Great food and friendly, fast service in a neat old hotel known, among other things, as being an old Edgar Allan Poe haunt. Everything was fresh, affordable and the place had a nice old charm to it. A great place to eat in Newark if you're in town. read more

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Pistachio and his girl were awesome today!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope the enjoy Walter's!!!!!!!!!

I've been going to Deer Park for Sunday brunch for years and it's always been hit or miss but today was the last time I will go there. The orange crush I ordered was lousy, bartender was too busy to squeeze another half an orange so I got a nearly clear orange crush. Not a big deal, the bartender had trouble understanding that I wanted a sausage and cheese omelette. I had to explain it to him twice. My food came, the toast was totally dried out, it broke up when I tried buttering it, the tater tots were so over done they flew off the plate in two pieces when I tried to stick a fork in them. The omelette was basically a cheese omelette with two or three pieces of sausage in it for looks. I was very disappointed! I told the second bartender as he was taking my card that they are really slipping up in the kitchen I told him my complaints he offered me another drink. I said I didn't come here to drink I came for breakfast! He shrugged his shoulders and I left. I should have sent it back but I always fear complaining too much and then eating what they make you. Plus you shouldn't have to sit thru that just to get served a decent breakfast. I won't be back. read more

A recommendation from a local resident was on the mark. After a wintery snow hike in the area we needed a warm cozy Tavern that served good beer and warm soup. The French onion soup paired perfectly with the Apple Beet and Spinach salad for my husband. I had a cup of corn crab soup and the Cauliflower Cranberry salad with warm balsamic drizzle. Bell's Cherry Stout on draft was a great addition too. read more

Deer Park Tavern - Bars Near Me - Newark, Delaware

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Went to Deer Park tonight with friends for dinner. We got blacked chicken sandwich, Eastern Shore Pretzels, and Apple Walnut Salad. I am giving two stars because the food and drinks were good. Here are my issues...... Service is insanely slow. In 2 hours our server came to our table 3 times. I had to go find her to ask her for silverware after my friend watching her salad with her fingers for 25 minutes. She order the dressing on the side as well as a ranch on the side. I had to go find her for the dressing that is supposed to come with the salad. Our checks came and drink prices were wrong. The manager did fix the drink prices. However the wait for the server to come back to the table was at least 15 minutes. One of my friends paid with cash...her check was 11.99, she gave a $20. The server brought our checks for a signature but didn't return the change from the cash. My friend went and found a manager. Through all this a manager never stopped by the table. If you want to go have drinks and dance on Friday and Saturday this is the place. If you expect to sit down and eat with any type of service, steer clear. Especially if you're on any time constraint. read more

Very tasty burger and fries. Also had the apple dumpling that was wonderful. They delivered when they said they would and made my day end on a good note. Thanks for the good food and service! read more

An a**hole bouncer kicked my friend out for using the men's restroom because it was empty and the girls line was wrapped around the staircase. There was no signage or anything she had to go very badly and walked in and he kicked her out without giving any warning. He was so nasty about it too he was yelling at her as she was on her way out. She was following his orders and leaving and he was still yelling at her. Do NOT go here if you want to have a fun night!!!! read more

Late arrival from delivery, French onion soup was so salty it was inedible, cold food, and they gave the wrong dressing for our salad. Never again. read more

Very cool rustic looking tavern/restaurant. We were seated toward the back as the front was having construction work done. I love the fact that they have free popcorn that you can get yourself. The service was spotty, I would say it was slightly below average, and the food took a little longer than most lunch outings, I have been too. We ordered a root beer float, which was pretty good. For an appetizer we decided to try the eastern shore pretzel. The crab dip is spread on the pretzel under the cheese, it was very good, however, I would probably prefer to add the crab dip myself. My wife ordered the crab sandwich, I ordered the rustic Stew, and my son ordered the appetizer stuffed meatball. Interestingly, someone from the kitchen brings you your food. The presentation on all three dishes was great and exceeded my expectations. The crab sandwich was full of lump meat and the portion size was fair for $15, which also included fries, and tartar sauce. The rustic stew was absolutely delicious and you are in for a nice sized meal at $11. The stew base was very hearty and, I taste some sort of wine reduction in the broth, it is rich and delicious, I normally do not order stews when, I go out to eat, but, I am glad, I did, the beef was tender as well. My son appetizer meatball was three very nice sized meatballs, very well worth the price, surrounded by a nice vibrant sauce with Parmesan cheese. The meatballs were stuffed with meat and other cheeses, my son ate every bite without saying a word. I would definitely be a regular here, even though the service is spotty, you can make up for that with cocktails. read more

