A trip to your local watering hole shouldn’t mean leaving your furry friend at home. Greater Cincinnati is home to dozens of dog-friendly bars, welcoming well-behaved pups to enjoy a day out with their humans.

These drinking and dining destinations allow pets in portions of or all of their establishments, as long as they are well-behaved. (In 2018, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed House Bill 263, which allowed “the owner of a retail food establishment or food service operation to allow dogs in an outdoor dining area of the establishment or operation.”) Regardless, we always recommend calling the business in advance before bringing your pooch along.

Note: This is not a comprehensive list of all dog-friendly Greater Cincinnati bars.

Bark Park & Patio 7544 Burlington Pike, Florence Greater Cincinnati’s only bar and dog park combo, Bark Park & Patio in Florence is the perfect place to spend a relaxing day with your pup. The bar serves local craft beers and wines in a laidback, backyard-like atmosphere, while the dog park offers more than an acre of fenced-in, grassy space for your dog to run around and explore. Photo: facebook.com/BarkParkPatio
Liberty’s Bar & Bottle 1427 Main St., Over-the-Rhine Liberty’s offers the best of both the bar and the bottle with rotating craft beers on tap and more than a dozen wines available by the glass — including half-pours — along with bottles of wine and craft beers via retail. Dogs are welcome and you’ll frequently find one or two sleeping under their owners’ stools at the bar. Bring a pet along and they’ll get to slurp up a water bowl while you sip on an IPA and admire the sleek interior. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Pins Mechanical Co. 1124 Main St., Over-the-Rhine This multi-level bar has pinball machines, duckpin bowling lanes and other “old school” entertainment options like foosball and ping pong. The rooftop patio has fire pits, its own bar and giant yard games. On its Instagram page, Pins makes its devotion to dogs known, writing, “We love dogs and they’re ALWAYS welcome at all locations.” Photo: Kelley Bryant
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Covington Yard 401 Greenup St., Covington This outdoor establishment offers a small community of repurposed shipping containers housing local restaurants like El Jefe’s Cubanos & More and San Jeanetta’s Table, plus a selection of draft and craft brews as well as wine and signature cocktails. Artificial turf and pet stations throughout make Covington Yard the ultimate destination for pups to see friends and meet new ones, as long as they are leashed and are not served from wares used for human consumption. Photo: facebook.com/covingtonyard
Streetside Brewery 4003 Eastern Ave., Columbia Tusculum From their taproom/brewery along Eastern Avenue in Columbia Tusculum, Streetside Brewery blends craft and community. With beers like their imperial strawberry cheesecake German brew We’ve Strayed from the Light, this brewery has developed a niche for having your cake and drinking it, too. The taproom frequently hosts food trucks and programmed events. Well-behaved dogs are allowed on the patio. Photo: StreetsideBrewery/Facebook
Higher Gravity 4106 Hamilton Ave., Northside; 10241 Summit Parkway, Blue Ash This bar doubles as a craft beer and wine shop dedicated to providing the best beverages to thirsty customers. Let Higher Gravity’s friendly “beeristas” pour you a flight, and don’t leave without visiting their growler and crawler station to take a cold one home with you. Higher Gravity is kid- and dog-friendly, as well as B.Y.O.F. (bring your own food), so bring the whole fam and order in something tasty from one of their Northside neighbors. Photo: HigherGravity/Facebook
Gulow Street 1614 Hoffner St., Northside Gulow Street is a cozy yet sophisticated bar and restaurant located at the corner of Hoffner and Gulow streets — the establishment’s namesake. The streamlined menu offers bites like a burger and breakfast sandwich with pimento cheese, plus a cocktail menu. Clever house drinks include the Spaghett (Miller High Life, Aperol and lemon) and a basil paloma with Tajin. A converted garage on the property doubles as a patio space, and dogs are welcome to hang out there with their people. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Braxton Brewing Co. 27 W. Seventh St., Covington Rooted in the ethos and innovation forged in a Midwestern garage, founder Evan Rouse started homebrewing when he was just 16, before he could even taste his creations. Now with three locations — the flagship taproom in Covington, a second taproom in Pendleton and the Barrel House in Fort Mitchell — the brewery serves year-round favorites, special releases and collaborations, housemade VIVE hard seltzer and even a new NA brew, all of which can be enjoyed with your furry friend. Braxton says all of their taprooms are dog-friendly. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Queen City Radio 222 W. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine Located in a former 1920s service station, Queen City Radio has been turned into a well-manicured full-service bar and outdoor beer garden. The bar serves rotating taps of local, regional and national beer, canned and bottled brews, wine, cocktails and boozy slushies. Garage doors create indoor/outdoor space, weather permitting, and the on-site food truck Lübecker serves up German-style fare. The expansive patio is the perfect place for a furry friend to keep you company while you enjoy good drinks and good weather, or bring them inside. Photo: Patty Salas
13 Below Brewery 7391 Forbes Road, Sayler Park Named for its location 13 nautical miles “below” Cincinnati, this brewery is right on the Ohio River. With a corner pub-vibe, their small-batch beers can be enjoyed with friends, family and dogs in the taproom or in the beer garden when the weather warms. The on-site Incline Smoke Shack features a walk-up window and “dry-rubbed and slow-smoked” meats. Photo: 13BelowBrewery/Facebook
