Old Bay Restaurant
| Address: | 61 Church St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA |
| Phone: | +1 732-246-3111 |
| Site: | oldbayrest.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 4PM–12AM 4PM–12AM 4PM–2AM 4PM–2AM 4PM–2AM 4PM–2AM Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 10
MI
Mike Magda
The atmosphere makes for an interesting scene, but it is a dated bar. The food is certainly different for the area by offering New Orleans style Cajun-Creole food, but it is not the best. The food has a lot of flavor and spice as I would imagine that type of food would taste like, but not entirely authentic to the culture. As for the beer, they have very many unique craft beer offerings, but again not the best. The New Brunswick area has become flooded with Craft Beer bars and Old Bay no longer stands out as the best craft beer bar in town. They have some different beers available that cannot be found locally, but generally speaking they have beers that George Street Ale House, Destination Dogs, World of Beer, etc would offer. I originally came here for the Craft Beer, but I think I would come back for the food before the beer. They do occasionally offer a Groupon, which I had purchased for this visit, and I wouldnt visit here again without one as the prices are not the cheapest either (but this is typical in New Brunswick).
AN
Anne Mechail
When we first walked in to the restaurant, I asked the hostess to seat us at a table near an electrical outlet because my children had their tablets with them and we needed a power source. She very quickly found us a table by an outlet. From that point on I knew the rest of our visit was going to go without hitch. The food was delicious! We ordered the crawfish and shrimp spring rolls, mini crab and shrimp cakes, the big easy bloody mary, the shellfish jambalaya, and the fried shrimp, chicken strips, and mac and cheese for the kids. With all this food there was definitely an opportunity for Old Bay to slip up on something BUT THEY DIDNT! They flavors were on point, the presentation was impeccable, and the timeliness of the food delivery was better than expected. Our server Veronica was amazing, very attentive, and such a pleasure to deal with - KEEP HER! She gave my boys Mardi Gras beads and they loved it. We even got a free parking pass for our next visit. We will definitely be visiting again, very soon!!
A
A Private User
I have been to the Old Bay many times (twice in the past year ). Sadly I have found they have gone way down hill. I used to LOVE the beer selection and always made a point of going in October for Octoberfest beers. Guess what, not a one the last two times. Although there were a couple of decent beers, I was disappointed in the selection; no one was in the front to greet us (never a good sign); the place was not busy and the service was still awful. When I saw hamburgers and fries being ordered at the bar I knew the Old Bay was no more. Im obviously not the only one who has noticed as I could never have gone there at that time and had it so dead in the past. All I can say is it used to be a great place and Im sorry to see it has changed. I will not be returning.
LA
Laurel Clark
This was our first time at Old Bay. My husband and I had our honeymoon in New Orleans and thought this would be a great place to celebrate our anniversary. OLD Bay did not disappoint. The decor reminded us immediately of New Orleans. The appetizers were delicious. I ordered the Old Bay Oysters and my husband ordered the crab cakes. For dinner, he ordered the stuffed sole w/ lobster sauce and I had the Shrimp Creole which we both enjoyed. I thought Shrimp Creole would be a little more spicy. Waitress was friendly and attentive. We were also very impressed that the chief came out to speak to us about how we enjoy the food. Since we frequent New Brunswick s theatre district, we will definitely be coming back. Looking forward to trying more dishes. Great Job!!!
CA
Carol Borrmann-Begg
Came in during restaurant week, new to the area and looking to try this place as it is so close and was supposed to be great. Booked ahead but when we arrived were made to feel as welcome as a fart in a space suit! No greeting from the hostess who then seated us in the middle of the mezzanine. We asked to go to one of the one side tables - away from being bumped by the servers tending to the table behind - with a snarl we were told those tables were reserved. Three more couples came in, were offered the remaining middle table then requested and got the side ones. The food was ok, not amazing. It might have been better if we werent being bashed by a child running around and the servers. Such a pity as we were excited to try this place.
ST
STEEL Magazine
Stopped into Old Bay for a quick bite to eat and some drinks before a stage play in the downtown New Brunswick area and was pleasantly surprised with how good the appetizers/tapas were. We picked from the Shrimp & Grits, Fish Tacos and the Shrimp & Crab Cakes along with a few glasses of wine. Usually, we would alert the restaurant that were coming to review the food and ambiance, which allows them to be on their best behavior,but Old Bay was on point without notice. The bartender was great and attentive too! Definitely a place to go! ...5 stars once dinner can mirror the appetizers on a future date.
DE
Denita Grinnard
I went to Old Bay last Friday. This was my 1st visit. What an awful experience. It took my food over an hour to come. When we asked the waitress where was out food she said she was new and she put the wrong order in. She apologize. After asking we still waiting another 15 mins for our food. Very disappointed. Then we decided we were ready to leave. The bill we received was incorrect. The waitress over charged me for my burger. We had to wait for her to redo the bill. Just a bad experience all around. I will never go back there. Overall the food wasnt bad. It was pretty decent.
CO
Cody Obropta
My girlfriend and I finally made it out to Old Bay Restaurant after four years of Undergrad at Rutgers University. The entire restaurant screams New Orleans. The inside had a fantastic atmosphere and excellent decor. Our server was very friendly and gave good food and drink recommendations. The burger was absolutely amazing and the presentation was fantastic. Branding the bun was an excellent touch. The ice cream and cookie for dessert was one of the best desserts Ive ever had in New Brunswick. I am definitely coming back here in the near future.
AA
Aaron xu
I visited here with my friend for having brunch. As a appetizer, I wanted cream soup, but there was not cream soup on the menu. So, I asked the server, she offered me lobster bisque(It might be todays soup). She gave me a try for the soup after hearing that Ive never eaten that soup. The soup was so tasty. And the toast and scrambled eggs, potatoes, bacon, turkey sausage were good too(But, the amount was a lot) Cashier was funny! Moreover, I recommend the lobster bisque when you visiting here!
A
A Private User
Food was outstanding! Service was poor - extremely slow, our order was not written down but remembered. Unfortunately it was not remembered correctly. My husband actually went into their kitchen to track down our waiter who was chatting away with other staff while we sat in the dining room waiting for him to return and take our orders. Do to such a slow start we eliminated appetizers and had no time for desserts. We were there for one and a half hours. Seems a bit ridiculous to me.
