Worst experience I've had. I traveled from out of state to visit Kearney as a potential place to relocate and decided to dine at this restaurant during my stay. Unfortunately, that decision turned into a very negative experience. Our server was initially pleasant, but that quickly changed. After paying my tab using my phone, I placed it on the table while continuing to play billiards. When I returned, my phone was gone. Using Find My iPhone, I could see that the device was still located inside the restaurant. I asked the server if she had seen my phone, but she denied any knowledge of it and stated that no one had found a phone--despite the tracker clearly indicating it was there. The following day, I returned in hopes that someone had turned it in. When I approached the same server, she appeared extremely nervous, repeatedly using profanity and running into the kitchen before returning and attempting to change the subject. When I again asked about my phone, I received the same denial. I ultimately left feeling defeated. As a solo traveler, losing my phone caused significant stress--I was unable to access flight information, order transportation, or contact family. All of this occurred over a cracked iPhone that is unusable once reported lost or stolen. Overall, this experience was extremely disappointing and left a very poor impression. read more

Hello Thia ia s pretty cool place in downtown Kearney. It is pretty much bar food. But bar food done right. My waitress did a fine job too. The building is cool and would love to comeback for some drinkin on their patio. read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Steak Bites - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

Service and ambience was good but food was bad. Ordered burgers, steak sandwich. Disappointing.

I would say one of the best meals I have eaten. I got skewers and husband got steak. Cooked to perfection. The mojito was soooo refreshing. Staff were amazing. I hope to go back. read more

The server and front end manager were both rude during our dining experience. They objected to us pushing tables together to accommodate our party, but wouldn't suggest another solution. The place was empty except for two other tables. The server also stopped checking in even though we were actively ordering additional drinks and we ended up paying our bill at the bar after 30 minutes of no check in. The food was fine, but I wouldn't recommend going as the customer service has taken a serious nose dive. read more

Service was fast and friendly. The food was ok , not great. Whatever they cook thier frys in is a little funky. My guess is the cooking oil gives it a heavy taste. Everything else was very good. read more

We found a great gem. This restaurant is located in a former newspaper and laundry building. Great food and service. We had the chicken breast which was so juicy and tender. Also enjoyed the onion sticks. Staff let us roam through the huge building and look at all the cool architecture. Thank you !!! read more

They food was yummy! I had the salmon skewers which were to die for! Don't change a thing! My hubby had the bacon wrapped shrimp dinner and even though the shrimp was a delight the bacon wrapping was inedible to him due to its super fatty and undercooked for a man who likes crispy bacon. He would've liked some soy sauce for his rice also and they didn't have any. Neat vibe in the place itself and Cody the bartender was a good guy! read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Salon skewers on the left and shrimp skewers on the right - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

We were on tight schedule at lunchtime today, so called ahead here and our requests were ready as we arrived. A burger and salad. My burger was rare prep as asked for. Salad for B was small but adequate. Fries were...not as good as we remember from previous stops here, but good anyway. We like and is certainly a good standard to measure from. read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

See all

We went to the Bricks location on New Year's night for a meal and drinks. I ordered the ribeye sandwich fir $18. I've had more meat on a Subway sandwich. Totally disappointed in the food. read more

Service was fast and friendly Pork Belly was super tasty not too fatty 9/10 Ole Bleu Burger was on point 9/10 read more

Worst experience ever. Most unfriendly bartender/ waiter I've had. Not only was he slow & rude, he wouldn't honor our 1/2 off appetizer even though we asked about it & he clearly said yes. Took forever for him to check on us, but when he brought the check over, he changed his mind & said he couldn't take the coupon. We reminded him of our conversation about it, he didn't say anything, just stood there waiting for us to pay with a smirk on his face. He was a jerk. read more

