Old Bay Restaurantsimilar businesses >

732-246-3111
City's Best

61 Church St
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Escape to French-Creole country for lunch or dinner, and stick around. Old Bay morphs into an indoor Mardi Gras late evening, every evening. What almost feels like purified air brings a clean, breezy outdoor feel to the indoors, decorated with dimmed blue lighting and New Orleans posters and gargoyles. A spiraling iron staircase -- architecturally reminiscent of French-Quarter homes -- connects the multi-level bar and restaurant. Before the drinking begins, order the tongue-numbing seafood jambalaya (plenty for two), and be exotic with a side of Old Bay's famous "gator balls." (That's ground alligator for those concerned about the precarious name.) You can guzzle it all down with an admirable choice of 22 micro-brew and imports on tap, but leave the intoxication to their signature hurricane and the infamous "swamp water" (ingredients are undisclosed, so beware!). The place also offers a secluded outdoor beer garden adjacent to the bar with live blues and jazz. If you really feel like stumbling your way out the door, clear your calendar for drink specials on Sultry Sundays and Thirsty Thursdays.

Categories: Restaurants-Seafood, Restaurants

4 Ratings and Reviews

  • Old Bay is old faithful

    Review rating : 5out of 5   briankastow - 03/04/2007

    I've been living in the New Brunswick area for over 12 years now and Old Bay is one of the only places that has NEVER let me down. Great cocktail list, sure, but also 20+ draft beers on tap of all impressive microbrews. Food is great. Always consistent no matter what you order, and always full of flavor. I recommend to anyone looking for a fun place to dine with no worry of disappointment.

  • New and Improved

    Review rating : 5out of 5   rosinacmt - 02/23/2007

    I've been going to the Old Bay for years and the food was always good, but now they put some new stuff on the menu that's awesome! We got steamed clams and crawfish ravioli, really good. I also had some great Organic wine. Great food, great drinks, great people. You can't go wrong!

  • food is bad

    Review rating : 1out of 5   wrngler97 - 07/21/2004

    My fiance and I went there for my birthday dinner on 7/20 and we were greatly disappointed. The food was tasteless and bland, not very appetizing. I do have to say, the bar menu was good and the service was good as well, but the food was not. I highly advise that you go elsewhere for a meal, but check out their bar for evening drinks.

  • EH

    Review rating : 1out of 5   ahirtes - 04/23/2004

    This place is weird. They have a great atmosphere and location. The bar is a great place to go to hang out and their beer selection is impressive. However, both times that I've dined there, I was hardly impressed. I went there on Valentine's Day and the food was very less than average and ridiculously over-priced. i ordered crabcakes and they were all bread, barely any crab and they cost $23!!!! Plus, they were half the size of my hand. My mom makes better crabcakes than that. The only thing I liked was the banana's foster dessert and it's kind of hard to mess up that.
    Go for the drinks, skip the meal.

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