Five Lamps Tavern

LOCATION CLOSED! Apparently there is supposed to be another restaurant coming in its place that offers an assortment of craft beers, in just a couple days, April 1. Sad to see it go, but really only because I loved their Salmon BLT. Miss you 5LT!

Meh, most of the reviewers have it right. It’s a little pricey normally for drinks, but happy hour isn’t too bad. The crowd is a weird mix of college students and randoms, and the service is pretty slow. Sit at the bar if you want faster service!

I loved the vibe with the high ceilings and long wood tables, and the outdoor seating in the summer is great. However the manager was so rude to our group, and was completely out of line.

If I can give it no stars I would… the service here is terrible… I ordered water and it’s like they had to go to a well to get it for me. I never got my water btw… I ordered a Corona that showed up right away. The bartenders weren’t attentive to their guest at the bar. They were more into the Ohio state game than providing good service. The last I came here I ordered a coors light… the waiter insisted it was coors… it tasted funny… ordered another one and tasted just as bad. Asked for as bottle instead and it tasted like a coors light. I think they BS the beers on tap… heads up on that. Thought I’d give this place another shot and I wasted my time. Don’t waste yours!

3 of 18 beers that they had on draught were kicked at 6p on a Saturday. The IPA Fries not anything special. Service was slow and they brought is the wrong check. Definitely look elsewhere for a gastropub experience.

The music is loud and overbearing, but if you like an interesting drink, with a little bit of sexual tension and innuendo, get the Corona vita cocktail. $ 15 but it seems worth it.
Once in a while you may get the awkward drunk who seems pretty happy to be wrestling with his own scarf in front of the entrance for 15 minutes.

When I sat in the pretty back garden, I was startled to see a small rat running around the patio. My friend and I sent to sit inside because I don’t like rats running around my feet. We told the waitress and she said «I’ll take care of it.» Not sure what that meant, but she never apologized or even came back to ask if we wanted another drink. Instead, she slapped the bill on the table without saying anything. A strange experience!

Seaseme nori ahi tuna OMG THE BEST TUNA I EVER HAD
Love this place, atmosphere is great and service is awesome!
Thumbs up guys keep the good work!

Very disappointing. I’ve tried this place three or four times now in hope of some sort of improvement. I mean, the place has a frickin’ giant garden in the back! HUGE! But for some reason every time I go, they are out of the beer I want (usually the only beer I actually want on their wimpish beer menu), so I order my second choice, and then it takes 20 minutes to get to your table.
And then there’s the food. The first thing is this: How can you possibly make IPA fries if you’ve run out of the one IPA you have on the menu – the one I ordered again this time and are still out of? Seriously. So these fries are just fries, nothing worth ordering. No hoppy bite or anything like that. I’ve never thought about ordering flatbread anywhere, so I can’t speak to theirs. There’s also mahi mahi, which I’m pretty sure they’d be out of if I ever asked for it. Maybe ask a Columbia bro for a recommendation — you’ll hear him yelling from the beer garden.

Tag lines: fajita diarrhea, missing food orders, and terrible service.
I wish all of the following events weren’t true.
My friends and I came here looking forward to get our grub on with drinks. The service was abysmal, the fajitas gave two of my friends food poisoning, and they didn’t put my order for sliders down (which they comped but gave me flack for and made me beef sliders instead of the buffalo chicken from my order).
If you want a quick beer before you head to the next bar, hopefully this is your place. For food at the Biergarten, forget about it. Go up a couple more blocks for similar places with better everything.

If you like large sports bars with many TVs, this is a great place for you. I was drawn by the outside seating, which is great for people-​watching.
I came here with three friends for a late-​night snack and some drinks. We were drinking wine and beer and also had some shots, so I can’t comment on the drinks that they make here.
The food was overwhelmingly «meh,» although to be fair, we only had the hummus/​pita (which was not really pita… it was more like chips). This is more of a beer and sports place, though, so maybe the more traditional bar food is better… I’m not sure.
The prices were fair and the atmosphere was lively and fun, even though it was a bit late on a weekday.
We had to wait a long time for our pitcher of beer and had to sort of beg to pay, but the waitstaff was very friendly when engaging with us.
The hidden gem of this place is the garden area in the back. I noticed it only when I went to use the restroom. It’s adorable and the relaxed vibe is completely different than the more energetic atmosphere in the front of the place. If I were to go back here, I would definitely want to be seated here… but I’m not much of a «sports bar» person!

So far its been a terrible experience, and I haven’t even been there!
I called one early afternoon to make a reservation for 20 people. The waiter and bar tender who were there couldn’t make a rez for that many people and said I had to speak to the event coordinator. Except, after about 5 minutes of fumbling around for it, they couldn’t find her number. Instead of getting my info and passing it along to her, they told me to call the number on the website and the message will get to her. Er, ok.
Anyway, I’ve called twice and and left messages to their non-​descript answering machine. Its the number on the website so I hope its the right one! But, its been a week and a half and no one has called me back.
They either have some kinks to work out with the staff still, or they just don’t need the business!
UPDATE: I called again and spoke to Lauren (?) who was super helpful and able to take the rez with no problem. I still recommend that they fix their outgoing VM message and train their other employees to be able to take a rez (or at least take the message to get to the right person). We’ll see how the service is once we go!