We stayed in Kearney Nebraska for a night on a long road trip. We were right off of the highway and looking for a place near our hotel. Cunningham's Journal listed an outdoor patio overlooking a lake, so it sounded like it could be a fun time. We showed up with no reservations around 6pm. The place was packed! The interior is very open and had a huge bar and lots of seating options, from bar to tables, booths and shared large tables. We were lucky enough to snag an outdoor table right away. My photo shows the view from our outdoor table, looking back at the restaurant. The food was very good. We had the Juicy Jack burger and a large Wings (16) with 1/2 Buffalo and 1/2 Sparky's Fire and a couple of martinis. Burger was on point and cooked perfectly. Wings were delicious as well. If you like spice, I highly recommend the Sparky's Fire sauce. It is very hot, but not the kind of hot that you regret! The waiter was just the right amount. Very friendly and checked back frequently to make sure we had everything we needed. The atmosphere was very lively and the people in the restaurant were very eclectic. Young and older, families and couples. All seemed to be having a great time - just like we did. All of it made for a very enjoyable evening. If you're in the area, I would definitely seek out Cunningham's Journal! read more

See all

We arrived at Cunninghams at 12:00 and left at 1:15. the Service was horrible. we had to flag down multiple workers just to give them our order. I ordered the ribeye and when it arrived the meat was very poorly cooked, I asked for medium rare and the meat was raw. My daughter ordered a bacon burger and it was totally chard down and black. It took over an hour to get food and I rate my experience 2/5. I don't believe I will ever go back and i don't recommend anyone else to do the same. l read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - The meat was so raw. - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

Enjoyed a nice dinner here. Found the reservation system to be easy to use (highly recommend making reservations as the place was packed for dinner on Sunday). I got the bacon wrapped shrimp salad, the bacon was not as done as I'd like but otherwise it was very tasty. My family got pizzas and quesadillas and liked them as well. The servers were nice though it did feel like they were trying to get us to finish up even though the place was no longer crowded. Parking lot is close to the restaurant and seems to have ample space. read more

I had the bacon ranch quesadilla. Very much enjoyed it and it was the right amount of food. The waitress was friendly and checked on us often. It is a bar/restaurant so there are pool tables and TVs. Very nice environment. read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Dining area with pool tables - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

Delicious food, great service, quality beer, cheap pool, and a really fun place to hang out. Definitely a younger crowd/vibe, but if you are open to having fun, I think anyone could have a good time there. read more

We stopped here after spending the day visiting friends in Kearney and the surrounding area. We were looking for something new because we are pretty familiar with what's available in Kearney and we hadn't been here. The food was excellent and the atmosphere fun and relaxing, but our server, Unika was terrible. She literally threw our food on the table after acting like we were bothering her to take our order. She didn't revisit our table, so we had to ask another serve to refill our drinks. If you can get another server, this place is great. If you get her, ask for another section. Very disappointing. read more

The food is good, the portions are small, sometimes they get busy, but the staff is great and overall the restaurant is pretty nice and in a good location. read more

I ordered a cheeseburger medium rare. The first burger came out rare still oozing blood. I tell the waitress and she says that she will bring a plate to put my burger on to reheat my same burger, not cook a fresh one. They bring out my reheated burger and I cut it open and it's well done and burnt. This place can't make a burger right and only seem to know how to serve them rare or burnt. I will not be returning. read more

In town for a conference. Decided to try a local place instead of the usual chain restaurants. There was no wait to be seated, so we sat in the bar area. The server was also the bartender but provided quick service. She was very polite and kept checking on us throughout the meal. I ordered the juicy lucy burger. It was a massive burger cooked to medium (as I requested) with a cheese filling. It was my first time trying this type of burger, and it was quite good. I'd definitely visit again. read more

We got carry out while visiting Kearney. It was pretty yummy. The only thing we didn't like was that something we had hoped to order from the menu wasn't available. read more

We went to Nebraska to visit family and took mom here to eat. The atmosphere was fabulous and the salmon skewers were very tasty and well grilled. The staff was friendly and accommodated our table preference with a smile. I would recommend trying this place. read more

CJ's is open again! They renovated damages from the flood that devastated Kearney on 7/9/2019. CJ's is probably the best restaurant in Kearney. Modern atmosphere, very lovely patio overlooking the water, inside bar area has big screen TV's to watch sporting events too. Located adjacent to the Fairfield Inn and Suites and the Younes Conference Center. I came here for dinner on back to back nights. The food is delicious and service is great too. read more