We arrived at 8:23 pm. Our reservation was at 8:30pm. I called 2 hours prior, and spoke to Erin to confirm our reservation. When we arrived, they said our reservation was cancelled, and that we had to sit outside. It was 38 degrees outside. The staff was not accommodating to our situation, and did not offer any other alternatives. We were really looking forward to our dinner, but were very disappointed leaving. Left a bad taste in my mouth. read more

Hefe is the highlight of every tuesday, the bouncers don't know what they're doing, they will kick you out for having hiccups. not a reason to be kicked out. very dissapointed, they need to train the staff better. read more

We came out on Valentines Day which is traditionally a busy night. Our server was Kelly and she was probably the best server I've had in 10 years. Having waited tables myself for 16 years I know what constitutes good service. She was prompt, knowledgeable, efficient, not overbearing, and checked in with us regularly but not too much. The food was great as well. We will be back and we will ask for her. read more

TL;DR Extremely impolite and racist staff, with a general manager being the worse among them. Terrible food, and if you're in the military, be ready to be treated terribly. In my entire life I have never been more disrespected by a business who wants to make any type of profit. I will start off with the food, which I have only had twice as the first time when I got a NY strip, it was overcooked and dry, and the waiter was no help whatsoever, so I basically payed $22 for a piece of beef jerky. Second time I had a Farmhouse burger, but I ordered it with no cheese, when I go and take a bite there was cheese in it, it's no big deal, I tell the waitress and I immediately get the most astounding look of disgust towards me, with a tone that sounded like she wanted to kill me, after I ate my new burger and left, I had a severe food poisoning to the point I had to go to the hospital, so I'm not sure if they served me an old patty out of spite or their food is just that bad. I will also like to add how nasty looking the place was, as if they didn't care about cleaning it from the night before. I will now turn my attention towards their weekend nights, to which I usually don't think of Deer Park as the first place to go to, the only reason I go is because my friend lives on south main street, so walking I have to pass by it, and we always figure we can going for a second, see if anyone we know is there so we can all go to a more respectable place like Grottos, Finn McCool's, or Klondike Kate's. Walking in you have to go through this guy, as another reviewer puts it better than I do, "He's about 5'9-5'11, blonde hair, blue eyes, stocky.. I'm afraid he may have never developed proper social skills. He finds everyone on social media, and harass them. When you tell him you are not interested, he doesn't give up." Not only is he uncomfortable to talk to, he's also racist and apparently hates military people. I start off with one thing I heard him say to someone, as he takes the IDs of whoever is not over 21, but instead of shredding them like any regular human being should do, he keeps a "collection" at his house, and I'm not sure what he does with the people's information, if he looks them up as well and harasses them, sells them on the black market, looks at the pictures for his own personal pleasure, or whatever other thing he does with them, but that is extremely creepy and uncomfortable. Not only that he has, in many occasions, been racist to people coming in, calling them and myself included names, in some occasions have heard and seen people being turned away as he calls them some sort of racial name with a smile on his face. He has also denied me entry because he thought my ID was fake, so clearly if he's going to be a bouncer, he needs to get his eyes checked. The one day I just completely lost it with this guy was when he took a look at one person in my group, and just decided to deny access to my entire group, I was dead sober at that point, I had just came out of duty in the Marines and all I wanted to do was have fun with friends, I went off on him and as soon as I mentioned I was a Marine, all he had to say was "so? I could care less about the military or what you all do." I'm sorry, but if you are at all trying to make money, having the first impressions of your place be that bouncer, I'm surprised you guys still have business. I decided I had enough of it and called the general manager Tim, and to put a long story short, he was more racist, more insensitive, and rude than anyone in the entire staff combined, did not listen to a single thing I said and just decided to pretty much flip me off. Now I don't know if just because he had the anonymity of not being face to face that compelled him to be more rude, or if that's just the way he usually is, but considering he's the last line of hope that place had, I do not expect anything other than filth from that place. If you have any type of respect for yourself or anyone that you ever come in contact with, don't let them go to Deer Park, at any time of the day. You're much better off going to any other place on main street. read more

