Cunningham’s Journal

Geez, almost becoming a regular here. Today, three of us in for lunch and again in the rear covered patio area. BB and I had same as yesterday, VS had a brisket sandwich. It was the lesser of our 3 plates, but still pretty good. I had a bite of the brisket. BB had a chicken salad thing and was beautiful and lots big chunks chicken and vegeez. Another excellent lunch experience here today.

Awesome burgers! Had the best time with our curly hair waitress! Great smile and very helpful.

Simply the best burger anywhere and I’ve been lots of wheres. Home grown ground chuck cooked right and infused with savory secrets so that its moist and tasty. Toppings to complement not to distract or detract from the mainforce – the burger itself.
The atmosphere is fabulous! It’s Cunningham’s The Journal, and it was an old newspaper office. The dark wood, the brass bar rails, and so many other details call to mind an earlier time, while the flat screen TV’s and variety of food offerings conjure up the present and all its glory.
Go. Eat. You won’t be sorry, and you will make Cunningham’s of Kearney a regular watering hole on your travels.

The atmosphere was very welcoming. The bartender was very friendly and prompt with service. I had the buffalo chicken wrap, the breading on the chicken was slightly mushy, but didn’t ruin anything. The flavor was good, the fries were good. Overall, a wonderful experience and I will certainly be back my next trip through/​to Kearney.

What can I say? This was mediocre at best.
Rootbeer was flat, fries came out cold and the burger had no flavor.

Food is delicious but most of the bartenders and wait staff make this place special. Known for their burgers. Yummy. We have been here 4 times so far in our 2 month stay so far and enjoy it every time. My boyfriends coworkers now go here every weekend per our suggestion for the food, staff, and great 80’s rock band. We have tried the scallop skewers wrapped in bacon.. Good but pricey for 2 at $ 10.99 (last time I got 3. weird). Comes with ugly presentation of grilled veggies that taste better than they look. We have tried the sirloin bites which were very good for 7.99 & a good amount. But most of our visits we get the same AWESOME burgers. Worthy of a Diners and Dives episode. Comes with a side iget onion straws which are phenomenal and he gets fries with our ¾ pound burger that neither of us can finish. I get the Juicy Jack stuffed with couple of cheeses and he creates his own with brisket and sausage on top. $ 10.99 each best value and items on the menu. Coworkers all have tried the steak and they all hated them. They are going to the large burger menu.

Awesome place. Fun atmosphere. Plenty of room upstairs. Great prices on food and drinks. Had a great time while visiting. Locals recommended the place.

I enjoyed a lunch here a few weeks ago. I still remember the Prairie Burger well… when you add brisket to a burger it can’t be bad!
The onion and jalapeño strips I had as a side were also tasty. Not too hot… but tons of flavor.
Service was very good on the dining side of the place.

This is great if you want a burger/​sandwich for sure. I’ve been here many times and the food is always great, the people are awesome and the beer selection is just right. Thanks for rocking so hard!

Bar is cool nice vibes. Ordered a burger medium. Got medium rare. Burger taste like it was cooked on a very greasy not so clean grills. Had better.

Good place to watch sports, there’s TVs everywhere. They also have some pool tables if you feel like getting competitive.
Also, the big beer is REALLY big. It’s actually served in a stein.
Ordered the nachos to start. They were pretty decent, not great, but I still ate them. The beef reminded me of a less tasty version of the beef they serve at Taco Bell. I’d probably give the nachos 3 stars.
For my meal, I ordered the Drunken Chicken. Also decent, but even less great than the nachos.
Service was perfect though, even though the food definitely was not. I’d give the service alone 5 stars.

Great burgers. Great staff. Had the mushroom Swiss yummy. Hubby ragin Cajun he lived it

Great bar food, cool atmosphere. Located in a historic building downtown, I am guessing the old newspaper office?
They are known for their stuffed burgers, ‘Juicy Lucy’ style, with the trend migrating down from Minnesota. I went with the juicy jack which is stuffed and topped with spicy cheese. The burger is made with cilantro and onions for a an extra kick. When it comes out wait a minute or two for it to cool or risk a hot cheese explosion squirting your face or ruining that new shirt.
A real highlight was the appetizer we had, ‘Journal Bites’ are marinated sirloin cubes you can stab with a toothpick. Came nicely seated on all sides and still red and full of flavor in middle. Came with a great horseradish based sauce. Get them.

