland Heights)

Winking Lizard in Cleveland Heights is on Coventry Ave on a diagonal south west from the parking garage and Panninis. Croud is generally younger due to Case Western University around the corner. Food is typical sports bar fair. The quality of food is pretty good, my favs are the St. Louis Ribs or the BBQ Chicken Dinner. Beer selection is pretty good as well. Many Bottles from Allagash to Westmalle. Tap selection includes Macros, but a "Hoppy" handle featuring some sort of IPA, "Belgian" Handle, "Great Lakes" Handle featuring a seasonal offering from GLBC. Each month feature glass of the month special, get Beer and Glass for 6-8 bucks depending on what it is. This year took advantage of Dogfish Head Pint Glass with Festina Peche and Paulaner Mug with Paulaner Oktoberfest. As always you can complete the tour of Beers here for your jacket.

A great pub. Decent rotating tap list. Good selection of bottles from the world tour list. Although a lot of fruit beers. Overall a great local place to grab a beer.

Ate here and enjoyed a couple pints in early Novmber. Great wings and a very nice selection of micro and import bottles and taps. If you are in the area its worth a stop.

Visited on both recent occasions during trips to Cleveland. The place essentially includes two areas, the Winking Lizard, and the "Wine Cave" downstairs. Both are cool, if different. The latter is especially worth visiting, as the bottle selection is among the best I’ve seen, both in terms of overall quality, as well as in terms of the hard-to-find factor. Prices are reasonable. The ambiance of both places is pretty inviting. The Winking Lizard is a bit more like a traditional tavern, moderately loud, crowded, and festive. The Wine Cave is darker, more subdued, and generally filled with a crowd that is a bit more "young professional." In any case, both are worth visiting.

Three interiorally hooked up storefronts, You pass all sorts of people closely. They were relaxed mid-December when I was there, I dont know about a hot summer night. Music a bit loud, bar is decently big with a few TVs. The dozen taps were almost all the regular world macros, with a coupe of Great Lakes on. 175 bottles and a good variety. Prices were reasonable, service was good. Not the best neighbourhood

Popped in on way to Cave du Vin. Proabably would have liked far more if the scene didn’t feel like back to school night. It was loud and bustling and likely more cramped feeling than it might have been at another time. Nice selection for a guy from Texas.

I stopped in here since the Cave du Vin had yet to open. There’s not too much to say about it if you’ve been to one Winking Lizard you know what to expect. Parking might be tricky - if you are lucky you might be able to score a spot in front. Having been here once before I am not likely to go back. There are closer Winking Lizards for beer and as far as food there is a nice looking Mongolian grill in the same complex. Still, if you really want something that you can’t find at the Cave it could be worth a visit.

(Visited 06/2005): This Winking Lizard location is in Cleveland Heights which is a short drive east from downtown. Lots of parking options between street and pay parking but a hike may be in order. The interior is pretty much the same theme as other locations but the layout seems more cramped. There are two small bars in separate rooms, with a restaurant area in an adjacent room. The two bar areas are pretty small and get overcrowded easily. The beer selection is pretty much the standard Winking Lizard variety. Lots of taps with only a couple standouts like GLBC, but every bar in the area has that. It did seem like there were less micros on draught compared to other locations. Well over 100 beers in bottles from GLBC, Rogue, Bell’s, Thirsty Dog etc which is in line with the rest of the chain. There is always something good to try. The service here is OK. Pretty busy on a Friday night and it showed. I didn’t have the food on this visit but the menu is the same as other locations. Some stuff is really good, some not so much. Overall I’d normally be pleased to have a Winking Lizard to visit but with La Cave du Vin right around the corner it would take a lot for me to visit this Lizard instead. La Cave just blows it away atmosphere and clientele-wise.