The Railhouse Bar

good local bar with an outdoor space and live music. friendly bartenders

I don’t know I don’t personally like this place… the service was SOOOO slow that I had no choice but to leave and honestly the prices aren’t great… the place looks nice inside but Rahway $ 11 cosmos is not my deal…

The food was great, the décor was awesome, unfortunately the service did not match the above. Waited an outrageous amount of time for our drinks as well as our food and check although the waitress was eager to take away our bread plates and when we got our appetizer, she couldn’t wait to take that plate away as well even before we finished. Not sure if I’d go back or not. The chef did a really good job with the food.

It’s a good place to grab a beer and a bite to eat after work. They accommodate special requests and have a nice outdoor space.

Great beer selection and bartenders know how to mix drinks too. Food is a highlight here because the chef is awesome. Live music. Bathroom line can be long but it’s a bar. Wings are a favorite, my son loves the burgers and my wife loves the portabella sandwich.

I was looking forward to trying out this restaurant (due to the good reviews), but I will never be coming back here again due to poor service. I grabbed just one drink and headed over to Cubanu.

Great burgers and a nice selection of cocktails and beers. The bartenders are friendly and quick. The Bar opens at 4pm and there’s a fancier restaurant next door. You can get both bar and restaurant menu at either place. I forget the name, but I usually get the burger with the brie cheese. Delicious! They also have daily specials. We usually go on Tuesdays where you can get a burger and a beer for 10 bucks.

Nice little place to grab a bite and drink before a show at the theater. Excellent selection of beers. Food menu is lite, but it is a bar so it was ok with me. The blt on a pretzel bun was good because the pretzel bun was soft. My guest had the lobster mac and cheese and did not like it or recommend it. It looked too dry. But everything else was good.

Been here a couple times now. It’s one of the spots I would like to throw a party at for my skate company… www​.can​dyshop​skateco​.com #supportyourlocal…ahem…
I like the setup, the food is dope, pretzel buns for the win, etc.
Service is nice, I don’t mind their tap options since I don’t drink beer much.
Only real negatives I got are… why is this place always so dead? Sometimes it’ll just be my table of friends in the bar. The bartender can even step out for like 15 minutes. I’ve seen it happen.
It’s just such a shame. Rahway is on the come up, decimating it’s neighboring towns, but damn… a bar right across from the train station is chirp chirp cricket swagger.
I don’t know if I should blame them or the residents of the city.
This place should be bumpin’!
If you’re looking to dance and sing, you might as well go to New Brunswick or 10^th St Live in Kennilworth on Thursday night.
You could get away with typing up your next screenplay here while enjoying an awesome meal and beverage.
I’ve seen it happen.

This is a great little local place to grab a drink or bite to eat after work. This is the little brother location of the «regular» Railhouse restaurant that is right next door where you can get most of the same food but in a much more relaxed atmosphere.
I think that they changed their chef out recently as there has been a dramatic improvement over the quality of food in the past year. I’m guessing that Unilocal will automatically attach my year old photo of the soggy flatbread to this review, but I believe that is from the old chef. I usually order the pepperoni flat bread here, love how the crust is nice and crispy with a bright tomato sauce, shaved Parmesan cheese in too, and fresh arugula.
Beer selection is always changing and usually has a good mix of local and seasonal drafts. Happy hour pricing is extremely reasonable at four bucks a pint, and even lasts until 8pm on weekdays.

It’s pretty empty most night but trivia on Wednesdays is a blast and hidden gem in the summers/​fall as it has a massive fire pit and outside bar hidden by buildings on ever side. very cool spot

Nikki is bartending tonight. Bomb buffalo chicken balls. Lobster mac & cheese is also great.
I’m surprised this place doesn’t get a bigger crowd.
Good selection of IPA’s. My new favorite is Resin from Six Point Brewery. Over 9% alcohol… sip and repeat.

Nope. I have given this place more than enough chances.
First time I walked out because the bartender was so confrontational when I just wanted a table.
Next two times I ordered at the bar. The bartenders (all female) just have some strange chip on their shoulder. I don’t know if they don’t like working there, but it sure seems it.
The food was always average, except they had steak fries, which are hard to find for some reason. They are always undercooked. I always asked for them well done. I never got them.
Last time I went, the steak fries were gone altogether.
The space is so great, I considered having my wedding reception here, until I decided there was no hope for the place. A woman contacted me to see if I was still interested. I told her no and that I decided to never go back to the restaurant again. I never even heard back from her whith a why. So the problems start with management.
There is a reason this place is empty when the Waiting Room around the block is packed.
To be clear, this place shares a backyard in the summer with the Railhouse 1449 next door. It seems to be the same owner. The experience at the more upscale, sit-​down restaurant is completely different and the waitstaff there is very courteous.

