When the forest moved from a different location, I think they forget the charm. There are a few video poker machines, a pin ball machine but no pool table. Music tends to be good, no cover charge so that makes up for the crappy bands. Tends to be a lot of drama in there between regulars and even bartenders. Cheap, strong drinks.
(3)
Wade M.
My kind of place. I just moved to Eugene and have visited twice. They had some metal bands playing the first night, which was a nice glimpse into what the local metal scene here has to offer (looks good) the second visit they had karaoke which was entertaining as always. What I noticed, on both visits was that the crowd was very diverse. Clusters of death metal kids mingling with punks. There were some college boys and girls and some backwoods fellers all enjoying each others company. No static between any of those groups. Pretty damn cool. I don't drink, but my friends seemed to enjoy what they had to offer at the bar. The staff were really cool.
(5)
Honna H.
A great downtown dive bar. Loud and crowded but in a good way. The bartenders are personable and the drinks, strong. Gotta love the fat catfish in the tank above the bar who's eaten all his chums (no pun intended) and why is there money on the ceiling, one might ask? Definitely going again for some friendly moshing and a chain-smoking good time!
(4)
Karl-fourfive H.
If you can stand the smell of barf, and a atmosphere of tweekers slapping the video machines like they are 2 dollar whores this is the place to be. I will say the staff are super kind and happy hour beers are cold cheep and the lines are clean. I have never tried the food.
(3)
Erinn B.
I liked it. Not somewhere I frequent, but the drinks are decent and it's not super sketch. I'd go again, it was a cool little dive bar and the bartenders are chill.
(4)
Zach H.
Very good bar that somehow gets forgotten by almost everyone in Eugene. Very dive-y, and very alternative.
(3)
Angela S.
Came here to meet some friends who are into karaoke. Boy. Were we in for a treat. All I will say is we witnessed a gentleman who calls himself "the Undertaker" molest a giant teddy bear on stage while singing a Phil Collins song, one African American fellow who sang while his hype man danced, hipsters drinking tall boys of Hamms, and an obscenely drunk middle aged (generous) woman with her bra and oversized melons hanging out dancing "seductively" to just about everything. Was this a dream? Wednesdays are "no well" night, so wells of your favorite poison are fairly cheap. Go for the people watching.
(3)
Frances W.
Seriously, I don't know what it is about bars and not carrying Blue Moon or Mirror Pond. .....buuut this place DOES! So thank the lawd for that. The bar looks a bit small and cramped, but it's pretty fun with when you're with a couple friends. A lot of local bands seem to come play here a lot. Not typically sure about the general crowd that pass through here, but when I came here, it seemed like a lot of mid-20s and alternative looking folks hang out here (which means... wait for it....NO BROS!!) Cheap beers & micros (I've only had to pay like $3-5 for beers and cocktails) and friendly people. I've met a lot of pretty interesting people here, at least.
(4)
Melissa B.
The only reason I came to this bar was for the karaoke. I had no idea what I was in for. If you don't sing a metal, punk, or alternative song, the entire bar will hate you. The bartender, Cassie, was completely unprofessional. When I went to order my drink after my first song (it was country) she stated, "Sorry I can't hear you after your karaoke." Then she screwed up my drink. I let that one slide. The next time I go up to order shots of tequila and asked for salt, and she gave me garlic powder (after looking at the bottle to make sure she was giving me the right one). This bar does not check ID, whatsoever. And the patrons are obnoxious and rude. Will never step foot in this establishment (if you can call it that) again.
(1)
William T.
Excellent staff. Favorite bartender works Tuesday night.
(5)
Natalie S.
What a gem. Perfect mix of dive bar + modern convenience (multiple large screens, good micro on draft, toilets that flush) as it was 4:00 in the afternoon, I can't say what the after dark crowd is like. But the patrons I encountered were a mixed bag and all very friendly. Food is over the top pub fare. Large portions lots of cheese, bacon, and flair. Also it was very inexpensive, I had two micro-stouts, two diet cokes, & onion rings, total w/tip= $12! If you go, say hello to Freeway, and by him something to eat.
(5)
Jeb S.
