Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen

The food is excellent, and the staff is very friendly. Awesome servers and bartenders, I pop in at least once a week to catch up. They’ve done a good job of keeping the atmosphere more highbrow than the previous establishments in the same location.

I was eager to try this place. I came here in a group of six people, and after my experience I probably would not come back. I was pretty solidly disappointed.
The prices here are very steep, especially relative to the quality of the food. This place advertises its big beer selection, and it does have a lot of beers, especially on tap, but they’re all very pricey. Most of the microbrews are $ 6 – 7 and up. Newark isn’t a big city and I don’t understand what they’re thinking by charging these kinds of prices. Many of the same types of beers you can get here, either the same beers or similar ones from some of the same breweries, are at least $ 1 cheaper at other bars on main street. Even Stone Balloon, which is a much fancier atmosphere than this place, is cheaper. It also isn’t fitting in the spirit of the places that occupied this spot previously – East End Tavern and Mojo.
The restaurant week specials also were really steep. Restaurant week was what brought us in the door, but after seeing that it was $ 28 for what didn’t even seem like that much food off the menu, I was shaking my head. For $ 28 I could either eat twice at any number of other restaurants on main street, or I could eat 3 times at any number of the really cheap places. And there were minimal choices for the restaurant week options… so that was a bust.
I ordered off the regular menu and got the crab cake sandwich, and added sweet potato fries. I also tried some of the food other people ordered. We ordered fried pickles for the table.
Everything was just greasy bar food. There was nothing artisanal about it, no interesting spices, no interesting vegetables, no flair. My sandwich was served on a bland, white-​bread bun that was totally forgettable. The sweet potato fries were not as juicy as I wanted, they were like, kinda thin, waffle-​cut fries that seemed heavy on the grease because they had too much surface area. I would have preferred thicker-​cut, regular sweet potato fries so I could savor the juicy interior of the fries.
The crab cake was okay, it didn’t wow me but it had no objectionable qualities, it was just bland. It came with chipotle aioli, which I actively disliked, and left off.
People also ordered dessert. I tried some of someone’s chocolate cake. It was not exciting… the icing was too sweet and it wasn’t rich enough, too much sugar and not enough fat – not enough to justify the steep price.
Contrast with Deer Park, which just presents itself as a regular bar, has lower prices, and yet the food consistently delivers more of a culinary flair. Seriously, send the chefs over to friggin’ deer park. Why would I ever eat here or hang out here, when I could go there instead? Why would I pay a couple more dollars per everything, for lower quality?
This sounds harsh, but I would like to see this place do one of three things: (1) shave at least $ 1 off the price of all their beers, and probably $ 2 off the price of all the food… or (2) make the food truly artisanal to live up to the prices… or (3) go out of business /​close and let someone else take over this space so that we can have a restaurant/​bar here that is actually an asset to the community.

Updated:
The response I received from the restaurant after emailing them of our terrible experience. Very professional.
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«While you said that you won’t be back to our restaurant, I do hope that you are able to find a great experience at many of the other wonderful restaurants that Main Street has to offer.
Kind Regards,
Lee Mikles
Grain Craft Bar+Kitchen
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disappointing– Two visits and both were Meh.
Beer list is certainly not a Craft Beer Bar. Very little selection, and it doesn’t seem to be updated often.
Food is good, but some things came out cold and wrong.
Service really needs work, only saw our waitress twice. We ordered drinks at the Bar, ordered from a Manager and food was brought out by a runner.
Crowded, Loud & subpar– take a walk up the street and find much better.

Little disappointing after reading these killer reviews. Lucked into a barstool that was open and was promptly waited on. Ok beer list although they didn’t have my first choice on the menu.
Had shrimp and grits for dinner. It arrived about 3 minutes after ordering which being in the biz I know is a red flag (especially on a Saturday at 6:30). The shrimp were ok; more creole seasoning in the sauce than the shrimp themselves. The grits were crusty on top and extra thick on the bottom. We’re these microwaved or sitting in the window? Kind of nasty. The short time it took for the food to come tells me that the kitchen needs guidance on cooking to order not preparing EVERYTHING ahead of time.
May or may not be back; just an ok experience.

