I was in Columbia after a very long time. Got to see the night life. A lot of shops were closed so my friend and I saw an advert in our Hotel 's booklets. World of beer. The name is perfect for this place. It was like coming to a coca cola museum but for beer. Lovely atmosphere..food, drinks, sample drinks, girly beers my favorite is the lambic cherry flavor... Yum!!
(5)
Courtney W.
I took my parents here while they were visiting because I knew they would love the huge selection of beer. However, this place definitely was very underwhelming. Everything is very pricey for what you get, and you can't even validate the cost because the service is horrible. We had to ask 3 times just to get napkins. The food is nothing special; there are definitely much better places to eat in Columbia. Sure, they have a great selection of beer, but what is that worth when your server is busy hanging out with friends instead of taking care of her table? I will not be back, I'd rather spend my money at restaurants with excellent food, drink AND service.
(1)
Arin E.
This place has a great atmosphere and a great beer selection. A lot of local brews which I always enjoy trying when I travel. The cocktail selection is small but good. We wanted to try a couple but they ran out of ingredients. The two I had were delicious.
(4)
Robert N.
I was surprised that this place mainly had bottled beer. I was thinking like a name like World of Beer they would have had way more beer on tap. The bar area was smaller than expected. Very limited menu. Service was slow and beer was pricey. I think in this area that has so many bars you could skip this one.
(2)
Jen S.
Every time I'm in Columbia I come here. I love it! The beer selection is amazing (it is called world of beer after all!) The servers are really knowledgeable about the different beers and can make suggestions if you get overwhelmed by the menu. The food is also delicious! The flat bread pizza was delicious! But my favorite was the steak frites. The garlic aioli that come with it is to die for, I'd put it on almost anything! If you like beer and yummy, not your average, bar food this place is a must!
(5)
David C.
This place is nice enough on the inside with a pleasant atmosphere. They do provide plenty of bathrooms which is nice in a place that specializes in beer. The beer selection is quite vast so it may take you some time to pick out a beer that you like. That being said the beer is very pricey. I know you have to pay for selection but do I need to pay for the entire 6 pack? We ordered some Hummus because we wanted something a little light. I give them credit for trying to make their own hummus in house but it was just all wrong. best part of the plate was the warm pita. Parking can be difficult so you may have to walk a ways. Its worth a visit but it is going to cost you a pretty penny to drink.
(3)
Tanner B.
I was going to Flying Saucer almost every time for my taste of unique and out of the ordinary beers.. Until I found WOB. Great service on the few times I have been thus far and needless to say a great atmosphere. Over 100+ beers to choose from and all the bartenders and staff are all very knowledgable about every single one! Have yet to try the any of the food but will be back for sure! Easily better than flying saucer IMO.
(5)
Anthony G.
Great selection of beer and the bartenders are great albeit the waitresses are sometimes not the most attentive so do not wait for your beer to be empty before thinking of the next one. Prices for drafts are a little high compared to other local places but you can't beat the selection and the atmosphere. Since they added food, the experience has been much better. The food is decent but your coming here for the beer anyways, the food is a bonus! Join the beer club and drink your life/money away while earning a spot on their wall.
(4)
Pam M.
When tailgate got rained out this was plan B. Great choice. Great food & beer selection.
(5)
Rebecca A.
They have a very good steak sandwich. I know you're thinking "It's called World of BEER why would you eat their food?" I don't like beer but I can tell you that they have TONS of it. They are all pretty knowledgeable about their beer and can answer all your questions. But I just stuck to the food. The sandwich was not tough and chewy but very tender and well flavored. I would totally recommend eating here!
(4)
Kelly M.
I travel to Columbia a couple of times every year to get ready for the World Beer Festival, and always stop at the World of Beer when I am in town. This is a great location, in the heart of the Vista. I love the set up with the beautiful outdoor patio, the long wrap around bar, plenty of seating and the upstairs area. They have an amazing beer selection and I always find at least 3-5 draft choices I want immediately. They carry the local favorites, a lot of which I can't get in Durham, so I like to enjoy a couple pints from breweries like Conquest and River Dog when I'm there. It is definitely a bar for those who know a little about craft beer, don't come here expecting to order a bud light. They also serve food now, something the World of Beer in Raleigh has not picked up on yet. I've had the fried pickles (very spicy!), the giant pretzels (soooo good), the WOB chips, and the beer cheese dip. It's a decent menu, typical bar food with a little twist. I've always had excellent service and enjoyed meeting new people and enjoying the Vista bar scene. Next time I'm back down to Columbia, I'm sure I'll find my way to World of Beer again.
