CJ’s Pub

Overpriced and overcooked burgers and fries (that are not included). Not to mention both times I’ve been here to eat the waitstaff has been incredibly slow and just flat out ignored us. Takes an extremely long time just to get a simple burger order out or to pay our bill. Meanwhile we can see the entire waitstaff gabbing around the bar like customers do not even exist.
Have also had extremely poor experiences with the manager. Tried to have ND students out here for a night out and my attempts at communication were again flat out ignored. Even after giving notice that we would be at CJ’s on a particular night, we show up to find out they are closed. Will not be patronizing this «pub» for a meal or a drink any time soon. Too bad because they purport to support the ND community, but I guess not…

Used to go here on the way to the library. Odd atmosphere, guess it heats up at nite with the idiot ND crowd. Food way overpriced, geared for Domer daddies titanium cards. Burgers not bad, tad greasy. Daytime cjs much different than nitetime cjs. Liked it for a bit, won’t go there again. The best thing about this place is that a few years ago somebody punched spoiled mommas’ boy Jimmy Clausen in the face for being an arrogant dickhead, a black eye resulted! Yea Cjs! Hate the homeless begging in front of the place, but they do that all over downtown.

One of many cool bars in the downtown area. The perfect place to watch a college football game and the food is a bit better than your average bar food. The service could be improved but the layout and look of the bar was excellent. A college sports bar with plenty of diverse seating.

I specifically made a Unilocal account for this «pub». I went on Unilocal to see what some good burger places are in South Bend after the ND game and read a review that said CJs was the best burger and and I also read just go to Five Guys. I should have went to Five Guys. The burger was bland and tasteless, the bun was barely fresh, and they charged $ 4 for bacon which between that and the store bought BBQ is the only thing that made me be able to choke this thing down. Service was good and had jukebox and games. Maybe I just wandered too far off campus but I will not be going back nor will I recommend. The 2 stars are for the luke warm draft beer I had and the waitress.

Burger was really big and tasted decent, but I was disappointed by the service. I specifically ordered fries instead of chips, but they brought the burger with chips and a separate side of fries which were expensive at like $ 5.95. Same thing happened to my buddy who ordered onion rings.
If there is no option to sub fries for chips at a small cost like most restaurants, and you instead only offer fries at a full side-​dish price, you need to tell this to your customers.
Am I ranting? Maybe… okay probably. But when I specifically ask if I can sub fries for chips and am told yes, I think I’m justified in my anger at being given a full priced side of fries for six bucks in addition to the chips that normally come with the burger.

Stopped by this wonderful gem in South Bend. Absolutely wonderful service, food & beer!

Disappointed. I used to love this place. I came back last weekend and was seated next two a table with a guy smoking and another vaping. Yuck! The burger took 35 minutes from when we placed our order and arrived as an overcooked, dry baseball-​shaped meat pile. I had to drown it in ketchup to make it barely edible. Not going back.

Checked out the menu before myself and a few others grabbed drinks and dinner. Was looking forward to their food and multiple vegetarian options. Unfortunately it was a ND football weekend which means they have a smaller menu, with higher prices, and no vegetarian options. Most likely will not be returning, especially on a football weekend.

Not a big fan — wouldn’t recommend for bar food.

Randomly stopped into this bar on our way home from The Grateful Dead shows in Chicago… Instantly greeted with warm welcomes from the staff… My favorite part besides the food and drinks which were delicious (we tried a burger, the famous wings which the sauce was so good, and one of the chicken sandwiches that was on point) but let me get to my favorite part The Bartender Barb she was the nicest friendliest bartender I’ve had she made me feel at home. Thanks again Barb!!!
This is a must visit!!!

Super good food and highly recommended. I only rated four stars because there are SO MANY TYPOS on the menu! I lost count at 30+. You have to fix it!

The Lone Star burger and CJs Famous chili! Food was good, service was good, atmosphere ok, kinda divish.

I’ve tried this place 3 different times, just to be fare. The first two times gave me diarrhea and add vomiting to my 3^rd trip. I even posted it on thier Facebook page. No response but CJs did remove my post.
I won’t be back ever. If you go… don’t forget to bring Imodium.

Love those Pub Burgers!
I try to get in there as often as I can. The burgers are awesome and the waffle fries are perfect for scooping up ketchup. I’ve been going to CJ’s since the late 80’s at the old location. If you’re from out of town, you can’t visit Notre Dame without stopping in for a meal.

