Joe’s American Bar & Grill

Went there for a Sunday brunch… i had the short rib hash, the portions could have been a little bigger for the money but the food was very good. But the sticky cinnamon buns stole the show… they were delicious! The peach Bellini was very good. But a drink that is not on the menu stole the show… it was made with elder-​flower liqueur, seltzer, lemon and sweet sparkling wine… it was amazingly tasty.

This was an okay experience. The food is meh. The dessert is decent. The drinks are okay. It isn’t clean though. Their were ants in the restaurant by the bathroom. It’s kind of gross. The service is okay. Our waiter forgot plates for our appetizers. This is an okay resturant.

The food wasn’t bad, and it’s super convenient for those staying at the Holiday Inn Express. The lobster roll was tasty and full of fresh lobster (although it doesn’t hold a candle to Paulie’s in Boston) and the tuna tartare was delicious. The second day my wife got the clam chowder which wasn’t bad and I got the shrimp ramen which was the same. The servers were nice and the place was clean. The prices aren’t bad either.

We reserved two of the eating areas for my mother’s birthday. Working with Sabrina on the event was both fun and comprehensive. The menu selection was great and they were able to work with us to bring some of the older items they had before their menu change. They handled the room layout and setup, the centerpieces, supplied a projector and provided the waitstaff. The staff was professional but fun as well. The event was a great success. Great team and the food was superb. Thanks!

A friend and I went to lunch today at Joe’s. We got there @1:30, and we were some of the only people in the place. We sat at the bar, were promptly greeted given menus, drink order taken, drinks received. Bartender, male 20’s, dont know his name because he never really talked to us again, he was inattentive and apathetic alternating between reading some manual or text book. So until we got his attention to order apps, get water, order lunch, order another round, e got nothing.
All the food was very good. Buffalo tenders, ahi tuna tartar, french onion soup. no complaints, in fact in true Joe’s fashion actually impressively good.
However… when I was trying to get bartenders attention yet again, I saw him standing behind his micros terminal behind the bar BRUSHING HIS TEETH.
yes you read that correctly. I couldnt believe it mysekf. He was using a disposable «whisp» flosser/​brush. BEHIND THE BAR. GROSS.
seriously.
Joes American Bar and Grill you have some serious front of the house work to do.

This place is nothing to rave about. We ordered the tuna appetizer, it wasn’t really seasoned, tasted fresh though. Hoisin pork belly, it was disgusting like not even edible, it was over cooked and there was way too much sauce on it. French onion soup was over cooked, burnt and there was so much bread in the soup there was no actual soup. Skirt steak was very oily and not cooked, it was still alive, mash potatoes tasted like they came out of a package. Joes signature salad with signature dressing tasted like lettuce over dressed with oil. Best part of the meal was the fresh bread they put on the table. Our server great. She was very friendly and made the experience pleasant even know the food was in no way pleasant. The rest of the staff wasn’t very friendly. The hostess was snobby and rude almost made us want to leave.

So disappointed to see they changed the menu to look like a 99 chain. Food is no where the same quality and over prices for the portions. Sad but I will never come to this establishment again anywhere
And No more Prime Rib…
Signed,
Morning the loss of Joe’s American Bar and grill

The food and service is excellent! The Bread & Chowder in particular is outstanding. I have only sat at the bar on my travels here but have never been disappointed.

Went for lunch today to try the new updated menu and it was okay but not great.
I got the open faced brisket sandwich and it really wasn’t very good. It was dry and a bit fatty. A couple of pieces were so fatty that I could not eat them.. Overall it just did not seem fresh, almost like it had been pre cut and then warmed up. But who knows, all I know is that it was dry and not great. Totally not worth the $ 14.50.
It also came with shoestring fries, which were fine but I would have preferred thicker cut steak fries. The meal also came with two small cups of cole slaw which were more of a throw away garnish.
Our party also got on order of cinnamon rolls for the table. They were okay but nothing special. Honestly, a packet of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls would have been just as good.
My overall impression of the redesigned menu is that everything sounds cool but the execution seemed to fall short today. Not worth the money and even not great regardless of the price.

The good was good, little lover priced to me. The wait staff was very friendly. It’s a nice big place, great for big group dinners.

My family and I enjoyed Joe’s. It was open late and we needed somewhere to go after a ghost tour. The food was good, if slightly overpriced, and the service was excellent. Our waitress was very friendly and helpful. We would return.

Ordinary bar/​restaurant in a large space. Adjacent parking lot. You can either sit at a booth or table — opt for the booth as the tables are too small. The table is in the «lounge» area — nothing different aside from 2 small tv’s.
We were immediately greeted and seated. The waitress greeted shortly after and took our orders. We were both disappointed when we learned they ran out of skirt steak… On a Wednesday evening– really?
Food was pretty good. For appetizer, we ordered the tomato and basil flatbread — nice amount of each ingredient on fresh dough. For entrees we ordered New York strip steak and chili lime chicken salad. The steak came with mash and grilled asparagus. It lacked flavor — added extra salt and pepper at the table. We weren’t offered any steak sauce (strange). The salad was huge. Each corner of the plate had a different food– black bean, grilled corn, chicken, avocado, grilled tomato, grilled lemon on a bed of lettuce with spicy tortilla strips on top. It was great aside from the cold chicken. The chili lime dressing was very light and flavorful.
We both ordered wine. I got the Riesling which I did not like. I asked for the a regular soda instead and fortunately I was not charged for the wine.
After our meals were brought, the waitress vanished. She checked up on us once then didn’t see her again. I had to flag her down for a refill and the check. The service was much longer than expected for a slow night.
Happy dining!