See all

- Decent draft beer selection but see below. - Guinness burger is solid. - Grilled vegetables are good, a bit salty. - House salad good, smaller than it seems with the plate they use (false bottom). Bartender wanted a credit card to run a tab, but she also runs the card. So paying cash is useless here in terms of credit card security. I asked about available draft beer and was invited to just look at the taps. Thing is, I couldn't read most of them. I ended up taking a photo and zooming in until the handles became readable. Two were turned sideways so I had no idea about them. Bottom line? When a customer asks, how about providing some help? Bar service was a bit spotty and a bit unfriendly (and not just with the draft list thing). Not as loud as I imagined it would be even with an NFL playoff game on TV. Street parking. read more

See all

It was my birthday and we were driving back from Colorado. I picked several options on Yelp for Kearney for my birthday dinner. Then we arrive in Kearney to find that the section of town for all of those restaurants had flooded 2 weeks earlier and everything was closed. My next choice in Kearney had closed down. I was just about to give up on a decent meal and found Cunningham's Journal. Except Google Maps had issues finding the address. So I navigated the old fashioned way and we arrived. It is more of a bar so we were carded. The bouncer wished me a happy birthday and we were in. We ordered burgers and fish and chips. The burgers were ordered medium rare and came out very rare which was okay with us. Everything was excellent. Service was great too. Our waitress was from the other location that had flooded. The only bad news - no desserts at this location. The other location apparently had desserts. So no birthday dessert. Free parking on the street. read more

The food was mediocre at best. Chewiest pork chops I've ever had. My husband had chicken wings that were very dry with the wrong seasoning. The upside was that the service was good. read more

Best nachos I've had! Juicy burger and onion straws were a hit. Service a bit slow but we're not in a hurry. Place is huge with lots of TVs. No closed captions so no idea what was happening. Especially weird when showing a movie . Will definitely come back when in the area. All restaurant restrooms should be like theirs-nine individual rooms off a hallway w toilet and sink. So smart! read more

Traveling cross country and stopped here as it was a local place. Ordered a Caesar salad wilted slimy lettuce, ordered a French Dip about a tablespoon of minced meat on a hard bun. Skip this place, find a McDonalds. read more

We stayed overnight in Kearney and ordered their Chicken Quesadilla to go. It was delicious! Don't use the link on Yelp (.net)! Call or use this: https://www.cunninghams-journal.com/menu read more

After braving the brisk, peach-stiffening air of Kearney and swiping right on two dozen girls named Megan (no matches), my belly was feeling a rumbo in the grumbo. Enter: Cunninham's Journal. My partner (business that is) and I found solace in the fact that Cunningham's was still able to operate in these trying times. And boy, were we ready to jump on a Juicy Lucy like there's no tomorrow. We called in from the comfort of our Marriott (room 134 ). A nervous knee shaker answered the phone at Cunningham's. We tried not to give this greenhorn too much of a runaround, but my buddy and I can't help a little horseplay in our business partnership. I dove thigh first in my Juicy Lucy, cheese squirting out the meat hole, but my partner was more of the pepper jack persuasion. Even though there were two beds, my partner (and I can not stress this enough, just business) and I slept in the same bed for warmth and efficiency. The pork belly poppers were tasty enough, but they left me burning a hole in the sheets which my business partner did not appreciate. By the end of the night, my partner and I were drippingly satisfied. Maybe a bit of a grease-job, but this time I'll let it slide. Yours truly, Ed read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Partners for life (business) - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

Kid meals were great, decent taste burgers, there in house root beer is on tap - pretty flat and not as good as expected. Server was attentive until we got our food then they disappeared for quiet some time. Cute place rustic feel, pretty dark in a booth. Overall, nice to experience but wouldn't be back. read more

Great food and great ambiance well worth the stop! Food is always good and the view from outside is amazing and a good place to watch a game also read more

boneless wings were garbage. tiny frozen bits with barely any sauce. service was lagging even though they weren't very busy, burger patty was cooked nicely but overall very mid :/ read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

Update.... went to new location. Hostess was not nice at all. Acted like we were an interruption. No happy hour specials. No drink menus. If people haven't been to other location they have no idea what you serve. Have to make the experience better than this was and different than other location so people have a reason to go to both. They told people the patio was full and it wasn't full.... maybe 25%. Our waitress, Sadie was great though. Generally, not a fabulous experience. Won't be back to new location. Hope it gets better. read more

