The Old Bay Restaurant

Second time we’ve been to Old Bay for dinner before attending a show at The State Theater. Very enjoyable dinner. Beer and cocktails were excellent. Didn’t order appetizers however entrees were quite good. Shrimp creole was very well made and the stuffed pork chop was quite enjoyable. Only minor misstep was the creamed spinach accompanying the pork chop was lukewarm but very flavorful. Service was excellent. Looking forward to our next visit.

We went here after my daughter’s dress rehearsal at the State Theater. Everything we ordered was delicious. My children, who are very picky eaters, loved their meals (pizza and chicken fingers). We will definitely be back!!!

Excellent and attentive service. I was accidentally served the wrong drink and the staff was quick to correct the order and a few of the staff checked back several times to make sure all was well. Great atmosphere, too!

Old Bay is cool, been here a few times. They have really good specials and sometimes you come across a band or two that meets your fancy ya dig?
Service is on point and out back they have heat overhead for those midsummer nights ya dig?
I can’t talk about the food much, I’ve never had a problem with what I have gotten or anything.
They have some kind of drink special almost every single night of the week. They do start at 10 PM it seems though.
Last time we showed up 5 minutes after Happy Hour, but they charged us as if we had gotten there during happy hour.
Ya dig?
If you like New Brunswick, but you’re not gonna get wasted with college kids, check this place out.

Been there few times and quality has gone down consistently. And on my last visit which was definitely was my last visit to that place, I had an issue about service, if I pay 18% to 20% tip I expect a good service, but standard of service was really poor. Servers had no idea about the menu and I felt they have no respect for customers and didn’t care that much and I had emailed restaurant manager and owner about my experience and the way manager’s reaction was to my complaint, there isn’t much hope for that place. It seemed like That is my personal feelings and I also feel bad for that place.
I did discuss the issue with Old Bay restaurant manager but I feel that was a mistake as he didn’t take seriously and rather made me feel like a fool. Mr. Owner you can discuss with you manager.

I’ve been going to oldbay since college. It’s such a wonderful bar. The ambiance the décor is so cool. I’m a huge fan of New Orleans and they are themes after them. Service is exceptional, drinks are good, and they are very good at getting them to you no matter how busy it may be. Ryan the bar manager is a great asset to that restaurant and it’s always very professional and nice. The entire bar staff are very hospitable. Great place to visit if you’re downtown.

Have lived in the New Brunswick area and enjoyed the nightlife for MANY MANY years and have always wanted to try this place out. Was able to do that a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my cousin’s birthday. When I first walked in, I was really impressed. The bar area, albeit a bit small and somewhat awkward to maneuver, was nice. I enjoyed a Blackberry Pimms Cup, which was tasty, before gaining our seat for dinner. We sat upstairs which I vividly envisioned using to throw a nice private event. There were about 25 of us and there was more than enough room for about 25 more.
This is where things get a bit sketchy…
Our waitress, which I learned from our receipt, was named Julianne, was VERY unpleasant, rude even. She didn’t seem interested in us from the beginning. Now mind you, we are a picky bunch, but if your job is in service…
… and hers was lacking. I ordered the Fried Shrimp Po Boy, and it was hardly edible. It was reeking of a greasy smell and taste and was just not good. I gave it to my cousin and she didn’t want it. When I let Julianne know, she seemed quite annoyed with me. She didn’t offer anything else, nor did she take it off of the bill. and there were only maybe two bites taken out of it. I have to say that the rest of my party enjoyed their food, so I would like to come back and order something else on the menu.
A good point of the night… the band. They were great! I will definitely come back on a Saturday night, have drinks at the bar, and dance! We didn’t want to leave, but the rest of our party were heading over to Perle. :-/

Our waitress sucked. The food was pretty good except they gave us frozen biscuits. If you see three kids at a table why wouldn’t you give the kids menu? Very weird waitress. On the other hand my family enjoyed the food with the exception of the frozen biscuits and tasteless chicken and biscuits.

Started with the Jambalaya as an appetizer. It was aright. I had the Hurricane drink, which was advertised as with plenty of rum, sweet, and strong. It’s a matter of taste I guess, but didn’t like it too much. I think it was the syrup or maybe dark Meyers rum (not sure of ingredients), but it had a taste of molasses or something. I prefer white versions of liquors.
Hubby ordered the meatloaf and he liked it. It came bwith a side of baked beans and mashed which were pretty good.
Now to my order. I ordered tthe po bot catfish sandwich. OMG! It ear generous. It came out with a generous portion of french fries fit end to end (not left with just bread at the ends). It had fresh butter lettuce and tomatoes. The bread was warm and toasted and the fries were hot. A+ for serving my hot food hot and fresh! Right out of the kitchen.
For dessert, we had some kind of fried flatbreads, kindalike a zepoli, with powdered sugar and a hot raspberry dipping sauce. Not too sweet. This also came out piping hot.
Don’t you just hate when your server leaves your food getting cold in the kitchen under a lamp? Extra ½ star for serving food the way it should be — hot. Sorry no pics, to busy eating.

