When I first moved to Royal Oak, many many years ago, I came here almost every day. The staff are friendly and who doesn't like good beer specials, and a windows that open in the summer? Through the course of time I simply moved on to other places to drink and/or hang out. These days, my hangout time is very limited (thank you job!) and I happened to be in Royal Oak Friday afternoon and decided to pop in to de-stress. The patio is pretty empty around 3:00 on a weekday, so I sat out back with my mini pizza and large bottle of Hacker Pschorr and had some me time. I like the pizza here. It isn't the best but it is good. I often forget exactly how many beers they offer. The bar should get props for this alone. I had such a calming great time that a few of us came back on Saturday but one of the fair skinned in my group didn't want to sit outside. OK, they have large windows that open so call it a trade off. We spent more of our Saturday here and can't wait to come back again. read more

The Rock On Third - 73 degrees, a patio and this beer - New American Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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Discriminates! I don't know how this place is in business. Terrible service & food but does not beat our final experience... My husband and I will never go here again. We just moved to Michigan and met up with some friends, got a table had a beer and some food & decided to play darts. My husband stepped out to plug the meter and when trying to re-enter the manager checking ID's would not let him return because he was to intoxicated... I get it, every drunk person denies there drunk but he was driving that night and had literally consumed 2 labatts prior and one beer at the rock within 3 hours. It was insulting and completely unnecessary. We work in the restaurant industry and understand the liability of overserving. This experience seemed to be driven off of peer discrimination. If I could, I would take back spending a dime in a place that supports discrimination. read more

Since it's mid-September, this may well be my last 'outside' dining experience and I'm a little sad that it didn't end with a bang. I really like the location of this place. It's in downtown RO but not right along Main Street so you don't have every passerby and their dog staring at you and your food. The hubs and I ended up here after attempting to get into Lockhart's. An hour wait for 2 famished people will not make a pleasant couple so we ventured over to the The Rock - of course talking like Sean Connery the whole time. We sat along their outside sidewalk and ordered an Erdinger and a Spaten. Both pretty good German beers and they have an excellent selection of beer from all over the place. Neither of us enjoy drinking with our meal so we ordered 2 waters as well. Unfortunately we're still waiting for those. I ordered a cup of chili and a taco salad. Hubs ordered a turkey sandwich. Nothing stood out as spectacular or even very good. Nothing was horrible, but fairly average. Everything on their menu looked like typical bar food. Potato skins, pizza, sandwiches...etc. All the things you crave after you've had a few too many. Our server was friendly and not slow, but the water thing bugged us. Also, they take your credit card when you order to keep as a tab, but then handed us the check. Um, I'd love to pay but you have my credit card at the bar. That back and forth process seemed unnecessary and avoidable. The Rock did fill our incredibly empty bellies so we walked away feeling satisfied. I would probably consider it more of a late night fix than a place for dinner, but I would definitely go back and work my way through that beer menu. read more

The Rock On Third - New American Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

I love this place for exactly what it is - a cool neighborhood bar. It has great service, a fantastic patio with privacy from Main Street, beautiful flowers and pretty good food. I'm a huge fan of he giant wings and always get them after a couple of drinks. Love coming here on a summer night! read more

My normal bar hasn't opened back up since the start of the pandemic and I have been checking out a few alternatives. This has become my go to for a couple of beers and BLT. I like the open air windows, and very reasonably priced beer and food. The staff is genuinely friendly, not like they are being nice because they work for tips. During the week there is plenty of outdoor seating, not sure about weekends. If you're hungry be sure to call ahead because like every bar/restaurant they are having staffing issues and occasionally close their kitchen Tues/Wed so their staff can have a few days off. read more

I came to this place because another place was closed. The service was ok( I had better) and the ambiance was so so. There is a juke box and darts located in the back of the bar. The place was packed and almost every seat was taken. The huge plus for me is that they were the only bar on that strip that served food after 10pm-11pm. The kitchen was open until 1am, which was awesome!!! We'd ordered a couple of appetizers and drinks. The bourbon cocktail was absolutely phenomenal! It was the perfect blend of aAlcohol and juice. That drink was incredible and I highly recommend trying their cocktail options. read more

Sat out on the deck nice and clean and off the main roads. My wife and I split the pizza, very good, and had some leftovers. Everything on the menu was reasonably priced and good service. Peace read more

