Had dinner and drinks at the bar. Burger was ok, house made chips could use some seasoning. The Fat Jim sandwich was ok. Skinny fries were good & served hot. Bartender was very nice & friendly. Interior just looks worn & neglected. When Town Tavern was in the space it was a nice place to go with very good food. Now it's just ok. Can't see it making it in the competitive Royal Oak dining scene when there are so many options. read more

I came here a couple months ago on a Sunday afternoon. Place was absolutely empty. Asked to eat outside because the interior was so so dark. Staff was kind of just standing around. Getting our food and drink orders took a while. Nice people though Fries were solid, but the seasoning was a bit off. Also just shaved Parm on top Fried wings were pretty basic. Tasted good on a standalone basis. The sauces were a little weird Beer was great and cold. Some other, better spots to hit in that area in my opinion. Maybe I should go back to try again tho read more

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If you like your wings fried hard, this place is for you. they was good fr though. Their happy hour is 2pm-6pm with $2.50 well drinks. That's all I needed to know tbh. I got a tequila and lemonade. The customer service was good. I had a 10/10 experience. I have nothing bad to say. read more

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We picked Side Bar because they have a nice patio in the sun compared to other bars on Main Street. It took 10mins to be acknowledged by a server. Our drinks sat at the bar for another 10mins and I had to ask the bar tender if I could take them. Not a great experience read more

I went for New Year's Eve with some friends and it was honestly the best time! The place was empty when we got there, so we were a little unsure if we wanted to stay, but our server Dave made all the difference! He was so kind and hooked us up with some amazing deals. I only had drinks so I can't comment on the food. I had a great time celebrating and love when servers actually care about their customers, so will definitely be back! If the food is good then this will definitely be my new go to spot! read more

Recently opened, took over Town Tavern, which totally broke my heart. A good day to eat close by since we were dropped with some 10 inches of snow overnight and today. It's too cold to walk much and a pain to have to park downtown with the islands of snow in the middle of the roadways, but then again we found a spot within a block. Jess is waiting on us. Ordered truffle fries, as Gouda as it gets with avocado ilo of bacon, the olive oyl, Ty cobb salad less bacon. We are eating carbs galore since it's Fat Tuesday and we are going to cut out fried foods for Lent for the next 6.5 weeks. The truffles fries are not shoe string sized at all, but tasted quite good. Nicely seasoned, crispy, and flavorful. They are easy to inhale for sure. The Gouda as it gets is so vanilla and tasteless. I asked for some BBQ sauce to get it down. There's sautéed onions on it but it's devoid of flavor to me. It seemed dry, it needs some sauce to accompany this panini style sandwich. It's very lacking. The olive Oyl was okay, the garlic aioli was okay, the sandwich as a whole was bland and boring. The Ty Cobb is big, we split it into two bowls. The lettuce leaves were a bit old and burnt in my old and ate a few bites of lettuce that tasted rather expired. The balsamic dressing is also lack luster to me. They charged me $0.75 for a side of BBQ sauce for the fries, that should have been mentioned to me when I ordered it, no? I advised Jess to let customers know about the up charge. She told me one side comes with the fries, I said that's fine, it would have been good to let me know was all. It was all just okay, not quite deserving of the space it took over, just yet. The truffle fries was the best part of our meal tonight. Just take off the shoestring fries off the menu, they are normal sized fries. It has potential, but still needs some tweaking, as the service was good until the excuses at the end. read more

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My boyfriend and I came in from out of town to attend the ARTS BEATS & EATS festival over Labor Day weekend 2025. This was our experience at the restaurant, we came in, and the sign says please seat yourself and only customers can use the restroom. So my boyfriend and I pick out a high top to sit at. Furthermore, it should be said that we are both Wheelchair users so it's pretty hard not to know that we are there. We sat there for a minute by the bar, and my boyfriend went to use the restroom. He told me what he wanted to drink if anyone came to wait on us while he was gone. My boyfriend was in the bathroom a good half hour and no one came serve me and it's not like they didn't see me. I was sitting right next to bar. We left the restaurant filling discriminated against. We will never be going back here again! We need better training and how to treat their customers. I have tried to call and talk to a manager and have received no callback. read more

We love going to side bar! The food is always great and the drinks are amazing. My rec is always the Olive Oyl with truffle fries! For a drink, we've never had a bad choice off of the cocktails list, but my favorite is always the aviation. We're always seated so quickly with great service ready to make recommendations and help us out. We say every time that we're shocked it's not more crowded. Whether this is a hidden gem or if we just get lucky with our timing, more people should absolutely go check out side bar! Perfect for a chill date or to catch up with friends. read more

Amswer your phone! Your carryout service is horrible. 3rd time this has happened. Ive emailed you about this also.