I've been here several times and had fun but this was so horrible. We made a reservation and got sat outside when it was 40 degrees out, that makes sense right? Not outside under the plastic heated roof, outside basically on the sidewalk. My group all wore t shirts because we assumed that no restaurants would be making anyone who took the time to make a reservation a week in advance sit outside. Waitress also took a half hour to bring out a beer. Our food was cold in 2 minutes and of course we couldn't enjoy a drink when we were shivering. I loved deer park but after that I won't be back again. read more

Jeremy: Thanks very much for the follow up. We came back today for brunch and the experience was much, much better. All food and drink was excellent and Our server Abby was very attentive and did an awesome job. Everything was on point for sure and we will definitely be back soon. read more

One of my favorite places when I was in college. Traveling by so stopped for dinner. Thursdays are all you can eat wings! Tried a few flavors and all were good! read more

Deer Park Tavern - Bars Near Me - Newark, Delaware

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Deer Park is one of the best bars on Main Street. Although the food is your standard bar quality, the specials are unbeatable. Every day, you can enjoy 1/2 priced appetizers after 10pm and great drink choices for under $5. Definitely don't miss out on the live music every Tuesday night played by Jefe but take precaution of the rambunctious college students that will flood in. Not the place to go for a quiet night out! read more

Awful fucking service. 30 minutes to get a domestic beer with a reservation. Went downstairs, got a drink within 30 seconds. Fucking insane. Dont come here read more

We had good food and the staff was nice. However, if you are not old enough to recommend a beer to a customer, go get someone who is! This place touts craft beer but their offerings are very limited. Nice atmosphere. read more

Extremely unfair about who gets a table. We were on the waitlist since 5 pm and stayed on the waitlist for 7 hours. We saw multiple tables empty with dirty plates on them. When we asked the hostesses why we couldn't sit there, they had no explanation but STILL wouldn't seat us. They sat empty for at least 1.5 hours. I also witnessed someone bribe the employees with $20 to get sat at a table. Extremely unprofessional. And overpriced. read more

Disappointed. So I figured I'd get a "lump"crab cake while I was in Delaware. I got a big finely shredded crab cake, no tartar sauce. Good roll, yucky french fries. I was hungry and service was prompt and professional read more

You would never imagine this crusty establishment have a WONDERFUL brunch. Sundays DP puts on an awesome Bloody Mary bar where you can add all your favorite ad ins include crab and shrimp and pickles and olives! So lovely! We were a big group and food came out fairly slowly. Thankfully there is freshly popped popcorn to enjoy while you wait. Our staff was attentive and the food was Yum! If you like crab I suggest the crab cake or crab Benny. It's good lump crab meat and few fillers I'm a sucker for a good breakfast sandwichh. They have a build your own. Egg. Cheese. SCRAPPLE (hello Delaware!) on a pretzel bun. Name me another place you can get a breakfast sandwich on a pretzel bun! A must visit if you're on UD campus for brunch read more

Food is great and i love it there. Really chill relaxed good music. Drinks are good as well.

