Cincinnati bar named one of best in US. Why the 'civilized dive bar' is so special

Step inside Longfellow , in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, and you might think it looks like other bars you’ve visited before. There are exposed brick walls and weathered wainscoting. The bartenders, stationed behind a horseshoe-shaped bar, are mixing Manhattans and painkillers or popping the tops off cheap cans of beer. The music is good. The crowd is chill.

The more you come here, though, the more you realize there’s something special about Longfellow. Those cool bartenders are outgoing and gracious to everyone who walks in the door, from service industry stalwarts to middle-aged golfers in polo shirts and boat shoes. Sure, Longfellow might be the coolest bar in Cincinnati, but it never lets that coolness go its head. Think of it as a civilized dive bar where familiar songs by Squeeze or Joy Division are always playing, and the staff − and just as often the customers − make you feel appreciated and perhaps, even loved.

Now Longfellow has gained national recognition as one of 27 places nationwide on the 2024 USA TODAY Bars of the Year list .

The list was created by USA TODAY Network food writers across the country and includes everything from humble, lovable dives to high-end cocktail bars.

More: The best bars in America in 2024 | See USA TODAY's 27 favorite spots

What makes Longfellow stand out

The bar is decorated with old Odd Fellows flags , bookshelves featuring vintage tomes, various tchotchkes and a tea canister MacGyvered into beer taps. But the touch that's most appreciated among locals might be the pay-it-forward chalkboard, where customers can buy specific drinks for specific people whenever they please.

Longfellow opened in 2017 , a few years after owner Mike Stankovich and his wife, Shailah Maynard, moved to Cincinnati (Shailah's hometown) from New York. A former punk rocker who grew up in Springfield, Virginia, Stankovich arrived in the Queen City with an impressive resume. He helped open Roberta's, the pioneering pizzeria in Williamsburg, and worked at Alameda, a small bistro in Greenpoint, where he earned a profile in the New York Times that described him as "one part Jello Biafra and one part Sam Malone."

While Stankovich could brag about his life and times in NYC, he's become a humble convert to the rivertown peculiarities of Cincinnati, immersing himself in the city's history and sharing it with his customers. Instead of talking about Roberta's or Alameda, he's more likely to wax poetic about his time working at the DC-area Bennigan’s where he worked as a bar-back witnessing the occasional "Road House"-style bar brawl.

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The menu at Longfellow is a nod to working-class bar food, with some slight modifications. Chef Casey Hopkins makes some of the best soups in town , as well as sandwiches made with scraps from a hand-cranked meat slicer, tuna salad and a hot dog cooked in butter that you can (and should) have topped with anchovies. A customer favorite is the Lunch Box – a plate of bread, onions, cheddar, bologna, mustard and pickled peppers inspired by a similar bar snack served at one of Stankovich's favorite bars, McSorley’s Old Ale House, in New York.

Longfellow also offers customers a little surprise. If you walk down a short hallway, past the bathrooms, and take a right, you'll discover the Other Room, an annex managed by Joshua Aaron Miller, which is part of Longfellow but specializes in rum cocktails and serves pierogis late into the night.

Details: 1233 Clay St., Over-the-Rhine; 513-307-4379, longfellowbar.com

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati bar named one of best in US. Why the 'civilized dive bar' is so special