Johnny’s Tavern

Love this place! Best pizza in Lawrence and my sons favorite pizza. We’ve been to several locations, but this one is our favorite. The best place to catch a game, beer, and pizza.

I like this Johnny’s a lot for it’s character and off the path location. At the end of the day though, you’re getting bar food in an alright setting and it’s nothing to really write home about.
There have been highs and lows at this bar — From KU advancing through the tourney to KU heartbreaks, and Royals and Chiefs games as well. Occasionally it’s been with about 120 other sports fans, but most recently there were only about 15 people in here. The quiet vibe had this spot not feeling quite as fun as usual.
We did an after wedding Chiefs watch party here and the staff was pretty accommodating. A group of bikers came in and snatched up our tables and our waitress was pretty quick to give them the boot. She did disappear for loooong stretches at at time, but overall was pretty good.
The gravel lot in the back and the patio are great for an almost tailgate feel outside of a bar, and I’ll be sure to come back when it’s a tad busier than it has been my last few times. Maybe people don’t think to cross the bridge to come over to Johnny’s, but it’s a nice change of pace.

So service here compared to Johnny’s west is nothing alike. This location should spend time training west how to treat customers (we spend the money, incase you forgot).
Sat at bar, was immediately taken care of. Bartender was caring and aware of my needs. Timing for food was good, excellent pizza! Have to love the Free State Blue Collar Lager that you can only get at Jonny’s.
Definitely worth a visit!

Johnny’s. A Lawrence legend where in the past people collected two different bumper stickers they offered: «I closed down Johnny’s,» and «I opened Johnny’s.» If memory serves me correctly I believe the stickers had the time of day on them and they were either close, or identical. Yea, that kind of place.
Part restaurant, part two-​fisted drinking establishment, part hangout, part band venue, part sports venue, part family get together, mostly legendary, that’s Johnny’s.
The food is always pretty solid, the beer always cold, and by damned if anyone in their right mind would give it five stars. No sir, this is not one of those places and if you’re looking for five stars go elsewhere. The people hanging out here will have none of that. Perfection is not something sought by their patrons, and that’s just the way it should be. Come in your dirty overalls or your suit, it doesn’t matter.
Oh, and they offer a Free State Beer that you can’t get at Free State and it’s pretty darn fine. If you want to visit a Lawrence original and a joint that’s legendary in status, forget the Johnny’s knock-​offs in Kansas City or other parts of Lawrence. This is the real deal here, and you can’t move it elsewhere.

During the week is best to go for a meal. The place needs a deep clean. Bathrooms are gross also needs cleaning. Food is not the same as the Johnny’s West (which is way cleaner). The waitress only came by once to ask for refills or anything else that we may have needed. You have to ask for napkins since they don’t leave any on the table.

Food is decent, however the waitress was so damn close to my face when talking I could have kissed her, she took my cash for my meal and kept the change. I had to ask for it back and then didn’t tip. You DONT TAKE TIPS. I probably won’t return based on the Monday night waitress

Pizza is great! Will return! Staff is fast n friendly. Love it when locals tell you where to eat. If I lived here it would be hard not to find me here. Live band about to start.

Great place. We have our St. Pats meetings there and the staff is always excellent and friendly. There do a lot for charities in the community. They will always have my business.

This place was good, but not great. The owner/​manager was walking around checking on all the tables which was nice. The fried pickles were not the best I’ve had, but the burger was a good size and had good taste. I did not leave hungry.

This place has plenty of room for a group get-​together. The food is decent bar food as well.
The pizza here has excellent thin crust… done in the style of NYC pizza. Big slices you fold and eat.
Burger and fries aren’t too bad either.
The also have a Johnny’s Blue Collar Lager made by Freestate. You can only get it here.
Service is okay unless they get really crowded. Then it gets a little sketchy.

Last time we order food from Johnny’s on 6^th St. Just now ordered a large pie, extra cheese, jalps, cream cheese, and pepperoni. We were told thirty minutes for pick up, boyfriend called me on the way how telling me to turn on the oven. The pizza was cold! At $ 23 dollars + tip ($ 2 extra for each topping) we should at least get a hot pizza. This happens every time I order from Johnny’s. Usually get a wedge salad with it but I quit ordering the wedge because the lettuce was always old and the toppings were lacking. This was the last time we order from there. Morningstars will get our business for now on.

