We needed a quick bite before the game in Rochester and at the recommendation of the guys at the arena we took a quick walk down to the Exchange. When we entered the sports bar the tunes were going and drinks were flowing, definitely a place I can see as hopping for events. We were seated in the back and luckily we knew what we wanted to order, I split some tenders with the little yelper and misses ordered the mozzarella sticks. The mozz sticks were nice crispy and had that cheese stretch which is always good. The tenders though, hand breaded which is nice but they were really overcooked, to the point the breading had that weird taste to it. Neither of us were really impressed by the 3 tenders, but we powered down 2 of them thanks to some ketchup , Nashville hot and bleu cheese. As great as the waitress was , next time it'll be just beverages. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - House Breaded Tenders - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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A so so experience. I was staying in the area and needed a 9:00 PM beer and bite. I had the small Caesar salad with chicken add-on, cup of chili and 2 beers. The Caesar was adequate with a fair portion of add-on chicken. The chili was sub-par: thin and soup like, not many beans or beef. The bartender was more interested in talking with her friends and family and taking care of other customers by follow-up. Would I repeat? In a pinch if I had. O other choice. read more

The exchange is what you'd expect a sports bar to be... loud, energetic, or sometimes completely dead. The bartenders are usually good but sometimes appear to be very overwhelmed. I've never had an issue asking them to put on a specific game. The prices are fair. It's actually one of the cheaper places I'm aware of. I would come here to watch sports. The food is what you'd expect a sports bar to give you. read more

I got the chicken tenders basket to go - a truly underrated bargain! 3 HUGE chicken tenders and fries for about $11. You definitely have enough to save for a second meal. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Checked tenders- more like cutlets - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Visited here before a Knighthawks game in March on a Saturday at around 5:15. There were people in the restaurant but not too busy. Service was sooooo slow. It took about 15 - 20 minutes to have our drink order taken. Menu changed since the last time we visited so it was disappointing not to see the delicious buffalo chicken salad I had last time was no longer in the menu. I tried the burrito bowl and it was delicious. My husband enjoyed the chicken Parmesan sandwich. Two stars off as the noise, even though not busy is so difficult to hear. I had to order my drink twice as the waitress didn't hear my order the first time due to noise and she brought out our appetizer with the meal as she didn't hear my husband say we wanted it as an appetizer and not with our meals. 2nd star off for the extreme slow service. Although everyone working there was incredibly friendly. read more

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Pretty large with outside deck so plenty of seating and many TVs all around. There is a parking lot so free parking available. I had the fish tacos with grilled tuna and wow! Super tasty and plenty of fish. The staff is attentive and friendly granted I went after work on a Monday so it was pretty empty. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Fish Tacos - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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I've been to 50 bars on between Waterford and Medina In the last 5 weeks traveling the Erie Canal. Marissa who tended bar on Wednesday was the best bartender out of any of them. Her personality transformed an otherwise generic drinking hole into a place where I wanted to hang out for hours. Id go out of my way to stop back in if she's working, otherwise I'd pass by to find someplace else. It's kind of indicative of how "atmosphere" comes from the bartender more than the architecture or even the drinks. read more

Tried this place for the first time on our way to a comedy show at the Blue cross arena. We got here just in time because it got extremely busy. I assume because of the show. We came on a Wednesday night. I noticed a lot of people ordered the chicken tenders which were definitely as big as chicken cutlets. They were very good. It came with fries and BBQ sauce. I got blue cheese and country sweet added. I should of added 2 more sauces each because it wasn't enough. Half way through my plate I ordered more but never got it. We wanted another drink too but we could not get the bartenders attention. They were really busy and he was the only one at the bar. We felt bad for him. He did the best he could. They definitely needed more staff on. We also ordered the nachos. They were ok.. the chili on it was more bean based than meat. There was no whole beans in it at all. It cooked down to a soupy bean sauce. We were not a fan of it but did like all the toppings. I would go back for the tenders. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Ultimate Nachos - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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This is hands down the best bar I've ever been to. It's not just about the tasty food, the excellent service, or the fun atmosphere, it's a real life episode of Cheers in there. All the staff there are really cool and interesting to talk to, but Marissa in particular is by far the best bartender I've ever met. Come for the food and drink, stay for the vibes! read more