(4)
Rick T.
On 108 beers I've tried here since I have abandoned flying saucer and their incompetent staff. But that is another review all it's own. This place is a place where you can get newest ales out and meet the brewers who make the good stuff on certain nights. This place is quite good at making me happy!
(5)
Isel L.
I came to visit this place when I was home for the holiday..Went with a group of 5. Our server was pretty cool at the beginning but I think he seemed to get annoyed with our group even though we probably spent way more than we should have. We were having a good time but I think he wanted to play hall monitor with the "noise" we supposedly made so we left. We were just having a good time catching up and I only had 3 beers max over a span of 4 hours to give you a sense of the noise level... Lots of selection on beers but a bit pricey if you ask me. Oh yeah, he forgot our food order too. Luckily we didn't get charge for it so we went elsewhere to grab food.
(3)
Tj R.
This place was really cool to visit. Good vibe, great bartenders, and an AMAZING beer selection. I'll definitely be back.
(4)
Kelly B.
Love going here for a beer after a meal downtown. I've never tried their food, but very much love the beer selection and friendly bartenders we've had.
(4)
Vonda D.
My friends and I arrived here right in time for last call. We only got a beer each, and the lights were already on when we arrived, which I thought was odd. Most bars usually have dim lighting. We were only here for about 20 minutes before leaving. If I visit again, I'll have to check this place out earlier than last call.
(3)
April B.
I've been a fan of WOB since their first night open in Columbia. It's almost always easy to find a table, but sitting outside on the porch is my favorite place to be. It's great for people watching! The beer selection is endless, and I can't imagine ever getting bored with it. A friend's boyfriend tried to order Natty Light and Miller Highlife here before and griped about it but man, go next door to Wild Hare if you can't stomach craft beers that have actual flavor! Especially intriguing is when they break out their Randall- a machine that infuses beer with flavors ranging from sour gummy worms to thyme and lemon balm. They always have fun events like Yappy Hour and football related festivities, but it's just as nice to go there alone with the laptop for an afternoon of following Hemingway's advice to "Write drunk, edit sober."
(5)
Carol S.
Popped over to WOB after dinner at Ruth's Chris. We all felt like sampling new beers so each got beer flights. We told the waitress what we liked and didn't like and she did a pretty good job of mixing up new flavors to try! We also had a massive pretzel. It was ok, the mustard had too much horseradish for my taste.
(3)
Kwame O.
A friend took me to WOB in the Sumner. Not far from the Colonial Life arena in Columbia. I was impressed in there huge draft and bottled beer selection. Local ,regional and international. Had 312 wheat beer from Chicago (hint area code) and my fave Sweetwater Blue .Food is available but limited and wasn't impressed with there selection. Out door padio was great. Over all great place to grab a beer and relax, but not a place for food.
(4)
Eva M.
Over priced beer, snobby staff and worst if all if you don't visit them first THEY TOW YOUR CAR! Extra $135 is how much I might have spent there instead of on the towing company. I wonder how much they are investing in the lookouts.....free beer after your troll shift?
(1)
Shauna C.