This place use to have this special chicken salad sandwich on a pretzel bun probably a year ago. They use to change up their menu.....its been the same boring stuff for over a year really and they need to bring that sandwhich back! Other than that service and food is good....the just need to change thier sandwhiches. read more

Please post changes in hours places other than a paper sign taped to the door. I checked online, on their website and called, and when we showed up on Mother's Day, this place was closed. I am in a similar business and there is a real simple app 5at you can be that creates a pop-up box with important information...LIKE YOU ARE CLOSED on MOTHER's day‍ Even mentioning this place with have such a visceral reaction from my wife and relatives, that we would not think of patronizing it ever. Th ambiance of Being dark and closed, on one of the biggest restaurant days of the year is a red flag and the poor management of not even communicating it, it even worse. It is hard to find places that have both vegan and regular options. We might have loved it. Communication isn't that hard. But do just do a last minute paper sign in the window in 2023 is just lazy and sad. read more

Wow, I am not sure what happened. Somehow this review has been sitting in my draft since 04-18-2021. This was my first time coming here tonight. I met up with a couple of buddies after work for food and drinks. First off, I have to say Samantha was fantastic. She was a delight to deal with, and she put up with my buddies' boomer stuff. Lol, I mean shit, but I am not sure if I can say that on her. Anywho she was a delight to deal with, and honestly, dealing with my boomer friend, I feel like she went about and beyond. I got the chicken sandwich and chips, and it was fantastic. The chick was so juicy. And the chips, I think, were homemade. I will be back placed is an excellent hangout. read more

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Had good hopes.... The drinks were awful.... I mean awful... undrinkable The turkey sandwich was tasteless and dry AF The service...... Speechless... she was rude and could not be bothered. We aren't the only ones who thought this as the people next to us got up and left read more

I have been here twice so far and have truly enjoyed it for a date night with my boyfriend. Really amazing food, for the price, which is on the pricey side but, WORTH IT! Staff is always kind and helpful. I enjoy going out to this place on a weekend the vibes are chill with good music and fantastic lighting. read more

The Side Bar - Entrance to restaurant - Bars Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

This once was Royal Oak's only remaining fine dining, slightly upscale, restaurant. It was tastefully decorated, with beautiful wood, high end finishes, and had a great ambiance. Food was typically very good. I was sad to see Town Tavern go. You can imagine my surprise walking in; most high end fixtures removed and the beautiful wood paneling painted battleship grey. Only the bar was left as it was. I understand it's a different concept, but this looks like a college dive bar, with a beautiful bar. Weird mix. Does not have a restaurant feel; more like a band is about to hit the stage. Suspect they did not spend any money on a designer. Menu is interesting concept. Very simple; sandwiches, burgers, and kielbasa. But creatively put together. Interestingly named menu items. We ordered multiple items. All good. Food was solid. Nothing spectacular, just regular solid and slightly overpriced. Don't think the burgers are made of the highest quality beef, but it's decent enough. This place has a weird feel. Too much of a dive bar feel for me to want to return. read more

Everything was good! It's been a bit since I've been here since I forgot to review it after I went. But I had a whiskey drink, some onion rings and a turkey sandwich. I liked the ambiance of the place, and they were following covid guidelines. I'll definitely be back read more

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Let me be perfectly honest - this was not the destination we had in mind for our Sunday afternoon lunch. The place we wanted to go had a ridiculously long wait, so we just started walking to see who else had an available table outside on a beautiful fall day. When we first arrived at this place we were a little confused because it didn't even look open. The sign on the door said it was, so we went inside to ask if we could grab a table outside and they assured us we could. I suspect they may be losing business because it didn't seem very welcoming, even though it seemed like a really nice place. We loved the menu choices, which is why we decided to say. I liked it even more because the names of the menu items had some outstanding puns that I could not resist. We started with the pretzel bites which were quite tasty. I had the As Gouda As It Gets sandwich and so did my wife- we both enjoyed it. My daughter went for the It Ain't East Bein' Cheesy and she really liked it. I don't recall what her boyfriend had, but he seemed to like his lunch too! Definitely a good spot that I would be happy to go back to! read more