We finally made it to Grain! The food and service were great. I really like the beverage menu defining the Beer type. Casual and Upscale all wrapped into one place. Bravo!

Upon arriving to the restaurant I parked in the back lot which is a bit smaller than usual, but it was fine. My party and I were told the wait would be approximately 45 minutes. The establishment is not very large so we stood near the front entrance and a bathroom. We were offered enclosed seating where they had heaters to keep it warm, but it was still a little cold so we decided to wait. One of the cool things I liked is when checking in they ask for your cell number so you can receive a text when your table is ready. On to the menu: It was a seasonal menu, one page in length not too many choices, but enough of choices. We ordered the pretzel board with dipping sauces as an appetizer. It was delicious! For dinner I order the Asian flavored traditional wings, Chicken and Brisket Street Tacos and a side of parm truffle fries. I was not crazy about the flavor of the wings they were basic (would not order the Asian flavor again), the tacos were pretty good and my fries initially came out as half a basket like they were bottom of the barrel. I informed our waitress and she quickly got me a new full order of fries. One of my girlfriends had the cheesesteak and the other had a burger they said they were really good. The atmosphere of the restaurant was cool, a mixture of folks in their 20s ranging to their 50s I would say. The bar area is very nice and is line with flat screen tvs. They also had a live acoustic band at the restaurant playing some known songs, but they were great! This is definitely a restaurant that I would return to with my friends.

New favorite place in Newark! The best ambience on main street that provides incredible food and beer. I would highly recommend getting the pretzel and sitting at the communal table. I was here playing cards against humanity which is apparently a every Monday night affair and it’s brilliant! 5 stars

I really really wanted Newark to have a good, happening bar. Well it’s happening, but it sure isn’t good. Basically everything they provided was either mediocre or just plain bad.
First off, we had to wait 10 minutes to even see ANYONE. When someone finally came, he just gave us all waters, and then we had to wait another 5 minutes to order our actual drinks.
Sensing that we might not see our waiter again for another 20 minutes if we did not order our meals right away with our drinks, we told our waiter we were ready to order.
Then the food came. And it was BAD.
I got the nachos– which are pretty hard to mess up– but hey– they did it. No melted cheese– just a queso that was spread on it. And the actual nachos were bland. My brother got the wings. I don’t know what sauce they put on it– but it wasn’t buffalo. And they only gave you 8 wings!
Very, very big disappointment. I doubt that I’ll ever be back.

I had high expectations for Grain, and unfortunately they didn’t measure up. First and foremost I ordered takeout, the young lady I spoke with on the phone was super sweet and patient while answering all of my questions. Since it was late I didn’t want to get anything too heavy so I opted for the fancy grilled cheese with a side of sweet potato fries. I asked if there were any special aiolis or sauces for the sweet potato fries and the young lady informed they serve them with caramel. It sounded pretty good and I was really excited to try the pairing. Well the grilled cheese itself, which is made with Asiago, cheddar, tomato, bacon and pear on toasted sourdough tasted EXACTLY like a Friendly’s super melt. I couldn’t taste the pear or Asiago at all which was pretty disappointing. However the sweet potato fries were the bigger let down. If McDonald’s served sweet potato fries this would be what they would taste like. They were cut thinner than the sweet potato fries I’m used to but were also very dry and lacking in flavor, bc the fries were so bland the caramel sauce did absolutely nothing for the taste. The savior and the reason for the third star is the chocolate cake. Not only is it huge (the size of a dinner plate) but it’s delicious. It may have been the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. There was no need for the whipped cream or chocolate sauce they serve with it. It was perfect by itself! It was moist, and to my surprise (and delight) had white chocolate chips mixed into the icing. I know the restaurant is fairly new so I’m sure they’ll develop the menu and make needed changes along the way. All in all the staff are friendly and the atmosphere is nice so I wouldn’t mind going back, with a few tweaks to the menu they’ll be A-​ok.