My favorite place in eugene:) great atmosphere for the alternative type, and great service. The food taste fantastic, has a great price tag and each meal they bring out including the salad is soo big you want to take pictures of it and share with friends.
(5)
Nicole B.
We normally hit this bar up during happy hour, for a couple of drinks and some typical bar food. They have a happy hour menu where mostly everything is under $5! We normally order the sliders, which I really like. Laid back, casual atmosphere. Bartenders are friendly. An eclectic mix of people.
(4)
Anthony R.
Black Forest is nice and divey and dark as a Norwegian Black Metal record store. Standard beer selections are served, along with a few choice micros. The menu is standard bar fare but it's done pretty well and is quite affordable. Plus they offer one of those burgers with two grilled cheese sandwiches as buns. That's a plus. Overall, a nice place to duck into for an afternoon pick me up.
(3)
Ashley C.
As some of the other reviews have said-- Black Forest is the pinnacle of dive. This isn't bad though and it plays it's hand well. On most nights you can either find a band or karaoke playing on their small stage. Maybe not the best spot for a first date-- it can be quite crowded and loud being such a small space. I enjoy BF as a place to go with friends where I can easily get trashed under $10. Well drinks hover around $3, and they pour the bottom shelf vodka thick here. Typically I have to ask for a single in a tall glass or else I won't be able to get it down. This is a major plus for being a poor student like myself who wants to have a good time on the cheap. There have been other bars in the area where I can't taste anything at all and always feel as if I had wasted the whatever amount they charged me. Not at BF. Again, dark, tight, loud, they even have video poker in the back and a pool table in front. It's the perfect image for a bar and I hope to have many more drunken nights here.
(4)
Janet W.
The kids wanted to stop at Pita Pit yelp.com/biz/pita-pit-th… before calling it a night during our recent get your dance on night. I was not interested in food so stood outside to absorb the Eugene night vibe. I heard some booming, crashing music coming from somewhere near, so told the kids I needed to find a bathroom! I walked around the corner, identified my destination and hustled through the smokers outside only to step into a metal frenzy! In fact, it was "Metal Mayhem Weekend", close to midnight and I thoroughly enjoyed myself ... from the not too crowded, just far enough from the mayhem, bar. These Metal Maniacs were shoving, pushing, pulling and tackling each other like defensive backs and having a damned good time! This is an intimate venue, so you could see and smell the frenzied crowd from the bar. Thankfully, the cold micro brewed pint helped wash that olofactor memory away. A good selection of NW microbrews, plus the normal beverages you'd find in a college town, reasonably priced, good bartender and appreciative crowd. My kids would go no where near the Black Forest but I'd return in a heartbeat!
(4)
Ria J.
So now I remember why we are not dive bar types. We ventured here to watch the playoffs. Might have stayed for the live music if I had not been totally creeped out. 5 stars for the local beers. Like the local porter. 4 stars for the food and wine. Just one red wine, but it was good and well priced. 3.5 stars for having the playoffs on TV. Unfortunately the TV was positioned so the best place to see it is sitting at the bar. Not my first choice, but we sat there. The projector in the center area had on hockey -- it's a hockey bar. Sounding fine right? What's with the 3 stars? 2 stars for the comedic drunk next to me asking us why we smell the wine before drinking it. Ha ha, that was funny at least. Zero stars when the conversation at the bar drifted to disgusting subjects and finally rape. The bartender tried to temper the conversation, but basically ended up dragging it on until I said "enough already". Enough? I have gotten way too nicey-nice in middle-age.
(2)
Mike M.