I enjoy the bar - prices are a bit high compared to other places. Food isn't bad, standard bar food. Huge chicken tenders. It's a great place to watch a game. The major downfall are the hours. They list hours and don't hold to them. For example today tried to go at 8:30pm when they're listed as open and the place is pitch black. We've lived in the neighborhood for years and this is an occasional occurrence. I would give them a call before you go. read more

I enjoy going to this local spot. I usually come here after the gym or meeting friends here after sport games. The atmosphere is friendly and the staff really takes care of you. I usually order their Blackened Chicken and I believe it's their sweet cider that they have, I always forget what it's called, but they never disappoint. The prices are affordable and I love their patio at night. They have a small fire pit and turn on the patio lights, such a beautiful scenery. You can watch and hear the cars drive past on the highway, which that's my favorite thing to take in if I'm staring out in space. The experience is amazing. There's a lot a sport bars, but nothing compares to this one. Such a lovely place, if you're in the area, stop by, grab a drink and be merry!! :) read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Blackened Chicken Club Wrap - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Great service! Food was excellent and the vib was fun. watch sports here, hockey, nfl, nba, etc.

We waited 1hr. and 20min to get a burger and chicken sandwich. Yes, there was an event at BCA and yes you were busy. The real issue with this is looking at my bill. Yes I should of looked at it last night, but we were in a hurry after an 1hr 45mins of being there! Here's the issue, looking at the bill the waitress up charged us for items we didn't order! She brought them out with our food and we thought maybe because of the long wait. Also on the bill was a servers name Jeff, and clearly she was not. Also the area that was on the check was incorrect, as to where we were seated. So how many times does this happen? Like I said that's on me for not double checking our bill. Won't be going back or recommending this place to anyone! read more

I visit this spot @least twice monthly for a drink and a quick bite usually on Friday nights. Not usually packed, however this past weekend a hockey game was in town so there literally was No tables available @dinner time. Michael(Bartender)was perfect!! My friend asked for a drink whom the one Gal said they did not offer, Michael came over &offered to make a drink similar to it:-) He made sure to check in throughout the night;great personality wonderful service!!! Will be returning! Wings&Pub pretzels were pretty tasty. read more

Great bar to come to before or after an Amerks game! Drinks are cheap and the atmosphere is great. As soon as you walk in you see plenty of local sports fans watching sports on the multiple TVs or having fun talking and playing darts. There are 2 darts boards available. Which we had no issue grabbing one to play when we arrived. My friends and I felt very comfortable hanging out here and even came back after the game. Beer towers are only $16 and they serve about 2-3 beers for a group of 5. That's an awesome deal! Highly recommend checking this place out if you're in downtown Rochester. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Tonight I ordered take out from exchange, the first time ordering food from this establishment which I consider more of just a bar. Blackened chicken wrap with Mac salad I'll start with the bad part so I can end on a positive note to not today bad mouth the bar which I enjoy. The bad: The Mac salad, point blank period it was awful, and I don't think it was their type of Mac salad but it was their freshness, I took a few bites and immediately wanted to spit it out, I thought maybe it was just not my "cup of tea". After I took a smell of the Mac salad I soon found out it was ALOT more about how old it was, the salad stunk like it has spoiled days ago, nearly ruining my entire appetite. The good: The wrap, after the first few bites of that Mac salad I needed something to immediately cleanse my palate. It was the wrap and wow did it not disappoint, one of the best wraps I've ever had, every bite was a perfect distribution of ingredients. It held together perfectly as well. So which could have been a potential 5 star review is sadly dropped all the way to a 2 star over proper storage or the longevity of a food item. Quite sad. read more

I have been a resident. the area for a number of years and attended exchange as my go to bar as a result. The past year to a year and a half it had been quite disappointing as it has continuously operated outside of its hours listed online closing earlier. Today is a prime example as I had attempted to attend with numerous friends for my birthday with their hours being listed until midnight only for them to be closed before 9pm. I understand that hours are not the same for all establishments as they were pre-Covid, but a lack of providing proper hours leaves me little hope that the establishment that I used to trust to operate will continue to do so properly. read more