We strolled into WOB on a Friday evening and found the place busy but certainly not packed for a Friday evening. The music was great- but I'll be honest if you didn't grow up in the 90s you might not appreciate it quite as much. They had a live guitarist and he played all of my old highschool favorites (Hey Jealousy, Kiss from a Rose, assorted DMB hits) See, perhaps not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed it. Up until this point I was a happy camper until I ordered my first beverage. I asked the bartender if he could recommend a good IPA on tap as I enjoy hoppy beers. To my surprise he said that they didn't have one on tap (this is world of BEER afterall). I then asked for a wheat beer and he recommended a particular Hefeweizen. I generally like Hefeweizen's but as I looked around I noticed everyone had the same beer I couldn't help but wonder if that was all he knew to recommend. I took my first sip and knew right away this particular one wasn't for me, it almost tasted like a brown ale (weird I know) which happens to be my least favorite beer. The kicker of this story is that another lady in our group knew enough to ask for a few samples and she shared with me one she had asked for and it was an IPA! I asked why he had not given me that one and he said "it's a double IPA" ...seriously man? After nursing my beer for 20 minutes I decided that I'm not in college anymore and I don't need to suffer through bad-tasting beer. I could not grab the attention of our bartender so I enlisted the help of another gentleman-bartender who provided an awesome IPA recommendation. Our story would have ended happily here but it was next to impossible to grab his attention for the remainder of the evening and we spent a long time beerless and trying to wave someone down for service. I'm 26, I know what a busy bar looks like and I have worked previously in the food service industry and they just weren't busy enough to warrant this level of atrocious service. We left shortly thereafter...beerless and a little sad.
(2)
M B.
A significant selection. Unfortunately the staff is not reluctant to offer any insight. It's just the ole' "whadda ya want?" Even on a slow night Great potential otherwise.
(2)
Nichol H.
Awesome! Our server was exceptional "Kirby"! Logan stepped in and made it extra special! I'm a HAPPY customer!!!!!! Thank u WOB!!!!!!!
(5)
Jess C.
Beer, TV, Outdoor seating (on nice days), Friends, Good service - do you need anything else? I was overwhelmed by their huge beer selection, but they do a good job listing out their draughts and specials via a laminated menu + colorful chalkboards around the bar. They have everything from local beers to fruity raspberry ales to English ciders. I was also particularly fascinated by their detailed glossary of beer/ale terms e.g. IPA vs EPA, etc. (Yeah I'm such a beer noob.) It took our server 20 minutes to bring us our check, so we almost missed our next engagement, but it was pretty busy at 5:30PM on a Friday night. She was extremely sympathetic on our initial indecisiveness and was great helping us narrow down our choices. Overall, great place to chill with average prices ($4-6).
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Late Night Parking : Street Bike Parking : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Upscale Noise Level : Average Good For Dancing : No Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only Happy Hour : Yes Best Nights : Wed, Fri, Sat Coat Check : No Smoking : Outdoor Area/ Patio Only Outdoor Seating : Yes Wi-Fi : No Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : No
Dya R.
I was in Columbia after a very long time. Got to see the night life. A lot of shops were closed so my friend and I saw an advert in our Hotel 's booklets. World of beer. The name is perfect for this place. It was like coming to a coca cola museum but for beer. Lovely atmosphere..food, drinks, sample drinks, girly beers my favorite is the lambic cherry flavor... Yum!!
(5)Courtney W.
I took my parents here while they were visiting because I knew they would love the huge selection of beer. However, this place definitely was very underwhelming. Everything is very pricey for what you get, and you can't even validate the cost because the service is horrible. We had to ask 3 times just to get napkins. The food is nothing special; there are definitely much better places to eat in Columbia. Sure, they have a great selection of beer, but what is that worth when your server is busy hanging out with friends instead of taking care of her table? I will not be back, I'd rather spend my money at restaurants with excellent food, drink AND service.
(1)Arin E.
This place has a great atmosphere and a great beer selection. A lot of local brews which I always enjoy trying when I travel. The cocktail selection is small but good. We wanted to try a couple but they ran out of ingredients. The two I had were delicious.
(4)Robert N.
I was surprised that this place mainly had bottled beer. I was thinking like a name like World of Beer they would have had way more beer on tap. The bar area was smaller than expected. Very limited menu. Service was slow and beer was pricey. I think in this area that has so many bars you could skip this one.
(2)Jen S.
Every time I'm in Columbia I come here. I love it! The beer selection is amazing (it is called world of beer after all!) The servers are really knowledgeable about the different beers and can make suggestions if you get overwhelmed by the menu. The food is also delicious! The flat bread pizza was delicious! But my favorite was the steak frites. The garlic aioli that come with it is to die for, I'd put it on almost anything! If you like beer and yummy, not your average, bar food this place is a must!
(5)David C.
