I'm vegan but hubby and the kiddo are not, so we tried Side Bar tonight since it advertised a good mix of both. I AM SO IMPRESSED! My boys LOVED their burgers, and my "Not Another Philly" was literally finger-licking delicious. That vegan garlic aioli... wowza. I also tried out the chickpea and black bean dip appetizer, though I only got a few chips' worth before my son absconded with the rest. We can't wait to come back here and try out their patio and cocktails soon -- so glad we gave this place a chance! read more

Review is for the bartender Dayna. She knows how to hustle. Served the entire establishment including the bar. Great spot for drinks and appetizers. Have not tried the entrees. read more

Oh my Gawwwd! The burgers here were phenomenal. Ordered the "Broke Back Burger" and the "You're My Boy Bleu Burger " with sides of sweet potato and truffle fries. The burger patties were huge and cooked perfectly (a bit of pink and juicy). All of the toppings were fresh and the brioche buns were not only tasty, but held up with all that going on with the burger! The fries were both seasoned well and generously portioned. The truffle fries were a little strong (heavy on both the truffle and garlic) but I like that so that was a win for me. Bonus points for this being ordered as takeout and everything being so good even after the ride home! read more

Kyle was absolutely amazing. I told him what type of liquor I drink and he made me something that was to my liking. Ask ONLY for him when you visit! He customer service was impeccable! read more

We were excited to try to The Side Bar having read some reviews and sorry to say we were less than impressed. Our server wasn't aware of multiple types of wines they were out of. We ordered wings and the chicken sandwich and both were over cooked. The chicken sandwich , which was pictured on the menu, was not as pictured and very thin. No one checked on how the food was or if we needed anything else. We will not return. read more

What a great new place!!! Had the Cuban sandwich with home made chips and it was delicious. Drinks were good as well. Service was spot on. I'll definitely be back for more. read more

My coworker and I had lunch here last week. She enjoyed her burger (You're my Boy Blue). I had the chicken sandwich (Olive Oyl) and that was a flat chicken tender on bread. I also had the Parmesan French Fries and were not worth $8 with a few shaved pieces of Parmesan. Very disappointing. read more

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The service was great - tried a bunch of different things...the fried pickles and the Wingies to start and then The Castro, Fat Jim, As Gouda It Gets and Olive Oyl. All the sammies were great, I loved the wingies too...the pickles were good I just prefer chips instead of spears. Super happy to have a new restaurant in RO where I want everything on the menu! read more

Vegan options are way too grease no flavor. Got the green goblin, not good thick white bread with flavorless veggies. The not another philly was good but still greasy... sweet potatoes were tasteless and soggy. Overall really bad experience wish I didn't waste my $ here read more

The Side Bar - Brunt, dry, no flavor. Just looks good. Sick of restaurants aiming for aesthetic and no quality - Bars Near Me - Royal Oak, Michigan

Wow. What a great place. I am so happy that someone took the risk to open a new concept in Royal Oak during a pandemic. Hats off! Friendly atmosphere, great food, and casual vibe. Even though we sat at the bar, everyone from kitchen staff to servers was engaging. This is going to be a great local neighborhood bar that is around for awhile. read more

Tonight was our third time trying The Side Bar. And let me just say...if I had used the bathroom first I would have never stayed and ordered a meal. It was FILTHY. I'm not overly critical because I know this is a public place and the staff can't be on top of all things at all times. This filth had been there for A WHILE! Disgusting toilet bowl and my shoes STUCK to the floor. You could hear them peeling away with each step. If you can't take care of front of the house stuff...I'm terrified of what is happening in the back of the house. May explain why the restaurant was fairly empty. Food is mediocre and staff is disinterested. As a local RO resident I wanted this place to succeed. Sadly not going back. read more

Mediocre at best. Burger was tasteless and fries were terribly greasy. The potato chips are home made but lack salt and there should not be so much heat in the dip, this is not communicated on the menu. Won't be back as it's nothing special and I can make a better burger at home. Very slow food service in an almost empty bar after happy hour. read more

We got takeout from them (can just call). Pretzel bites and Tater Tots (sandwiches include fries but you can sub them out for free) were very good! Burgers, make sure to tell them if you don't want well done, BLT, the avocado was not ripe. Probably wouldn't get the BLT again, but would come back for the apps and try other things. Worth a visit. read more

