Ethyl & Tank: Campus’ new bar, restaurant, coffee shop and arcade

Alcohol, caffeine, food, Mortal Kombat: check. Ethyl & Tank opened on campus just off of High Street about two months ago, from the same folks behind 4th Street Bar & Grill and The Crest Gastropub.

“Ethyl” is the name given to the coffee shop that greets you when you first enter the establishment; “Tank” is the bar immediately to the left. (I skipped the lattes and went straight to the sauce.)

Cocktail pitchers are available with theme-fitting names like the Zelda (Bacardi Dragon Berry, Peach Schnapps, cranberry, 7UP, sour, grenadine), the Koopa (Jack Daniels Honey, Triple Sec, pink lemonade) and of course Pac-Man (Southern Comfort, vodka, Ameretto, orange juice). Pitchers are $10 with $8 refills.

Most of Tank’s beer offerings come in a can, and there’s more than two dozen to choose from, ranging from Jackie O’s Chomolungma down to a Busch tall boy. They also have two dozen drafts with about a third of the tap handles devoted to Ohio brews. Drafts were half-off during happy hour, which impressively lasted till 9pm.

The food options at Ethyl & Tank include some light bar fare like dips, nachos and sliders, along with a handful of tacos and several sandwiches. I had the extremely messy but tasty Ohio Bison Burger, with guacamole, red onion, lettuce, tomato and cheddar beer cheese. It was served with thin, crisp fries that I dunked in an extra side of beer cheese.

The upstairs of the bar is a miniature retro arcade, with about a dozen cabinets set to free play including Mortal Kombat 2, NBA Jam, Blitz, Rampage, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel vs. Capcom, Street Fighter 2, Hydro Thunder, Ms. Pac Man, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Centipede – the latter three of which were out of order when I was in. It seems they have since added Area 51/Maximum Force and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker to the mix. Hopefully they’ve added a good repair man, too. It’s not exactly 16-Bit, but it’s a nice addition to OSU’s campus.

Ethyl & Tank is located at 19 13th Ave.