McGoverns Tavern — Restaurant in Newark

EDITED REVIEW: After having basically lived in McGovern's for a year now, I felt it was a good idea to amend my review in fairness to the staff of an establishment I have come to love.

First and foremost, the burger selection is excellent. If a burger is too much, the menu has many other options. Personally, I recommend the Buffalo Shrimp Wrap. The food at McG is not inventive or unique, and this is a good thing. Traditional food made well, quickly, sold at a fair price.

The crowd potential is incredibly dynamic. Some nights it is wall to wall college students. Other nights it is locals, cops, and ne'er-do-wells like myself drowning their sorrows. There is a healthy and interesting crowd of regulars who know and love McG's particular style. Their Event Space is great and many groups utilize it, creating an interesting juxtaposition between the Bar and the Restaurant. If rumored expansion plans are followed, the McG space will be even more accommodating and diverse. The lunch crowd is vibrant if somewhat subdued, owing largely to the fact that they are just dropping in for a burger & brew.

During the day, Mike and Morgan run a tight ship that caters to the large and varied lunch crowd. At night, Moe and his tiny army of helpers serve drinks and hilarity until 2am. All in all, the place is great, especially for a people seeking refuge from the massive changes occuring in Newark. McGovern's is a piece of living history that is worth more than a single visit.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Food is good. Drink selection is standard. Staff is great to mediocre. Uncomfortably bright lighting. If you are not a cop, college student, or a Prudential office hamster, this bar...

I liked this place. Genuinely enjoyed going but my last experience was a bit odd. I would come to this location when I was in grad school and felt like going there for old-time sake. However, when I was there, a cop in uniform, gun in holster, walked in and had a beer. As I mentioned, my experience was odd. Especially when the cop covered his body camera to have a drink.

I took a photo as I felt it was inappropriate for a police officer to be on duty having a drink. The bartender got upset, took my beer, and asked me to leave. Which is funny because I already paid. The situation was handled poorly but the chilling part of it all is that the officer came into the bar in uniform, and as I said before, gun in holster, had a drink and was comfortable doing so. Meaning this is a pattern.

This is unbecoming...

Poor service accompanied by aggressively rude manager and waitress. When you have average food, and treat customers rudely - one can only imagine how you really feel! I was charged extra for onion rings - despite the waitress Alison confirming it was all included; she even pointed to a menu selection of various sides at no charge. When I pointed this out, the Bartender actually shouted at me across the bar, the waitress denied what she said - RUDE, RUDE, RUDE! If a waitress erred, Management should have apologized - absolutely no excuse for this behavior. You compounded a small error and turned it into A BIG FAT RUDE UNFORGETTABLE INSTANCE OF POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. For a restaurant, everything is customer service. Excellent...