The most appealing thing about this pub is the biergarten. Calling it a «garden» is a bit of a stretch (its basically a backyard with a few flower pots), but it is nice enough and a good space to hang out in the summertime. The interior is also quite nice; tall tables, a few booths and lots of TVs to watch sports.
Unfortunately, the food that they serve is just meh. Nachos were OK, everything else was below the bar. Fries were soggy, steak was tiny and overcooked even though we ordered it medium rare. Beers are OK but overpriced; there are many places close by with a better selection.
The biggest problem was our server, who was horribly incompetent. Our outside table was broken, and when we mentioned it to her she said that she would «ask someone» about it, but nothing ever happened. We then had to exchange it ourselves for one of the neighboring tables (it was so shaky that it was impossible to eat from it). She then forgot part of our order, and needed about half an our to bring us our check after we had flagged her down and asked for it. This is when we found out that they put a MANDATORY 20% service charge on our bill. That’s right, 20% for a PARTY OF TWO!
Bottom line: be ready for poor service if you go there; it’s OK for a beer, but you should skip the food.

Great bar on the UWS. Came here for drinks one Friday night. Great place to watch the game too as it was during the NBA finals. Definitely try the poutine! Excellent beer selection too with good IPA’s. Would love to come back here to try some of the other items on the menu and chill out in the garden in the back. Highly recommend this place.

Go to Five Lamps Tavern on warm evenings and sit in the gorgeous, spacious back garden, which is totally unique in the neighborhood. That’s by far the main draw, and makes for a fantastic nice date night.
Five Lamps is also good for groups. It’s extremely spacious in an area where a lot of restaurants would struggle to seat six. Five Lamps also has a pretty broad, agreeable, and fairly well-​executed menu that makes it ideal for big groups, picky eaters, or first dates where you’re not sure what the other person eats. There are always several craft beers on tap, and enough wines and cocktails that everybody can find something they want.
That said, both the drinks and the food are pretty pricey, and they’re not good enough or original enough to justify the high cost. Inflated prices are clearly going to pay rent and maintenance on that beautiful garden, so if you’re not sitting in the garden you’re just subsidizing the people who are.

Ok, Five Lamps — still mad you charged for ice. Like, I will never forget that.
But, I will forgive you because you have such a large space, a good menu, and introduced me to lots of new beers. It’s undeniable that you’re a good place to meet up with parties of any size.
But your prices could be more competitive, and your food could be better. I will keep coming for the beer and wine.

Absolutely never going back here. Our waitress was really sweet and lovely and attentive, that’s about the only silver lining here– though I saw her get treated pretty poorly by the management staff so I hope that’s not an everyday thing for her though it seems like it probably is…
The manager (owner? idk.) was viciously verbally abusive to our table, wouldn’t allow separate bills and then yelled at us because our bill was short since someone else in our party had skipped out on it without us realizing. While we were trying to sort it out, he was screaming at us saying how ridiculous we were, and putting his hands on us (a group of females) without any consent whatsoever.
His approach was rude and beyond unprofessional. As we paid for the rest of the bill, he continued to be rude and unwelcoming.
You need to check yourself before you wreck yourself, bro. You work at a restaurant– there’s this thing called customer service. Yelling and arguing with your customers who are being nothing but agreeable with you is just disgusting.

I was here for the first time last night, attending a birthday party. Our group ebbed and swelled during the evening, ranging on size from six people to nearly twenty. No matter how many people there were at our table or how rowdy we were, the staff was impeccable. Service was quick, our waitress was sassy and nothing was forgotten. I realize a big group with their obnoxious big group needs («Can I have a separate check?» «Can you tell me exactly what’s in the vinegerette?» «Cab we get sixteen more forks over here?») can be a lot for a restaurant to handle and I was very, very impressed by Five Lamps.
Their food is pretty fantastic. Their IPA French fries are definitely worth writing home about, as is their macaroni and cheese with buffalo chicken. The guacamole brings the heat. I definitely plan on coming back, but maybe without fifteen of my closest friends.

5LT burger
IPA fries
beer mac and cheese with buffalo chicken
surprisingly, finding even half decent food
in this part of the island is really hard.
above average bar food,
on the pricier side but portions were generous.
nice to sit outside for the people watching.

…I think we got the attentive blonde waitress this time around! :-)
A second trip back here proved very positive.
I was craving nachos and hard cider. You can’t get hard cider at a Mexican restaurant… at least anyone I’VE been to. In the quest for crunch cheesy goodness, I suggested to Adam that we try Five Lamps again.
We decided to split two appetizers: the margarita flatbread and the 5LT Nachos. The flatbread was perfection: good crust, just cheesy enough, with the right amount of tangy balsamic aesthetically drizzled on top of it. The nachos were loaded with Nacho Cheeze, cheddar, gaucmole, sour cream, fresh salsa, peppers, and ground beef. It was hedonistically ooey gooey cheesy delicious. It was exactly what I look for when eating nachos… I want my hands to be saturated with cheese and gauc by the time I’m done.
I liked the ambience and interior design the first time ’round, and I liked it even more the second. It really has that cozy pub vibe to it, dark, warm, yet chill.
Our waitress this time? Sweet, attentive, and on the money our entire hour there. (I thinks she WAS the blonde waitress from last time, legit!)
We both look forward to coming back again, especially for the outdoor garden once the temps rise!
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Funny! Before going, Adam was looking at this place on Unilocal and pointed out that Caity, the managing partner, had responded to my earlier review! I had no idea! I was quite pleased to see she took my concerns seriously. I always appreciate when such things happen. Thank you, Caity. Due to a great second time ’round, you have definitely earned two regular customers that will happily praise your establishment! And, perhaps, I’ll give the chicken sandwich a spin agin, as that is one of MY favorite types of sandwiches!