Moon Runners Saloon

Get. The. Catfish.
And/​Or the Southwestern Burger.
And/​Or the Mac and Cheese.
And/​Or the Sriracha Wings.
Garner NC has a little gym in this place.
This review is by a Raleigh native visiting Moonrunners for the first time.
Good sweet tea. Good music. Great service (we were waited on by Elizabeth). TV’s for the sports crowd. Prohibition ambiance.
The hush puppies, onion rings, and fries were all legit. Their tartar sauce was primo. Ordered my burger «medium» and it came out with a HOT PINK center. #nailedit
We usually stay ITB for primo eats in the Raleigh Metro… but this place will change our habits.

We had a very large party 16 dinner came out quick, hot, and awesome. Service was fantastic and atmosphere is so cool. Very affordable had a great time will for sure be back

We went to Moon Runners early on New Years Eve. The food was very good. My husband had steak and it was cooked well, and of good quality. I had the ribs and they were quite good also– tender, cooked and seasoned well. The waitress was on top of things and very good at her job. The price was very reasonable. The only suggestion I have for the back family room off the bar is to have a little more lighting. I like the place enough to bring my little flashlight with next time. so that we can read the menu :)

Our friends took us here on our last night visiting them in North Carolina. You wouldn’t think a place that specializes in moonshine would be kid friendly, but they are!
Drink-​wise, most of us surprisingly didn’t get anything. My husband got some super sweet, desserty moonshine concoction. He said he really liked it, but that it wasn’t as flavorful as he would have thought.
Food-​wise, hubby and one of our friends got burgers, with the delicious and super crispy onion rings. The burgers were perfect — large, flavorful and juicy. Our other friend and I both went with the BBQ pork quesadilla, which we should have shared! It was really big and so tasty.
The kids’ meals are a great deal. I think they are $ 5, and you get a choice of main dish, choice of side (we did the fries for my son, which were so-​so, and hush puppies for our friends’ daughter) and a drink — and they are a decent size!
Although a bit slow, the service was great. They made room for us in the back room (rearranging tables, etc.), which was reserved for a party. And the waitress brought a small electronic handheld for my son to keep him entertained when he was getting antsy. The servers were all so friendly and helpful. I can see why this is one of our friends’ favorite places!

meh its ok nice small town saloon type bar. foods ok, staff are great. drinks are drinks!

Great food great drinks. Only negative is that it smells a little funky. Jalapeño poppers were good. Lightly battered and seemed to be hand made. Same for the chicken.

Stopped here a couple of times with my band while on tour down in NC. Saw Moonrunners Saloon on Bar Rescue and had been wanting to try it for a long time now.
We went literally the second we arrived in Garner, NC, and everything was so deliciously unique that we had to go back a second time before we left NC. The fried cornmeal catfish and the moonshine bbq babyback ribs were to die for. I loved having the flights of moonshine as well as having the blackberry lemonade cocktail (first moonshine on tap in NC), as well as the bobbing for apples, and The Moon Runner cocktail developed from the show itself. Everything was out of this world. My fiancée and I ordered bacon cheese fries with apple pie moonshine gravy, which was one of the most interesting things I’ve ever had. I honestly wish they packaged it and sold it nationally. I’d probably put it on everything. All the servers and bartenders were extremely nice, knowledgeable, and curteous; which makes it a better experience all around. It’s hard to find service quite like that around here. We even had a chance to chat with the chef, Patrick. Awesome guy who really knows how to create and cook. The family behind Moonrunners Saloon really brought in a guy behind the kitchen who is extremely creative and knows his stuff! Now, the only negative thing about the whole experience is that there is no Moonrunner Saloon New Jersey. Expansion anyone? :)

Much improved after the Bar Rescue a few years ago. The food is legitimately tasty and they usually have pretty good beer specials.

Decent bar food (especially the appetizers), the moonshine decent if not a little on the pricey range. We visited twice, ordering drinks and appetizers, and enjoyed everything. We came back with our mother-​in-​law and ordered off the dinner menu during the mid-​week, and we were less than impressed. Obviously, this is a place you’re going to want to visit on the weekend to kick back and relax with some friends. Enjoyable atmosphere, decent staff.