I went here last night with my family. We ordered drinks and dessert. The dessert nachos were very good. The bar service was extremely slow we received our dessert before we got our drinks. My boyfriend and I ordered a pitcher of the «Apple cinnamon sangria» on the menu it is described as Apple cider and Jack fire whiskey. The pitcher came out as a regular red sangria. No Apple flavor and no Jack fire cinnamon flavor at all to the beverage. The waitress proceeded to tell us that it is the only sangria that they have and we had to pay for it although we didn’t drink it. We then spoke w the manager who told us that sangria is a wine and that we need to speak with the bartender in regards to our drink. The pumpkin spice martini was ok. The caramel Apple martini was good. As a server of 10 years I do not recommend this place based on service and manager experience.

All of Newark owes Grain a hand written thank you letter. First of all, the décor needs to have it’s own board on Pinterest. I joined my friends for trivia, drinks and food. We tried the pretzel, nachos, wings, and a piece of cake that surely looked like an ENTIRE cake. Holy #%@& this piece of cake deserves it’s own review. Seriously, death row last meal type stuff right here. So much yum and worth all 2,433 calories.
The pretzel was excellent alone but Grain is all like «hey guys lets take it to the next level and serve this ish with crab dip, cheese dip, and stone ground mustard.» Whoa! The wings were delicious as well. Fried Pickles can either be spectacular or meh. The panko breading is perfect and the pickle slices maintained crispness. I highly recommend these, just don’t share with anyone, okay? The housemade veggie burger was tasty (fresh onion bun) and we added the $ 2 the parm-​truffle fries. Death row menu addition ASAP. The nachos were good, but weren’t as captivating as the other items we tried.
Service was great. Our waitress was attentive, friendly and gave solid recomendations. I shall return, as my first experience was great and the menu is full of promise!
Remember…if you’re ever in that unfortunate scenario of dead man walking… truffle fries and cake cake cake.

I’ve been a couple of times so far — if you stick to fries or pretzels you’ll be fine. Great selection of beers, okay prices.
I don’t know what they’re doing with the rest of their food though. Their hummus is so bland and has an awful texture. Their OMG nachos are a disgrace — more fake cheese than real, and their guacamole had cinnamon in it???
This place has been such a disappointment.

My review is mixed. My wife and I ran out for a quick casual meal. We arrived at 6:20 Saturday night. The place was full and we were advised a 45 minute wait.
We grabbed a beer at the bar since it is a craft beer place. Our two beers were $ 15.50 before tip!!! That’s crazy. They were top notch beers, but were also served in the smaller sniffer glasses. 8oz? Most places serve small beers OR charge higher prices. This is robbery.
The wait ended up being 15 min. So that’s cool.
We had a good dinner. My wife had the black bean burger and I had the turkey burger. Both had some yummy spices and unique flavor.
We probably won’t be back due to high beer prices.

Sat at the bar on a Sunday afternoon. The owner happily switched channels to the football game we wanted to see and was super friendly.
Our bartender was quick to refill drinks and even offered us free samples of their house sangria (which is awesome btw.) Nice rotating craft beer selection.
Fried pickle appetizer was crispy and delicious. For lunch I had their Caesar salad with grilled chicken– it was fresh and filling with homemade croutons. GF had the chicken soft tacos and would recommend for the fluffy tortillas alone.
Overall– great service, reasonable prices, and good food/​drinks.

My comment/​complaint only regards the beer. Please don’t call yourself a «Craft Bar» when 33% of your taps are occupied by Bud, Coors and that ilk. I understand there are people that order that stuff but keep it in bottles and keep your precious 12 taps (which is honestly quite a low number) flowing true craft beer.
You’ll find me at Two Stones :)

Went for a beer and a quick appetizer on ⁸⁄₅ where we sat right at the bar. The quick stop to check out the new place in town took a bit longer than we had hoped.
The beer guide was a nice touch, but it was disappointing to find that they were out of both of the beers we selected. After our drinks returned we ordered the beef sliders. We ended up waiting about 40 minutes for this order. The patrons to the left and right of us at the bar had a similar experience of waiting a little too long for something that is usually a faster turn around.
We were close to just canceling our food order and moving on to get a bite, but we continued to wait.
The sliders were good, but probably tasted much better than they actually were because of our long wait. The bartender was nice enough to apologize for the delay. I wouldn’t go there expecting a quick meal. Hopefully they are working on making their dining services more efficient because the food itself was good.

