Off the AVE Food & Spirits

Just sat at the bar for over 10 min without even being acknowledged and considering the bar only seats about 10 ppl I’m not sure how that’s possible but finally walked out. Sad cause I used to love going there but not anymore.

Good prices and great onion rings! We had a Cuban (good) and pulled pork (ok) but great onion rings and fresh cole slaw!

On our way to drop our friend off at airport, stopped by this random pub. Must have been kismet because this place rocked! The bartender Rachel was so bubbly and personable. Food was awesome, great portions and taste for reasonable prices. Glad we live so close, definitely plan to return. We got the gyro, philly, and meatball appetizer. All were delicious. Oh and they have the copper mugs, perfect for Moscow mule ($ 6 double Svedka recommended)

Ok 2 years later…
I love this place, best burgers in Delray and I love Tanya the hot blonde bartender :)
Try the beer battered onion rings… delicious
Great sports bar too.

This is a cool, quaint, locals bar with really friendly staff. They have a food menu as well, but to be candid it’s really just bar food. We tried a few things, edible but relatively forgettable. I love this place for a local’s feel, awesome atmosphere, friendly bar tenders, and awesome drinks.

Dropped in here for lunch. Had the Italian sandwich. Wow! What a surprise. This place has the dive-​bar vibe going on big time. So when my sandwich came out I was expecting something a bit to the greasy side and half a mess. To my surprise, it was beautifully made and wonderfully fresh! The bread was artisan and fresh. The meat was all top-​notch. The veggies were all fresh and full of flavor. Ok, it was just a sandwich, but it was not what I expected. That kind of attention to detail makes me feel like the people here are really watching out for their customers.

Nice local place to unwind and watch a game. Pizza was very good and there is a wide variety of beer on tap. Tanja was very nice and welcoming. Enjoy!

Atmosphere very nice, service ok, Costco meatballs I think, tasty, Kraft Mac n cheese, I think. Drinks watery. Tacos excellent, and wings were good too.

When my wife and I first came here last weekend, it was because I liked what I saw in one of the Unilocal reviews. It talked about a brisket burger, and piqued my interest enough that I had to try it.
The waitress told us that although it was no longer on the menu, it was up on the board and was available. We split that, and a pulled pork sandwich. Both were amazing. The burger was part ground beef, and part brisket. It was tender, juicy, and oh so flavorful!
The pulled pork sandwich was also packed with flavor, and nice and juicy.
We thoroughly enjoyed both. We substituted their cole slaw for the fries, and devoured that as well!
We were so happy to find a place that delivers excellent food!
The atmosphere is sports-​bar /​pub-​like. There are four high top tables and two regular tables on one side, and the bar is on the other side of the room. It’s a small place, so it’s noisy. Real noisy! Let’s call it energetic. :-)
As you can see from the video and photos I posted, it has a good number of tv’s, and a nice energy going on. There’s also a dart board, which on my second visit was being used.
Speaking of my second visit, I got a pulled pork sandwich again, and it was delicious.
My wife and I will be back to try their house made pizza. More on that later …

Get the Cuban sandwich! You won’t be sorry. All around great atmosphere and everyone working there was great.

Outstanding. Excellent Cuban, best ever. Also, great onion rings. Phò shizzle sign is great. Great townie stop for the out-​of-​towner.

Was here for a Steelers game and the place was packed with black and gold. Plenty of fellow fans to cheer and cry with. This is definitely a great spot for Steelers fans in the Boca Raton area.

