Rock ‘n’ Joe – Union

This is my spot. I like to come here to grade papers whenever I’ve got a day off, and the staff is always friendly to me. I’ve been coming to this place on-​and-​off for a couple of years now, and the quality has always been the same (if not better). The best coffee (much better than the stock stuff you get at Starbucks) at a very reasonable price. I even get my coffee beans from Rock n Joe’s.
My only complaints, if I were forced to provide some, are that parking is a bit of a «hope they don’t ticket me» situation since it’s right at a train station; the parking is intended for permit holders who are commuting to/​from NYC. The other is that whenever someone orders a bacon dish, the whole place smells of bacon. Like I said: if I were forced to make a complaint.
Anyways, this place is awesome and deserves a lot of love. You should be there now, drinking either the Velvet Underground or Sledgehammer straight black.

I just missed the train back to NYC and this «coffee lounge with eats» seemed the perfect spot to spend the next hour!
Highly recommend the delicious Grilled Chicken Club panini with crispy bacon, tomato & avocado — served with a «side of field greens» with balsamic dressing ($ 8.99). Free iced water with lemon makes the perfect accompanying drink.
Looking around and seeing many folks enjoying their «Joe,’ I opted for a house specialty drink called The Van Halen — vanilla & hazelnut syrup with espresso + steamed milk ($ 4.29 medium — 30 cents more for a large — well worth the splurge!).
Since it was train time, left with a gigantic, baked on premise chocolate chip cookie ($ 2.75). Haven’t sampled as yet — writing this review on train while it is top of mind — but confident that taste will exceed expectations!

Right off the union train making it great to stop in when getting on or off the train. Also across the street from Kean which only has Starbucks on campus makes this great for some real coffee ! I’ve had regular and flavored (the Irish) and both were great! I’ve had a grilled cheese sandwich here and really enjoyed it!

Love the sandwiches at this place and love the staff even more. I am a Kean student and did not realize how close and convenient this place is for me. There are not too many options but the staff are open to making your food exactly the way you wish. I’ve heard that they even have performance nights and I plan to look into this.

Decent little coffee shop outside of the Union township NJTransit station. They seem to have a lot of activities available-​I always like small joints that strive to build community. The coffee is good, but I’m not sold on the flavored specialty drinks. Espresso machine was down today so I settled for a peppermint mocha coffee… or caffeinated chocolate milk. The chocolate chip cookie I ordered was a little more disappointing. It was nicely chewy but lacked chocolate flavor. All in all, this is a nice place for a decent cup of joe.

The food was great and homey but the service lacked a little bit. They got my order wrong the first time and then they gave me attitude when I asked them to correct it. Although the food is delicious, I can’t complain about that, the service could use some help in the sense of their attitudes. Also the location was a little hard to find but that’s not something they can be blamed for.

I love Rock ‘n’ Joe!
My boyfriend Mike is from Union, so when we go to visit his family, we always stop by while we wait for them to pick us up from the train station. They’ve got free (speedy!) wifi, the staff is very friendly, and the atmosphere is always warm and inviting.
I should preface this review by saying that I am not a coffee drinker — I only like steamers, chai and tea. I will most often get their hot or iced chai, and it’s always exceptional. Not very spicy, and tends to be more on the sweet side, but is generally very consistent. They have several choices of milks (whole, skim, almond and soy) which is always welcome. Mike is a hefty coffee drinker and enjoys the blends here.
Looking forward to many more visits to come!

I discovered this RJ location a few years ago, I used to go to Cranford, but I now work in the area, nice little hidden spot right next to the train station.
Always super clean and the staff is always friendly, there coffee is awesome. Place has great vibe. There is seating inside and out when the weather is right.
You can get fresh muffins, scone and other pastries, pieces of cake, brownies, cookies and sandwiches. Great Job RJ Union

Nice hangout, friendly staff and friendly customers. I love the brownies the best. Ocassionally, I would go to networking meetings and others events.

Friendly, great coffee and food. Always some event happening several evenings a week

Friendly staff, warm and comfortable atmosphere, wifi, great coffee, AND it’s a great venue to see some local musical talent! If you have to wait for a train, do yourself a favor and plan your commute in Union to check out this spot.

This coffee shop is located in one of the most random areas I have ever visited and yet it exudes some awesome, awesome vibes.
An amazing menu– full with standard coffee drinks and some originals/​specialties. all of the food items look DELICIOUS (and I have heard great things about the paninis and salads), and so do the baked goods up-​front.
I tried the non-​fat yogurt smoothie (Mango) but also comes in Berry and Peach and fell in love. Tastes fresh and thick and creamy, and was just what I wanted on a hot and summery day.
The place always has awesome customer service and cool music-​related events that bring in large and fun crowds.
Definitely check this place out. A gem in Union, that’s for sure.

Overall great place! The feel was awesome and the food was great! The service was acceptable but it could have been better! If there was one thing that could have been improved, its the way the girls making the foods treated the customers. The guy who was attending register was the absolute best but the girls did not match his level. But overall good food, yummy coffee. I would come back :)

This cute café will steal your heart! The ambiance is very peaceful considering that its close to the Union train station. Its a little pricy but definitely worth it. The place is cleaned, decorated nicely & friendly workers.