See all

Si glad we stopped here again for lunch. Hubby had the juicy Lucy , grilled chicken skewers for me. Delicious Great service. Waitress was awesome. Food came out in a timely manner read more

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we were driving back west from Lincoln and hunting a great plate of nachos - loaded with all the goodies and on house made tortilla chips. So we headed to Cunningham's Journal - downtown, not out by the interstate. The atmosphere is more low key and relaxed here, compared to the place on the lake. We sat ourselves right away next to a very intoxicated pair of friends playing pool. They were entertaining, for sure, but we probably should have moved since we had our daughter along and their language was riddled with F-bombs and very loud (and quite funny). Our server was prompt and great - but he told us that they were out of nachos! We had already ordered drinks so we got a different appetizer and it was fine - but we had our hearts set on nachos. So after we finished our pretzel bites and drinks, we took off. The server was great, very attentive, and he earned his tip by checking on us regularly. Not the best trip we've had, but it was as good as it could be without nachos. read more

I loved the atmosphere of this restaurant! The outdoor seating looks amazing and even the indoor too. We were put in between, so it was inside but with the doors open so you could look out at the lake. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. The staff at the front door were amazing and the individual that took us to our table actually seemed like he was truly interested in how my day was going, etc.. he was very nice. The food was delicious. We got the pork belly appetizer, I liked the crisper parts. I got the salmon tacos, they are small but pack a bunch of flavor. They were delicious. They have a great selection of beers, ciders on tap. They respect COVID guidelines and use a contact less menu, which worked like a charm. Its worth it if you are in the area! read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - An orange Shandy cider. - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

See all

I've been a loyal customer to Cunningham's for years now- but sadly the food quality has gone down hill since covid. After placing our drink order the waitress greeted us by saying "is water all you're going to get?". Rude. Anyways...I ordered a well done burger- I prefer no pink, which usually isn't a hard task, especially for a burger joint. As soon as I cut into my burger I noticed that it was totally raw. I asked the waitress to please remake my burger well done and I had felt bad for even asking. The manager brought out my "new" burger and as she approached my table she loudly said "is this gonna be well done enough for ya?". Once again- extremely rude. Upon inspection of my "new" burger I noticed that they had just thrown my old raw burger back on the grill and provided me with a new bun. I know for a fact that it was the same burger because the patty was already cut in half. The attached photo is of the burger AFTER they had re-cooked it for me to be "well done". I simply paid for my food that I did not eat and left as I didn't want to cause any more confrontation. I'll stick to the other location from now on- food is prepared better and better service! read more

Cunningham's Journal on the Bricks - Bars Near Me - Kearney, Nebraska

We went to the other location first and the hostess was so rude that my wife walked out and refused to go back . I convinced her to try this location and everyone was so much nicer!! The outdoor patio is beautiful snd has lots of space to socially distance. We had 4 kids and a dog so we wanted lots of distance for the sake of other people :) we easily found parking in the adjacent lot and walked through the back door with kids and dog in tow. The waitress was very patient snd kind. We struggled to pull up the beer list with the online code. It kept switching pages as I was reading(never had this occur before). Unfortunately, my wife and I are big beer drinkers and they were out of every single IPA on draft and in bottle . Our next wheat choice was also out. We finally settled for a boring Miller light . I asked for a lime in it to add some flavor. The lime served was so old it was yellow. I thought they gave me a lemon but realized it actually was one really ugly lime. I wouldn't have served that. The Mac n cheese arrived on iron skillet nice snd broiled... loooked amazing. Tasted horrible. I'm not sure what type of cheese they used but it was BAD. No one out of 6 would eat it. I love any cheese, I couldn't eat it. Bland and oily. The cheese balls were the best thing we ordered. Perfect. The Caesar salad unfortunately was also a C-. Greens were fine snd dressing was okay but the croutons had a really bad flavor; never had a bad crouton before so idk. The journal steak bites were really over cooked, charred actually snd very hard and chewy. I ate them because I was hungry but they were bad . I was very disappointed and had looked forward to some good food snd beer. Maybe it was an off night. I'd give 5 stars for atmosphere, 5 for staff, one for food/drink. read more