Universal Joint

We are a family of 5 with kids ages 9,8 and 4. They had corn hole out side and plenty of shade for us to eat out there and have a little fun while waiting for our lunch. The wait wasn’t long at all and the food was awesome. It was cooked perfectly and the staff was awesome. The feel of the place was vintage and the staff fit the atmosphere! I’d go back anytime and take my family! I’m a bigger guy and it’s always difficult to find seating that’s comfortable, I found it here!!! You guys are awesome! Keep doing what you’re doing!

Been here 15 minutes and nobody to table — ended up leaving and told hostess stand — they just said OK — twice and we are done giving them any more chances or our money.

My husband and I visited Universal Joint on a warm night because we were drawn in by its curb appeal and fun-​looking atmosphere.
The server who helped us was friendly, but painfully inefficient. Every request took longer than necessary. The food wasn’t all that great either. Not awful, but definitely something you could get out of the freezer section and warm up yourself.
True to appearance, the atmosphere was lively, and I loved the enclosed patio area. I saw lots of groups there enjoying drinks and appetizers together. I think this place is perfect for that. If you’re hungry, I’d say skip it.

First time here, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. We sat in the indoor patio area. Our server Megan was so sweet, very attentive, and always smiling.
The boyfriend and I both got burgers. I got the typical mushroom and swiss burger which is generally my go-​to when it comes to burgers since I love mushrooms. My burger was delicious, the meat was juicy. The only gripe I had was the fact that my tomato was so thickly cut it was as thick as probably the meat patty itself. My boyfriends tomato was the standard regular slice. I thought it was a bit odd. My tater tots were also good, nice and crispy. The drinks also come in a generous size cup. Most likely you won’t even need a refill.
We also saw a few dogs here and there in the outdoor seating area, so they are definitely dog friendly as well.

Awesome outdoor seating where you can play boccie or cornhole while waiting for your food. Some of the outdoor seating is covered, so that in the event of rain, you could still eat outside. And I appreciate the home-​town friendliness of the people who work there, from the waiters and waitresses to the manager and owner. I recently made reservations for 20 people, and Rebecca, the manager, was so awesome in accommodating us! The service was flawless, even with a table of 20 people. Everyone in our group enjoyed their food and said that they loved the place, (some had never been there until then.) I usually get a hamburger there, and I’m always happy with it. If you’re looking for a fun place to eat, this might be it.

Great atmosphere and pretty good service. However, I would not come here again as the food was not that great. I had the quesadilla, which I ate about ¼ of it and gave up because it had way too much cheese and the chicken was flavorless. My husband had a burger and it was just ok. I sure wish local republic would have been open :(

Tried UJ for the first time last night. The service was extremely slow and food was just ok. I had the philly and my boyfriend had a burger. Waitress NEVER checked on us after bringing our beverages. Had to go find her and asked about the food. Kinda had an attitude and implied it was because we ordered the burger mid well. They were also out of one of the specials at 6:30 pm. Won’t be going back again when there are so many other places with great food and service.

Had lunch here today. Everything was excellent. Great service too. The pretzel bites were awesome. Hubby had a burger… yummo, I had the grilled salmon salad and the fish was fresh and very well prepared and my son had the gyro. We tried the quinoa and Brussels salad and I would go to just get that.

Great food and great atmosphere. This is definitely a chill spot. If your not in a hurry then just relax, sip on a brew and enjoy. If you are in a hurry and don’t want to appreciate the patio or a few brews then maybe this isn’t the spot for you. Things here aren’t «fast», so relax and soak it in. This may be my new summer jam.

Very nice spot in downtown lawrenceville on the Square. Very laid back place I had a blue cheese burger there and it was spot on. I will be returning for future meals.

The food was fantastic! The sauce on the turkey pita club was awesome! We really enjoyed the dip with the Edamame which made it exceptional instead of just the usual. The lemon pepper wings were juicy yet crispy on the outside– like they are supposed to be! The waiter (Robby) was fun and attentive. He was enthusiastic and informative when we asked about the food and restaurant. He really made our night fun and we really enjoyed our evening out and highly recommend it! You should give it a try!

Been here many times and never disappointed! Must try the pimento cheese app… and firecracker sliders! Bring the whole family and let the kids play corn hole while the adults watch the latest game!

Have been here twice. First time it was late on a Friday night and sat on the patio. The food was quite good but service was a little slow. Overall not a bad experience.
Two weeks ago wife and I decided to go here again on a Friday night. They were slightly busy and had four or five waiters. All we wanted to do was order a couple of appetizers and be on our way. How we were sadly mistaken.
We sat ourselves per the waiter. So, there we sat for 15 minutes, every wait staff member walked right by us without even acknowledging us. After being ignored for so long we got up and walked out right pass two waiters who didn’t even ask us if anything was wrong.
The reason I give it two stars is because of the food.
In the end we decided to go to Oyster Bay Café where we always get great service.
We will never come here again.

Johnny (I think that’s how he spells it) was amazing, great personality and fun to talk to. Our food and drinks always come out in good time and they have no problem making food just how I like it. Couldn’t b3 happier with my experience

Great, chill place to go. Great for kids. Food is creative + delicious. Staff was very helpful and worked well as a team. Not expensive at all. Bar setup rocks. They’ve got parking … What else do you want to know? If you haven’t gone here yet, you’re missing a solid experience.