Not my cup of tea. I was looking forward having a great coffee or tea and just overall good experience, but I had all the opposite.
The place is inside the train station which makes it a very unique setting, I wouldn’t have mind paying for parking if my experience had been a better one.
Scone: more like a biscuit texture. Not hard enough for my taste. $ 2.60
Irishman coffee: tasted very bitter, couldn’t taste the Irish cream nor the hazelnut. It was $ 3.50 for a small one, I think you are better of with DD and I am not a huge fan of DD! So you can imagine the taste.
They offer free wifi and it’s a very fast one too. Many students come here to do their work and just hang out. Before leaving I had only drank ¼ of my coffee cup and I decided to approach the worker about the taste of the coffee. She wanted to give me this long explanation of how is only 3 pumps in total of the syrups and how they put 2 shots of expresso. I was once a barista and I know what coffee tastes like when the machine isn’t clean and not enough syrup is added. I just smiled and said thank you. Instead of offering to fix it, she decided to be defensive and even when I was leaving she tells me: keep in mind is 2 shots. A small cup suppose to have only one shot. A medium or large can have 2 shots if not you ruin the whole latte. Unless you are the person who enjoys dark coffee. Going to try other coffee shops around NJ. Wish me luck.

Not sure what’s happening with this location, but place is going downhill. I’ve been a customer for the last 3 years and quality and atmosphere have really deteriorated. It’s cluttered with fliers, random merchandise and lacking in all of the wonderful muffins and pastries they used to have. I ordered a small latte and was very disappointed when it was almost entirely foam. I took one sip and transferred it to a regular size mug and there was hardly any coffee! What a joke! And it’s barely hot!
Needless to say, not worth the money or effort to stop in. You’d be better off hitting the Starbucks in the Kean building next door.

When I was commuting to school about 2 years ago I found this place and immediately fell in love. The staff was friendly and personable. They learned my name and order within a week. I took pictures and checked in all the time. Sometimes this place was the only reason I even made it to class.
In return about a year later and they have a whole new staff. Worst. Service. Ever. They were too busy cleaning when I got in to take my order. Then the girl didn’t even wash her hands. My drink came quickly but didn’t have whipped cream. When I asked for some I was told it doesn’t come with it and that I had to specify that I wanted some. Ive been drinking this for almost 2 years and have never had to ask for whipped cream. The worst. I’ll think twice about coming back again.

Good coffee and good music. Plenty of outlets to plug into.
This place is good for all sorts of people… commuters, studiers, readers, and relaxers. They play good music, which isn’t so loud that you can’t even talk on the phone. The only thing I wish this place had was parking that didn’t involve me having to pay for a daily parking spot, especially on the weekend.

My friend and I were headed to a bridal shower in Philly and I was taking the train to meet her. Unfortunately, something along the NJ Transit line was not working and they told us to get off in Union and transfer to a bus… and then a train to continue on our journeys. Fortunately for me, my friend told me not to worry, she would pick me up in Union. I told her I would find a coffee shop and wait for her there.
I got off the train, and as if a sign from the Java gods, there was Rock N Joe’s. I had never heard of it before, but it looked and felt a little starbucks-​y, and while I was still going to get my coffee, I figured it would be the usual Starbucks mud. I ordered a caramel latte and while they were a lot slower than the usual morning coffee shops (how they deal with rush hour, I couldn’t tell you… or maybe it’s just I’m used to NYC speed), the latte was perfect, complete with foam art. Yes, foam art.
The atmosphere was super chill and relaxed. The employees were super nice and friendly and very accommodating, even handled one or two difficult customers with ease. I was able to wait for my friend in comfort until she picked me up. Free Wi-​Fi and a place to charge my phone.
I didn’t notice until later that while I originally felt that there was a «starbucks-​y» feel to it, it’s more music oriented. All the music was classic rock, top 90’s (is that considered classic now?). There was album cover art along one of the walls… and I noticed one of their coffees was called Velvet Underground — which I then had to buy. They even offered to grind it for me! Although, I found it a bit funny when I turned down their offer — and they were impressed I had a grinder at home.
If they opened up a Rock N Joe’s in my area, would be hitting that up on the reg.

When I order coffee, I almost always order just regular coffee, lattes, or cappuccinos. However, I was in the mood for something sweet and turned to my trusty Unilocal app to see what coffee shops were in the area. Found Rockn’ Joe and stopped in for a drink.
This is next to Union station and they share a parking lot. Apparently this is a small chain; they have a few other stores in NJ (I think they said Milburn, Cranford, and Westfield but I could be mistaken). The menu isn’t huge but they have a few paninis, salads, and various coffee drinks. I ordered one of the drinks on the menu but substituted some stuff so it basically became a hazelnut mocha. It was really good. Often, with sweeter coffee drinks, they are overly sugary. This one was perfect and you could actually taste the espresso, which was quite good. They also decorated the foam and wrote Good Night which was a nice touch.
The service was friendly and helpful. They gave me a frequent purchase card and marked off a few extra. After 10 drinks, you get a free drink. I would definitely come back if I am near a Rockn’ Joe location and recommend this place if you are in the area.