Gross, dingy, overpriced. They pretty much serve chuck e cheese light bulb pizza here. The service is not good, have been ignored here. It’s just a dismal place.

I have been coming here since 2013 I wanna say and its pretty much been the go-​to bar for my friends, and me. Best Bartenders period. Amazing drinks, great service, and pretty down to earth, respectful people.
For dark drinks off their cocktail menu I recommend the sazarack, old fashion (which is made differently depending on whose making Ryan and Tommy have always made it the way I like it)
and the dark and stormy but don’t take em all at the same time like I did. (Or do, depending how great a night you want)
For Food Anything is good I feel for the place. Nothing is too crazy, but it is a nice bite every once in a while.
I mostly come for the atmosphere to chill, and it does get more people around 10−11pm at nights. At the same time it is nice while nothing too college imo. The outdoor area is great in the summer, and even winter with the Headlamps being a good way to drink while talking with friends outside.
The music is pretty good with the live bands here, and there nothing that would ever annoy anyone or that is out of place unlike other bars around the area that have bad acoustics.
Overall Old Bay is Great place and whenever my friends go to NB even years after graduation we always at least stop by here, and continue to have amazing memories. We even played cards against humanity at a table once and there was no problems.

I ended up here on Valentine’s night. After years of living down the street, I finally made it to Old Bay. I knew I would be a critic as I lived in New Orleans for over five years. The environment was festive. The service was good. And the food was also very good. I was not disappointed, even though I knew I’d hold it to a high standard for creole/​cajun food. I decided not to order anything that I would be looking for comparison, so I ordered a leg of lamb. Yum.

I have not tried the food but I have been here for drinks. Always a good time. Bartenders are very friendly. Not much I can say

For the new age NB crowd, I would consider Old Bay to be a sleeper. For anyone who’s been coming to the city for more than 5 years, it’s a little more relative. In my humble opinion, these guys have the best beer selection in NB. Sure, the list may not be as long as WOB, but what it lacks in length, it makes up for in depth (if that makes any sense). In other words, they have a solid list of kick ass brews and did I mention that on Thursday nights all beers are half off? Can’t say I’ve tried the food as I have heard mixed things but it’s on my list of things to try. Grab a growler to go or sit at the bar and have a few pints. Who knows maybe you will even run into an infamous CJY…

This place is good! I am a black woman who loves live music. Rock is not my first choice, but i love a good band. Friday night there is a cover but it is less than 5 bucks. Rock music rocks!!! Extended bar menu. We had lots of food and a great time!!! Yummy. Rock on!

Only reviewing the bar/​drinks! Always wanted to try out the food ever since I’ve gotten drinks here, but unfortunately, I never got the chance to eat there.
Many bars and pubs become way too crowded around 12/​1pm in New Brunswick, and it’s difficult to stand, let alone grab a seat along the bars. However, Old Bay is very spacious and offer multiple areas to sit and enjoy a drink. We checked out the outdoor area, but it was too chilly. Luckily, there were two seats by the bar, so we sat there for the rest of the night (about 45 min to 1 hour).
My first drink was a White Russian, and I was IMPRESSED! Not many bars have the ingredients to have a White Russian, and even if they do, they don’t always want to make it. During our sitting, I had another drink and shot, which were both tasty and well mixed! The service was decent for a bar, but the bar was kind of gross with spills all over the counter.