Fries were not edible under cooked. Food took an hour and we ordered Carryout. Sandwich was good but not worth the wait. Very displeased but staff was nice! read more

You need to keep your expectations as a loud, hole-in-the-wall based bar because if you label it that way, this bar is perfect! There are a decent amount of tables inside and outside, and also a very long bar. A few times I have went there and they had a 24 oz. Soft Parade for $3.00. Awesome deal! Their bucket of booze is always fun to split with friends too around a table. Every so often a song will come on (mostly 90s and early 2000s is played along with some 80s songs every so often) and the ENTIRE bar chimes in to sing the song, even the bouncer. It's a great time. Ignore the low reviews, the low reviews are those who are used to high class and organized bars. read more

Great sports bar with great atmosphere! We caught the hockey game and found a few interesting hockey players to chat up! Our bartender Sara knew us by name! Felt like Hometown Hangout! Love this place and we'll definitely be back! read more

The Rock On Third - Bellied up! - New American Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Restaurant was clean, service was relatively slow for the amount of diners. Ordered the "Famous" ribs and wings. Ribs were as described fall off the bone and the meat was tender, ketchup based bbq sauce was good but a little sweet for my liking. Would order the again. Wings were average with a classic Buffalo sauce but the skin was not crispy and they were a touch greasy. Waitress seemed occupied otherwise, when asked to separate bill 2 diners were correctly charged and third was charged full bill amount, waitress happily corrected and was made right. read more

Rock on Third is one of our favorite bars in Royal Oak. The food is delicious, highly recommend their wings and fries! Staff is super nice and is just an overall great place to dine and hangout! read more

I like this joint. Late night drinking spot. decent and varied craft beer selection and good rock 'n'roll music, Elton John, Styx, Meatloaf, Queen, John Denver. Great place to end the night. Just wish the kitchen stayed open later!!! read more

First place we sat down at since the pandemic and man what a choice we made. The Wings here are the best kept secret in town but they took them to another level with a new sauce, Hot Honey. We also had the original Hot which were as good as ever. The wings have a crispy crunch to them that you don't find at most places, they are damn good. Antipasto salad on the side was a hit as well. Throw in their good selection of beer and you've got yourself an great place to hang with family/friends. read more

Drink the cocktails at your own risk! I drank something that was supposed to have curaçao, tequila and sprite in it... and I am almost positive they gave me a glass with just tequila and some curaçao! I took one sip and ordered a beer instead. The food was alright but nothing magnificent about it. It's a little dive bar. Would be fine if you just wanted to stop in for a beer. Service was pretty slow, and it wasn't busy so I was slightly disappointed. Over all, I've definitely been to worst places. read more

Good beer selection and bathrooms are decently clean. The place seems to have gotten a recent facelift but it's still a stanky old bar! May order french fries from the kitchen but it's really only good for a drink! read more

Waited an hour for burgers. Not for the time sensitive. Food is very average as welll.

This was my favorite bar and always a go-to for me when going out... NOT ANYMORE! I came here to sit on the patio as they have a back one/street one and not to be crowded inside and have fresh air - we are still in a pandemic after all. I walked in and the bouncer asked for my ID - no big deal happens often, I showed it to him in my wallet and he went to grab it then I pulled back because I didn't want this man who just touched three other peoples ID in front of mine now touching mine with his bare hands and because I pulled back he said now if I want to get in I have to take it out - reluctantly I did but I held it so he couldn't grab it again but just able to see it better and he SNATCHED it out of my hands and his hands were seriously DIRTY - after he had my ID I saw how disgusting and dirt filled, literally black marks in his nail beds and on his fingertips - this guy hasn't washed his hands in probably 2 DAYS! I was SO disgusted, I put my wallet away in my pocket, put my ID in a different pocket and went and washed my hands right after. As I walked away he said "Welcome to the big city" what is that even supposed to mean? We are in Royal Oak? Has he even been to a real city? I went home and alcohol wiped my ID 3 times let it sit out overnight then did 3 more times the next day. My partner and I WILL NOT be back again for many months after this experience. STAY AWAY! read more

I guess it depends on what you're looking for, but definitely not my favorite place. They don't have high quality cocktails and I'd rather go to other places for beer. The food was average. Again, there are many other places nearby with much better grub. If you like the game/dive scene, it's got a similar vibe to New Way Bar in Ferndale, which I prefer. read more