Pretty much what you'd expect from a place where teenage girls have to wear short shorts as part of their work uniform. Two stars is generous considering the fact that I have eaten the "food" here before. Note to the wise: bacon is cooked in bulk and left to sit in an aluminum container in the kitchen. I know this for I have seen it with mine own eyes. The occasional entertainment comes in the form of getting to watch overstuffed middle-aged men buy drinks for college girls. That always works, pardner. And often on Friday and Saturday nights there's a cop car parked outside. This is free entertainment if you just happen to be passing by. I heard one white collegian tell a cop, "Yeah, and I'mma fuck that ----- up, too." Maybe after you get out of lockup, son. Don't forget: Chem 101 HW is due at 8:45 AM Monday. read more

As of my last visit, things went south again. The food has gotten noticeably more expensive without a huge leap in quality. Our order failed to come all together at once, and while the sandwich I ordered was good, everyone's fries were cold and my wife's burger was incredibly bland. Not mention that, on a day that was 34 degrees with an index of ~20 degrees, all the young ladies waiting on us were wearing short shorts. I find that somewhat tacky. Maybe they don't pay them enough to be able to afford longer shorts. And the best part was when the hostess burned the popcorn in the popcorn machine and we all walked out of there coated in burnt popcorn stench. I will not be going back there for awhile. read more

Just plain AWFUL. If there was just one bad incident during our visit I would not be so harsh, but the entire experience was very bad. Setting: party of 16 - co-workers. Wednesday evening. Moderate crowd, no wait, 3/4 of tables occupied. First round of drinks & appetizers: seriously it took about 1 hour. Granted wait service dropped a bunch of drinks walking from the bar to our table. Wait staff explained the drink delay, then they delivered drinks 1 at a time to the group of 16. Appetizer food very bad. Calamari practically uneatable. The chips in the featured nachos were rubbery. However, the pretzels were good. Entrees: well, the first 4 guests of our party received their food 20 minutes before the rest of he group. That group of 4 wanted to be courtesy and waited for the rest of the food to be served, so their food got cold. No explanation from wait staff for he delay in service for he other 12 meals. Entrees review: Salads ok. Steak sandwich was good. My requested medium rare tuna in my sashimi tuna salad was overcooked. The salad dressing was very good. We had to send a burger back because it had the incorrect sides on it. The burger came back cold therefore, it was uneatable. We had a meal we did not order given to us, and two other meals that had the wrong sides on them. At that point in the meal, the joke became what next. We could not wait to get out of there. Here's the kicker. No visible sign of management. The inmates were running the asylum. I will say at times during the night he wait staff did say, sorry for the delay, but then that became a joke after everything was being delayed. Once again, no one from management stepped up to try to stop the bleeding both on the front line, the kitchen, and the bar. I do not recommend visiting Deer Park tavern. read more

Filthy restaurant. Fiancé found a long, dark hair in his soup. Entree came out incomplete (without fries). Then they tried to charge fries on the bill after I asked for the side of fries that should have came with my entree. Slow service. The only reason I'm giving an additional one star is because the crab cake was very good and had big, lump crab. read more