When you near 600 reviews and restaurant owners start offering you free meals to come in and give them an honest review, you know your integrity is on the line with every sentence you write.
For the record, I have never accepted a freebie of any kind on Unilocal and never would. Nor did the owners of Old Bay offer me anything in what has been a generally well-​earned climb from a 2, to a 3, and now to a 4-​star review.
I have to be honest though… this is a 3.5 star review that I am knocking up to 4 if only because of the amazing service we had from Olivia during our Unilocal UYE event last Thursday night. She was amazing. We are not a rude bunch (I don’t think), but we are a raucous bunch. Actually, John D. is our most raucous element, truth be told. And he tends to whip us all into a wild bunch, and debauchery and mayhem generally ensue.
But let’s get to the food.
Despite living in the area for decades and having drank at the Old Bay since I was in my 20s, this was my first formal dinner in the restaurant. It can’t be easy trying to replicate the amazing and authentic cuisine of New Orleans in little olé’ downtown New Brunswick — especially when you attract so many young kids who specifically come in for the nightly DJs and the reasonably priced Jameson shots at the bar. (Shots that might not be Jameson, mind you, but I digress…)
The kitchen seems to be in capable hands, all things told. And the portions for the price are ridiculously good. Starters included the baked andouille bread, which could have very well been a sausage stromboli imported from Stuff Yer Face. Better were the beef pies — Old Bay’s take on those Jamaican patties you see at local pizza joints. Even better than that were the shrimp and grits. There’s a real LOL factor watching Northerners eat salty, buttery grits. It’s like they died and went to heaven. (Frankly, I don’t get it.)
But the chicken and andouille jambalaya that I ordered — decent as it was — was probably 3 stars at best. The dish was a gigantic pile of only slightly seasoned rice, topped with sliced andouille and extremely dry pieces of pulled chicken. I could grill up an andouille sausage from Whole Foods, shred a rotisserie chicken from Shop Rite, cook me up some Zatarains rice, steep it all together with some chicken stock, and present a dish as good or better than what I ate Thursday night.
To be fair, though, I’m a real jambalaya snob. I’ve had versions from Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse, and John Besh. You’re just not going to top that in New Brunswick.
Others at our table seemed to enjoy their dishes, although I wouldn’t say anyone was raving. Jeff B, our gluten-​free bud, enjoyed his New Orleans sliced steak. And John D. seemed to enjoy his crawfish etoufee as well, which, frankly, I absolutely loathed. I chalk that up more to my hate of shellfish than any issues with Old Bay’s execution.
The one common element across the table, though, was that no one could finish their dishes. Way too much food. Not necessarily a bad thing, per se. It just means that the owners have some wiggle room to balance quality and quantity if they want to.
Again — all mistakes can often be forgiven when you have great service. So, back to Olivia. She’s awesome. She put up with a lot of BS the other night and was a consummate professional all night long.
All in all, the food was good — especially given how impossible it is to get anything close to decent New Orleans cuisine in Central Jersey. The Jameson thing bothers me a little bit, especially when the downstairs bartender got unusually defensive with us after we confronted her about it. After all, I called the Brunswick Grove’s bogus Jameson pour long before they got busted by the ABC. Just sayin’. You can’t fool me or Marc N. when it comes to Jameson.
But in this case, the benefit of the doubt prevails. We had a great event, with great people, great service, and generally good food. I really want to see these guys succeed because cuisine like this is hard to find, and New Brunswick needs more variety. Just don’t rest on your laurels, gentlemen. Loyalty is only rewarded when the product and experience is consistently good and above peoples’ expectations.
Thanks for making our Unilocal event such a fun night!

This is a great place for a small celebration.
We 8 souls met to enjoy our group of semi-​foodies and cocktail explorers at The Old Bay last night. The house was crowded, but did not reach sardine can proportions. We began outside under the canopy until the thunderstorm arrived and soaked those sitting nearest the edge of the covering.
Moving inside to the mezzanine, we had a few tables pushed together in the rear of the room, and due to our boisterous antics soon had the other diners seeking alternate accommodations. We befriended our server, Olivia, who did a great job pretending to love our company. She was the right woman for the job, handling us with grace and humor. Even the Picklebacks did not dissuade her. Cute, too.
We ordered off the extensive menu that seemed to have a Cajun/​Seafood bent. My Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya was an huge plate of dirty rice, chicken and excellent sausage. It was well spiced and very tasty. Took half of it home.
The cocktails were also quite good, although after the Pickleback and Sweet Tea, I lost track of what was being presented.
All in all, a great night with good food and drink.

Good craft beer selection but food just ok.
Came here for the «Stout City» Founders KBS /​CBS event with Firestone Walker Parabola as a sidekick. It was packed as expected as everyone wanted to get as close to the bar as possible to snag a glass of the ever so rare CBS. This was the one night in which KBS was amazingly going to be overshadowed. And Parabola? Talk about a 3^rd wheel.
Anyway, I did manage to snag a CBS, and a KBS and a Parabola and they were all delicious. We decided to order food as well. There was a special menu for this «Stout City» event, and I went with the Bacon and Cheddar Mac and Cheese and the Mole Negro Tacos. The Mac and Cheese sounded amazing to me on the menu but it was not. I am spoiled by the mac and cheese at Marie’s Italian Specialties and this was about average. The mole tacos were ok, but not spicy enough as a mole sauce should be. It also would have been nice to get a 3^rd taco, but it only comes with 2, so it comes out to $ 5.50 a taco.
I would come back here for another beer event but next time probably go somewhere else for food.

The Old Bay has been around many years.
Good salad and calamari. 24 craft beers on tap. Excellent waitress, Cassandra
Patio was smoky
Shrimp Creole and Seafood Jambalaya needed a little more flavor but were ok
15% discount to Stress Factory and State Theatre ticketholders