Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Newark

Updating review . I have been to multiple Lazy Dogs. San Jose has been the best experience so far. Last nights visit was not that great in Fremont Ca.. Only reason I visit this location. It is close to my friends home. When we arrived my friends always like go to the bar to get quicker drink service. We sat down waited for the bar tender. This took a little while for the bar tender to acknowledge us even thou the bar was only half full at best. He walked past us multiple times and took orders from both sides of the bar. Even from people who sat down after us. There where 3 of us in my group. I placed my order first . It was a simple order. My order was a coke and the chicken quesadilla on the happy hour menu. 1st Friend ordered a chicken sandwich with an option for the bacon candy for an additional $2. He also ordered a beer as well. Then took 3rd friends order. the bar tender proceeded to get my friends drinks and did not bring my coke. He left before I could say something. I could not get his attention at all. A Lady sat down at the right side of the bar he was quick to help her. tried to get his attention again no luck My quesadilla arrived and I had still had not received my coke. I stated to eat my food I was half way though when I finally caught the attention of the bar tender and he says OH I forgot to get you a coke. Then My friends chicken order came out with out the Bacon candy on it. They brought out a full side of bacon candy which is $7 from the happy hour menu. My friend tried to let him know that the candy bacon was supposed to be on the sandwich. He said ya I know what bacon is in rude manor. The bar tender did not even want to hear what we had to say. then when we told him we did not order the side of candy bacon he was just going to take it away. we told him just to leave it even thou we did not order it that way. My friend ended up putting the bacon on the sandwich himself. What was left over we split it up among the 3 of us. When I tried to get a refill on my soda. I had to get a little louder. To get our bar tenders attention. Just say I was not please with the service this night. food was good. But the bar...

Located next to the Newpark Mall, Lazy Dog provides a great ambiance. It feels like a cozy cabin, especially during a cold day. There's a large indoor seating area as well as a covered patio, where you can bring along your canine companion. The overall look is great if you enjoy large fireplaces, open beam ceilings, and woodwork. On the patio they have a large firepit that can sit 12 people, and plenty more seating is available inside and out.

The leather bound menu had a variety of foods to choose from, including seasonal items they only offer at specific times of year. They offer pizza, sandwiches, fish, steak, chicken, soups salads, various cocktails, and much more. They serve a weekend brunch until 2pm, and a daily lunch menu until 4pm. The menu also offers some lovely artwork (by Rebecca Simms) that fits well with the restaurants theme.

There is plenty of staff going about to assist folks, which is good because they get very busy. During my brunch trip on the weekend we arrived around 12:45 and there were large groups arriving, with most of the inside seating taken up. As there were only 2 of us we were seated quickly, waiting only 15 minutes.

They cook all their food from scratch in their kitchen, which means you may have a slightly longer wait for your food, but you'll know it's fresh. I tried the Dirty Dog (bacon wrapped hot dog topped with a pile of potato chips and coleslaw), and while it's not something I'm likely to order again it was by no means bad. My wife had the Shrimp Tacos and a Cucumber Thyme Lemonade which she really enjoyed. We also had the Donut Holes as an appetizer, which are served with a Hazelnut/Nutella sauce, and they were amazing. The dough was fresh and had a crunchy exterior while the inside was still soft and steaming warm when you bit into them.

Overall a great place to eat, with a fantastic sit down experience, so long as you don't mind a slightly extended wait. There's also a selection of gift items inside (beanies, candles, socks, mugs) and they offer a beer...

Not the best, not the worst. Typical American chain serving slightly elevated food.

Service quality has decreased in recent months. Understaffed and poorly trained has been the trend.

Food: tried their new Slow-Cooked Poblano Pork dish. Half was edible, the other half was a big blob of pure fat. The blue corn tamale cake it came with was delicious. This could be a really fantastic dish with more attention paid to meat quality.

Beer: I love a great craft beer, but I drink less alcohol these days. You’d think that a place that prides themselves on craft brews would offer at least one “craft” non alcoholic beer from a decent brewery (Sam Adam’s N.A. Hazy isn’t it). In the SF Bay Area we can find amazing craft N.A. beers, brewed right here in California, from breweries such as Best Day Brewing, Barrel Brothers Brewing, Fieldwork, and Athletic Brewing Co. Please consider carrying one or two of these non-alcoholic beers. While Sam Adams is certainly better than Heineken or Corona Zero, there are much better options available that make more sense for a place that prides itself on craft beer.

I tried 2 non alcoholic “cocktails” off of the specialty beverage menu and they were basically just super sweet lemonades dressed up with a more “cocktail” sounding name. Too much sugar!

Ambiance: patio can be quite nice but we sat inside on the last visit since it was super windy outside. They had the AC cranked way up on what was a much cooler day.

Decent chain restaurant that seems to lack character and consistency the older this place gets. Time to fine-tune...