Eclectic little bar across from the rail station. Decent selection of beer and a courtyard where you can eat drink outside! Food was great had risotto rather than fries with my burger!

I thought I’d reviewed Rail House Bar before and was coming in to revise it. Whoops!
This place has so much that could push it to 4 or even 5 stars, but just enough that’s keeping me with the 3 mark.
Pros: ambiance created by exposed brick walls, vaulted ceilings and chalkboard menus. Very cool, but not pretentious.
Burgers — epic! Pretzel bun is delicious, they’re cooked perfectly, and the topping options are great in theory and execution. The fries are solid, but the cole slaw is something I’d go in and order a bowl of on its own. Maybe it’s the craisins with just a bit of mayo?
Beer list — phenomenal! Extensive selection on tap and in bottles. The bartenders know them well so can actually make recommendations.
Cons: on a week night it’s usually dead. To the point if you go on your own to grab dinner or a drink (I’m within walking distance and like to take advantage of it), you may be the only person there. Usually 2 – 3 people at one end of the bar, but trying not to be a creeper you end up alone on the other side.
Friday night live band. So live music is good and good live music is better. But making it so loud that your table of friends gives up on talking and leaves ASAP is no good. I thought when the waitress /​bartender apologized for the volume it would change — nope!
Still a spot I’ll return to, but here’s hoping it reaches a balance between dead and crazy at some point.

Rail house bar Friday nights has a rock crowd. I doesn’t hear a cover band playing old school hits but songs written by each band.
The place was packed, dim, lots of people mingling, beer and wine flowing from the bar. It does get LOUD here so be prepared to have to yell at your guest.
I think rail could do a better job at organizing the tables so that people aren’t in each other space. There were people backing into their neighbors because the tables are to close.

I have been here twice and have enjoyed the burgers as well as the beers. The burgers were served on Pretzel Buns and cooked to my liking, medium well. I will say the first time I was here in Sept of 2014 the fries were cold, second time was back in Nov of 2014 as I was heading into the city to see Billy Joel, I figured this is a perfect stop to have a few beers and a burger. The second time a much better experience than the first time. Burger was juicy and delicious and everything was hot and tasty. For a Tuesday night in a place that was fairly empty around 5 that’s a good thing.
Nice selection of craft beers and a very wide open space with a couple of TV’s. located right next to the Rahway Train stop it’s a really nice place to go to have a beer and a burger. And yes, the Groupon is worth the deal. Like getting the beers for free. I’ll be back for sure.

I love you again Rail House.
I had purchased a Groupon deal for 2 beers & burgers and so I stopped by again on a Friday night with my boyfriend. My last experience hadn’t been a great one but I really wanted to give this place another chance. And they came through.
I had heard a new chef was now there and I think that along with some different wait staff did the trick. The place was getting crowded for the evening as a band was setting up to play. Waitress came by and took our order. 2 burgers, both medium cooked and the 2 beers. Drinks were served right away and I was really happy the food did not take painfully long like it used to. It arrived timely and perfectly cooked.
Since I love this place I’ll be back again. Hope they keep it up.

Here’s one weird and off putting experience of recent:
(I give bartender $ 10. I receive $ 3 back.)
Me: how much was this beer?
Bartender: 7 bucks
Me: but the menu says 6
Bartender: there’s sales tax
Me: then it would be less than 7 dollars
Bartender: I don’t have change so I rounded up.
Me: that makes no sense… but I won’t argue.
I’ve ordered the short rib ravioli. I didn’t like it. Very dry fried wanton skin with an oddly bitter single note sauce. Looked nice but tasted bland.

We’ve been to the place next door, the Railhouse 1449, for brunch, so we were confused to see this place during the Rahway Bands and Brews outside event. We came here a week or 2 after realizing this place existed, and learned from the bartender that apparently they are the same place with 2 different addresses. They are also 2 different places on Unilocal.And I think I just realized where we’ve eaten brunch outside in the back (from the place next door), is where the patio with firepit is that people speak of in their reviews for this bar at night. Mind blown.
Anyways, we came in on a Wednesday or Thursday I think, and the place had just enough people– somewhere between being too dead and being too crowded. We found a spot at the bar and enjoyed the beer specials (both were summer style beers– one a wheat and the other a more citrusy beer) that were listed on the sign outside. Our bartender was friendly and recommended some things off the menu. She said it was updated recently. I ordered the pumpkin short rib ravioli, and they were incredible. Yum! My husband ordered the lobster mac and cheese which was equally delicious! We also shared a crab dip with pita bread, and that was good as well. The ambiance of this place was comfortable, slightly trendy, and relaxed. Live music was setting up as we were leaving, but we definitely plan to come back.