Honestly if I could give this place a 0 star, I'd go for it! First off, we went to celebrate my girlfriends 21st birthday and stopped in for lunch. The waitress we had was very rude and had no life in her voice. I felt as if I was somewhere I shouldn't be. Second, I also mentioned to the waitress that it was her birthday and if something special can be done instead she took her temporary ID, which she received since her new one hasn't arrived in the mail yet, and said it was fake. Then when asked how it was fake all she could do was laugh. I didn't catch the waitresses name, but she was rocking some very poorly put on green eye liner that looked as if she took a crayon and drew it on. Definitely would not recommend this place for any occasion. The vibes that were given off here were very cloudy and the service was awful. read more

Ok so I've not posted a review in a long time. That's because generally I've been enjoying the bars and restaurants I've visited. However my visit to the Side Bar left me with no option but to dust off the Yelp app and sharpen my review pencil. The Side Bar bar used to be The Town Tavern and was owned by an adult who knew what he was doing. Unfortunately during Covid it closed, the adults left town and never reopened. I was curious to see the bar open again albeit under its new name, Side Bar. The night I was there it was pretty empty. Empty in the same way the food I ordered left me feeling. A young couple at the bar talking loudly about absolutely nothing kept the attention of the bar tender for most of the evening although I did get a fleeting glance every so often. Although he may have just been cricking his neck. The cocktail menu was pretty good as was the display of backlit bottles behind the bar. The current owners spent nothing on the place hitting the easy button and keeping it the same as The Town Tavern The bar tender, a jolly guy who had that "you're in my bar, I hope you've tied your horse up tightly outside" attitude was certainly all the things you expect from someone who is never going to put you fully at ease. I ordered a glass of wine which I felt like was like betting on the "also ran" at the Kentucky Derby. However, my horse did came in a solid third. The food however is a science experiment. A mix of sandwiches and burgers presented on the same metal dishes you'd expect if you'd had your kidneys removed. I chose a toasted Turkey sandwich and house made chips. Imagine living in a 70s New York apartment and everything is beige. That's what this plate looked like. Bland with a whopping dollop of dull. The Turkey definitely come from the country and not the foul. Processed meat warmed up and slapped between two slices of average toast with 'accessories'. The house made chips were clearly house made at Costco. It was served without being cut in half. However lucky me, it came with a knife you could skin a bear with so I was able to chop through it. My disappointment at the Side Bar was about the same as learning Santa Claus was your Dad. If your in Royal Oak sideline the Side Bar. It will suck all your last hopes and dreams. Burn money instead. While illegal it will be more fun. read more

Brilliant! Interior has been transformed into a cheesy college town wanna be bar. No more rich mahogany wood feel, hello IKEA or Walmart. Once I got past the ruination of the interior, I looked at the silly menu. The food names made me feel like The Carnival came to Royal Oak. The truffle fries were smothered in grease & had enormous shavings of Parmesan. Too much. I left them on the tray to die. I ordered chicken tenders because the names of the dishes annoyed me & I was with my 16 year old nephew who ordered same. Hard to mess up chicken tenders, they were fine. Over priced for cheap crap, but fine. Service was good, I'll give them that. Except... I hate when waitresses turn up the personality at the end when collecting the tab. Bring that sunshine out early on so it's not so obvious you're worried about the tip. This is more of a drink Busch Light beer place & then order food when you're drunk & famished & you don't care what it tastes like type of place. Belongs in East pointe, not downtown Royal Oak. If you're going to make a hole in the wall-ish bar around here, you gotta do it with intention & at least an ounce of style. read more

The Husband and I scored a last minute date night and knew we wanted to go to Royal Oak for dinner and to enjoy the beautiful weather. Since it was a Saturday night, we knew our usual outdoor haunts would be busy and we wouldn't be able to score a reservation. We happened to walk by The Side Bar on our way toward Main Street and saw they had plenty of available outdoor seating. We paused for a minute so I could check out the menu online and saw a bunch of different sandwich and burger options, so we decided to take a chance. I'm so glad we did! We were seated outside immediately upon walking in. Our server took a bit to get to us for a drink order but I really didn't mind since the weather was so stunning and I was happy to have a date night. I ordered a margarita on the rocks and the husband had their house specialty whiskey drink, the Side Bar Sidecar. Both were delicious. For our appetizers we ordered the pretzel bites and the garlic butter Wingies. Both were excellent. The wings were perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The queso that came with the pretzel bites was too spicy for me, so I dipped them into the garlic butter that came with the wings, and it was perfect. For my meal I ordered the Loosen Your BELT which was a BLT on grilled sourdough with the addition of avocado, garlic aioli, and an over easy egg. Husband ordered The Big Dog which was kielbasa topped with fries and queso on a sub bun. My sandwich was 12/10, the flavors paired absolutely perfectly and the sourdough was cut thick which was just the ticket to sop up the yolk from the fried egg without getting soggy. I know a BLT can be considered a "basic" sandwich but the addition of the avocado and egg pushed it over the top. The bacon was thick cut and it was the best sandwich I've ever had. The Husband loved his kielbasa and said the flavors and texture were like a party in his mouth. While we were waiting for our food, we chatted and people watched a bit. We noticed that almost everyone who walked by commented about the bar in a "we should try this place" kind of way. Another couple actually did end up coming in the same way we did, by just walking by and noticing they had open seating. They commented that they saw our food and decided to give it a try. Give this place a try, you won't regret it. I noticed online that they have a pretty interesting looking brunch menu, so we'll definitely be back to give it a go. read more