Why Can't I Give This Place NO Stars? If you're looking for terrible service and a catty bitch to wait (or not, but just pretend) on you, this is your place. I was at The Rock on Third earlier this evening - a Sunday - with a friend and we had an unpleasant experience. After standing around near what we thought was the hostess area for about 10 minutes two guys sitting at the bar told us they had sat outside for about 20 minutes with no service and ended up going to the bar. We flagged down the bartender and he was very nice, getting us our drinks and telling us someone would be out on the patio to give us menus shortly. That never happened. My friend went inside and asked the same bartender for menus, who promptly brought them to us, looking around for the wait staff that should probably have been there. He ultimately took our order and brought us the food when it was ready. In the meantime, a woman who obviously worked there was seated outside at the table next to us; she was greeted with a huge smooch by the bar back who swept in to our space to grab an empty glass but didn't bother to check on us. This "character" swarmed around their table doing not much else but making idle chit chat the entire time we were there. Out of the blue a waitress came by and told my friend to "get out of the way" (meaning walkway) because (imaginary) "staff and customers" had to be able to get through and she was blocking the way. She said it in a rather rude way, too. There was no customer service capability in her voice. Not long after that exchange I flagged down the aforementioned bar back and asked for our bill...which was brought to us not a short time later by someone we'd never seen. He told us the amount and I asked to see the bill, making sure it was actually ours. I asked to see the manager and he told us he was the manager. I told him I'd been coming to this place for about 5 years and it was the worst service ever (and honestly, it was). I also asked if the women at the next table getting great service were employees, which he confirmed. He was apologetic but still snatched my credit card saying if I decided to come back he'd take care of me and that it would be better; I wasn't born yesterday and hardly believe that. We ended up at The Rock because it was the only place with an open patio seat...and now I know why. On the way out the bitchy off duty wait staff made nasty comments about our clothes and shoes, more than likely as a comeback for me expressing my displeasure with the entire experience. This was so not worth the price of a quesadilla and two glasses of wine. I will not be back and don't recommend it to anyone, at all, ever. read more

This place is only good Thursdays-Saturday. Especially Thursday when they have $1 beers and it's packed with lots of interesting people. I went there on an off night and there were hardly 10 people there not including my group. We ordered food...which was a bad idea.... My reuben was ok but the corned beef tasted more like generic deli meat, not hearty at all and the sauerkraut was really dry and stringy (my bf called it "confetti"). My bf ordered a cheese steak sandwich w/ fries... which was a train wreck. The meat was burnt to a crisp and salty as hell! Adding ketchup didn't counteract the saltiness one bit. And the portion of fries was so small, i thought they counted each stick before plating it as if there was a limit on them... Anyways it's good for beers on Thursdays, don't go there for food, ever! read more

Came here for an after dinner 'don't want to go home yet' drink and I have to say the specials were on point for a Thursday night. The place wasn't too packed and the service was great. Our waitress didn't hesitate to tell us the specials and suggested Short's Brewing Co. Soft Parade when my friend wanted a fruity beer. I, on the other hand went with a Labatt Blue Light.. I'm a fan of LBL and it was also on special for $1! Bottled beer for a dollar is hard to come by now a days and I wish I didn't have to go to work the next day because I would've stayed there all night. Icing on the cake: our waitress then comes over and tells us that Jameson is also on special and shots are FREE. I think my facial expression said it all because she took that as a yes. Jameson for free? It's not St. Patricks Day! It's a Thursday night where I just wanted one more beer before heading home. $1 bottles and free Jameson is asking for trouble. Of course I asked for pickle backs which my friend never had and now is in love. If you don't know.. take a shot of pickle juice after a shot of whiskey or tequila and it's a party in your mouth. Don't trust me? Try it and then let me know how you like it. I like this bar a lot.. and if they have specials like this all the time.. good marketing tool because I will be back to find out. read more

