Exchange Bar & Grill

Went in there for the first time in New Years. Literally… As soon as we got there as we rounded the bar. A fight broke out, to the immediate right sending just about every one to the back patio. i calmly walked out to smoke. Within minutes the place was dead and a total sausage fest. So me and my friend asked for our $ 10 covers to get in back. And they quickly obliged. I haven’t hear anything good about the place and my first experience there confirms why. Bunch shady ass people go there.

Almost no one there on a Monday noontime in early December. Our party of three was invited to sit anywhere, and chose a table near the windows with a nice view. As some others have said, only one person was running the bar and serving food. A few things were not available, as I’ve seen on other reviews, including the pulled pork sandwich. Darn! Our food was very good, altho the wait was kinda long for the place being empty. Lovely, accommodating server/​hostess. Main deal-​breaker for me: the womens’ room floor was filthy. And I’ve seen filthy, my friend. It made me wonder about the kitchen, and so I’ll not be back.

The food at Exchange has always been good, but in the last month or two the food has become exceptionally better! The addition of Chris Papathanisiou to the kitchen was a phenomenal idea! He brings his pizza making expertise from the «old» Captain’s Pizza and always provides service with a smile. Great job, Exchange Bar & Grill!

Keep walking down the street. There are other options with better food and a comparable view.
The deck is a nice place to sit and enjoy the evening. Seems like they are a bar first and restaurant second. In addition to our beer, we had a side of tortilla chips with salsa and the chicken enchiladas. The tortilla chips tasted like they were cooked in old oil — they had a strange aftertaste in my opinion. The enchiladas weren’t horrible, but there was not much in the way of sauce on the portion I received.
Went to the bar to pay (because there was only one guy tending bar, waiting tables and being the cashier) and noticed the drink condiments (orange slices, lemon slices, etc) were covered in small bugs. Kind of gross, and thankful I didn’t order anything that would be served with those items.
Not a place I would visit again.

Had lunch there last Sunday. Nice to sit outside on the deck. All three of us had burgers. Surprisingly good… fresh made, not frozen. Decent fries. Very friendly waitress. Service was slow but we were not in a rush. Place looks like it might be more of a bar type atmosphere at night.

Just awful food. Bacon in a veggie wrap? Burger raw on the inside. Loooong wait for service even though the place was empty. Dine anywhere else but here!

We came here a few weeks ago for a couple drinks while we were in town, and it was alright. Prices were ok, and the outdoor deck overlooking the water in the distance was really nice. However, after us being there a half hour or so, a DJ came on and started spinning some pretty serious rap and hip hop.
It seemed like a cute, trendy place, then it suddenly took on this strange club feel randomly, so it was weird. Less than desirable people started coming in, so we only had the one drink and left. Probably won’t be back, but it wasn’t horrible.

Slowest service ever… if u want to wait for your food 45 min then go there:(
Came with 2 children on a slow day, was almost empty, siting for 45 minutes, service is very poor then half of the order came in and not the kids order, u always serve kids first… Anyway, pretty disappointed

Atmosphere was nice. Food not so good. Really? they served my wife a wilted salad and left my fish tacos in the frier too long

Only been here once on a Sunday about 2PM. I tried to eat at another spot that was closed, I saw that the Exchange was open so I gave it a try. Service was good, everything was clean and beer was cold. I had French Onion soup that was very good with lots of buttered croutons and plenty of cheese and Calamari which was also good. The Calamari came with a butter, lemon, garlic dipping sauce that was very good. One beer, soup and an order of Calamari was 17 $ plus tip. All in all, I would go again.

Great deck, food served til 9 & dancing bar later night. Great for group parties. Highly recommend the French Onion Soup & Quesadilla while looking over the water.

If you lose a bet and end up in New London Connecticut this place is pretty good. Burgers, nachos and wings can’t go wrong. Decent beer selection and an extremely friendly and courteous staff. More like 3.5 stars I was only kidding about losing the bet this is a pretty good town very cool.

As a bar, this is a bit on the divey side. It does have a great patio with a beautiful view of the water. However, be prepared to deal with people smoking. Maybe I’m getting old, but the music was a bit too loud. They have multiple tvs airing the games and prices were more than reasonable.