Re-posting this since Yelp seems to have gotten rid my review! People need to know how down hill this place has gotten Boy, has this place changed...for the worse. In my college years (2004-2008), I was a regular. My friends and I were members of the Mug Club. There was great music, good food, amazing staff. Couldn't really ask for a better hang out. Upon recently moving back to Delaware, I was so excited to head back to the DP...only to be thoroughly disappointed. The food was still decent, but the new staff made me never want to come back. Let me note that my review is based on several visits. I wanted to make sure that one of those bad experiences wasn't just some fluke. Unfortunately, it was no fluke. They need new staff, period. It all started when I went to the bar. The first red flag was when I noticed that none of the local patrons were there. I thought, where did they all go? It's a weekday happy hour. This is very unlike them. The next red flag was when I did not recognize a single member of the staff. How come not one of the staff members that have been there for 10-15 years are working? Maybe they all have the same day off? OK. Let me come back in a couple of days to see if they are working then. Still, not a single senior staff member. Well, as it turns out, management fired all the staff members, who have been working there for 10-15 years and who made the DP experience fun and enjoyable. The "old" staff were great at their jobs. They were fast; they treated the customers great; they just generally knew their stuff. Now, they're all gone, just to be replaced by inexperienced college girls, who all happen to look exactly the same. I guess, in order to work there, you must be an attractive college girl that looks like all the other college girls that work there. The hiring manger has quite the strict criteria.. For one, the bartender hardly acknowledged the customers at the bar. Instead, she was more concerned about talking about her personal life with the other waitresses. Boring and rude! Not only that, but the gossip kept flowing between her and the other waitresses. It was very unprofessional. I came after work and was by myself. Usually, when someone is at a bar by themselves, the bartender chats with them. Not a single "how are you" came my way. Instead, I heard her talk smack about other staff members to co-worker friend. This would have never happened if the former bartenders were there. The next bad experience was when I came with some friends and sat at a table for dinner. I will stress that the food really hasn't changed and is still pretty decent. The problem, again, was with the staff. Our waitress took forever, and it wasn't even crowded. It took 15 minutes for her to take my credit card, and that was after taking 15 minutes just to bring me the check. When I asked the hostess to get my check she asked which waitress was ours. Not only did the waitress disappear, but when the hostess asked what she looked like, I couldn't describe her accurately because all the other waitresses looked the same. I understand the idea behind hiring young, attractive females, but hiring incompetent ones has made this once loyal and devoted customer never want to come back. Also, firing dedicated employees of 15 years to replace them with an entirely new staff should make you start to think about the kinds of people running the place. That reason alone is good enough for me to never come back. read more

Delicious food, excellent bartending staff, horrible bouncers. We ordered a feww different food and drink items and the inside staff was pleasant and helpful. However, the rude men we had to deal with when entering the establishment really ruined the mood for our entire group. A particular shorter, dirty blonde, semi bearded bouncer was heard making comments about patrons before they entered the building. He also made blantant rude comments about people from my group, simply for asking for his help finding a friend of ours. From the start of his shift he was acting inappropriately, picking fake fights with his coworkers, to excite the customers standing outside. Deer park has so much potential to be a great place, but the college boys in the front honestly ruin it. read more

I have lived in Newark my whole life and I have never once eaten at Deer Park, until yesterday. It was around 10 pm and I thought, why not try a Deer Park burger, after all, it can't be THAT bad. I was mistaken. 10.99 for the thai burger, which was some weird sauce, a burger with curry powder in it, and a bun. Very barebones, expensive. Also, the DJs they have playing on the second floor are egregiously terrible, be forewarned, it will remind you of a high school prom. Note: don't expect carbonation to emerge from the soda gun. read more

Four stars? Really? From what I hear, it IS way better than it was before the makeover a few years ago, But the food is pretty standard (dependable) bar fare - nothing more, nothing less. I also realize this is a college dive, so I suppose it's pretty futile to complain about the unimaginative single malt selection, let alone, the paltry wine list. Not what this place is about - I get that. There are all sorts of legends about the history of the place. Some even say that George Washington slept here. (Sleepy guy - everyone says that on this part of the planet!) It definitely has that 'ye cool olde pub' ambiance, until the next CSX northbound plows through and you try to resist the urge to jump under the table before the wall caves in. Short answer? Great college bar. Why not? read more

Pros: Cheap drinks. Big bar so plenty of room. Half off apps after 10 p.m. Tasty pretzel and wing appetizers. Strong Drinks Cons: Came St. Patrick's day weekend where bag pipers were supposed to play but they never showed. Gets a bit trashy later in the night (saw a bar fight for the first time in my life) read more

The Deer Park Tavern is a great place to go relax with friends without worrying about obnoxious college freshman milling about and getting stupid. I end up going here a lot, and it is, coincidentally, where my parents met over 35 years ago! I've never had a bad meal here. I usually come with friends to drink and eat nachos (which are incredible - ask for extra jalapenos) but have also had some pretty great full meals here. The soft pretzels topped with cheese and crab meat are to die for. As another poster mentioned, the calamari here is like none other with the fried spinach. They always have good beers on tap and usually some decent beer specials. Stay away from any mixed drink specials though - usually 1/2 shot and then a bunch of sugary juice. Also, they have trivia Monday nights upstairs! AJ rocks, and it's a good 2 hours of lots of drinking, eating, and answering ridiculous questions. So much fun with a big group of friends. Not a bar to get dressed up to go to, but a great place to relax with friends and enjoy good food and drinks! read more