This place has cool decor, and they have decent upscale-ish bar food, but it always feels kinda dead in there. The servers always seem uninterested, and the crowd always has a "we wanted to go somewhere else but there was an hour wait so we ended up here instead" vibe. The music could be more upbeat, and the cocktails are hit-or-miss in my few experiences here -- probably depends on who the bartender is that given night. read more

Stopped in for dinner and was positively surprised at the new look of the bar. Didn't change much but it does look a little classier and I like the big TVs. A nice dark ambience surrounds you and would be ideal for a date night. I had the brokeback burger and fries and my friends had sandwiches. All the food was very tasty and high quality. The service was great and our waitress was also very good. The one thing that threw me is the style of food didn't match the ambience. The quality was impeccable and the flavor was great, but The food items are very bar-ish while the ambiance was a lot more classier in my opinion. Also, some of the names of their dishes are a little cliche. I also had an old fashion that was quite good but for the price it seemed like it was a little short. with a large ice cube it barely filled up half of a rock's glass for around $11 or $12. Definitely plan on coming back to try additional items on the menu! Glad something opened up here during this rough time. read more

The Side Bar - Bars Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

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The atmosphere was amazing. The restaurant is set up perfectly to accommodate a lot of people but still in a smaller setting. They have high tops, a big booth and some low tops. We went in on trivia night which is on Wednesdays it's free to play and it was a lot of fun. The service was alright. Our server was so soft spoken we had to keep asking him what he was saying. Then we asked for silverware and did not receive it until our appetizers were already eaten. The food did come out fast and hot which is always a bonus. I got the "It can't get more Gouda than this" sandwich. I added avocado to mine but I felt like it needed a little more flavoring. If they would season the turkey it would have been perfect. We got the pretzels for an appetizer which were great. Since I was using my hands a napkin would have been nice but the pretzels were warm and soft. My fiancé got the burger which he said was really good especially with the queso on it. He also demolished his fry's. If you like sandwiches and burgers I would suggest trying it out. We will be going again just hope the service is a tad bit better. read more

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Service was interesting, and the food was decent. Drinks were ehh. When I looked it up online it seemed fun and in my age range(mid 20's) to grab a bite to eat and a couple drinks but it was so slow and there was only maybe 4 tables taken up. read more

what a huge rip-off. They charged $3.00 to add rocks (ice) to a glass of vodka. I would never go back again. Food was disgusting, but nothing beats the upcharge for ice in your glass. If there was a zero rating, I'd give it. read more

This is my second visit, and once again, the food is cold. For a Royal Oak restaurant that prides itself on food and service, this place falls short. I wanted to enjoy it, but it just doesn't hit the mark. The vibe is nice, but the service is slow and lacking.. read more

Went in with a work group after our new of the new Amazon warehouse being built in Detroit. There was one girl tending bar, seating people, waiting and bussing tables. Our food was delicious. The pretzel bites were very good. I had the chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries, but the service was phenomenal. Never would have know she was working the front alone. Drinks were always filled and we never waited for a thing. read more

This is a new spot that recently opened. It is great. the spot did not change much from the last venue here which is nice, the food though, is pretty epic. I had the Brokeback burger that came recommended and I was very impressed, all of us who ate there were very impressed by the food. Will definitely become a go to spot for a great burger. I don't think you will be disappointed. This is the kind of spot we needed here in RO. Stop in and check it out. ** Reason for the 4 stars and not 5, they do not take reservations, which can really suck, especially now more than ever. If they did take reservations, then they would have 5 stars.** read more

Happy to have Side Bar in Royal Oak. The service was great. Food was also very solid. Ambience was comfortable. We met our friends at 4pm on a Saturday. By the time we left they had a full (25% Covid mandated) crowd. Keep it up guys, you got this! We will be back. read more

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Food is mediocre, has a nice menu but poor execution. Service is ok. Would go there for the beer but not for food. read more

Having frequented many Royal Oak establishments over the past 25 years, I think The Side Bar is the best bar I have seen for several reasons: The staff is great; Dayna, Kyle, Jenna & Emily are fabulous bartenders while Sage, Marissa, Nicky handle serving like pros. Kayla keeps events on track and from Owner to Hostess, they are all friendly, respectful and a pleasure to spend time with. The Happy Hour (02:00 to 06:00) is very reasonable and by starting a little earlier than other places give a person a chance to avoid the crowds until later in the afternoon. Appetizers & drinks very budget friendly. Small patio (6 tables) but being on 4th Street as opposed to Main you can avoid all the foot traffic than makes conversations difficult and still if you like, people watch. It also is in close proximity to The Music Theatre for a quick stop before attending a show. I'd would highly recommend you make a visit if you haven't already. read more

