Nighttown

12387 Cedar Road
Cleveland Heights, OH
(216) 795 0550
www.nighttowncleveland.com


Nighttown on Cedar Road on the way down the hill towards downtown has been an institution to many people for quite some time. They offer a great venue for well-known and local jazz artists alike. They serve English style pub fare every day of the week, til midnight and 1 am on the weekends. I personally have never been impressed with their food. Every time I have dined there, there was something wrong with the dishes that I ordered. If it was a seared piece of Tuna appetizer, it was cooked through instead of seared and quite fishy in taste and smell or, just a bland entree. Every time someone suggests going there, I suggest somewhere else. Over the past few months, I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, that they might actually have some merit. If all these people in this city go there so often, am I missing something or do these people just not know what the hell they are talking about?
Don't get me wrong, the bar is nice and dark, and if someone is tickling the ivory on the other side, you can enjoy the sounds without having to sit on top of the piano. The bar staff is usually polite enough, but can be lackadaisical at times, when it comes to clearing an obviously finished plate, finished for some time.
So, I tried again. I suppose, I didn't fully try again, for we sat at the bar and not at a table. We are so apprehensive to give them a chance to redeem themselves, that we are taking baby steps. It's not like they owe us anything, who are we? But, at least we do know what is good and what is bad.
So, at the bar Nighttown has a deal that if you order a burger, it is only $5. So, we started there, and perhaps we will give them another chance in the future. The burger was good. Cooked to the preference. I ordered mine medium with blue cheese and grilled onions. It arrived in perfect time and prepared just that way. The fries were perfectly crisp and hot. We had no complaints. (Other than the plate ordeal, but no biggy)
As I sat at the bar finishing up my bourbon, at 10:30 on a Thursday night, I watched as people poured in the door ready for dinner. There was a party of ten just arriving, and walk in parties of fives and sixes. It was good to see that a restaurant in Cleveland Heights can still be happenin at that time during the week, because there are not a lot of options for later night dining in the area. But, it just made me ask a new question...Do these people just not have any other options? Do they not know what they are talking about? Or, maybe I AM missing something.
Well, the burgers were good, the bourbon was delicious, and the pour was great. We will see when I am ready to go back for more than the burger, but I guess I have to try...maybe.