Ohh one of the infamous Bar Rescue restaurants. Absolute fantastic establishment. The food is delicious and consistent. Management and staff are so attentive and courteous. You can always expect some kind of special any night of the week.
The Mac n Cheese though, auuhhhhhmazing!!!

Not a bad little bar/​restaurant. Definitely more bar than restaurant. Very good beer selection. They even had Green Man porter. I usually only get that in Asheville. We started with a watermelon moonshine drink. It was new on the menu, and was goid, but a little sweet for me and my girlfriend.
For food I had the Baja hot dog. It was good, but needed a side of fries or chips. For $ 8.99 I would expect that. My girlfriend had the mac and cheese with chicken. It was really good, chicken was moist and Mac was cheesy enough. It did have a little spice so be prepared.
I would go again, maybe on a Wednesday again because they had free trivia which was fun. It is getting a 4.5 for the bar side and 3.5 for the food side. So average out the 4.

I came here last night because it’s close by and it had very high ratings from my fellow Unilocalers. I’ve now learned not to trust Unilocal reviews. I’m not sure what people think is so great about this place. First off, it smelled like stale beer and was infested with flies. Second, the four of us ordered different plates and all agreed our food was mediocre at best. There was a lively discussion about how this place compares to TGIF. For the record, 75% of us thought it was worse. The crab and shrimp dip was bland — heavy on some nondescript cheese and light on actual crab or any other flavor. My Guy’s Dog was a mess and lacked the best ingredient: chili.
To its credit, the margarita was decent, as was the service. And a manager came around to ensure we were satisfied.
I wish I’d found a stellar dive bar with great food and ambiance, but will have to keep looking. And I will steer clear of Unilocal reviews!

This location has been a few different places over the past few years so, of course, I wanted to visit Moon Runners since Jon Taffer rescued it on Bar Rescue. My mom and I split the corn nuggets and an order of ribs with slaw and potato salad. The slaw was extremely runny but the food overall was good. We also tried the Moonshine flight which included Blackberry, Strawberry, Apple Pie & Peach. The Apple Pie was the best, mainly because I could drink it without having to throw it back, lol.

Sometimes it’s the simple foods that are overlooked the most. When was the last time you had a truly good hamburger. I’m not talking about those freezer burnt dried out hockey pucks that come stacked in a box. You know the ones, yep, the kind that aren’t fresh and can’t be cooked to your preferred level.
So we got a problem, we definitely don’t want to eat one of those burgers. Well our solution is simple, go to Moon Runners and get a burger.
The Fire House burger is my personal favorite. You get 8 oz of fresh beef, fried jalapeño’s, bacon, Monterey Jack, and a tangy habanero sauce. It’s got a nice little spice while not going over the top. (Personally I want more heat, but I’m not reasonable.) It’s possible this burger was touched by Midas, cause it’s taste is golden. It’s so good that I can’t speak to anything else on the menu. It’s amazing that something other than women can get that much attention from me. Either way, I’ll leave the sampling of other foods up to you all. They generally have a drink special, and an above average selection of beers. Service hasn’t been the best, but it hasn’t been terrible.
So when you get tired of those bombed out, dried out, depleted tasting burgers, give this place a try. It’s only minutes from downtown Raleigh.

Absolutely one of the best places to eat that I have ever been. My wife and I came for Valentines. I emailed the manager a week before and he immediately got back with me. Arrived and they had a booth ready for my wife and I.
We both got ribs and they were the best that I have ever had. The Mac and cheese, onion rings and cole slaw were awesome. Drinks were mixed right so we ordered more. We will be back soon. Worth the hour drive.

Every time I come here, I try something new and delicious, today was no exception, I had the Fire House burger and there was an explosion of flavors going on, 8 oz of never frozen burger smothered with deep fried Jalopeno’s the tangy sauce, topped with applewood bacon and lettuce & tomato. Can’t wait to try another one. YUM!!!

