Sidewalk Cafe

Just went for drinks, happy hour special is 25% off and some drinks that the bar tender is annoyed to tell you about if you ask even though how would you know from the name. There was one guy in there, probably a lawyer because he had an expandable legal file that was so blitzed i was expecting him to either shit himself, pee his pants or take off his pants or maybe all three. I asked the bar tender to make his best print, it sort of tasted like a fake sugar pink lemonade with cheap vodka. Drink was strong, i switched to the long island iced tea, that was also very strong and tasted like it had splenda in it, or maybe i was drugged. Drinks seemed to flow a little too easily, to the point of being irresponsible. The entire time we were there no one got food. The smell inside is a little musty, although i will say it is nicer inside than i would have guessed. Parking isn’t great in the back you are better off parking in the road or walking.

Food is good had a pizza. When I decided to stay longer for a drink I was told to take my hat off. If this is the kinda place where you can’t come as you are guess they don’t need my dollar.

I grew up in the area and Ive always known this place to be the Oxbow.
I have never eaten here but its a great bar set up. Would be better if they have bigger TVs but they are everywhere and in good locations to the bar. Beers are cold and the service is great. They even have outside seating.
ONe day I will try the food here

Sidewalk Café is a hot spot/​sponsor bar for the WAKA sports leagues in Hartford’s South End that has surprisingly good food!
If you’re going to Sidewalk as part of WAKA, it is a blast. They have flip cup/​beer pong games going on, a DJ, and a great atmosphere to mingle and meet people from other teams. On game nights, there are drink specials and cheap pitchers.
The bar food is actually very tasty! Sandwiches and fries have lots of flavor and the portions are very hearty. I had the chicken quesadilla appetizer last time and I liked the addition of pico de gallo inside the tortilla. So tasty! On odd thing that caught my eye was that all of the salads are more expensive than the sandwiches. The Caesar salad is $ 12 without chicken, yet you can get a buffalo chicken wrap with fries for $ 10. A simple garden salad is $ 8.
They have a patio as well and don’t mind if you push tables together. Overall its a great neighborhood spot.

Fairly average bar in Hartford’s south end. I come here with my kickball team after our games to play flip cup. The staff is nice, but the beer selection sucks balls. It’s also very loud and hot in the summer. The food is average too.

GREAT location, a nice big dance floor and the bar staff are wonderful!
On Saturdays DJ Rick plays some really great stuff and mixes all genres well.
The drinks are good sized and fairly priced.
This is a great neighborhood bar with free parking and no cover charge.
The owner of this place also owns a delicious restaurant in Hartford called Francesco’s and their food is fantastic.
As an owner, he does a great job of making sure people are taken care of, and greets everyone throughout the bar with a big smile.
Definitely always a good experience when coming here.

Worst bar I’ve ever been to. Outrageous prices, terrible staff, inconvenient location. If you’re thinking of going, don’t. Plain and simple.

A group of 8 colleagues and I chose to have lunch at this quiet café today. I say quiet because we were the only customers in the place upon arrival. During our 75 minute-​long wait for food, four other patrons entered the place. There was never more than 13 people in the restaurant. After one hour, one of my colleagues went in to tell the server to box up the food because we were late returning to work. Fifteen minutes after that the food arrived along with the check that included an 18% gratuity! The server placed it on the table and in a real snide tone told us that if we had called ahead they would have been better able to provide us service. I told him that if the restaurant could notyou handle a total of 13 customers at one time, then they have no business being open. They probably wont be for long. I promise to never return.

This used to be the favorite Friday happy hour for the teachers from all over the city. This is no longer the case and open Friday afternoon seating is ample. New ownership led to higher prices, inconsistent food quality and limited beer selection. They did an excellent job updating the décor and the patio is a nice place to have a drink. Great sports TV selection!

This is a great sandwich place and bar. The food is excellent, the burgers and sandwiches are hot and cooked to order. This was the old Oxbow which had fallen on hard times. It was cleaned up, revamped and reborn as the Sidewalk Café. One gripe, however, is the insistence on a credit card minimum, particularly for the single diner. At lunch, a sandwich and a beer or soft drink are under the minimum. I’m coming from my office. I’m not likely to return if they continue practice.

This is a very clean, very tidy place. The décor is archetypal sports bar.
I must tell you that I don’t like lots of televisions all around the place. However, they’re a fact of life in most drinking places these days.
The pricing is all over the place. $ 10 for spaghetti and meatballs but only $ 15 for a (small) strip steak that was quite nicely done. The appetizers are all the usual bar culprits, and are all over-​priced (c’mon, $ 6 for fried pickles??!).
The burger was just okay — done nicely but they could’ve used a better blend of meat. Fries were forgettable. The best thing was the steak. An Italian special, I think it was lasagna, was bitter and redolent of too much tomato paste. No complexity at all. Not what we’d expected from these people — they own Francesco’s restaurant on Franklin Avenue and let everyone know it.
The drinks were small and expensive. However, they’ve got a great selection and made a mean Manhattan. I had to ask for bitters — to which the bartender, who was friendly enough, commented, «oh, you really want an Old Fashioned. Bitters go in an Old fashioned…» I don’t care what he thinks.
The boss seemed nice enough and was very knowledgeable about the beverage items that set the place apart (I’ve forgotten them by now). There’re a lot of flavored martinis and sweet drinks offered as specials. They’re not my bag but if that’s your bag, you’ll be in heaven here.
We were joined by two friends of ours, a one-​time politician and a restaurateur from the South End. The boss became noticeably frosty upon their arrival. We moved to a table and actually heard him say very loudly that he thought the politician was dead and that the restaurateur had moved to Florida — then he wished out loud that these things were true! If these two fellows heard this diatribe, it didn’t bother them. But it bothered me.
Never again.

Great music by Charmagne Saturday night! didnt eat but had some beers, seemed busy. parking is hard and the crowd is odd

I love the Sidewalk Café. They have reasonably priced food and drinks, and the staff is wonderful. They recently changed owners and it seems the food and atmosphere will continue to be great. I love their pecan crusted chicken, sweet potato fries, and their newly added pizza is delicious too! Good times!!!

The food remains a big Question Mark. I did not eat there.
However, I did go there last Saturday night for drinks with some friends and it seemed quite nice. The bar is laid out well and the patio area was very nice for relaxing, drinking and drumming up conversation with friends new and old.
We ended up leaving at last call and considered an evening well spent.

I have only been here with friends for drinks, so I cannot comment on the food. However, nice bar, quiet, and clean… nice place to stop by after work to unwind.

It’s new. It’s a HUGE improvement over the old Oxbow Café that was there before — it’s clean, for starters.
They’ve cleaned up, spruced up and seem to care. Had a quiet lunch there — decent cheese burger and delicious sweet potato fries. Menu is pretty typical of comfortable neighborhood places. A large bar that probably gets busy on Thursday through Saturday nights. This is a place that has potential for the neighborhood, for softball leagues in nearby Goodwin Park and anybody else that likes a moderately priced lunch or dinner. They’re also trying to book some music there, but I can’t tell you much about who/​what.
Will revisit rating when I’ve had more experience.