Johnny’s is a Lawrence Original; even if it has spread to the Metro area, this original location has tons of personality, due to the decades of people who have visited. The charm of this place is that it a little dive-​y, but you know that you are going to get great brick-​oven pizza (or burgers) and cold beer. Part biker bar, part college bar, always fun.
This is a good place to watch KU sports… plenty of TVs in the main room, including a very large screen on one wall and one on the patio, when the weather is nice. Keep in mind that they do not honor the happy hour or daily specials on game days. Other days, they do have a nice happy hour and Cajun nights several Wednesdays a month, with live music.
They usually have a few microbrews, as well as domestics on tap. Recently, they teamed up with Free State to make a Blue Collar Lager that is pretty tasty.
The service is just ok, a little lax at times, but if you are there to watch a game or hang out with friends, then this just gives you more time together. The pizza is the true star here… super think crust, with generous toppings, cooked in their brick oven so it is toasty on the bottom. Flying solo? Don’t worry, you can get it by the slice (even the specialty pies). Try the buffalo chicken… perfect amount of spicy suace and blue cheese.

I moved to Lawrence about a year ago and ever since I discovered the pizza here, I haven’t bought it anywhere else! Great price, great taste, thin crust, I LOVE their pizza! The only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because sometimes the service is a little slow.

This is a great place to watch a KU game and has a decent atmosphere, but the service is so-​so and the food is your typical bar and grill style food. The burgers are halfway decent but the prices and variety are not that great.

I like Johnny’s Tavern. It is great for large groups, but can be pretty noisy. Standard pub fare, though the pizzas are what you should come for! The barbeque chicken pizza is really good!
I came here once while they were having a crawfish boil special. They were dry and disgusting! I know that Lawrence isn’t the place for crawfish (like say Louisiana — YUM!!!), so I can’t knock them toooo much, but still, they were pretty bad.
If you come here, come here for the pizza and beer.

Johnny’s (all of them) are regular haunts for us. The one in Lawrence especially is an institution. On this particular occasion the Hubs & I were out for a motorcycle ride with a friend and stopped in. We were greeted warmly by the owner (also an institution!) and seated. He took our drink orders and went in search of sweetener for my friend’s tea but apparently got distracted because he never made it back.
A server popped by and took an app order and brought the requested sweetener. Still another server took our entrée order and the remainer of our service was with her. She was very sweet but a little forgettful (a couple of items had to be requested twice).
The food is predictably good although the Lawrence Johnny’s doesn’t serve the fish & chips with the hush puppies the other locations do (disappointing!). The service is a little uneven but it’s so friendly and the food is so good you tend to overlook it

The local Lawrence writers have become something of regulars at Johnny’s (and Johnny’s West), and while I have nothing against either of these places I can’t rave about them either.
The burgers and other menu items are typical bar fare. It’s good, possibly better than average. But nothing about the food stands out. The Popper Burger (with Jalapeño chipotle cream) is probably the best burger on their menu.
As a hangout, it’s pretty good but can get a little too loud for conversation (especially on the weekends). If you’re looking for a place to hang out with friends, though, you can do far worse.

We’ve been to Johnny’s a couple of times, both on the weekend for a late lunch. Neither time was there a huge crowd, and our waitress was attentive and friendly.
Johnny’s pizzas are large and have a thin crust with fold-​able slices. We ordered the Bambino pizza both times. The Bambino is basically a supreme pizza with a meat topping of your choice. The toppings were fresh, and there was a nice sprinkling of Italian seasoning on top that accented the flavor well. The veggies still had a bit of a crunch, which was nice. Their pizzas are easily enough for 2 – 4 people, depending on their appetite.
Johnny’s usually has some sort of drink special. The only drink I’ve had there, other than beer, was a bloody mary, which was pretty basic.
I’d love to try some of Johnny’s other food offerings, as their menu has some interesting apps and sandwiches. It will be hard, though, with the yummy pizza being an option!

North
Lawrence
Embodied.
A bit gruff with
Good bar food and is within the flood plain.

Oh Johnny’s…
From dinners to parties to just hanging out, Johnny’s delivers on all fronts. I spent countless hours there during college and can’t even guess how many of their delicious burgers I’ve demolished. Or beers. Or appetizers.
When I think about restaurants that are emblematic of Lawrence, Johnny’s is unquestionably top 3.
Freshmen: you want to eat here. And drink their beer. Trust me.