JW's PUB — Restaurant in Coventry

(This is the most fun review I have ever written and I have not even gone to Karaoke night yet.)

This 5-star rating is largely due to the very crave-able food that the owner, Jason Wu, serves! I found his posts on a Facebook neighborhood group and made plans to go. Glad I did. This is a dive-y, low brow spot high on good food, good drinks, and friendly peeps.

Amazing combinations. Jason so expertly "fuses" the best of Asian dishes together and comes up with items that other places would only dream of but not dare serve. This is not for the rigid when it comes to trying new things--especially with Asian food. Okay, let's talk scallion pizza crust pizza...am I right? You start not with the usual crust but with the complete food item that is scallion pancake, then top it with steak in sticky sauce and loads of melted cheese. This can go either way--really awful or really good. From a novice, it can be terrible. But here? Goodness, Y-U-M. I also had the wonton udon soup--their wonton is tender and meaty-delicious. I added fish tofu because I can. The Yakitori plate is a good gateway to the yummy Japanese skewered food. The sauce was not too sweet and I liked it. Several times, I regretted sharing my food with my husband (half kidding!). I wanted to order MORE items off the board and menu but that's just being greedy. We did share a bowl of Suffering Bastard--it was my first time to do a bowl drink as I don't like rum. This one has gin, brandy, pineapple juice...it was really good stuff. I am hooked.

Go there hungry and review the photos prior so you can order without #FOMO. All looks and sounds good. Parking is ample. Their address is Coventry but really just past the West Warwick line. This is a low brow place with good folks, starting with the owner himself, Jason. No linens on table--in fact a lot are scratched. You go there for a good time and scrumptious food. If you like to sing, this place boasts of a popular Wednesday night Karaoke. It also has a small game room adjacent to the dining area. I saw a dartboard and a game machine. Not sure if there was Pinball but it looks like the kind of place that might.

Just writing this is making me hungry again. I cannot wait to go back. I eyeball their online menu a lot. I am almost disappointed that they are closed on Sundays. Anyhoo, we really like the food in this place so if you believe an iota of what I say here,...

I am working in the area for two months, and one of my favorite activities is karaoke. Luckily enough, this pub happened to be 10 minutes from my hotel. Unfortunately, the service here undermined anything I gained from attending karaoke.

From the beginning, I walked up to the bartender, and requested a drink on the rocks. He gave me a very generous pour, and told me the total (which was over $10). Feeling grateful, I handed him a $20 and told him to keep the rest. As I was about to write my song request in, he came up to me with a $10 and said that I gave him that bill, not a $20. I walked in there with two bills in my wallet: a ten and a twenty, and I still had the ten (it’s still there as I’m writing this.)

He was persistent in saying that I gave him a ten, and that he’d pull the cameras to check. I said sure, let’s go check the cameras. So that’s what we did; I didn’t touch my drink the entire time he tried scrubbing through the footage of the register, to which whatever data happened to be freshly recorded of the register was corrupted? Well that’s strange, so he just said “don’t worry about it this time.”

I have never had a bartender question me like that, and I was not going to stand there and be taken advantage of. I already gave you a 60% tip, and you wanted more from me because I paid cash and thought I wouldn’t tell the difference? Absolutely not. I get I’m from out of state, but that’s a terrible way to greet a first-time visitor to not only your state but mainly your business.

Atmosphere wise, it was awesome. They had Dragon Ball Z figurines on the wall, other anime-related merchandise, and of course karaoke three nights a week. This was absolutely going to be my go-to spot while I’m in town, but now I will never step foot in this bar again, all because of this interaction here. Good job, man. Hope that $8 tip...

Here’s another long one for ya!

Do you wanna try something absolutely out of this world?

You need to go to JW’s Pub in Coventry!

When you walk in the place it’s packed with awesome memorabilia from movies and anime. If you’re a nerd like me, it’ll sing to your soul.

Jason greets you warmly and makes you feel right at home.

When he hands you the menu and you see what’s on the boards for specials your mind will be blown and your tastebuds will immediately light up!

We started off with some incredible apps and then got the Crispy Beef Scallion Pancake Pizza and the Corned Beef Scallion Pancake Pizza (cuz ya know… it is St Pat’s weekend! ☘️)

Holy shyte!

Every bite is a flavorful crispy bite of paradise! Who needs traditional dough when you can have a crispy flavorful base of Asian awesome?!

This puts traditional bar pizza on the back burner for sure.

It’s not small like a traditional scallion pancake. They make em and serve them bar pizza sized. The cheese is melty ooey gooey savoriness. They don’t skimp with the toppings and the flavor combos are fantastic.

I see people talking about the “flop” and I can assure you there is no “flop” here. It stands at FULL attention and delivers a flovorable bite every time.

BONUS… grab yourself a fishbowl! So good and not overly sweet.

EXTRA BONUS… if you’re into karaoke he hosts karaoke nightly from 9 to close.

Definitely a whole new pizza experience and worth the drive...