Burger Connoisseur’s Delight…
I was originally going to rave about the quality and consistency of the classic American cheeseburger they call the Off The Ave Burger. I’ve had it about a dozen times. But today a colleague of mine recommended the Oklahoma Brisket Burger, so I sat up to the bar at Off The Ave and ordered one.
OMG! I have a new all-​time favorite burger. It may even outdo the Juanito at Johnny Brown’s. For uniqueness, it outdoes every burger I’ve ever tried, bar none. The meat is a blend of ground chuck, ground brisket, and ground short rib. That alone could stand on its own merits for uniqueness, but they add caper mayo, sautéd red onions, cheddar cheese, and to top it all off, an over-​easy egg, all on a toasted English muffin. Wow! When it is served, you should try to use the top half of the muffin to pop the egg yolk so it will distribute evenly. Mine popped to one side, but that was quite alright, as it was fun to sop it up with each bite. None of the ingredients should be left out, and none of them stand out as dysfunctional. The marriage of flavors is unique and seemingly thought out by an expert chef. It might be well suited by the expression «the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.»
I spoke with Adam, part owner and creator of the OBB. I asked him about the blend of meats, and how the caper mayo was made. He told me exactly how it was done. They hand make the caper mayo with ground fresh capers, dijon mustard, mayo, and salt and pepper. They have the meat ground specially for them by someone else. The kitchen is too small to grind their own meat.
I’m giving Off The Ave five stars based on the Oklahoma Brisket Burger alone. It’s that good! I’ve had burgers all ’round Delray and Boca, and I’m pretty sure, if there are any other burger connoiseurs out there, that most would agree that this is one outstanding burger!
Photo: R John Mitchell Photography

When we arrived for lunch (1:00PM) on Labor Day, there were no other customers (first clue). The only server, Erica greeted us enthusiastically. When I asked about the New York style pizza she stated it was the best she ever had (second clue). My husband and I each ordered a slice.
The atmosphere of the place was a bit rustic and definitely designed for drinking, not dining (beware if you are not a Steelers fan). There were no utensils on the table and were we not offered water. My husband had to ask for iced tea to drink.
After a long 25 minute wait (third clue) and looking over at Hi-​Way Burger across the street, the pizza arrived along with the utensils. The size slices were the typical New York style size but that is where the similarity ended. The pizza was overcooked and old — either from earlier in the day or from the day before. The texture of the dough seemed right but it had no taste. The sauce was bland and inedible. And what little cheese was on the pizza, was burnt. So much for the gooey slice of New York style pizza I was seeking (clues no longer needed — game over).
Unless you intend to have a substantial amount of booze, thus numbing your taste buds — avoid this place. A shame too, it could have such potential.

This was truly some of the worst food I’ve had in a while. My burger tasted undercooked, the bacon on it was incredibly fatty, soggy, and (I shudder to think) perhaps raw? The fries were thick and far from crispy. I don’t think I’ve been so disappointed in quite some time. Avoid at ALL costs!

Great Pub,
It started raining and my wife didn’t want to get her new hair doo wet so we ran into this joint to kill time.
Nice and clean with a great juke box and sound system. My wife and I had some beers and we watched the Masters on one of the 3 big TVs behind the bar. There were other golf fans sitting at the bar which made our experience pretty damn good. The beer selection was decent and my wife switched to wine so she was happy too.
Service was spot on and we ended up staying for about 2 hours lol. I played a bunch of music and we had a great time. We didn’t eat but I saw some Philly sandwiches being served and they looked pretty good. The pizza looked interesting too. I would like to come back and try the food. I would have to say that I liked the size of the place. Nice size bar with a small sitting area in the back. Not huge like a Brus or Duffys. It felt like a modern version of your dad’s local watering hole. I’m a big fan of places like this. Also I would hesitate to bring my kids here either.
Overall nice neighborhood joint that I wish was in Coral Springs. Remember to tell them Dan sent you and Stay Hungry!

Off the Ave is open late and serving food, so if you are out drinking downtown it is a great spot to grab a quick slice of pizza to soak up some alcohol.
Other than that, I wouldn’t really go here. I have gone for lunch a couple of times, drinks for happy hour, and also late night pizza noshing. My best experience has definitely been late night.
Lunch is pretty dead, and their drink specials aren’t that amazing for those of us who do not like beer. The pizza certainly tasted better when I was a bit tipsy.
Service here isn’t all that., either The bartenders aren’t super personable, but they get the job done. They aren’t rude by any means, but I like to feel like I am welcomed at a bar. They are more on the speed of getting your drink and not further engaging you until you need another one.
This is a small place, so if it is busy you may have trouble sitting at the bar. I recommend just grabbing a late night slice and going on your way.