What a great experience at the Side Bar! One of my favorite appetizers that I learned about in the UP.. Is "fried pickles" the breading Has to be light w/ crumbs.. they make it perfect here!! The grilled with Gouda was unbelievably delicious!!! Perfectly made & juicy! The wings were awesome & very meaty! Love the sauces. The best (besides the pickles) were the homemade seasoned lightly potato chips!!! Unbelievable..Had to take a bag to go home!! Our server "Kayla" was warm w/kind personality and was very attentive! A win-win here.. oh in the "music" was awesome! Will definitely be back.. pickles please!! ‍ read more

The Side Bar - Fried pickles - Bars Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Service was good but the food was honestly just not good. The green goblin was too simple. It was dry and lacked seasoning. The chickpea delight was not seasoned very good. The garlic sauce was okay but the beans themself were just not good. I could see coming here for a drink but for the food no I'm so sorry :/ read more

My friend and I went around 5pm on a Wednesday night and it wasn't busy at all. Service was good. Happy hour drinks were good (we got $2.50 well drinks), I got a chicken sandwich that I enjoyed and my friend got a burger that she said was decent. We both upgraded to the truffle fries and we both thought they were great. We stayed for trivia night at 6:30pm, and that was fun even though we lost. read more

The food was bland. No seasoning whatsoever. The 4th Street salad had more pecans and cherries in it than greens! Disappointing. The option to swap out bread with Swiss chard for the sandwiches was unavailable, despite it remaining on the menu. Our server was nice, but not very attentive. She preferred spending more time at another table where she down and entertained her apparent friends/family. Very disappointing evening. We won't be back. read more

First time visit this past Thursday for Royal Oak Restaurant Week which started on Thurs. Despite there being a poster in the front window; waitress informs us they r not offering the promo until the next day. She told us their food order did not come in...? We decided to stay and have a drink and an app. When my companion questioned the price of the app on our bill; waitress informs us prices increased and that we must have rec'd menus without the new stickers...? Waitress not apologetic; very apathetic attitude. Icing on the cake- one of the ladies toilets out of order. What a complete fiasco! Time to close your doors or learn how to run a business. We tried another new place around the corner and had a great experience. read more

Chicken wings were awesome, but they really tried it with my work group serving watered down drinks and acting like we were stupid I've never had a clear vodka cranberry before! Do better! read more

Drinks? Good. Service? Fine. Music? TRASH! Come here if you're looking to get whiplash between rock lobster and Mitski's sad girl ballads.

Sorry yo say the food was sub par. Greasy and spicy. I ordered a club sandwich. The bread was drenched in butter the man grilled. Instead of may the sauce was a chipotle type. Tater tots done well but greasy. I asked for a side of queso for the tater tots. I asked if they were spicy. I was told no but they had peppers in the mix. I will not be going back. If I can't get fresh and done traditional then I will cook at home. read more

I ordered a whiskey on the rocks and they charged me $3 for the ice. Absolutely absurd. Never coming back.

Concept is there, execution is lacking. Service was perhaps a notch above terrible. The food tasted fine, though the menu itself looks pretty good. Drinks were not great -- and it should be hard to mess up a Moscow Mule. Hopefully it gets better with time. read more

SO and I checked this place out on Saturday for some covid safe takeout food. He got the Cuban and I got the Jumpin' Jack Flash (labeled as vegan), and we split a side of tots. Despite being takeout, the tots were still on point by the time we got them home. Incredibly crispy and well seasoned. The JJF sandwich was wonderful. The "steak" was the perfect vehicle to get the BBQ sauce to my face. The slaw on the sandwich was very flavorful and was the perfect pair to the veggie steak. If you're vegetarian or vegan, you have options here besides the ever-present salad. V appears to be vegetarian and VG is vegan. I wish I'd snapped a photo of my Sammy, but it was gone too quickly. read more

We sat on the patio out front which I highly recommend. The food all has fun names, and the staff is very friendly answering questions. The pretzel bites were delicious but the portion size was smaller than I'd hoped. I also got the chicken fingers, and the portion size was so large. It was the equivalent of 4 whole chicken breasts. read more