The Dillinger Room

I would recommend the Dillinger room for cocktails, but not necessarily for dinner or food. it’s a nice spot with a cool wooden bar and interior. the menu is fun, but in the end we decided the food itself was underwhelming. our waitress was really nice and we did like the service.
recommend — baked gnocchi, cocktails
disappointing — scallop blt
gnocci — this was the first appetizer and turned out to be the best. it was super silky, smooth, and light with a delicious creamy sauce.
scallop blt — was the dish I was most excited about, but it did not work so well in execution. the scallop was split in half (slider style) with pork belly and a sundried tomato in between and a foam on top, but unfortunately the scallop was overcooked with a hard top and rubbery inside, the pork belly was dry, and the foam was just a little too weird.
tuna nicoise sammiche — good but not great. the tuna was really good tasting but a little too heavily seared, it was a little tough cut the crostini into pieces, and I wasn’t sure what to do with the potatoes. also I think we were missing our eggs!
charcuterie — I really liked the pickled vegetables, and was surprised with how much meat we were given

I like this place sooooo much better than Clydz! They have a great wine list, inventive and exceptionally executed dishes, and awesome service. I am proud to say I’ve been a regular since Dillinger Room opened.
Everything here is fantastic and the atmosphere is just what I like. It’s the only bar in the area where you can find high quality food at reasonable prices, house made items, extremely creative cocktails, and not have to deal with the just-​turned-​21 rambunctious college crowd.
They are doing everything right. I’m happy that there is now a high end spot like this on George street! What a treat. I want to try everything!

I didn’t know this posted. These guys are great. They are relatively new and maybe there are some things they could work on. However, they work hard and make fantastic drinks. They make up with whatever short comings by looking to correct the situation and make eating and drinking a pleasure.

My new favorite spot in New Brunswick! Local NJ beers and great drinking food. Also great happy hour prices! The jerky is a must! I tried almost everything on the menu, cornbread and chili, Siracha honey wings, pickles and meatballs. It also has open space to socialize or tables to sit down with a group. Has a cute speakeasy vibe. Went another time for a friends birthday where she got to select her cocktails. Enjoyed the pineapple Moscow mule which is not on their current menu. Their menu does change up a bit based on what’s in season. This will definitely be my new NB go to happy hour spot. Somewhat like Clydz but more affordable.

The Dillinger room is going for a speakeasy type vibe that is respectable for New Brunswick because there isn’t anything too similar to it here. Unfortunately I think the décor could have used a little more effort to really make you feel immersed in a prohibition era; the only thing that made it seem that way was the entrance door. The drinks here a decent and the food isn’t too shabby either. If you’d like to just get a taste of the food here without paying full price just drop by for happy hour.

I was here a couple weeks ago and the atmosphere is amazing. Friendly staff and good drinks. Makes for a great date spot. I did not try any of the food but friends I was with seemed to enjoy it.

The following review is for drink and atmosphere only!
Came here after an awesome dinner at due mari, right down the street from TDR. I was so excited to get nite caps before heading home.
The place looks new, you can still smell the fresh paint. I’m having a hardtime understanding the identity of this place. It has the potential of a bar feel, college hang out bar feel, cocktail bar feel. I get that it’s probably targeting college students who’s looking to get drunk.
I was so disappointed with this place, when you advertise your business as cocktail bar, you probably would want to amp up the mixology department. I ordered a classic cocktail, Manhattan. When I smelled it, all you can smell was the bitters. It was not balanced to the point where it’s not drinkable.
The other drink was grape depression which was just okay, nothing impressive and memorable. It’s drinkable!
I have high hopes that the ownee will correct the problem and will restore the image that you portrayed in the pictures. A classy cocktail bar with mixologist not wearing jersey during service!

The waitress was awesome. But the wings were not fresh. Drink was just a big block of ice. Nice atmosphere tough. Will not recommended it if u r really hungry. :(

wings! new lobter mac and cheese was yummy too. for winter menus everything 15% off for happy hour. trust me you’ll thank me on this!

great location and perfect for bar hopping. It’s kind of hard to spot as the outside is dark wood but it goes along with the theme of the place.
The grape depression drink is delicious and comes with three grapes in the drink. One concept I love is that they give you a water glass plus a mason jar of water for the table, but I also had someone (the owner or bartender?) come and refill our glasses. This place is definitely worth a stop in. I wonder what the food is like…

I had a college friend recommend this place to me and I decided to check it out with some of my college amigos.
Went on a Tuesday night. Wasn’t too busy. Dimmed lights and mellow vibe.
I don’t ever see myself coming back because I had more complaints than compliments.
This cool pineapple drink is made and served in a pineapple cup but they put a $ 100 on your card. (Luckily, the bartender didn’t do that in our case because it was a slow night and he trusted us).
The calamari sucked. It had absolutely no flavor and was pretty hard to chew. Had to ask for hot sauce to give it some flavor.
At one point the bartender was ignoring us.
This place is very pricey.

