The Library Pub & Eatery

The drinks are good and the bartenders friendly — they recommended a cherry cider + vanilla porter that was really delicious. The appetizers were hit or miss — we had some extra spicy buffalo dip with chips that was awesome, but the chiccarones were very boring and upset my stomach. We were there in the afternoon so we didn’t try any of the entrees. Will definitely go again and try out the dinner options.

Changed their menu, all the good food was taken off. Especially the Ruben spring rolls are gone. It’s a tragedy. New owners, how do you throw out the best thing on the menu. Place is whatever now.

My wife and I went here for dinner and we were both unimpressed with the service and our food.
We both got burgers and they were both over cooked and slightly burned. Food wasn’t terrible but it’s definitely not something I’d want to take a guest to.
The staff seemed very unfamiliar with the menu and wasn’t super helpful.
Not terrible, but definitely not great.

Didn’t order any food but I wish I would have. The couple next to me ordered a burger and club on the pretzel bun and it looked amazing. I could smell the Cajun fries and wish I had ordered the same thing! Great selection of beers and friendly staff. Not crowded at all this time of year either.

Walked in and was not seated or even acknowledged for over 5 minutes. The place was mostly empty around 4 pm. Finally left and went to the Livery. Just my impression, but things need to tighten up there.

I don’t know the old owner, but the new one (two weeks ago!) is great. I stumbled upon this bar as I had a couple of hours to kill and needed lunch. The folks are friendly, they directed me to a heavenly local vanilla Java porter and their Reuben sandwich. Both were perfection. The corned beef was lean and tasty. The bread was crusty and flavorful. I’m not a sauerkraut gal, so they suggested slaw. Yum!
The conversation amongst the bar patrons (I was alone) was great. Just a smidge controversial, but respectful and more intellectual than I’d have expected! I hope I pass this way again soon!

What happened to The Library?! This used to be a staple for us. Great burgers. Amazing ribs. Terrific servers. We went in a week ago on a Saturday night and almost no one was there. The usual live music was replaced by old school rap — which is fine. But there was no variety and it was peppered with hard core language. I’m not personally offended by the language, but we were in a RESTAURANT. Not a night club. But half the people there were trashed at the bar. Several ladies could barely stumble to the restroom. The ambiance is way off. Snoop Dog playing in the background and Mark Twain quotes on the walls? There is an identity crisis of some sort. It was 9:30 at night. Not 1AM. The homemade chips weren’t the same. The beer list was less varied. The menu is now glorified bar food. It feels like a new owner took over and had his BFF’s hanging at his new bar. A shame. We were regulars but won’t be back.

A nifty old-​school styled pub feel to the place. The food is quite good, had a Pub Burger and fries, and the burger was really juicy and cooked to order. Price seems a tad high, but is in line with the rest of the joints in this area.

Amy Jo and Brandon are the best bartenders! Great chill atmosphere, great drinks. And the spinach dip & hummus and veggies is AMAZING. I highly recommend. Best hummus I’ve ever had. I always stop by when I can! You won’t be disappointed!

Nice place, great wait staff!

Great service. I love the library décor. The food is good too. I ordered the po boy and it was really tasty.

Great little place. 11 craft beers on tap. Great service. Had «hog wings» which were awesome! Cheese curds and onion rings are also great.

I come home to visit my family in the area and we tend to visit the same places — but today we were in the arts district and at one of their festivals and decided to walk to The Library for dinner with a large group of people.
We definitely didn’t regret it. The service was friendly, the drink specials were great and they were accommodating for all our dietary needs — from vegetarian to carb free.
They also had a local band playing who was so good — I actually thought it was a jukebox. As I found this little gem and love how it’s working to revitalize the arts district.

My wife and I were here last Friday evening. We had beer and appetizers. There are lots of great beers on tap, we went for the bells two hearted. For dinner we ate the sliders, cheese curds and spinach artichoke dip. The sliders were pretty good. I would have like the buns a little warmer and a slightly large piece of sausage. But still in all very good. The cheese curds were excellent, not greasy at all. The spinach artichoke dip was too rich for my liking, but that is the usual case for that appetizer anywhere I eat it. The service was excellent. I would highly recommend this pub.

This is a nice place in the Arts District, reasonably priced and relatively atmospheric.
The food is «pub food», nothing more, nothing less. You don’t come here for haute cuisine, you come here for a burger and a beer after work. Service can be a bit slow, as far as food.
Altogether a decent stop, but nothing to write home about, nor to make a regular destination.

The Library has a decent beer selection, a nice location and atmosphere, and some really great food.
Location/​Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅. This street in Benton Harbor is really nice and kind of has an artsy feel to it. Parking is freely available. The building is a bit dark in the back, but it has a nice feel inside – it’s not too grungy, not too hip, not too «pub»… They have live music some nights, and it’s pretty good. The seating is comfortable, and they have different options – high-​top tables, booths, regular-​height tables, and a bar.
Service: ⁵⁄₅. The servers here are very friendly and happy to give recommendations. They are fine with making substitutions, not snooty at all, and very helpful.
Food and Drink: ⁴⁄₅. They have great barbeque here, which I think is where they shine. I often like to get appetizers here and split them with a group. I’d recommend the Hogwings – they are amazing. The buffalo chicken dip is also delicious, but I wish they’d serve a different kind of bread with it; the kind you get is really hard (not stale, just a harder bread). The wings are great; try the chipotle mango BBQ. Also, their ribs are delicious; the meat falls right off the bone (as it should!). Cajun fries are spicy and crispy – delicious. Their beer menu is the only aspect of The Library that I think they could improve upon. They do have some craft beer available (Oberon, Two Hearted, Dirty Blonde) but it’s pretty generic as far as Michigan craft beers go. I’d love to see them get some really different beers cycle through. Also – this is not to say that Oberon or Two Hearted are bad or generic beers; for most people this would not be an issue.
Overall: This is my favorite bar in the Benton Harbor/​St. Joseph area. Try the hogwings.

I was with 4 other coworkers at 11am and we weren’t served until 11:40am. It took forever and the waitress finally came out to say we were just waiting on one piece of chicken.
I had the portabella sandwich with blue cheese sauce, it was fairly good.

We were in Last night, and they made me perfectly happy.
The beer was good (they have a large craft selection), the service was good, the hamburger was good the fried pickles were good. Even the guitar player was good lol.
Any reservations I used to have about this ace are gone. My favorite place for a burger in the area now!

The Venison burger alone is sooo worth the visit. The wait staff was great. Within a minute of finding a seat the bartender offered samples off the «Wall O’ Beer». A great selection of local and regional brewery’s. Our server John was quick with answering any questions and placing our order. The fried pickles were amazing the burger cooked perfectly to exactly the way I wanted.

Pretty neat place. Venison burger was okay, perch was good. Waitstaff was very friendly and energetic. Went on a Friday afternoon and they had an acoustical guitar singer. I’d go there again if in town.