Maybe the headline of this review should be "Things are never as good as you remember them being". So I'll tell you the long version of this story. My wife's cousin was in from out of town, Canton Ohio by way of Hawaii, and I wanted to show him the University and the iconic Deer Park restaurant. Back in my day if you were taking someone to the DP for the first time there was only one thing on the menu to order, THE NACHOS, which as I remember them were outstanding. Not so much anymore. Maybe two large handfuls of chips, less than two ounces of cheese, a glop of chili which tasted homemade but was so runny that it soaked the chips, and no discernible lettuce or tomatoes. There was pool of chili juice at the bottom of the dish. Just awful. You can always tell the places that are trying hard to lower expenses when they don't put any fresh veggies on the dish. Doesn't this seem like a steal for $13.99? Another pet peeve of mine in general is taverns that have their beer list behind a laminated menu and then when you order from that list, they tell you that this and that keg just kicked, which is what happened here. OK, I've got the solution for you. Every morning when you open make a list of available beers and make copies of it for your customers instead of making believe you have 20 beers on tap everyday, which they never do. Our waitress informed us that the beer I ordered for the table was not available and I asked if they had a similar beer, an American Pale Ale. Well, by the look on her face you would have thought that I asked her for an explanation of the Pythagorean theory. She stated "I hate beer and don't want to know anything about it". Well, there you go. So dummy me wanted to try something new and different and ordered 3-12oz Citraponics, a "Wild Ale", for a cool $23.25, OUCH. The beer sucked with my sucky nachos. Maybe a wait staff who new something about the beers on the menu could have saved me from myself. No chance with this chick. (Megan B) So with the additional beer that was ordered the total bill was $41.99. We exited unfulfilled and unsatisfied on many levels. There are so many higher quality places now as competition on Main Street that the DP is going to have to step up their game to keep pace. I won't be back, for at least a good long while. read more

UNDERVALUED!!! This folks is the place to go for the Best Blood Mary Bar Around! The Breakfast is excellent! The Service is Excellent! And the Food is plentiful and in my opinion UNDERVALUED! Located next to the University of Delaware, This College bar is WORTH the drive to NEWARK. Located in a historic tavern, you'll be serenaded by an excellent musician playing all the latest coffee house style tunes. I don't know how this place makes money. For $3 you'll get a pint glass 1/3 filled with Vodka. You then go to the bar for over 50 varieties of Bloody Mary Mixes, Hot Sauces, Seasonings, Fresh Crab Meat & Shrimp, Vegetable and other Fixing's! AWESOME! The Chef obviously cares about the quality and quantity of food they put out. It Shows! After breakfast, walk through all the shops and enjoy this college town! My Suggestion is to go on Sunday and be seated in the dining room or out side! ENJOY!!! read more

Absolutely terrible service. The bartender was beyond rude when I tried to order. Will NEVER come back as a local.

Only stopped for a quick lunch and a beer. Beer selection was quite good but I was surprised that I ended up having one of the best cheeseburgers in my entire life. It's the Stuffed Burger. Stuffed with green peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheddar. I haven't a clue how they made it taste as good as it did but it's been a week and I'm still thinking about it. read more

Usually good but DO NOT ORDER their pizzas! They should be ashamed to serve these things!! 1/2 priced pizzas- not even if they were free! read more

good food, annoying campus. lots of college students like to party here and don't consider other people. some kid threw up next to my feet and got some on me. read more

I'm from out of town and didn't know where to eat. I made a mistake driving to a suggested restaurant and as I turned the corner I saw the Deer Park Tavern and pulled in. It was a pleasant surprise for a mistake in my directions. Food and service were great! I will definitely go back when I'm in Newark the next time! read more