Worst customer service experience I ever had. They bartender/server was a very unhappy person and first comment to us was complaining about kids while we were sitting there with our kids. He asked us for beverages and we got this quickly. Never came back to take our food order. When I confronted him he said oh I thought you were just having drinks. Didn't even think to ask if we wanted food. Terrible sales and terrible service. We didn't finish our drinks. Spoke with the manager on my way out and he didn't care one bit about the issues. Good luck staying afloat if those are the kind experiences you are giving to people read more

Returned here at 5pm for the first time since Town Tavern (a longtime favorite) closed, looking forward to trying the burgers. We were seated, waited 10-15 minutes and the young waitress (who appeared to be the only waitstaff working) told us she would be right with us and then proceeded to take drink orders from the four young men who were seated well after us. We get it, we're older and not as attractive, but we're really good tippers and if yukking it up with the guys is more important to you, godspeed. We left. I wouldn't recommend this place for anyone over 50, which may what the owner intended. read more

Consistently amazing vegan options, ready in a flash and awesome service every time! This place is one of our family favorites

This was so yummy. I got a plant based burger and it was delicious. Their sweet potato fries are sooooo good

It was just ok. Happy Hour drinks from very limited well only. Burger was dry. Onion rings were good.

Fantastic spot for drinks/snacks with friends, great service and good happy hour specials. 10/10 recommend.

Cool new restaurant that recently opened in downtown Royal Oak where the old restaurant Town Tavern used to be. Drinks and food were great. Lots of options for vegetarians as well which is always nice. My friends and I also enjoyed the fact that the staff were taking the proper precautions with COVID-19. Looking forward to this restaurant having outdoor patio seating when the weather gets nicer! read more

Good happy hour specials and yummy chicken sandwich (olive oyl) and thin, crispy fries!

Music was awful. Heavy alternative rock. Had a jukebox and decided to play different music. Patrons seemed to enjoy, singing out loud and having fun. Bartender did not enjoy the change in music. Ultimately skipped several songs and then just turned off the jukebox. Was visible upset by the selection of music but was unconcerned that the paying customer chose the music. Decided to leave before ordering food. Plenty of other options in royal oak. Last visit at this venue. read more

Bland, tasteless, boring food lacking anything resembling seasoning. Overcooked and unsalted chips with a flavorless queso dip to start did not ease my concerns brought on by the childish naming of menu items which was a strange juxtaposition to the otherwise classy interior of the restaurant. I ordered a "seasoned" cheeseburger with cheddar, bacon and BBQ sauce with a side of side of shoe string fries that turned out to be anything but shoe string. The waitress failed to ask how I wanted my burger cooked (I'll tell you my suspicions as to why later) so I called her over and told her I would like it medium. As with the chips, the fries are completely unsalted and unseasoned and are clearly just a reheated frozen product they buy from a wholesaler instead of making their own. Having said that, at least they're buying the good pre-made fries to be reheated but without any added salt or seasoning they are simply tasteless. The burger was clearly premade and not a handmade patty. I could tell because the other person I was with also ordered a burger and the patties were perfectly identical in shape and width which tells me these are also likely bought from a wholesaler instead of made to order. All of that would be forgivable if it wasn't for the fact that the burger I had asked to be cooked medium was far past well done and dry as a bone inside and out as well as lacking any seasoning at all. Overcooked and dry on the inside is one thing and can be an honest mistake but when a burger which supposedly just came off a griddle is dry on the outside it tells me it didn't just come off a griddle at all. I believe the reason why my server didn't bother to ask how I wanted my burger cooked is because The Side Bar is precooking the hamburger patties and simply reheating them when an order comes in. This is simply unforgivable and they should be ashamed to charge people the prices they are asking to serve completely unseasoned food that is very likely reheated instead of being cooked to order. Yet another royal oak restaurant which spent all its time and energy on ambiance and flash and completely forgot they need the food to back it up. I returned my meal after two bites and the server was kind enough to remove it from the bill without making me ask her which is why I'll give two stars instead of one. read more