Wednesday night in June. Great crowd having a great time at 7:30. Cold beer and good band.

Not worth the drive to pay a cover for my bachelor party and step out for a smoke with my bride to be and have them Deny us entry back bouncer was rude and des respectful to my bride and my party they lost out on hundreds of dollars and my future business.

Had to head to Kearney with some coworkers to visit a client for the day. Arrived early and needed to grab lunch, so pulled up Unilocal to see what was good. The app didn’t let us down as we decided on Cunninghams Journal. Located in a cool looking turn of the century building, this is a pretty cool bar and grill. The inside has the original hardwood floors and woodwork, exposed brick and tin ceiling, so it has that cool been there forever vibe going on. Burgers were the thing to get, so that is what most of the party ordered.
I ordered the Guinness Burger, which is a half pound burger marinated in Guinness, and infused with bacon, topped off with melted Swiss, and a side of their potato bites. I have to say it was a damn good burger. It came out a perfect medium rare, and was juicy and flavorful. The Potato Bites are like a breakfast potato, but finished in the fryer, and were a nice compliment to the meal. Others had the Juicy Lucy (comment: Lucy was the right amount of Juicy!), and another had the Buffalo Bill (comment: good, but needed more heat).
The locals already know this place, but if you are coming in from out of town, skip the fast food, and check this place out.

Wow! This place is great, but the locals already know that. I love the atmosphere and really felt comfortable there, even though I was dining alone one night. My server’s name was Javin and she did a great job. Very friendly and efficient with my drink and food orders and the check. We were commiserating about how cold it was outside and I warmed up immediately with a pint of Newcastle. I also started with the French Dip sliders and those were ridiculously good and disappeared in about 30 seconds. Then I tried the personal Hula pizza and enjoyed that as well. Fresh and crusty crust with lots of cheese, ham, and pineapple. The leftovers were delicious for breakfast as well.
Then I got to treat 2 coworkers to lunch the following day and Sam was our server. We started with some kind of cheesy chicken tortilla soup. That was amazing! I should have gotten a bowl of that instead of a cup, with some bread for dipping. Much needed on a cold day. I had the Guinness burger, which was my 2^nd choice from the previous night, and man that is a great burger. They cooked it a perfect medium and the flavor was outstanding.
My dining companions each had the French Dip sliders and the Bacon Burger sliders and shared an order of fried okra. There was not much talking, but a whole lot of eating going on. GREAT place in Kearney! Glad I checked out the reviews and tried it out.

Boooooo. No dogs allowed — even though the back patio is huge and there is no one on it.
Bathroom is gross.
Sorry we drove this far off the highway.

We were driving to Montana via Rt. 80 and checked for a place for lunch and this place came highly recommended.
Avoid the chain restaurants near the highway and drive five minutes north for a much better experience here.
Megan, our waitress, was fabulous and went out of her way to get my friend a birthday dessert — nonalcoholic Mudslide — with a match as a candle!!! And we sang!
Really good food and homemade pico de gallo salsa to die for. The ‘Mudslide’ was the perfect palate cleanser.
I had salmon with veggie & baked potato, my friend had quesadillas and both were delicious.
Pool tables, Kansas blasting from the speakers, and great vibes.

I’ve been here on several occasions and not one time have I been disappointed. This is –not– a brewpub. You’re not going to go in and find a super amazing list of beers that you can drink. Let’s be honest, it’s in the middle of Nebraska and the beer is standard grade lager. They DO have Coors on tap, though (not that weak Coors Light), REAL COORS, so that alone is worth the trip. The food, however, is very good. I had a delicious burger that was served exactly as I ordered it — medium. If you’re looking for a clean restaurant/​bar with great service, this is the place.
Keep up the good work, and if you could get that beer selection to be a little bit more adventurous, that would push the review up to a 5 star.