Trotters Tavern

We could've skipped the wings, but the brown jug never disappoints. The smoked old fashioned hit the spot and the server Ari killed it. Salads were standard, but good. As a BGSU alum, every time I'm back to campus, this is a 100% must stop.

Everyone should know about this place!! Trotter's looks like what you'd call a Dive Bar. Small restaurant in a small (quaint) downtown in a college town. You could walk by it and never know what they have inside, and that would be a travesty. They have the Brown Jug steak: a baseball cut sirloin (this sirloin eats more like a filet, I know you think I'm exaggerating but I'm not). It's served in a cast iron skillet with this sauce...this sauce is magic. Bitey, just the perfect amount of acidity. I've been trying to figure out the recipe for years, they're not sharing it. We live in Columbus and we drive up at least once a year for this steak. It's that good.

Amazing food! You have to get the Brown Jug Steak. The service is always great with friendly staff who is knowledgeable. Great bourbon selection which follows the horse racing theme.

It was fine. Nothing that spectacular about it. I had a salad that was meh. I liked the atmosphere. Older and cozy. Probably won't be back.

Food was good, service was pretty good. They looked short staffed the night we went and a full house. Nice clean place. Much nicer and more quaint once you are inside than it looks from the outside. They have limited hours, so I'd make reservations if you are going on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Call them to make reservations if you'd like confirmation. They did not confirm our reservation online or by phone when we made reservations online. I'd go back. We had fun!

Very disappointing all around. Ordered drinks and appetizer, and all was very good, however once we ordered the food, it took 45-60 minutes before we had it. Really no excuse for that long. Server barely came over, until toward the end. When finally came out, few sides were cold, and one missing. Took another 10 to get those. Entrees were good, but due to service issue, we will not be back.

Really just ok steak, but sadly might be the best in Bowling Green. My second time here and don't need to try a third time. Searching for kind words but can't find too much. Skip here and go to Toledo or Columbus for a better steak.

If you do not know what time to show up (as I did not), your entrance will be met with a wall. Trotters is very small and cozy if you get the single big table they have. Otherwise groups larger than 2 will be butting knees with one another. As a party of four, I was struggling to have keg room, and a bit stressed having no room to lay my arms to cut, nor insufficient space to place all the dishes. The bathroom is in the back, prior to the kitchen, and it is a single for one individual at a time. Make sure you check the little hook lock, because it is flimsy. Also, "studs" is for the men, while girls is apparently, "Phillies"? One of those try to hard to be witty that many may double take as to which door to enter, especially for a foreigner. I came to Trotters for the very first time, under the anticipation that it was the best steak in town. I exited underwhelmed. While I do think that the meat is very good, and of well cut, I absolutely did not like the overbearing sauce juice as well as the mixture of cheese. I ordered the infamous Big Jug which is 15-16 ounces, and managed to eat it all with no troubles. I made the executive decision to pour the very liquid sauce into another bowl, in order to enjoy the meat proper. My displeasure of the sauce is due to it being some sort of A1 vinegar mixed with the actual good juice that comes out of the steak during cooking. I ordered the steak medium rare, and without taking anything off, that way I would test it in traditional original quality. As mentioned earlier, the meat itself is very nice, big, and juicy. The only problem was the sauce and lack of salt. If you like a traditional steak, I would suggest perhaps without the vinegar type juicing it sits in. The fries are not the best, thin and crispy. What was surprisingly good was the mashed potatoes, which actually do blend with the cheese. I'm not exactly sure what the tradition of Trotters is with all the Parmesan cheese. The cheese itself is great, but it does not blend with everything. The mozzarella sticks are cooked a bit too much, too crunchy on the outside, and inside not being melted enough. All in all, the place is nice to get beer and hang with a friend or two. I would not necessarily be eager to return to eat.

I'm originally from BG, and my husband and I always dine at Trotters when we're back in the area visiting our families. We enjoy seeing our favorite waitress, Tracy, and ordering the brown jug steak. We have never had a bad meal. Tracy does a great job and is very personable. The reason for 4 stars -we were disappointed to see how small the salads were last night. They used to be twice as big.

To be fair I blame this on the server. I believe she put down our order incorrectly. We both got the brown jug but I ordered the Greek salad but I got the house salad with ranch that was incredibly average. I ordered medium rare but got beyond rare. My wife got medium but received well done, they even butterflied the steak. When they went to remake it they were kinda rude about it. The remade steak was also well done though not butterflied this time. This led me to believe the server / bartender put it in as a rare and well done steak, skipping over the word medium.