There is a lot to be desired with this place. Lunch time it took awhile for our server to get us drinks and menus. Then after ordering, the food took a lot longer than usual at other places. Server didn’t check in in us for refills. Food was ok but I can’t see how the burgers are famous. Coworker had a chicken sammy and it was dry. I won’t be returning.

Why am I giving four stars to a college bar, where three out of 12 tap lines offer Natty Light? Because they make some pub food that is well above average for anywhere. Grilled chicken sandwiches are perfectly cooked, remaining juicy and tender in the middle and are placed on top of fresh hamburger buns. Somebody went to the farmers market to get the thick, fresh slice of tomato on top of it. Burgers are also great here. Sweet and spicy wings are perfectly fried with just the right bit of tang to balance the heat. However, the hottest wings were inedible for my mild tastes and are only for those with a high tolerance for heat; I couldn’t even finish one.
Although Natty Light is in good supply, there are also some craft taps that should allow craft snobs to survive. I saw a couple Bells taps (Oberon, and Two Hearted) plus a couple of other names.
Service was friendly, accommodating, and jovial as our party bounced around to play pool and the various bar games, and to watch college football. Normally, that’s a nightmare for servers, but not here. No wonder the walls are covered with pictures of college kids having a blast. Next time you are in town visiting Notre Dame, swing by.

This place is a bit of a hike off ND’s campus. Wife and I went here on a Friday night on a Notre Dame football weekend. it was very easy to get a table but we opted just to sit at the bar.
Basically we just came for some drinks but we decided to get wings. we ordered a dozen mild wings and they were pretty good. Thee EXPENSIVE though. $ 15 for twelve wing dings? C’mon man.
Atmosphere was average. It was smokey which I didn’t like very much. My wife had three drinks and I had three drinks as well. With the wings the total bill came to $ 38.
It’s a place I’ll go back to ill be honest. Just don’t expect to be blown away.

Well, it certainly didn’t live up to the hype.
The appetizer of Irish Nachos was good (best thing all evening, I’d say). They were loaded with all the toppings & goodies.
Burger was a fair size, but certainly overcooked & dry, even with my topping. Got the JALAPENO POPPER — Jalapenos, cream cheese, cheddar & bacon bits. Still dry.
Onion rings good, not great, but good.
No one in our party thought their burgers were excellent. Oh well.
Service was ok. Had to keep getting up for silverware as none was brought or on the tables. Had to get up & steal an ashtray from another table. Server was half friendly and ok.
Considering the place was deserted on a Wednesday night, one would think the service could be better and the food would have been perfect, since they didn’t have any other orders to take care of.
Overall, I’m not in a hurry to get back, but I won’t go out of my way to avoid it if someone else suggests it.

I came here with a friend for a bite before a show because it was only a couple doors away and was highly recommended. That was a mistake.
Even though it was 9 pm on a Saturday, you could here crickets inside, it was so empty. We took a table. My friend ordered one of the «cubby» burgers, a smaller not-​quite-​slider sized offering with bacon and BBQ sauce. I ordered the Home Run, with ham, a fried egg, and cheese.
Then we waited.
And waited.
Aaaaaaaaannnnnnd waited.
No one ever came by to say «hey food’s coming, sorry for the wait» or even to offer another drink. There were only 3 other occupied tables, and none of them were or ordering food. In fact, the waitress was too preoccupied drinking at the bar with friends and making very loud racist comments.
Oh, yeah. And we waited.
Nearly 45 minutes later, our food arrived. Before we could ask the waitress for another round of drinks, a fork, or really anything, she was back to the bar continuing her loud rant.
My friend didn’t seem to mind his «cubby.» It was completely overcooked, like a little charred golf ball. But it had bacon, so he was happy.
My Home Run was anything but. The menu describes a 10 ounce wonder of meaty goodness. What I received was charred black on the outside, and so horrifically overcooked on the inside it was nothing but a dark grey, desiccated, flavourless mess. The patty, which was nearly 1 inch thick, had apparently been on the grill the ENTIRE 45 minutes we waited. It was simply gross.
The fries were entirely un-​seasoned, as well.
The final insult… I spent the rest of the evening nauseous and on the verge of being sick.
CJ’s is a NO-​GO.

This place is huge. Went for the first time after a ND football game on a recommendation from a fellow fan. Walked right in without a wait. They seem kind of power trippy on where you sit. It took some banter between two of the front ladies for about 3 minutes to decide where we would actually end up.
Went for the traditional burgers with fries. Damn. So good. Super moist burger with the perfect amount of seasoning. They have burger making down.
Tons of sports memorabilia on the walls. B-​ball arcade games in the corner.