I use to go to Moon Runners only for their wings which are very good I might add. I love the lemon pepper wings. Last Friday I decided to try their shrimp and crab dip, and the spice macaroni and cheese. I am a fan for real. The macaroni and cheese was a pleasant surprise. Both were very good. I am will now have to try the rest of their menu.

This is probably my 5^th or 6^th time at Moon Runners. Each time I have found the service to be good, the food great and the atmosphere friendly. Though they seem to have a extensive bar, the place is always family friendly when I go there (between 5 and 9 pm).
Today I had the ribeye steak, coleslaw and a baked potato. The steak was done medium as requested and was one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. I should make a disclaimer and state that I only eat steaks at a restaurant a few times a year. Still, at 53, I have had my share of steak. I loved it. Coleslaw is one of those things people have widely varying opinions on. For the record, I like coleslaw. Unlike steak, I have had PLENTY. This place has some of the best coleslaw I have eaten. The only place that immediately comes to mind as comparable is Stephenson’s BBQ in Willow Spring, NC out on hwy 50. Though somewhat different, theirs is likewise excellent. The baked potato was likewise perfect at Moon Runners. In a way I feel wary because I am setting the bar so high. So be it. I really like this spot for casual dining.

I really want this place to succeed, but a couple of things should be mentioned. We went back on a Wednesday Night last week, and got a couple of drinks and burgers. The food and drinks were very good, and the service was so-​so. One of the things that stood out to me is that I was the only female in the place, besides the waitresses. It was pretty early, so apparently like someone else mentioned it is an after work beer drinking place, and IMO geared mainly to men.
The more important thing that turned us both off, and would have Jon Taffer rolling over in his Limo, is first the waitress brought us our burgers and ran. I hate that… wait a sec and ask if we need anything else! We did need something… Mayo. I finally flagged her down when she looked up from wiping cleaning solution onto a table across the restaurant, and when she finally made her way over we asked for mayo. Then, after waiting again, she comes back with… get this… a crumpled handful of Hellmans packets piled in front of us on the table. What? First of all, packets are the most annoying thing to get in a restaurant. Now we have to get the damn things open and squeeze out the too small portions without making a mess. Secondly, we are in the SOUTH (remember your theme here?) so it should be DUKES Mayonnaise. Hellmans, Really? In Packets?
By the time we left there were 2 other chicks in there, both with their men (which counteracted the boy/​girl count), so I felt a little more comfortable.
We don’t plan on going back, but I do hope they stay on their toes as far as better service and keeping up the Southern theme.

I enjoyed my visit to Moon Runners Saloon. First learning about the restaurant via Jon Taffer’s ‘Bar Rescue’, I decided to make the 200 mile trek creating a weekend trip to the Raleigh area. Also included was a stop at the racetrack also featured on The Show.
Arriving just shy of the five o’clock hour, they weren’t extremely busy which was good for me. The bar was packed with post-​work drinkers. So it’s definitely a popular spot to quench your thirst.
I had my mind set on the root beer infused moonshine cocktail featured on The Show. Not being a cocktail connoisseur, to me the downside of those drinks are the price tag. But, to be honest, my normal drink of choice is a simple beer. Also, I was disappointed that I was not offered the mason jar size as well as the option to purchase the jar for a keepsake.
After a long gaze across the menu, I settled upon the Southwestern Burger with a french fry side. It came out in a decent time, smokin’ hot (temp wise), well cooked and juicy! I enjoyed it very much. I doubt that there is anything on the menu that would disappoint!
The parking lot leaves a lot to be desired. There are only a few spots in the front and rear but additional parking is available in another lot behind the rear lot. There are also spots available next door at a recently closed establishment.
Most of the staff seemed pleasant. Had a nice conversation with Owner Mom and she was appreciative of how far I drove just to check the place out. Owner Son didn’t seem pleasant, as seen on TV, but he could have been overwhelmed at the time.
Good drink. Check. Good food. Check. Decent sized check. Check. Give them a try!