Worst bar experience ever... Who can say that about a bar?? A bar!!! My colleagues and I decided to start our celebration of the last day of school at this establishment. There were about 20-22 of us . We were ready to make it rain $$$$ as this was last day of school and we were in a happy, celebratory mood. There were about 20 other patrons in the establishment. They seemed to be quite alright with our celebratory mood- even joining us for a few whoooooot whooots, yaaaaaays... Were we quiet, no!!! By 7:30 we had probably spent about $600-$800 between food, drinks and shots for 20-22 people and were were generously tipping. As tradition, one of us gets a lap dance by some stranger that we recruit- it's all done n fun- no one has ever complained . We had one innocent teacher and one recruited dancer all of us laughing , whooting and enjoying the moment- next thing we know we are being asked to leave. We were too loud and we didn't ask for permission to do a lap dance. We were dumbfounded! All but 1 patron found us to be enjoyable. We were told that our actions weren't appropriate for 7:30 but we could be loud at 12 am... WTH??? Never ever ever ever have I ever experienced this. We chose a bar and not a freaking high end posh bar. Whatever!we took our fun and $$$ elsewhere . Other issues- waitress had difficulty making change as she had difficulty subtracting- you had to pay as you drank (cash not credit or debit)- no tabs and pay at end. Food could be on tab but not split amongst patron.. It was confusing. read more

We went here with the intention of getting a couple of drinks due to its close proximity to the Winter Blast, where the prices were criminal--highly inflated compared to 2 years ago. In addition to drinks, we ordered a basket of homemade fries, which were fresh out of the fryer and super hot. Delicious! My cider in a can and the fries were a good deal; however, the 2 Hearted on tap was a bit pricey. Even though the place was packed with Winter Blast attendees, the service was efficient and friendly. It was a true party atmosphere. Next time, I would like to try more of their food. read more

I didn't give them five stars because of their attitude; at times they seem to forget who they should be catering to versus who they are catering to. Us locals bring the crowds being here not the other way around. Local should be treated with the higher regard in downtown Royal Oak; we built this city. There's a local who spent quite a bit of money there, it was all too easy to turn around and be forgotten. Since then I have not been back nor will I go back. Dollar beers are fine and all but the crowd is so eclectic you're no idea who you should walk up to you and talk with. It seems every bar in Royal Oak has their click while the rock on third can be a rocking bar, you never know what to expect. Of the 4 or 5 visits, my and view of the establishment is 50-50 on the quality. read more

The Rock On Third - What you would see it from 3rd street as you pass the rock on third - New American Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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It's a good place for darts and drinking cheap beers. Went there last weekend for a few drinks. About 5 or 6 beers cost around 25 bucks with a tip which is a pretty decent deal. read more

This one is going to be nice and quick because this is an insanely basic place. Cons: -They do not split tabs here, that is your job to do. This infuriated several people we were with and being myself, we took the helm and figured this out, while everyone else got pissed. That is absolutely absurd. I'm not sure why they just couldn't have had 4 different tabs going as it was an empty Sunday. Make sure you know that going in. -Food this is bar food at best and not even that great of bar food. - Not the most knowledgeable of waitstaff Pros: The sunday special running was dollar off craft beers. This was an excellent deal and really excellent for day drinking on a sunday! In closing, I would only go to this place if I wanted to have a few drinks in Royal Oak and preferably during happy hour. I would never eat here and now I am prepared for the headache that is splitting checks here. read more

I don't venture to Royal Oak that often because I find it over crowded and trendy; however, it is a nice half way point for my friends and I. We were off and walking around when we thought we would try The Rock. I'm glad we stopped in. the bar had a nice atmosphere and would be a place that I would come back to. We didn't try the food but the beer was good and plentiful. the waitstaff was hard to track down but it was a relaxing night out on the town. Overall - nice selection of beer and nice atmosphere. Don't plan on getting served unless you seek someone out of go to the bar. read more

Not gunna lie the drinks were ridiculously strong (not my preference but I know most people like everything that way) The food was disgusting, but the main reason it gets 2 stars is the service, I normally tip 30% -50% but this girl literally came around once an hour and got mad at us for cashing out at the bar (I'm sorry but I didn't want to wait another hour just to pay my bill) and as much as it pained me to give such a bad tip I simply had too, I've never had a server give me an attitude.. EVER They get that extra star for the bartender having a heavy hand, but as far as royal oak goes... I'll be at Diablos read more

One word---AWFUL!! We will not be back. The food was terrible and poor quality. My husband's salad was terrible and made with old ice berg lettuce. One star is too much! read more