While checking out the Delray Beach Christmas tree on Christmas Eve with my parents, we realized at 9:30 pm that we were pretty hungry. Christmas Eve is a terrible time to get hunger pangs when you realize every place you know is closed. So when we spotted the welcoming neon «Open» sign, we made a beeline for Off the Ave.
We walked in and asked if they were going to be open for much longer. The bartender said they close at 10, but if we wanted slices of pizza, a new pie had just come out of the oven. That sounded fantastic to us, so we each ordered a slice. Before bringing them out, we were offered free Christmas jello shots, and we accepted because why not? When she brought us our slices, the bartender then offered us some spiked eggnog (again, for free), since she was just going to have to throw it away otherwise. I’m weird and like my eggnog alcohol-​free, but my mom was a happy camper after having three glasses of it ;)
I’m not sure if it was just because we were mad hungry, or if the pizza was really that tasty, but we wolfed down our slices. Considering the place looks like it’s mainly a bar, I’m just glad they had pretty good (read: not microwaved) food. Only (small) downside: it was Christmas Eve, but the DJ was playing really loud non-​holiday music. If there was ever a time to blare some fun Christmas songs, it would’ve been then. Oh well :)

When I first visited Off the Ave, I thought they were just a pizza joint. I love the pizza there — don’t get me wrong! I like most types of pizza, from thin-​crust to deep-​dish to Sicilian. The pizza here is a thin crust with a great-​tasting sauce. Off the Ave serves individual slices too, and they are definitely large pieces that I like to eat New York style — fold the slice down the middle vertically and eat it like a sandwich.
The reason I said earlier that I thought they were just a pizza joint is because I’ve recently discovered the sandwiches are amazing too! My favorite is the pastrami #1 — mounds of hot pastrami — they’re not shy with the meat! And what makes a good sandwich — the meat! I just wish they had sauerkraut, because I love reubens. They use lettuce, but I don’t mind because of the tasty pastrami. :-) The Philly cheesesteak is great too — I’ve had it with provolone and Swiss… I have yet to try it with Cheez Whiz — that’ll be my next sandwich there.
The staff is really friendly — it seems to have a neighborhood feel. The several times I’ve been there, the crowd has always been cool — I’ve seen businessmen there to laid-​back locals. I tend to watch more sports there too because they’ll play the game audio for big games and I can see and hear better than a crowded Bru’s Room — and the food is better too. It’s a Steelers bar though, so be prepared to see a bunch of rowdy Pittsburgh fans on NFL Sundays. (I’m a Pats fan so sometimes I get made fun of when I wear my Brady jersey in there on Sundays… haha) At night, it’s a lively place — and because it’s within walking distance to my house, it’s quickly becoming my favorite local spot to avoid driving drunk at night.

Had to write an update on our order to go. We were returning home to Delray from the FLL airport and called ahead to order a pizza that we could just pick up on our way home. It was Saturday night, between 10:30 and 11pm. We were told our pizza would be ready in 20 minutes. We arrived, sat down, and waited and waited. After 40 minutes, our cheese pizza was ready. Yet, the place wasn’t packed, and I think I know why.
Our nighttime experience here was FAR different than our late afternoon/​evening experience the first time. This time, there was a DJ playing EXTREMELY LOUD music. I’m a music lover, big time! However, this place is toooo small to have screaming loud music playing. The clientele is a 35 – 50 year old crowd, ALL of whom were sitting up at the bar. Yet, the music seemed like it was being played to attract a 20-​something crowd. Yeah, that wasn’t happening. There really weren’t many people in here, probably because it was nearly impossible to carry on a conversation.
Next time around we’ll probably just pick up a pizza from Sazio and just save Off the Ave for a visit during the day before the DJ arrives.