The Dunlap Cafe Is Exactly How It SHOULD Be
Written By: The Gnarly Gnome
Photography By: The Gnarly Gnome
The Dunlap Café opened for business back in 1936. Let that sink in for a minute. This is a neighborhood bar that has been doing its thing in OTR for more than 85 years. This city has seen a lot of change in that time, and yet, somehow – The Dunlap works its butt off to stay exactly the same (or at least, close to it.)
How I haven’t written about this place before now is a crime.
This Shouldn’t Be Here
When you walk up to the tall blue building on the corner of Dunlap Street and Henry Street, you are immediately struck with the overwhelming thought that this shouldn’t be here. The bar is steps away from the chaotic taproom of Rhinegeist, just a few blocks from Findlay Market and in a neighborhood that is as much about change as it is remembering it’s pre-prohibition past.
That feeling doesn’t go away when you walk in the door. It doesn’t lessen even in the slightest. When your eyes dart around the space, from the wood paneling to the beer can collection along the wall or the small bar in the back of the room, the feeling grows until it settles in and feels like home.
It only takes a few minutes bellied up to the Dunlap bar before you forget that you’re in OTR. Your mind wanders, a weight lifts off your shoulders, and you can breathe again. If Dunlap is anything, it is a cure for the world’s chaos outside its doors.
What Are You Eating/Drinking?
There can be some excellent craft offerings occasionally, but that’s not what you snag at the Dunlap (unless it’s a special occasion). This bar is for affordable, easy comfort. Snag yourself a Little Kings, a PBR, or a High Life—as long as it’s cheap and served right out of the can or bottle—it’s perfect.
And the food? It’s the polar opposite of what you’ll find at countless places around the neighborhood, just like you’d expect it to be. Burgers, hotdogs, Goetta & Eggs are the staples that you’ll find. They’re quick, they’re delicious, and they fit with what the place is.
The Takeaway
The Dunlap Cafe is a very special kind of magic. Despite some dive-like personality traits, it’s not a dive bar by any stretch. No, it’s about as much a neighborhood bar as a place can possibly be… and that’s saying a lot when there really aren’t very many neighborhood bars left in OTR.
It’s got strange hours, designed to cater to third-shift folks… so you’ll need to be ready to drink a little earlier than you might at “other” OTR bars – yet somehow, it feels exactly like that’s how things are supposed to be done.
If you want to visit The Dunlap Café you can find it located at 1926 Dunlap Street In OTR