The food was good. We had the chicken nachos and a burger with fries. The nachos came out piled up and full of cheese and everything else, plus two 1 – 2 oz cups of sour cream. The burger was good too. Pretty much average good food.
Atmosphere was as good as could be expected on a Sunday afternoon. It did give the appearance that it is a pretty happening place on a Friday or Saturday night. There was a stage in one corner the would be great for a small band or soloist.
Restrooms were clean and kept up. Tables were cleaned right away after gusts had left. Again it was slow and not hectic. Staff were very friendly and made sure our toddler had his own cup of water.
High chairs are available for those with small children. Only down side for the high chair was that there wasn’t a restraining buckle to secure the kid down or in. Fortunately our kiddo was more interested in the food and didn’t try to stand up.

This is the first time we’ve been to CT and the first place we stopped. The deck appealed to us, but I wish we’d gone elsewhere. Didn’t expect the smoking all around us. Food is okay.

After a long day at the beach, my friend and I looked online for local places that offered wraps. We came across Exchange Bar & Grill and decided to try it out. When we walked in, we were welcomed by a very pleasant and accommodating gentleman, I believe to be the bartender/​server. He informed us that the patio deck was open for seating, which we settled with and were very pleased. The views offered by the outside deck are great! We were able to enjoy our food and drinks-​the grilled chicken ranch wrap & strawberry lime margarita (both were delicious!) while listening to live music being performed from inside. This is a place that I will absolutely be returning to after beach days!

The boyfriend and I came here one day after a long walk at Groton Long Point, and I am so glad we did! The service was nice, I ordered a tilapia wrap that was to die for, and we definitely got recharged after a long walk!
I actually keep having cravings for tilapia wrap but I’m pretty sure it was just a special :(

We were a little apprehensive about coming in here considering all the not so favorable reviews. But, we were desperately trying to just find a place with the game on before it was over so we gave it a shot.
First Impressions, a little dirty obviously more on the divey side of things. I don’t mind this kind of atmosphere so I was unphased. Nice deck on the back overlooking the water and the whole place is entirely open. Even the windows in the front were much like saloon doors and were wide open. The weather was gorgeous and the breeze off the water was cool and refreshing.
Staff was nice enough to reluctantly put on tennis and provide us with quick service. A small mistake was made on my friends food, although, it was remedied. The food was alright, we had the sun dried tomato pesto pizza, at least I think so. A little heavy on the scallions for my liking but still pretty decent.
Towards the end of the game a guy set up on the small stage to play us some tunes. Considering we were the only one’s there we got to reap the benefit and hear some of our favorites. If you read Unilocal,thanks for the entertainment Dave.
I’d say it was a nice laid back place to watch the game. And although I doubt I will be traveling that far again just to watch a game if I were to I would definitely stop back here.

We were all pleasantly surprised to have an enjoyable experience at a place with so-​so ratings.
I came here on Sunday afternoon with a buddy that wanted to watch football at Buffalo Wild Wings. Why we wanted to make the hour trek from Rhode Island to a chain sports bar is beyond me. I also don’t eat chicken and was more interested in the US Open Finals than a season opener.
After we got tired of waiting for a table at BWW, we frantically searched for a less busy place in the area, before the game was over.
This place is right along the water, save for some train tracks. Don’t worry, the trains go slow and almost sneak up on you. You can see Electric Boat on the other side from the patio. I liked the nice breeze coming in over the water
The staff is very friendly and switched the TV channels to the game we wanted to watch. They even tried to find tennis for me (although he did snicker a bit). When the kitchen kind-​of mess up my buddy’s Buffalo Chicken Wrap, they were more than happy to make it right.
The portion sizing of the appetizer platter was on the small size for the price, but still not too bad. People loved the chicken tenders. I split a pizza with the SO, the sun-​dried tomato and pesto, half sans bacon. Decent thin crust pizza. Domestic pitchers that day were $ 10.
Nearing the conclusion of the game, a solo acoustic guitarist set up on the smallish stage. He didn’t play overly loud so those who wanted to follow the remaining games of the day could do so. I made him play 6 or 7 cover songs, and he was quite talented with the looper. I didn’t catch his name, but his monogrammed LL Bean book bag said «DBS». Let’s call him Dave.
I am happy to have stumbled upon this bar. It was a great low-​key place to watch a game.

Am I invisible? Zero service!
The patio is full and the bar ½ full with 2 bartenders working. I sat, bellied up to the bar for 8 minutes with no eye contact from the staff. I would have tolerated «be right with you» or even a nod of my presence. Nope. Nada.
Show me the way to the next whiskey bar. I’m outa here.