Loved this place. Stopped in for drinks and ended up ordering some food. Food was alright. Better than average and definitely not just your run of the mill fried bar food. I had the turkey sandwich and chicken drumsticks. Both were pretty good.
Drinks were fantastic. If you like whiskey and/​or mixed drinks, you’ll enjoy this place. It’s definitely pricier than most places in the area (i.e. It’s Clydez pricing) but the ambience is real cool and the bar tenders know what they’re doing.
I’ll be back!

So I ended up here on repeal day which occurs on December 4^th every year, the day we repealed prohibition. So what was so awesome was that all the workers were dressed like they were from the 40’s. Plus they had special drinks for $ 7. Let’s say the next day did not go to well for me. The bees knees was delicious! The only disappointment was the lack of high end vodkas which is pretty much the only thing my liver can tolerate. I would go back for the atmosphere but not so much for the drinks since everything is either made with gin, whisky, or bourbon. The place had a nice mixture of people from all different age groups. Atmosphere felts like clydz and a biergarten since they had picnic tables indoors.

Love the drinks! Great place if you want a drink.
The food is tasty. Beware that many items have weird texture crusts on them. The food is fresh and good quality. But I think the chicken drum crust and refried Taylor ham sandwich is too much. The batter on the jalapeño poppers is not crisp and the center was Luke warm.
Be overall if your in the area, I would recommend that you stop on in and have the berry cobbler drink… delicious…

Very rarely give 5 stars but this place deserves it!
I saw a brunch sign on my way back from State Theater on a Saturday so I decided to try this place for Sunday brunch. The menu was fixed price for $ 22 which included a two alcoholic drinks, choice of entrée, and breakfast potatoes. Everything can be ordered a la carte as well.
My fiancé and I ordered the Irish coffee (strong!) Mimosa and Paloma. Excellent and well prepared.
For entrée we ordered the Crab cake Benedict and the chicken and waffles… believe me we finished every bite. Normally I can be pretty critical of food and service but this was an amazing dining experience for both food and service. If I were to give constructive feedback it would be that the eggs Benedict needed a tiny garnish. like an orange slice or greenery. But it didn’t take away from the actual taste –which is what matters!
The manager even stopped by. His name is Mike and told us about how he was born and raised in New Brunswick and is really invested in the area. Just friendly and welcoming… very down to earth type guy. I appreciated him checking in. He even told me it was their first brunch and I had no idea. Everything went very smooth. He even brought the chef over to say hello.
What a great experience. Im asking some of my co-​workers to come out with us next Sunday so I can try their steak and eggs… and maybe even the bloody mary since I haven’t tried that one yet!
I forgot to add they squeeze their orange juice fresh at the bar! You can watch the bartender prepare fresh OJ for every drink. How cool! You just can’t beat it.
Highly recommended!!!

I must give a five star review for this place. First of all, it’s a beautiful restaurant with a warm and inviting atmosphere. The staff is beyond amazing, they take so much pride in creating the best drinks ever. We had 3 drinks here, the vagabond, the cat’s pajamas and a new apple cider drink, all three were amazing. The bartender tasted each drink to make sure it was perfect and they were. We came to have drinks and a snack. We had lolli-​penos and they were amazing. Please make sure to check this spot out. They are still new, but they are fantastic.

*updated review*
We had a bad first experience here but the follow up from the owners was great. Communication was what got us back in here and we were SO glad we gave it another chance! The food is really good (fries, octopus, sliders, soup, fried chicken) and the drinks, although sweet, were delicious. All of the presentation was on point… each one special. Definitely lived up to our original expectations. Can’t wait to come back and try their new brunch. Great addition to New Brunswick.

