T J Rockwell’s

I went here for lunch today which was the second time I have visited. Their rhino fries are popular and though pretty decent, they were nothing amazing. They were not freshly cut and they are sitting on a bed of cheese whiz which makes the fries quite soggy once you get to the bottom. The portion was huge however, as 3 of us could not manage to finish one order.
For my meal I got a bowl of lobster bisque. This was quite disappointing as I got merely one single chunk of lobster in the bowl which is the larger size. The soup itself did have a lobster flavor but once again, was underwhelming.
I would recommend this place to anyone looking to get a quick and alright meal at a reasonable price but is not expecting to be blown away.

My first time here however several friends said they’ve been here several times. They like it and I could see why: good service, good food, decent prices. We ended up being a party of 8 and no reservation. No problem. Took us in, seated us pretty quickly. Service was a little slow but we were a large party and it was Sunday after church so they were getting a little busy. Food was very good and good portions. Onion rings are very good. My steak was great. Several of us got the fish sandwich which they enjoyed. It looked big and tasty. I would def go back.

Husband and in laws had mentioned a place that a lot of friends suggested we try. We were in that part of town and decided to give it a try. Bad choice.
Our waitress was nowhere to be found for a good 10 minutes after we got sat. And once she dropped drinks off, told us she’d be right back. We waited so long that we were tempted to ask neighboring waitress to take our order.
Food runner served us our dishes & waitress checked on us after a few bites, but that was it. Drinks went empty for half the meal.
Service SUCKED so much, I couldn’t honestly tell you whether we liked the food or not. We were so disgruntled.

Love Tj Rockwells Ribs! They fall off the bone and are not overloaded with BBQ sauce but there is just enough to have you asking for extra Hand wipes! If your a true Barb Q lover and with a friend who loves it too try their Bar-​B-​que for Two! W I’ve tried many items on their menu the quality keeps me coming back!

I’ve only ever tried their steaks when I go. They have good steaks among other things. My asparagus was overdone, the mash potatoes are good, and the rice. I absolutely love their fish bowl drink, I can never finish it, it’s huge!
Huge Restaurant!

Thus is a great restaurant to relax and talk to friends. The prices are a little high when a salad is not included in the meal. The crab cakes were very good. The outside dining in the summer is fantastic.

Really don’t know where to start. My wife and I have been here numerous times. I just can’t find fault with it. The service is good and the food is great.

Excellent experience!!!
Great food! Good prices! Wonderful service! Not much else to say just was very satisfied! Will most definitely be back a million time!!:)

Loved it, especially the Voodoo juice.

Honestly i am not impressed. Every time i am disappointed by servers always misinformed about the menu and specials. Lack luster drinks. Ordered a specialty drink for 8 dollars and it was small… Like a child size cup. Now i undersand postion sizes but come on. Just easier to throw your money in the toilet.

This update is looong overdue. Since I live so close to this restaurant, I’ve likely eaten here about 50 times over the past 7 years. Unfortunately, as hard as I have tried to like TJ Rockwell’s, alas I cannot.
The service here is consistently slow, and more often than not it’s painfully slow. Since they are really one of the only restaurants in the area, I think they can get away with terrible service and stay busy anyway.
The food here truly is meh. I have honestly tried nearly everything on this menu and there is not a single dish I would call great. The food does not typically taste very fresh, especially the salads (which is sort of odd given they are directly across the street from a farm). More often, the food is what I think of as «central PA style», as in large portions of mediocre quality food with way too much cheese and bacon.
The atmosphere here is really nothing special inside. It it usually clean, and has something of a country feel. I do really enjoy the outdoor deck, which is spacious enough to accommodate a large crowd without feeling crowded.
Pricing is about average for the area, although specialty drinks and beers definitely come at a specialty price.
Overall, I just cannot bring myself to give this restaurant any more chances. There was a time in my life when I appreciated the price of food over the taste, but post-​college it’s hard to keep spending money on food that leaves me feeling like I could have done better at Wendy’s. I’m not one to leave negative reviews, but after my most recent (and last) experience here I just need to give this place the honest critique it deserves. Two stars is an absolutely accurate grade of what you can expect from TJ Rockwell’s in Mechanicsburg.