Very Frustrating Place - Attempting to Go to a show that has been advertized for many weeks - the bands keep changing and still show differently on several sites with just 3 days to go - There are Several Bands shown SOMETIMES that we really want to see but other ads dont show the bands we want to see. The Black Forest has a phone number listed that always says "its not set up" -- This business has been in existence for almost 50 years -- Come on ... Even I got my phone set up in a week or two. We are NOT Driving many miles to find that the bands I want to see are not there. VERY POOR Communication and Marketing. They must be prospering adequately on Local Walk ins who just show up and dont care what they see and Not counting on other customers to attend. I have tried to call at least 20 times about this show. and I get the same frustrating recorded Phone message that the system is not set up. We are not driving 11 people in 2 cars to see this event if the bands that appear on one site and not on the other will not be there. Very Unprofessional. How hard can it be to have someone answer a telephone at a business that's open every day. They obviously must be making SO MUCH MONEY that they don't need to increase business by presenting accurate info about events that are Poorly described on their own website or spending a minute to answer questions by telephone from someone who has to drive an hour to get there. I'm not going to make the drive since I have NO accurate info. Granted , Our Group of 11 would probably only have spent 3 - 400 dollars.. But, I guess - WHO cares ! Patrons must be a dime a dozen in Eugene and the Black Forest must be so far in the black that they can figure "screw the rest. " December 2013 Update -- 8 months later -- Found inconclusive info about another show we were interested in. Same problem. Conflicting info about what bands - what time and even if the show was a go or not because another link and on another site a completely different show - different kind of music was shown. ( Turned out to be listing from the night before with incorrect date ) Again - phone went to answering machine in the middle of the day and stated that "mailbox was not set up". We managed to contact a member of one of the bands that confirmed they were going to be there so we ventured in. Start Time of the Show had moved up by an hour and two of the bands were not on the Black Forest Website. The band that was advertized to be the headliner played first before the advertized start time so many missed the headline band. After the show I tried to have a conversation with the promoter guy about these issues. TOTAL DENIAL ! He even yelled at me and refused to listen when trying to alert him as to what patrons go through just to see a show and support them. If I just lived around the corner or was walking by anyway I would not be so adamant. I believe that Black Forest loses a lot of patrons for their shows by not making accurate / good use of the media they have available with just a little care. I would guess that they could trade a beer or two a week to a student patron to keep their website and social media updated accurately if they dont know how. P.S. the Foods Good and the Bartenders are Attentive -- I guess its not fair to give bad review to the whole place just because the Event Promoter is lax. I have edited my star rating.
(3)
Veronica J.
I went here to see a friend's band. It has a dive-bar feel, with sports on tv (even as the band played), video poker and a brightly lit fish tank. A good place for a beer and some quality people watching.
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Specialities
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Divey Noise Level : Loud Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : No Caters : No
Amy P.
When the forest moved from a different location, I think they forget the charm. There are a few video poker machines, a pin ball machine but no pool table. Music tends to be good, no cover charge so that makes up for the crappy bands. Tends to be a lot of drama in there between regulars and even bartenders. Cheap, strong drinks.
(3)Wade M.
My kind of place. I just moved to Eugene and have visited twice. They had some metal bands playing the first night, which was a nice glimpse into what the local metal scene here has to offer (looks good) the second visit they had karaoke which was entertaining as always. What I noticed, on both visits was that the crowd was very diverse. Clusters of death metal kids mingling with punks. There were some college boys and girls and some backwoods fellers all enjoying each others company. No static between any of those groups. Pretty damn cool. I don't drink, but my friends seemed to enjoy what they had to offer at the bar. The staff were really cool.
(5)Honna H.
A great downtown dive bar. Loud and crowded but in a good way. The bartenders are personable and the drinks, strong. Gotta love the fat catfish in the tank above the bar who's eaten all his chums (no pun intended) and why is there money on the ceiling, one might ask? Definitely going again for some friendly moshing and a chain-smoking good time!
(4)Karl-fourfive H.
If you can stand the smell of barf, and a atmosphere of tweekers slapping the video machines like they are 2 dollar whores this is the place to be. I will say the staff are super kind and happy hour beers are cold cheep and the lines are clean. I have never tried the food.
(3)Erinn B.
I liked it. Not somewhere I frequent, but the drinks are decent and it's not super sketch. I'd go again, it was a cool little dive bar and the bartenders are chill.
(4)Zach H.
Very good bar that somehow gets forgotten by almost everyone in Eugene. Very dive-y, and very alternative.
(3)Angela S.
Came here to meet some friends who are into karaoke. Boy. Were we in for a treat. All I will say is we witnessed a gentleman who calls himself "the Undertaker" molest a giant teddy bear on stage while singing a Phil Collins song, one African American fellow who sang while his hype man danced, hipsters drinking tall boys of Hamms, and an obscenely drunk middle aged (generous) woman with her bra and oversized melons hanging out dancing "seductively" to just about everything. Was this a dream? Wednesdays are "no well" night, so wells of your favorite poison are fairly cheap. Go for the people watching.
