O'Connor's American Bar & Grille — Restaurant in Eastampton Township

O'Connor's American Bar & Grille: A Trip Down Memory Lane

It was March 2nd, 1989, a typical South Jersey winter evening, with a gentle mix of light rain and snow falling outside. My wife and I, married for ten years and with two young boys, desperately needed a night out. My parents graciously took the kids, and we headed to our beloved "Charlie's Other Brother," nestled just outside Mount Holly, NJ. We cherished that spot for its perpetually roaring fireplace on chilly nights, the perfectly cold beer, the shelves laden with old books, and, of course, its truly amazing food. While waiting at the massive bar, sipping our beers, the television delivered shocking news: one of our favorite comedians, John Belushi, had tragically overdosed and died. The memory of that night, tinged with both warmth and sorrow, stayed with us.

Fast forward thirty-six years. We were cruising the countryside in our C8 Corvette when my wife spotted the familiar building – "Charlie's Other Brother" was now O'Connor's American Bar & Grille. Curiosity piqued, we stepped inside.

The interior was wonderfully decorated, much as we remembered, a perfect blend of cozy charm and inviting ambiance. We were immediately greeted and led to a spacious booth. Our waiter, Austin, promptly took our drink orders: a soothing, cold Sierra Nevada for me and a Tito's and Tonic for my wife.

The expansive menu offered a tempting array of appetizers, from Nachos and Cheesesteak Egg Rolls to Pierogies and Fried Green Tomatoes. The entrées were equally diverse, featuring sandwiches, burgers, steaks, seafood, and the classic Surf & Turf.

My wife opted for the Crab Bisque and the Fried Green Tomatoes, each priced at $10. I chose the fried pickles for my appetizer at $10 – perfectly breaded and fried dill pickle chips, served with a side of delicious ranch. For my main course, I selected the Cajun Chicken & Shrimp Pasta for $28.00: sautéed chicken and jumbo shrimp tossed with penne pasta in a creamy Cajun parmesan sauce, accompanied by garlic bread.

As we savored the last of our pickles and cold drinks, Austin arrived with our entrées. The fried green tomatoes were cooked to perfection, beautifully topped with a sprinkle of blue cheese crumble. The crab bisque, while piping hot, unfortunately lacked the body and distinct flavor we'd hoped for – a little more "Old Bay" would have made a world of difference.

My Cajun Chicken & Shrimp Pasta arrived in a generously sized bowl, a clear indication of the ample portion. The pasta, shrimp, and chicken were all piping hot, generously coated in the thick, creamy sauce. However, like the bisque, I felt this dish also needed more seasoning. For me, a Cajun sauce demands a spicy kick, and while the sauce was good, it truly lacked that characteristic Cajun heat.

Overall, the meal earned a respectable 3 out of 5 "kahoona stars" from us. Would I go there again? Absolutely. The ambiance and the potential of the dishes are certainly worth...

Overall I enjoyed this place. The atmosphere was fine - kind of a sports bar type place with lots of televisions. Nothing unique, but it was clean and lively. I also enjoyed the food - I had the crab cake sandwich, which included some nice lumps of crab. The sauce that went with it was tasty as well. The most unique part of the meal, though, was definitely the fries - they are similar in size and meatiness to steak fries but are shaped in a kind of semi-circle ribbon-ish curli-cue. Hard to describe, but definitely a shape I hadn't seen before. The taste was just regular french fry, but it was a crispy-outside, perfectly-cooked-inside kind of fry. My husband had one of their many burgers and he ate every last bite so I'm pretty sure it was a hit (he also said he liked it). Oh, and I almost forgot - the beer list. They have a huge amount of beer on tap and most of it is from smaller breweries that are local or semi-local. My only complaint is that it was very, very IPA-heavy and I'm just not a fan of those. We did find a tasty porter on the list, however. Finally, our waitress was great. Unfortunately I didn't think to get her name, but she was nice and checked back with us frequently enough so we didn't wait for anything but not so frequently that it was intrusive. All in all, I wouldn't go out of my way to come here (I live an hour away), but if I'm in the area I would definitely consider...

If anyone is confused about the type of people who run this establishment… see the response to my very true and accurate review. Instead of taking accountability, O’Connors denied all validity of my experience & even went as far as to attack me and my friends. Low brow at its finest. I went for a friend’s birthday. They didn’t have enough room to accommodate our whole party at one table so we teetered between 2-3 tables. Our food came and the waiter asked who it belonged to. This guy wasn’t the one who had originally taken our order. Fair enough. Needless to say I answered it was mine at which point he refused to serve me my food and asked my friends at the other table if my food was actually mine. Hmmm… what made him doubt the only black member of the party … I wonder. He asked I answered and he decided that it was appropriate to refuse serving me my food that I ordered and was paying for. Wow is an understatement. Needless to say it was a classic micro aggression. Went to the manager and …yeah… he was largely unfazed but comped my salad. Gee thanks. Food was mediocre, service was average, the busser serving food was awful and clearly management is cool with not so covert racism. Lovely. With that said…if you or someone you know is interested in this place. The answer should be a resounding NO. Bad service for basic food at astronomical prices. Steer clear...