Very nice atmosphere it was a lot of people there waiting luckily we were there with a group who where already seated. The waiter was very nice, we ordered the Gyros they were good. Only bad thing was the parking very hard to find parking.

Ok, we tried… always want to help out the locals and resist the chains. Today was beautiful for January so this outdoor-​ish locale liked inviting. Walked in and sat ourselves at the end of the bar near the rollup garage doors. Last patron’s plates and such had not been bussed yet, and they sat for the next 10 minutes, which was coincidentally how long we waited to talk to a server, or bartender for that matter. We did have someone stop by with two menus and a «I“‘ll be right back» but we walked over to Oyster Bar and got food and drinks for as long as we waited here.
Would have loved to try the food but alas no such luck today.

Great atmosphere in a good location. This place looks simply cool. It has a lot of potential. The patio seating is really nice. Good selection of beer. Food was so-​so… my advice would be to develop a smaller menu and master the food preparation on that list before venturing out too far. Service was also just OK.
Perfectly fine bar food if you are here for a beer. I wouldn’t come just for the food, but the place just screams for someone to come and whip this place into line with its much higher potential.

What a FABULOUS night at the Aurora Theater! I scored a couple of fantastical (sp — inside joke from the show) tickets from PoshDealz for the opening performance of Memphis and we were scrambling to find a place to eat close to the theater. We drove past Universal Joint the other day going to the movies and decided to try it out.
Universal Joint is right on the square in Lawrenceville, so we were able to park by the old Courthouse and walk to both dinner and the theater. We weren’t really familiar with the Universal Joint concept, but it’s a restaurant/​bar/​pub/​gathering hole that has it roots in Decatur and has grown with its urban/​trendy/​retro theme to a dozen locations throughout Atlanta and the Southeast including Chattanooga, Greenville and Asheville.
The Universal Joint in Lawrenceville is in the old Sinclair gas station on the Square. Most recently, this was home to a used car lot. The biggest problem we found with this building being used as a restaurant is the limited inside seating. They have three, count them, three booths and two or three tables of varying size. The remaining indoor seating is at the large bar on hightops. The vast majority of their seating is outside, great for nice weather but in summer, winter or rain this is going to pose a problem.
The staff could not be more friendly or welcoming. We couldn’t get a table and we wanted to sit inside so we chose to eat at the bar. They greeted us promptly, got our drinks in no time, and were able to handle all of our questions. One good thing about Melanie continuing down her vegetarian road, is that this may really benefit our readers. I’m trying to look on the bright side because being vegetarian is not easy row to hoe. You really don’t get it until you, or someone you dine with frequently, has chosen this option and you find out how difficult this can be to just get something to eat in a restaurant.
My eyes immediately locked onto the Blackened Fish Tacos. I have to add the staff was very accommodating to my vegetarian wife and was able to offer a full-​size dinner salad without meat and a Quinoa side dish with fries. When we were served, her fries looked so good I knew I’d better order my own fries or else my right hand would’ve been severed at this wrist.
For Blackened Fish Tacos, they really didn’t have much kick to them but the ingredients were fresh and I loved the diced tomatoes mixed in there. The tortillas were also perfect and able to hold the contents without tearing or otherwise becoming a mess. The chips and salsa served with them were a disappointment. The salsa wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. The chips were just awful. I’m not sure if they were just stale and they’re normally better but I was glad I ordered the fries and left the chips on my plate. The fries are home made and so hot you can barely put them in your mouth.
Melanie liked her salad mix but the dressing was a disappointment and she didn’t really are for the Quinoa. I tried it and found it to lack flavor but remember that it is quinoa so you really have to do something to infuse any flavor into it.
After dinner, we walked to the Aurora Theater for the opening performance of «Memphis». It’s a musical set in the 50s and it was really, really awesome. We’re regulars, and soon to be season ticket holders, at the Aurora Theater and we’ve never, ever been disappointed with a show there. Its top notch talent and I highly recommend this venue. Live theater is so spectacular and is seems to be even more so as we progress in our digital forms of entertainment. This is a real treat and we are humbled to have such a great display of the arts right here in Gwinnett.
Universal Joint probably falls into our list of «more bar than restaurant» but, has above average food for pub grub. If you’re looking for a casual meal on the Square and a place to meet friends, Universal Joint makes a great place. Guten appetit!

We had heard great reviews about this place. So we thought we’d have date night and try it before we moved out of Lawrenceville.
VERY DISAPPOINTED in the quality of service and the quality of food. All I ordered was the fries with bacon, jalapeño and cheese. My fries were cold and crunchy (not cooked all the way through) and my cheese had congealed and was hard and the bacon was over cooked. Basically my simple appetizer was made well before my fiancé’s burger was made and sat under the heat lamp.
My fiancé’s burger was over cooked and there were two skinny wimpy bacon slices and three pieces of jalapeños when it was a spicy jalapeño, pimento and bacon burger. One straggly piece of lettuce and a tomatoe that looked like a bite was taken out of it.
What was even worse, we had one beer each because the bartender never came back to ask if we wanted another one. He walked past us at least five times to serve a young girl who sat down and to pick up a tab.
Needless to say, food was mediocre and service was poor. It got two stars because of the ambiance and outside but that’s about it. We won’t be coming back. And the food and service is definitely not worth it. They are trying to copycat Local Republic and they don’t even come close! We went elsewhere for another beverage.
And the couple next to us waited over 20 minutes for a patty melt.