Zogs Pool

A pool bar with two tables that are some of the best in town. Paid for by the hour. There are also some arcade games that sort of work sometimes.
Staff has always been friendly minus the angry guy iykyk.
Fresh crowd expected of a college town with rotating people of constant and new.
The food comes from imbibe downstairs when it's open. Easily one of my favorite bars in downtown because it manages to maintain a positive atmosphere and always has a fun selection of drinks around the holidays.
The decor is also probably the best with the hand drawn art decorating the ceiling tiles and the cool art pieces all over the walls.
Overall a good place to vibe with friends if you wanna shoot some pool but aren't feeling the high end pricing of Crunkleton or the negative vibes of Carrboro night life.

I have enjoyed this quirky place for years and always had a good experience. But not tonight! I drive from out of town to attend theater productions at UNC, and always have a drink and bite to eat before the show.

Tonight, there were TWO of us at the bar. The bartender took a full 5 minutes to come ask for my order, as he was chatting it up and looking at something on the phone of the other patron. When he finally did come, I asked for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. He rudely said, "I have white and red. It depends on what's in there." I asked if he could look and see. Then I asked to see a menu so I could order food from Imbibe downstairs, which I always do. He said "downstairs is closed. It says it on the sign on the door." Obviously I had not seen the sign as I entered. I believe the posted sign was actually on the door of Imbibe, NOT the door to Zogs upstairs, so I'm not sure how I would have seen it.

I found him rude and completely unwelcoming. Would have been very simple for him to say "I'm sorry, the kitchen is closed. I'm sorry you did not see the sign." Very disappointing. I will try Zogs again because the normal Saturday staff I see is great. Lesson learned: look to see who is tending bar before you sit.

Very unpleasant evening.

So I wanted to update my review, not write an entirely new one. But I guess it has been too long since my last one.

Update: Listen to my podcast interview with owner Mandey Brown. She's amazing.
https://anchor.fm/drbrianking/episodes/Chapel-Hill-with-RESTAURATEUR-Mandey-Brown-e37lhb

Still easily one of my favorite bars in the greater Chapel Hill area. (See my previous review). Mandey and her team are on top of things and the New Orleans theme makes me homesick for the Big Easy. They are very generous with special events and fun themes, and a trip up those stairs always results in a fun time. Laissez les bon temps rouler.

Zogs is hands down the best place in chapel hill every one else can go fuck themselves ESPECIALLY TIME OUT. THAT PLACE IS A GODDAMN WAR CRIME. Bon Chon around the corner is cool I like them. But everyone else in this washed up dead town can go fuck themselves, most food in chapel hill is an embarrassment. when Zogs is closed and im hungry I just wait. There is no soul or balls in this town . Nobody takes a risk anymore. Go ahead look inside Might as Well on a Saturday night its a collapsing, decaying, disease pool of all our sins collecting itself and showing off. There is nothing left in downtown chapel hill anymore and we deserve it. we watch this happen and looked the other way. this is not cause of Covid. The infrastructure of the downtown dining scene has been rusting away for YEARS. How many times can some asshole made a "cheer wine bbq sauce" and people this town are cheering like its the best thing to happen in their worthless lives. We should be rioting and angry. I swear to god when ever i see "Cheer Wine BBQ" on a menu I want to storm in the kitchen and cut off the chefs hands and yell "YOU ARE THE LOWEST SCUM OF SOCIETY " They are the same dipshits that go to Hooters "for the wings" shut the fuck up you wanna see tits be a goddamn adult and hire a SEXWORKER. These people dont deserve Zogs and Imbibe. They sit in their cubical at some pyramid scheme job waiting for grandma to fall down the stairs so they can inherit a house, while starting fights on facebook groups. There will be no better feeling in my life then hanging at the top of Zogs eating my 9th gumbo for the day (or dirty fries damn i would roll around in a football field of rusty nails for those fires) while dancing on the corpse of some asshole that put his beer on the pool table. I went to John Beshs resturant in NOLA and slapped him across the face with an oyster and told him he will never as good as Zogs so stop trying John Besh stop doing everything you old dumb fuck.

Owner & bartenders are great. Awesome New Orleans food and beer on the cheap. If you're a tool, do not go here.
Luv U Zogs!

Pros: Small, unique top shelf drinks selection, adorably (unpretentious) hipster environment, hilarious art, pool tables, awesome bar tendress / owner, reasonably priced for the quality, old projector movie screenings.

Cons: Can feel cramped at times, is typically packed with hipsters (if that's not your scene), on the "divey" side (only a con if you're in the mood for that clean modern bar vibe)

I don't know why, but when I think of this bar, I imagine a power ranger riding on top of an ewok, made of a thousand tiny ewoks. Of all the bars in the greater Chapel Hill/Carrboro metropolitan area Zoggs is easily the most unique. This is one of the few, if only, bars for which it would be difficult to find a convincing doppelganger in other major cities.

First drinks, the drinks are not only tasty and unique, but the price point is considerably lower than what you'd pay at the spate of fancy cocktail bars popping up all over the triangle (Alley 26, Fox Liquor Bar, Foundation, etc...). Think $7-8 compared to $9-13.

Then there's the artwork. The walls are festooned with pieces by local artists, are generally priced reasonably and veer toward the graphical and hipster subject and style-wise (currently the center piece is a mullet Jesus blow-drying his divine locks). Most of the tiles of the drop ceiling are also individually painted (by who I don't know) with wildly incongruous scenes and images and its not uncommon to see an artwork table in the middle of the space set with crafting options for patrons and reminiscent of middle school summer camp. All this coalesces to give Zogg's a cozily schizophrenic character that I've never seen replicated in any other establishment.

The real heart of this place, though, is the owner/bar tender and New Orleans native Mandey. She always has something interesting to say, poors a stiff drink, and isn't afraid to give you the insider intel on the shady practices of your average watering hole. Occasionally her Dad, an old-timey film buff, and projector aficionado will pop in and show 35mm films that range from old adaptations of short stories to outdated sexual education videos from the 50s.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a deviation from the basic bar scene and are a fan of unique drinks and unique conversation this place is a must try.

The service here is incredibly selective. If you fit "the scene" you will be served properly. If you vary from the desired clientele (as determined by the staff/bartenders), regardless of if you are respectful, paying customers, you will be chastised for any reason they can illogically muster. If you like this place, good for you. If not, join the club.

Edit: I closed out my tab within minutes of realizing how rude you were (you didn't reunite me with my card, thanks though). I have never left a yelp review before, but felt the need to in this scenario. Like I said, if you meet the graces of the tyrant/owner/bartender... You will enjoy your time here.

Zogs has the makings of a cool spot to hang out: dog-friendly, board games available, inexpensive drink prices (including cheap surprise beers!). I was there for a happy hour on Wednesday, and despite being there for several hours there was no one else in the bar, which I thought was very strange! As a result I couldn't get a true sense of the vibe, but I'll update my review after I've been back.

One of a few places jus off Franklin that wasn't closing a little early short of the 2am curfew here.

It's a little beat up. Kind of dirty and grungy, but in a friendly way.  Typical friendly service,  a handful of pool tables in decent shape and a bevy of cheap beers and drinks consistently priced low.