I ordered for lunch through Grubhub a little later than the normal lunch rush (order placed around 12:40 with delivery around 1:05). Food was decent but the Southwest Wrap was more than pressed, it was burned on one side. The Soup of the Day came in a small bowl and was only 2/3 of the way full. It was Broccoli Cheese I believe and it had some kick to it. It was pretty good but not even near a full serving. Seemed pricey for what I got as well. I would not order from them again. read more

This was a great place to stop before heading to blue cross arena for an americans game! It was pretty packed which did make for a loud restaurant since it's one big open room. We were able to get quick drinks for a good price (thanks to happy hour deals 3-7) which was a positive. Our group wanted to grab a high top table to order food and it was hard to get the attention of any hostess/server. We were able to finally grab the table and menus but then were left alone again to search for a waitress when we needed to order food. One of us actually ordered at the bar which turned out to be a quicker solution. The food we ordered was hot and delicious. The service could have been better, but I guess that's what happens on a busy Friday before an americans game. If I'm in the area again I would try this spot again! read more

This is not my kind of bar. Really, any sports bar isn't my kind of bar. Well, because of sports, and the sports clientele. No offense to those who love it, it's just not my thing... because sports. I happened upon this place with a fellow crew of peeps who suggested it (likely because of its close proximity to Blue Cross Arena... they were heading to an Amerks game). It's the revamped Nathaniels and a nice improvement at that. Vaulted ceilings and what not. Anyway, we came, we drank vodka sodas. But I'm really here to tell you about the food. Surprise! Scrumptious! I had the southern fried chicken sandwich. Uber tender, light crispy crust, doused in homemade ranch, on a buttery bun with homemade pickles. I devoured it all. Let me tell you, that ranch dressing is what's up! I asked for an extra side of it so I could dip my fries in it - I over did it, worth it! Finished every single fry... the portion was like a basket of 'em. Friends liked the wings and the burgers too! Come for the sports, stay for the food. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Southern fried chicken - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Food was good, but service was AWFUL. We went into the restaurant at about 4:30 on the day of the RIT Homecoming Hockey Game at BCBS. The staff was woefully unprepared for the crowd that arrived from about 4:45 to 6:00. It was totally unacceptable that you'd let everyone that arrived at the door have a seat, then ignore them, because you were not prepared. Lesson: Only seat those that you can provide good service - no more. Furthermore, our waiter (Nick) had NO sense of urgency - he had one speed SLOW. And, he totally blew-off delivering a round of drinks that we asked him for. We've been going to this place for years prior to games at BCBS. No more....I'll find a new place with management that understands good service. read more

I forgot what this place was called two years ago when I moved (Nathaniel's maybe?), but I don't remember being very impressed. I recall mediocre food and beer selection. It looks like the place has gotten a face lift. It's a little less grungy than before. I grabbed a beer and ate some poutine here. I thought their draft beer selection was surprisingly good. They had Grapefruit Sculpin IPA on draft which a nice surprise. The poutine was basic, but pretty palatable and I would order again. read more

Sports. The bartenders are friendly. The tap list seems to rotate, but there are always craft and the standard domestic options available. The food is always pretty good. There are a few dart boards and a basketball game if there are no sports on. The deck is a nice escape when the weather is okay. read more

For work, my association decided this would be a good place to go to after work for some food and drinks. I think this is the place for co-workers to go after work because I say three other departments there. The bar is decent sized but it seemed the bar got crowded fast. I only went to hang out so I only had one drink, no complaints. I didn't get food, which I should of because a ton of it looked amazing. Bar tenders were super nice and helpful with suggestions. I definitely need to make my way back here! read more

World Cup 2018! My son was up from Boston for a few days and today was the only day I had off to spend some quality time with him so we decided to see the "Word Cup" at The Exchange sport bar and grill. Good choice, semi crowded with enthusiastic fans. Had the mahi mahi fish tacos and my son had the Rochester Burger which had meat sauce, a taste of home for him. Yum! Definitely would come back during the Buffalo Bills season. 20+ flat screen TV's. read more