I wanted to like this place a lot more than I did, unfortunately.
Outdoor atmosphere is very cool. It’s nice being on Main Street, open air, etc. Plus, once the live music starts inside gets unbearably loud. Indoors looks so much better and brighter than when this place was Mojo Main. Amazing what they did with the place that’s for sure!
For a place that claims to be a «craft bar,» the beer list was underwhelming. They didn’t even have what I had wanted on draft. Need more taps and less of them taken up by things like Blue Moon and Bud Light.
Our appetizer… the crab jumbo pretzel came out with our dinner orders, which was disappointing. It was, however, yummy and ENORMOUS, as promised. My regular food — I got the cheesesteak, was just OK. It was lukewarm at best. Boyfriend got the pork sliders, he said they were good. The truffle fries tasted good going down. Didn’t make me feel so good later though.
Service was kind awkward. We felt rushed at times and at other times forgotten.
I hope, as others have said, it’s that they’re new and trying to find their rhythm. But I won’t probably back unless it’s more than to grab a beer if I’m in the neighborhood. Would not go out of my way to go here.

I have one word for my experience at Grain today: underwhelming. They’ve done a great job building up the hype for this place, but they’re having trouble living up to it. For one thing, they have «craft» in their name, but they only have 12 taps, and four of them were occupied by mass market beers (Bud Light, Yuengling, Blue Moon, and Guinness). The other 8 taps were craft beers, but I was expecting a lot more selection. There are lots of bottles and cans, but I don’t go to a craft bar for bottles and cans. There are several better draft lists in downtown.
Then there’s the menu. For starters, a restaurant that claims to focus on local food should have great vegetarian options. The menu has no vegetarian entrees, and only two vegetarian sandwiches – the same old black bean burger and roasted vegetable sandwich that can be found at any average pub. Quite a disappointment. Yet again in Newark, vegetarian customers (and even non-​vegetarians wanting meat-​free options) are an afterthought, or worse.
Seeing that there were no interesting meal options for vegetarians, my husband and I opted for appetizers instead. There were, again, disappointingly few vegetarian options. (Flatbread? It’s got bacon. Pretzels? Those have crab.) We ended up ordering the veggie sampler and mozzarella ciabatta. The veggie sampler was essentially a crudite platter – fine, but boring (and note that the eggplant is fried, but the mushrooms and asparagus are not). The mozzarella ciabatta was a grilled cheese sandwich, minus the grilling – just melted cheese between two halves of a ciabatta roll. And unless there’s a new orange-​colored variety of mozzarella, there was some kind of cheese in mine other than mozzarella. The dipping sauce was fine, but overall, one-​note and boring.
Grain has their branding right. But their motto – creative food for regular people – has it wrong. This food was, at best, regular. «Creative» is certainly not the word I’d use for their vegetarian offerings, and the beer list was nothing to write home about. I had been looking forward to trying Grain for months, and after all that build up, this visit was disappointing to say the least. I hold out some hope that things will improve in the coming months, but there’s a lot of work to be done here to make this restaurant stand out with places like Taverna and Iron Hill right in downtown. (And that’s where we went after our drinks and appetizers at Grain.)

This is the their first week so we expected some issues. Opening week was actually pretty good. Food is tasty. We had: Grain burger on the onion and poppyseed roll and Caesar salad with Smith Island crab cake. Good selection of beer and wine, with a creative chart identifying beer bitter/​malty/​sweet tendencies. It’s a little noisy but that’s what you would expect. Nice addition to the Newark area.
Service was great! We are hoping to catch some live music in the future. We will be back.

Opening Night was a blast! The entertainment was phenominal! Service was also exceptionally good during even the busiest moments.