(3)Frances W.
Seriously, I don't know what it is about bars and not carrying Blue Moon or Mirror Pond. .....buuut this place DOES! So thank the lawd for that. The bar looks a bit small and cramped, but it's pretty fun with when you're with a couple friends. A lot of local bands seem to come play here a lot. Not typically sure about the general crowd that pass through here, but when I came here, it seemed like a lot of mid-20s and alternative looking folks hang out here (which means... wait for it....NO BROS!!) Cheap beers & micros (I've only had to pay like $3-5 for beers and cocktails) and friendly people. I've met a lot of pretty interesting people here, at least.
(4)Melissa B.
The only reason I came to this bar was for the karaoke. I had no idea what I was in for. If you don't sing a metal, punk, or alternative song, the entire bar will hate you. The bartender, Cassie, was completely unprofessional. When I went to order my drink after my first song (it was country) she stated, "Sorry I can't hear you after your karaoke." Then she screwed up my drink. I let that one slide. The next time I go up to order shots of tequila and asked for salt, and she gave me garlic powder (after looking at the bottle to make sure she was giving me the right one). This bar does not check ID, whatsoever. And the patrons are obnoxious and rude. Will never step foot in this establishment (if you can call it that) again.
(1)William T.
Excellent staff. Favorite bartender works Tuesday night.
(5)Natalie S.
What a gem. Perfect mix of dive bar + modern convenience (multiple large screens, good micro on draft, toilets that flush) as it was 4:00 in the afternoon, I can't say what the after dark crowd is like. But the patrons I encountered were a mixed bag and all very friendly. Food is over the top pub fare. Large portions lots of cheese, bacon, and flair. Also it was very inexpensive, I had two micro-stouts, two diet cokes, & onion rings, total w/tip= $12! If you go, say hello to Freeway, and by him something to eat.
(5)Jeb S.
My favorite place in eugene:) great atmosphere for the alternative type, and great service. The food taste fantastic, has a great price tag and each meal they bring out including the salad is soo big you want to take pictures of it and share with friends.
(5)Nicole B.
We normally hit this bar up during happy hour, for a couple of drinks and some typical bar food. They have a happy hour menu where mostly everything is under $5! We normally order the sliders, which I really like. Laid back, casual atmosphere. Bartenders are friendly. An eclectic mix of people.
(4)Anthony R.
Black Forest is nice and divey and dark as a Norwegian Black Metal record store. Standard beer selections are served, along with a few choice micros. The menu is standard bar fare but it's done pretty well and is quite affordable. Plus they offer one of those burgers with two grilled cheese sandwiches as buns. That's a plus. Overall, a nice place to duck into for an afternoon pick me up.
(3)Ashley C.
As some of the other reviews have said-- Black Forest is the pinnacle of dive. This isn't bad though and it plays it's hand well. On most nights you can either find a band or karaoke playing on their small stage. Maybe not the best spot for a first date-- it can be quite crowded and loud being such a small space. I enjoy BF as a place to go with friends where I can easily get trashed under $10. Well drinks hover around $3, and they pour the bottom shelf vodka thick here. Typically I have to ask for a single in a tall glass or else I won't be able to get it down. This is a major plus for being a poor student like myself who wants to have a good time on the cheap. There have been other bars in the area where I can't taste anything at all and always feel as if I had wasted the whatever amount they charged me. Not at BF. Again, dark, tight, loud, they even have video poker in the back and a pool table in front. It's the perfect image for a bar and I hope to have many more drunken nights here.
(4)Janet W.