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I was obsessed with this bar the first time I came in and I couldn't wait to find time in my schedule to come back in. I came in with my boyfriend a few weeks ago to enjoy a beer or two on a Tuesday night and unfortunately I had misplaced my license and was awaiting the arrival of a new one. Thankfully, DMV immediately sends you a temporary license after you order your new one. You are able to print the new license out and use that when needed. Granted, this temporary license does not have your photo on there, I have several credit cards and school identification cards with my name and face on there. So we come in, the bar is pretty empty and there is a male bartender who greets us. He gets a beer, I order a vodka soda and we are asked for identification. Quick note: I am 27, so is he. I completely understand being ID'd. That point I am not arguing right now. I explain to the bartender that I misplaced my license, I handed him my temporary, AN OFFICIAL STATE ISSUED document along with my debit card that had my same name and photo on it and he told me he could not accept it. This guy seemed laid back and cool so I actually thought he was kidding and kind of laughed it off and put it back in my purse. I looked back up waiting for him to get the vodka soda and he literally said, "No I am serious I can't accept that." You can't accept a legal, official, state issued document? I was dumbfounded. Such a disappointment so we got up and left. Quite frankly, it was embarrassing I was embarrassed that I had to get up and walk out of this bar and others who were at the bar were exchanging glances at me wondering why we were getting up shortly after walking in. Sad, really. read more

I had the grilled cheese burger. Thought it was really good could not finish it could have had more fries fries were seasoned and perfect. My daughter built her own cheeseburger with Angus beef in a brioche bun mayo and bacon. Every time she took a bite she did they happy dance loved her seasoned fries we would come back if we were in the area. read more

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So I work about a 3 minute walk from here and finally decided to take myself to lunch. Walked in to a MUCH nicer place than it was as "the other place".... really nicely updated, bright, clean, modern... I was impressed. It was around 12:30 on a week day and the place was not very busy... one or two other tables. My wonderful server( grrr.. can't remember her name!!) took my order very quickly... offered up suggestions and answered my questions... she was just awesome! .. it wasn't long until the bartender brought me my food (way to cover each other when there's food to be delivered guys!!) he was so damn sweet also.. placed my food down & got the salt and pepper and condiments out of their holders for me... I was smitten!!!! I got a grilled romaine hearts salad either balsamic dressing that was awesome and some deviled eggs with sriracha!!! Filled up my iced tea, checked on me.. left the bill...said thank u come again.. all just a perfect lunch in-an-hour experience!!! Affordable for lunch as well... I'm Pretty sure It was under 15 and took some of both home. Yay!! read more

Exchange Sports Bar - Grilled romaine hearts salad.. yum! - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

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My husband and I stopped in for a bite to eat there last week Wednesday. I ordered a Chardonnay and we sat at a table near the bar/game area. There were so many fruit flies, or little flies, whatever they were, flying around and landing in my wine, I needed to put a napkin over my wine to keep them out. Our food was good. But the annoying flies kept us waving them away. read more

The good: fun crowd,.Bills, Steelers and even a guy with a Miami shirt. Wings, decent sized, cooked just right. Nice wait staff. 3 buck pints of Labatt during games. The bad: the wings cane with some sprigs of arugula as a garnish, no celery or carrots. We legit thought the watery dressing was ranch. It was explained that that was the house blue cheese, and the waitress said she'd bring another. The next one was same but she promised to bring some crumbly Bleu to thicken it up. The crumbly blue arrived when we had two Wings left so a little late. Because of the wait staff and how other food looked, I would probably stop back here although not during a game. It's very loud there are hard floors walls in and the high ceiling and so the sound reverberates. Some drapery or fabric hung from the rafters would help a lot to soak up the reverberations. read more