The Rock is one of those hidden gems of Royal Oak. It looks pretty dive-y - the inside IS dive-y. But sometimes you're in the mood for no-frills pizza and beer. This is the place. It's dark inside. There are dart boards in the back and the game is always on. You get the picture. Wear your jeans and grab your buds. It's THAT place. The cool thing, though, is if you like that sort of place but you need to impress a new date, but not go too fancy schmancy, this place could accommodate you in the summer months. There's an outdoor patio that really fancies up the place - lattice, greens, pretties...it's NICE. And you can say you know this great little place in Royal Oak because you know you've gotten drunk here with the dudes, throwing darts and being obnoxious (fellas, she doesn't have to know that!). Service has always been great. Parking is the basic Royal Oak nightmare. I've always gotten the pizza which my boyfriend said was better than Comos. He's crazy, but it IS good. Just go. You'll like it! read more

The Rock on 3rd is my go-to meetup place for moderate sized groups of people. The bar side has quite a few tables that can be pushed together for as many people as you need, and they don't tend to be all taken unless it's late. My food review is exactly the same as Liz P.'s. I also came to Restaurant Week and ordered the same stuff she did, and agree that wow, they actually make awesome ribs. read more

Very crowded on weekends at night with its share of Royal Oak's nightlife. But I occasionally pop in at happy hour. Recently stopped in for a couple cheap pints and a burger. Place was dead, which is fine by me during the day. Cute waitress was polite, efficient, and friendly enough, I guess. As for my meal: the side of roasted sweet and white potatoes seemed to be hand cut and were really good--better than my hamburger, in fact. The burger was on the small side and obviously a pre-fab patty from the freezer. As a huge fan of bar burgers, I found this unforgivable. read more

This was the first time I've ever came to rock on third and received this bad of service. I'm not one to ever complain but this was something that cannot go unspoken. Our waitress was clearly under the influence of some sort and we received the WORST service we have ever seen. Luckily we reached out to another waitress who was so nice and helped us out with what was happening. I highly doubt management will ever care to receive this bad of review but I have to say something. read more

I know how hard people in the Hospitality industry work. I also know this is a small business with an owner that probably has his life savings tied up in this place. That being said The Rock is HORRIFIC. Its dank and depressing inside. They play loud noise over the speakers that is unrecognizable as music. You have to shout to have a conversation at the same table. It's a middle age crowd so that makes no sense. Given the environment I thought that maybe they're trying to be dive bar. No it's to hard to get a drink and they have only 3 beers on tap. Let's get to the meal which is inspiring the 1 star. I ordered the corn beef sandwich off of their UNinspiring menu. The bread was falling a part and nothing like typical deli bread. Not big enough to make a decent size sandwich from. There was nothing at all on the sand which except corn beef! The Sweet Potatoe fries were dripping in grease and folded over like a wet noodle. See the picture. I'm ancient enough to remember the moon landing and the 68 Tigers but this is the first time I've ever sent food back and did not reorder something else. The Manager came over and was defensive surprisingly but agreed not to charge me for something I was not going to pay for anyway. Side note. Serves 12 oz. Bottled beer in 8 oz glass. Just weird. read more

The Rock On Third - Sweet Potatoe Fries - New American Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

A great neighborhood bar to stop in for a drink. I dig the new patio seating. They've got s couple dart boards (electronic only) and a juke with a couple touchscreens around. The beer selection is very accommodating and the service is generally very good. Can't speak to the food but what I saw leaving their kitchen looked pretty good. read more

Just a fun corner bar. Drinks were good, prices very good for Royal Oak, bartenders nice and they played upbeat 80s-90s music along with classic rock mixed in. Went there with 4 couples to have some drinks after dinner and had a nice time. The place was hopping! read more

Service was not great on a slow Monday night. Now I understand why everyone was just drinking instead of eating. Food was wrong, we felt like a burden to the server and they check was my total scribbled on a tiny post it note. The Bacon was cooked well so they get an extra star for that. read more

One of the security guards at the front was rude ass to one of my friends when we having fun at the Star Wars Crawls. That friend and I are deaf, he was like say something stupid about being deaf then i was kinda yelled at him dont you dare and ill going to different bar not here. Their loss. read more

This place is beyond dirty with rude staff. The bathroom looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months. The manager was wearing a trump shirt and not wearing a mask. read more