Rosedale 208 E. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine Rosedale is self-described as “Over-the-Rhine’s backyard,” offering a giant dog-friendly patio, bocce courts, fire pits, a monthly $3 discounted drink menu and food from the MORTAR Mess Hall, where food entrepreneurs hone their skills in a professional setting. Bring your furry friend along and enjoy happy hour together. Photo: RosedaleOTR/Facebook
Gypsy’s 641 Main St., Covington With a welcoming, dog-friendly atmosphere, Gypsy’s is perhaps most well known for their fully stocked bar and large craft beer selection on draft or in bottles. Watch your favorite game on one of several TVs or enjoy their back patio. Photo: GypsysCovington/Gypsys
Fifty West Brewing Company 7605 Wooster Pike, Columbia Township There are many amenities offered at Fifty West Brewing Company’s beer garden, like sand volleyball, a retro-styled burger bar and futsol in the summer and in the winter an ice skating rink and fire pits are set up for cold weather fun. In addition to these activities, the sprawling entertainment hub allows for dog owners to bring their furry four-legged friend out to have some fun. Photo: Facebook.com/fiftywestbrewingcompany
Milton’s The Prospect Hill Tavern 301 Milton St., Liberty Hill Prospect Hill’s neighborhood joint is chatty, diverse and full of character. A great place to have a beer, relax and mix it up with the regulars. And many of those regulars include dogs; scroll through their social media for proof of several very good boi booze hounds. Dogs are allowed inside any time before 8 p.m. Photo: TheProspectHillTavern/Facebook
Northern Row Brewery & Distillery 111 W. McMicken Ave., Over-the-Rhine Over-the-Rhine’s Northern Row taproom and patio slings more than a dozen taps of its own beer, and features a full bar and cocktails made with house-distilled spirits. A food menu includes salads, sides, sandwiches and a Sunday breakfast burrito. The brewery’s cozy patio is dog-friendly. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
MadTree Brewing 3301 Madison Road, Oakley With 32 MadTree-exclusive taps, ambient lighting and an industrial brick facade leftover from the building’s factory days, there’s more than enough space to accommodate all the beer-drinking, cornhole-playing, dog-loving humans that hang at the 10,000-square-foot outdoor beer garden on the regular. The garden is both tented and heated in winter and allows pets year-round; just remember to enter the garden directly instead of through the main entrance if you plan on bringing a furry friend. Photo: MadTree/Facebook
Mecca OTR 1429 Walnut St., Over-the-Rhine This hip OTR hideaway is a welcoming hangout for those interested in no-frills drinking, L.A. vibes, vinyl tunes and free popcorn. Find the main courtyard entrance tucked away down 15th Street, and cross the big-ass gravel patio, past colorful street-art murals, a panoply of rainbow lighting and a plethora of communal seating to enter a world of hanging plants (in summer the patio is decked out in greenery as well) and the most creatively decorated — dare we say selfie-ready — bar bathrooms in the city. Dogs are always welcome, as long as it’s not too crowded. Mecca has water bowls, poop bags and sometimes treats on hand for furry guests. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Big Ash Brewing 5230 Beechmont Ave., Anderson This beer “co-op” was founded by a group of 25 home brewing friends in an Anderson Township basement in 2011 and expanded to 52 friends by 2019. The group obtained the old El Rancho Grande restaurant space on Beechmont Avenue, gutted it and transformed it into Big Ash Brewing. The brewery now pours 28 taps of beer, with bonus wine, spirits and build-your-own craft pizza. Leashed dogs are welcome on the outdoor patio, open year-round. Photo: Facebook.com/BigAshBrewing
Brink Brewing Co. 5905 Hamilton Ave., College Hill College Hill’s Brink Brewing Co. is a neighborhood gathering space loaded with interactive features including a 20-seater community table, reclaimed-wood bar and a gigantic Scrabble board that’s very popular with patrons after a few pints from the brewery’s wide-reaching tap list. Head to the bathroom to see more than three decades’ worth of collected beer labels. Dogs are welcome on the patio. Photo: BrinkBrewing/Facebook
Fries Cafe 3247 Jefferson Ave., Clifton At more than 90 years old, Fries is a laid-back dive-bar legend near the University of Cincinnati. The uncharacteristically large outdoor space (at least for Clifton) has a covered portion and deck, live music stage, cornhole sets and plenty of seating. Bring your pooch with you: Dogs are allowed inside and outside as long as they are on a leash (and you clean up after them). Photo: Facebook.com/FriesCafe
March First Brewing 7885 E. Kemper Road, Sharonville Paying homage to the founding date of Ohio, March First is Cincinnati’s only three-in-one brewery, cidery and distillery. Partnering with Brewhaus Dog Bones, a non-profit dedicated to providing vocational training for young adults with disabilities, March First’s spent grains are used as the main ingredient in the company’s unique dog treats. Your pup is welcome to join you at an outdoor table. Photo: Facebook.com/MarchFirstBrewing
R.P. McMurphy’s 2910 Wasson Road, Hyde Park R.P. McMurphy’s is an Irish pub located in the Hyde Park-area off of Wasson Road. With a decent-sized L-shaped patio, McMurphy’s loves to see dogs at their establishment. Staff have been known to serve your pup treats and even bandanas. Photo: facebook.com/rpmcmurphysirishpub
Arlin’s 307 Ludlow Ave., Clifton Arlin’s is Clifton’s Gaslight District neighborhood pub for the thinking man or woman. The no-frills atmosphere includes a pool room, plus 20 taps, sports on TV and a jukebox. Though the bar has changed names, there’s been a drinking spot at this location since the 1890s. Enjoy live music and bar food, or have a beer on the back dog-friendly patio. Photo: facebook.com/arlinsbar