Every time I've been to the Exchange I've had a great time. Better than the previous iteration of this location, this bar features TVs everywhere you turn and a great menu. It's a sports bar so you'll expect to see something on the TVs at any given time. The location is great as it's a stones throw away from the Blue Cross Arena. If you are planning on attending any event there, stop by the Exchange first. There are quite a few beers on tap along with a well stocked liquor shelf. The food is fantastic as well. I've gone with burgers and sandwiches when I was there (So good) along with pickle chip and nachos appetizers. The food is more than your typical sports bar fair which makes it that much better. Ample seating and a large parking lot make the Exchange Sports bar one of my local waterholes when it comes to sports. Fantastic. read more

Please reference Mackenzie S's review for my experience. We came here over the weekend and maggots were in our beer. When asked to speak to the manager we were told there was not one on site and we left contact information for them to follow up. Two days have gone by and no one has reached out. We've also called and there has been no pickup on the restaurant to end. Poor service. Poor experience. Poor management. Will not be coming back here. read more

Exchange Sports Bar - MAGGOTS IN MY BEER. All I need to say. This place is the worst. - Sports Bars Near Me - Rochester, New York

Went there with my friends and they ordered a beer tower, there were maggots floating in the beer. It was clearly the tower that was not cleaned properly. That was actually not the worst part (weird right), the bartender felt bad, but there was no manager on and she was "too busy" to come in to speak with us. We obviously cancelled our food order and left. However, after providing contact info, no call from the manger. We called back several times and never heard back from the manger. My opinion, poorly run business. You are in the customer service industry, should probably try to please your customers or at least apologize. read more

I was harressed beyond believe. I have two service dogs that were refused service, and the dog we adopted they accused was malnurtioned. The dog we originally had we rescued from a poor environment, but we are trying our best to bulk him up. They only treat their dogs and customers and regulars with privileges. Also a regular that they well knew was touchy feely decided to put his hands down my pants and let him resume to drink there. Terrible place for your dogs or humans. read more

All I can say is WOW!! Rayna was amazing!! Super personable and informative!! I'm in the industry and her personality is top notch! Go on in to the Exchange Sports Bar and ask for this girl! She's got it all!! read more

Looking for a place to eat after a concert at Blue Cross Arena, and stumbled on this. Decided to stop in. Initial impressions were that this is definitely for a younger crowd (20's to early 30's). The music was really loud too, but we were starving so we decided to stay. We were seated immediately, and our drinks were promptly delivered. We ordered the Poutine for an appetizer and it was delicious. After a short time, the waiter took our order for our entree's. I got the farmhouse burger and my wife got the southern chicken. They were delivered promptly as well. Both meals were outstanding, as was our waiter. He was very attentive without being intrusive. I would definitely recommend this place and wouldn't hesitate to stop back the next time we are in town. Only reason for 4 stars instead of 5, is the music was very loud, and we had to shout at a table for 2, just to have a conversation. But like I said, this is definitely for a younger crowd. read more

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We went to Exchange for the first time on 6/11/16. I was excited as I've been a fan of Brickwood for years - great food, good selection of beer, impeccable service. We order a couple pitchers of beer, poutine and nachos. The poutine was super soggy and not to mention, cold. I could have made better white chicken chili nachos out of my dorm room 10 years ago - and again, cold. I'll admit, we were all feeling pretty loose and all acknowledged the lackluster food and luke warm temp. but we were drunk and hungry so we just went with it. It also took ages to get our final bill. When the beer is empty and the food is gone, our patience was quickly declining. To be honest, no one was paying any attention to us, we could have just walked out. Will I go back - maybe for a drink. Will i recommend? Probably not. read more

Food was very good and atmosphere was great! Service was friendly but a little slow. Other than that, I definitely recommend!

Andrea was an amazing bartender!!! We ended up at the bar after Corn Hill Arts Fest after moving walking distance less than a month ago. We will be back!! Andrea was the only bartender working but was amazingly attentive and recommended amazing drinks and mixed delicious cocktails!! We will be back for sure!!!! read more

Ordered food. Waited an hour for delivery (quoted 20-30m). Call and and told they are closed. No one to answer yet they are listed open on all platforms. If your going to say your open be open. Wasted an hour of my time and $30 of my money I might get back after more time and energy from Uber. read more