Tried the fish tacos — Mahi Mahi version. They were good, but could have used a bit more of the sauce. Why restaurants insist on sending out chips, fries, etc. with them baffles me… But their chips are really good so there is that. My husband had a roast beef sandwich — he was surprised no au jus but bacon on it. He liked it — topped with onion rings which he says we have to order next time. Food took forever to come out — but decent overall. Always great beer selection on tap. We will be back…

3 stars cause we feel it was an off night in the kitchen but this place has potential. The server could have been a lot better, her logistics in bringing food and drink where a little off. She made lots of unnecessary trips. The place was not busy at all. I really don’t understand how they dropped the ball on the food.
The steak was flavorful but not cooked as I wished (see pic) I love green beans and they were nicely seasoned, but when I chewed I had to spit it out. They were that chewy! It was like green bean gum.
The crab dip was O.K. I felt the bread it was served with could have been toasted since it wasn’t fresh. The dip itself has a strong seafood flavor, so beware if that’s not what you are looking for. Good for the seafood lover. Be sure to mix it first before you eat it.
The drinks were great, the environment is awesome just the service and food missed the mark. Especially after traveling so far to get here.

Ugh… you like things fried? This is your spot. I can only guess how much grease they go through in a week. No, wait, I don’t think they ever change the grease, or at least that is how everything tasted.
Ever see the movie Office Space? Chotchskie’s. Wear your flair.

I am very hard to please and I was taken back. Every plate that came out looked amazing. We had everything from, chicken sand, bbq, and fish. All very good! The prices are VERY reasonable But the best part was the beer selection!

In town for the Chrysler Nationals car show in Carlisle, the car club needed a place for dinner. TJ Rockwell’s answered the call and provided a GREAT spot for us during a reasonably busy time.
Service was TOP NOTCH! My beer never got empty, until I switched to sweet tea, which wasn’t the best, but wasn’t bad either.
Dinner? Had the Bourbon Street Burger, medium. It was AWESOME!
Great beer (Sam Adams Summer), great food, great service and great people to enjoy? That’s what is fun about coming to the car show!
Parking can get tight. They have a really cool LARGE patio for the great weather days.
We’ll be back for sure!

Was thankful for the outdoor option on a nice summer day as we found the indoor dining space to be very dark and uninviting. Our waiter was very well spoken, knew the menu well, and attentive. Portion sizes were huge and there were plenty of interesting menu options. My husband ordered the quesadilla from the appetizer menu and it was a meal in itself. I ordered the Macon Bacon burger — cooked a little well for medium but I loved the abundance of onion fries and those onion flavored chips — a little sweet and salty — definitely the star of the plate! My burger was good but was lacking something… seasoning, salt, something and the pretzel bun was not the best I’ve ever had. Overall not a bad experience.

Huge space and outdoor seating. Can’t imagine you would ever have much of a wait. Ordered steak salad and came with French fries on top. Fries were good, so was ranch dressing. Also had Cajun wings as app and recommend. My husband had boneless wings Thai sweet and spicy. Not as much as fab as wings as boneless had a little too much breading. Son had bread bowl chili, chili had a kick to it. Daughter had chicken fingers and try were chicken fingers but I like the came with fries and a couple sauces. All and all good choice for a roadtrip stop. Good service. Good food.

We’re here now. Been waiting 1:20 for lunch. The worst service ever. Never coming back.

It is pretty normal casual restaurant food, but more fresh and better executed. The portions were big. We had a bbq chicken chopped salad and you could taste the char on the chicken. The lettuce was crisp and not at all brown. It had enough dressing and bbq sauce, but it wasn’t swimming. We also had a crispy cabo chicken club sandwich. Enormous with very crispy, but still juicy chicken and really crispy fries.
The place is a little worn. Tops of the tables scuffed and a little bit dark inside.
I am torn and maybe want to give this place 3 stars, but I don’t think the food is worth the wait. This place is constantly busy. Long, long waits (1, 2+ hours) have kept us out many times. Finally went before 5 on a Saturday and did get a table. But I can wait that long for nicer places and more interesting food choices.