Came here for drinks and apps on Saturday night with friends. I have been excited to try this place because New Brunswick is in need of more watering holes like this. Sat at the bar. We were there for four hours and the bartender was attentive all night. I’m not a bourbon fan, so I was a little nervous about finding a cocktail I’d like, considering this is a bourbon bar. They do have several gin and vodka drinks on the menu. I took a sip of my friend’s bourbon drink and I actually enjoyed it which has never happened before! So that was impressive. Overall, the drinks are good, but on the expensive side at $ 12 a pop. Doesn’t live up to Clydz around the corner, where you can get really good craft martinis with a full shaker, so essentially, 2 drinks, and for only $ 11. I tried the ribs and the chicken. The ribs were the biggest I’ve ever seen and really tender. My girlfriend has been raving about them so I was excited to try them. I thought the tenderness was great but could use a little more flavor. The star of the night was the fried chicken. The batter was so good and the buttermilk sauce it comes with — WOW! Still thinking about and want to go back soon for more. Will definitely be back.

Eh. I was so excited about this new place opening up in New Brunswick, and the good raves about it so far. However, I was disappointed.
The drinks were overpriced and too sweet in my opinion, ($ 15 for the pineapple drink that was like all ice and overly sweet. Plus, they actually have to hold your credit card since the cup is expensive and people steal it?! Then, they take away the lid right away as soon as they give it to you lol.)
The food was conceptually good, but not executed greatly. The lolli-​penos were such a great concept and the flavors were there, but just ended up WAY TOO GREASY. The wings were nothing special, and their menu doesn’t have too many options other than appetizers.
I really wish everything turned out better than it did, because the concept of everything here was good and unique. It just didn’t end up quite right.
Oh and 2 more things. I asked for hot sauce in the beginning, but never got it. Also, when my friend told the waitress that her drink was too sweet, the waitress responded and said that maybe her taste buds were off or something like that. WTF?!

I’m really breaking the rules here by dropping a fiver on a place that’s only been open for one week, and all I’ve tried so far are the drinks. But I’m compelled to quickly get these guys on the radar, because the opening of the Dillinger Room could be a real turning point for downtown New Brunswick.
Downtown New Brunswick has been in a process of revitalization (aka gentrification) for at least three, maybe four decades now. It’s been a very slow but steady process that’s brought a new hotel, some very good restaurants, and access to all sorts of entertainment over the years. Anchor establishments like Stage Left, Catherine Lombardi, and Frog & the Peach have long been serving up high-​end fare and expertly-​made cocktails to a relatively sparse audience who appreciate (and can afford) such nice things.
But recently, there’s been an influx of a more hipster crowd. As a former resident of Williamsburg, Brooklyn during its Hipster Renaissance, I came to despise hipsters. However, I am now realizing that when hipsters start moving into a town, the restaurant and cocktail lounge game goes up big time. INC Restaurant is another example of this phenomena in action.
There’s something special about the Dillinger Room, however. The second I entered the building, I felt like I had been transported back to my beloved Brooklyn. It’s certainly not packed with a hipster crowd, though there are enough of them strategically placed both on the floor and behind the bar to remind you that they have something to do with this.
The cocktails are absolutely amazing and perfectly executed. It’s a mix of the classics and a series of seasonal cocktails, one sounding more delicious than the next. Our bartender was Carlos, who looked all of about 15. Don’t be fooled by these boyish looks, however. This man is a master mixologist; a consummate professional who crafted my wife and I up a series of awesome drinks that had us in the bag in no time. The Dillinger Room has a great variant of the Manhattan, made with Rye and a sweet vermouth I had never tried before. I’ve always said it’s the vermouth that makes the Manhattan, and this one was phenomenal. (And yes, it was stirred. Of course it was.)
The best cocktail of the night for me, however, was the Eliot Ness. I think I’m one of only about 100 people on the planet who loves Fernet Branca, and this drink sees it mixed with ginger syrup, lemon, and egg whites. A total pain-​in-​the-​ass to make, and Carlos executed it perfectly with a smile. My wife’s favorite cocktail was a Ginger Mule, made with Tito’s, and garnished with a freshly toasted sprig of rosemary. Yeah, for real. This place is not kidding around.
Perhaps the coolest thing about the Dillinger Room is that they are part of a growing trend of fancy cocktail bars that are resisting the urge to charge $ 15 or more per drink. Most drinks here cost $ 10. A few more fancy drinks hit the $ 12 mark. Considering how packed this place was during its first week being open, they could easily be fleecing their patrons for more money. I think it’s great that they are working at a price point that packs so much value for the money.
Next time I go, I’ll be trying the food. It’s a small and simple comfort food menu, which is another sign that these guys know what they’re doing. I spied several dishes being enjoyed by those around us, and everything looked delicious.
Wishing these guys lots of luck! If this is a sign of Brooklyn nudging its way into New Brunswick, then the future is looking brighter than ever for us food and drink lovers stuck out here in the ‘burbs!