This place is nice enough on the inside with a pleasant atmosphere. They do provide plenty of bathrooms which is nice in a place that specializes in beer. The beer selection is quite vast so it may take you some time to pick out a beer that you like. That being said the beer is very pricey. I know you have to pay for selection but do I need to pay for the entire 6 pack? We ordered some Hummus because we wanted something a little light. I give them credit for trying to make their own hummus in house but it was just all wrong. best part of the plate was the warm pita. Parking can be difficult so you may have to walk a ways. Its worth a visit but it is going to cost you a pretty penny to drink.
(3)Tanner B.
I was going to Flying Saucer almost every time for my taste of unique and out of the ordinary beers.. Until I found WOB. Great service on the few times I have been thus far and needless to say a great atmosphere. Over 100+ beers to choose from and all the bartenders and staff are all very knowledgable about every single one! Have yet to try the any of the food but will be back for sure! Easily better than flying saucer IMO.
(5)Anthony G.
Great selection of beer and the bartenders are great albeit the waitresses are sometimes not the most attentive so do not wait for your beer to be empty before thinking of the next one. Prices for drafts are a little high compared to other local places but you can't beat the selection and the atmosphere. Since they added food, the experience has been much better. The food is decent but your coming here for the beer anyways, the food is a bonus! Join the beer club and drink your life/money away while earning a spot on their wall.
(4)Pam M.
When tailgate got rained out this was plan B. Great choice. Great food & beer selection.
(5)Rebecca A.
They have a very good steak sandwich. I know you're thinking "It's called World of BEER why would you eat their food?" I don't like beer but I can tell you that they have TONS of it. They are all pretty knowledgeable about their beer and can answer all your questions. But I just stuck to the food. The sandwich was not tough and chewy but very tender and well flavored. I would totally recommend eating here!
(4)Kelly M.
I travel to Columbia a couple of times every year to get ready for the World Beer Festival, and always stop at the World of Beer when I am in town. This is a great location, in the heart of the Vista. I love the set up with the beautiful outdoor patio, the long wrap around bar, plenty of seating and the upstairs area. They have an amazing beer selection and I always find at least 3-5 draft choices I want immediately. They carry the local favorites, a lot of which I can't get in Durham, so I like to enjoy a couple pints from breweries like Conquest and River Dog when I'm there. It is definitely a bar for those who know a little about craft beer, don't come here expecting to order a bud light. They also serve food now, something the World of Beer in Raleigh has not picked up on yet. I've had the fried pickles (very spicy!), the giant pretzels (soooo good), the WOB chips, and the beer cheese dip. It's a decent menu, typical bar food with a little twist. I've always had excellent service and enjoyed meeting new people and enjoying the Vista bar scene. Next time I'm back down to Columbia, I'm sure I'll find my way to World of Beer again.
(4)Rick T.
On 108 beers I've tried here since I have abandoned flying saucer and their incompetent staff. But that is another review all it's own. This place is a place where you can get newest ales out and meet the brewers who make the good stuff on certain nights. This place is quite good at making me happy!
(5)Isel L.
I came to visit this place when I was home for the holiday..Went with a group of 5. Our server was pretty cool at the beginning but I think he seemed to get annoyed with our group even though we probably spent way more than we should have. We were having a good time but I think he wanted to play hall monitor with the "noise" we supposedly made so we left. We were just having a good time catching up and I only had 3 beers max over a span of 4 hours to give you a sense of the noise level... Lots of selection on beers but a bit pricey if you ask me. Oh yeah, he forgot our food order too. Luckily we didn't get charge for it so we went elsewhere to grab food.
(3)Tj R.
This place was really cool to visit. Good vibe, great bartenders, and an AMAZING beer selection. I'll definitely be back.
(4)Kelly B.
Love going here for a beer after a meal downtown. I've never tried their food, but very much love the beer selection and friendly bartenders we've had.
(4)Vonda D.
My friends and I arrived here right in time for last call. We only got a beer each, and the lights were already on when we arrived, which I thought was odd. Most bars usually have dim lighting. We were only here for about 20 minutes before leaving. If I visit again, I'll have to check this place out earlier than last call.
(3)April B.