The kids wanted to stop at Pita Pit yelp.com/biz/pita-pit-th… before calling it a night during our recent get your dance on night. I was not interested in food so stood outside to absorb the Eugene night vibe. I heard some booming, crashing music coming from somewhere near, so told the kids I needed to find a bathroom! I walked around the corner, identified my destination and hustled through the smokers outside only to step into a metal frenzy! In fact, it was "Metal Mayhem Weekend", close to midnight and I thoroughly enjoyed myself ... from the not too crowded, just far enough from the mayhem, bar. These Metal Maniacs were shoving, pushing, pulling and tackling each other like defensive backs and having a damned good time! This is an intimate venue, so you could see and smell the frenzied crowd from the bar. Thankfully, the cold micro brewed pint helped wash that olofactor memory away. A good selection of NW microbrews, plus the normal beverages you'd find in a college town, reasonably priced, good bartender and appreciative crowd. My kids would go no where near the Black Forest but I'd return in a heartbeat!
(4)Ria J.
So now I remember why we are not dive bar types. We ventured here to watch the playoffs. Might have stayed for the live music if I had not been totally creeped out. 5 stars for the local beers. Like the local porter. 4 stars for the food and wine. Just one red wine, but it was good and well priced. 3.5 stars for having the playoffs on TV. Unfortunately the TV was positioned so the best place to see it is sitting at the bar. Not my first choice, but we sat there. The projector in the center area had on hockey -- it's a hockey bar. Sounding fine right? What's with the 3 stars? 2 stars for the comedic drunk next to me asking us why we smell the wine before drinking it. Ha ha, that was funny at least. Zero stars when the conversation at the bar drifted to disgusting subjects and finally rape. The bartender tried to temper the conversation, but basically ended up dragging it on until I said "enough already". Enough? I have gotten way too nicey-nice in middle-age.
(2)Mike M.
Very Frustrating Place - Attempting to Go to a show that has been advertized for many weeks - the bands keep changing and still show differently on several sites with just 3 days to go - There are Several Bands shown SOMETIMES that we really want to see but other ads dont show the bands we want to see. The Black Forest has a phone number listed that always says "its not set up" -- This business has been in existence for almost 50 years -- Come on ... Even I got my phone set up in a week or two. We are NOT Driving many miles to find that the bands I want to see are not there. VERY POOR Communication and Marketing. They must be prospering adequately on Local Walk ins who just show up and dont care what they see and Not counting on other customers to attend. I have tried to call at least 20 times about this show. and I get the same frustrating recorded Phone message that the system is not set up. We are not driving 11 people in 2 cars to see this event if the bands that appear on one site and not on the other will not be there. Very Unprofessional. How hard can it be to have someone answer a telephone at a business that's open every day. They obviously must be making SO MUCH MONEY that they don't need to increase business by presenting accurate info about events that are Poorly described on their own website or spending a minute to answer questions by telephone from someone who has to drive an hour to get there. I'm not going to make the drive since I have NO accurate info. Granted , Our Group of 11 would probably only have spent 3 - 400 dollars.. But, I guess - WHO cares ! Patrons must be a dime a dozen in Eugene and the Black Forest must be so far in the black that they can figure "screw the rest. " December 2013 Update -- 8 months later -- Found inconclusive info about another show we were interested in. Same problem. Conflicting info about what bands - what time and even if the show was a go or not because another link and on another site a completely different show - different kind of music was shown. ( Turned out to be listing from the night before with incorrect date ) Again - phone went to answering machine in the middle of the day and stated that "mailbox was not set up". We managed to contact a member of one of the bands that confirmed they were going to be there so we ventured in. Start Time of the Show had moved up by an hour and two of the bands were not on the Black Forest Website. The band that was advertized to be the headliner played first before the advertized start time so many missed the headline band. After the show I tried to have a conversation with the promoter guy about these issues. TOTAL DENIAL ! He even yelled at me and refused to listen when trying to alert him as to what patrons go through just to see a show and support them. If I just lived around the corner or was walking by anyway I would not be so adamant. I believe that Black Forest loses a lot of patrons for their shows by not making accurate / good use of the media they have available with just a little care. I would guess that they could trade a beer or two a week to a student patron to keep their website and social media updated accurately if they dont know how. P.S. the Foods Good and the Bartenders are Attentive -- I guess its not fair to give bad review to the whole place just because the Event Promoter is lax. I have edited my star rating.
(3)Veronica J.
I went here to see a friend's band. It has a dive-bar feel, with sports on tv (even as the band played), video poker and a brightly lit fish tank. A good place for a beer and some quality people watching.
(3)