I've been a fan of WOB since their first night open in Columbia. It's almost always easy to find a table, but sitting outside on the porch is my favorite place to be. It's great for people watching! The beer selection is endless, and I can't imagine ever getting bored with it. A friend's boyfriend tried to order Natty Light and Miller Highlife here before and griped about it but man, go next door to Wild Hare if you can't stomach craft beers that have actual flavor! Especially intriguing is when they break out their Randall- a machine that infuses beer with flavors ranging from sour gummy worms to thyme and lemon balm. They always have fun events like Yappy Hour and football related festivities, but it's just as nice to go there alone with the laptop for an afternoon of following Hemingway's advice to "Write drunk, edit sober."
(5)Carol S.
Popped over to WOB after dinner at Ruth's Chris. We all felt like sampling new beers so each got beer flights. We told the waitress what we liked and didn't like and she did a pretty good job of mixing up new flavors to try! We also had a massive pretzel. It was ok, the mustard had too much horseradish for my taste.
(3)Kwame O.
A friend took me to WOB in the Sumner. Not far from the Colonial Life arena in Columbia. I was impressed in there huge draft and bottled beer selection. Local ,regional and international. Had 312 wheat beer from Chicago (hint area code) and my fave Sweetwater Blue .Food is available but limited and wasn't impressed with there selection. Out door padio was great. Over all great place to grab a beer and relax, but not a place for food.
(4)Eva M.
Over priced beer, snobby staff and worst if all if you don't visit them first THEY TOW YOUR CAR! Extra $135 is how much I might have spent there instead of on the towing company. I wonder how much they are investing in the lookouts.....free beer after your troll shift?
(1)Shauna C.
We strolled into WOB on a Friday evening and found the place busy but certainly not packed for a Friday evening. The music was great- but I'll be honest if you didn't grow up in the 90s you might not appreciate it quite as much. They had a live guitarist and he played all of my old highschool favorites (Hey Jealousy, Kiss from a Rose, assorted DMB hits) See, perhaps not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed it. Up until this point I was a happy camper until I ordered my first beverage. I asked the bartender if he could recommend a good IPA on tap as I enjoy hoppy beers. To my surprise he said that they didn't have one on tap (this is world of BEER afterall). I then asked for a wheat beer and he recommended a particular Hefeweizen. I generally like Hefeweizen's but as I looked around I noticed everyone had the same beer I couldn't help but wonder if that was all he knew to recommend. I took my first sip and knew right away this particular one wasn't for me, it almost tasted like a brown ale (weird I know) which happens to be my least favorite beer. The kicker of this story is that another lady in our group knew enough to ask for a few samples and she shared with me one she had asked for and it was an IPA! I asked why he had not given me that one and he said "it's a double IPA" ...seriously man? After nursing my beer for 20 minutes I decided that I'm not in college anymore and I don't need to suffer through bad-tasting beer. I could not grab the attention of our bartender so I enlisted the help of another gentleman-bartender who provided an awesome IPA recommendation. Our story would have ended happily here but it was next to impossible to grab his attention for the remainder of the evening and we spent a long time beerless and trying to wave someone down for service. I'm 26, I know what a busy bar looks like and I have worked previously in the food service industry and they just weren't busy enough to warrant this level of atrocious service. We left shortly thereafter...beerless and a little sad.
(2)M B.
A significant selection. Unfortunately the staff is not reluctant to offer any insight. It's just the ole' "whadda ya want?" Even on a slow night Great potential otherwise.
(2)Nichol H.
Awesome! Our server was exceptional "Kirby"! Logan stepped in and made it extra special! I'm a HAPPY customer!!!!!! Thank u WOB!!!!!!!
(5)Jess C.
Beer, TV, Outdoor seating (on nice days), Friends, Good service - do you need anything else? I was overwhelmed by their huge beer selection, but they do a good job listing out their draughts and specials via a laminated menu + colorful chalkboards around the bar. They have everything from local beers to fruity raspberry ales to English ciders. I was also particularly fascinated by their detailed glossary of beer/ale terms e.g. IPA vs EPA, etc. (Yeah I'm such a beer noob.) It took our server 20 minutes to bring us our check, so we almost missed our next engagement, but it was pretty busy at 5:30PM on a Friday night. She was extremely sympathetic on our initial indecisiveness and was great helping us narrow down our choices. Overall, great place to chill with average prices ($4-6).
(4)