Really love their new menu. You must try the Cajun Maple Bacon!! Service was quick and friendly. One thing that’s really important to me is a clean bathroom, and they had a clean one. I had the brunch eggs Benedict with crab cakes and hollandaise sauce. Excellent!

Went here recently for a business lunch.
Service was really attentive– almost too much so.
Had iced tea– very good!
Started with soups — both were fine. Not remarkable, but decent.
Both had salads. I had the house Caesar with steak. The steak was a flank cut. Very small portion maybe 2 oz at the most. Over cooked and not at all flavorful.
Nice space & atmosphere. Was super busy on a Wednesday at 12:30 but when we left an hour later is was really quiet. So big lunch place.

Look, I probably would not have chosen this place but it was a convenient meeting place at the time. Woops. What a mistake, this was literally my worst dining experience in ages.
I had been here about six months ago, sat in the bar and had an ok to slightly above ok experience. Last night, this couldn’t have been further from the case. The waitress was clearly new, but like way too new to be on her own.
The service was INCREDIBLY slow. Like next level I would rather just drink water from the hose outside slow. It took 15 mins to get drinks, the table next to me was sat and then left before the server got there. The next table that sat complained and had managers deliver their food for the rest of the night and the table to my left complained with us about how bad the service was. You would think that if a table was complaining about service, the management might take a look at the other tables that the server is covering.
The food was just ok. For a $ 16 burger, there are plenty of other places I would rather go but honestly I am sure that the bad taste was much more reflective of the service. I have no problem having a one star experience when I walk into a chain, I half expect it. At a place like this you shouldn’t have that happen.
I do not recommend for anyone, won’t be recommending to anyone and definitely will not be going back.
Good luck if you are still considering.

Went here with some vendors for dinner one evening and enjoyed some delicious Nachos for an appetizer and went with their meatloaf for dinner, which was a recommendation from a coworker. The nachos were really good and quite large and was easily shareable between the 5 of us in our party. You also get complimentary bread, which was good. I couldn’t believe how large my meatloaf dinner plate was. I basically got two large pieces of meatloaf over mashed potatoes and braised red cabbage on the side. A delicious meal, but way too much for me to eat! All in all, a good place to go with fast and friendly service. Would definitely come back here again next time I’m in the area.

I was very disappointed when we arrived here and we’re waiting quite some time for drinks and our orders to be taken. There were hitches here and there /​apparently they are under new management and «lots is changing»
Apparently changes not for the better — have you ever heard of a place that doesn’t have house wines? Absurd! One of us had to order a $ 10 glass of wine not even filled to the correct level /​more like «wine tasting»
Their food supposedly has had a huge change since the new management — there were unpleasant sauces for my meal (much to be desired with their ranch) It was awful!
On top of all of this, there was a child screaming her head of for a good portion of dinner. This was disrupting the entire dining area, it would have been nice if they would suggested a parent take her out of the room.
And when we asked a staff about birthdays (because we’d taken two people out for their birthday) they replied with «we don’t do that here»
Needless to say, I really don’t ever want to return here or any Joes.

It was fine, I guess. There is something inherently depressing about spending Thanksgiving at a chain restaurant, but alas, this is what my Grandmother wanted.
We had a 12 p.m. reservation for 11 people. We were seated promptly, and were the only people in the entire restaurant for at least an hour. They had at least 15 servers on staff, yet somehow two people had to ask for silverware, and I waited over 20 minutes for my first glass of wine. Staff were nice — just seemed like they were a bit out to lunch. I can’t really blame them — I wouldn’t be chomping at the bit to work on a major holiday either.
Food was passable. For $ 25 you get all you can eat turkey dinner which includes — white turkey breast (no skin), mashed potatoes, squash, stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy. You could also order the scallop risotto ($ 25) which was not all you can eat. I ordered the latter and was pretty satisfied. The risotto was creamy and included a lot of veggies — carrots, spinach, some other greens — and unfortunately, what appeared to be canned mushrooms. It came with 5 scallops — three bigger sized ones, and two tiny ones. I didn’t try the turkey dinner but my Uncle Michael said «it tasted like an entire weeks worth of sodium» Most people at the table echoed this sentiment. On the plus side — Joe’s sends home with every turkey order — a completely new, whole plate of turkey — free of charge.
General Notes:
Water glasses were not refilled often enough.
Music was weird — top 40 (Fitz and the Tantrums, random hip-​hop) AND Micheal Buble? Joe’s really needs to settle with a themed play list. None of this music really fit the holiday mood nor the clientele. TIP: When the average age of the patrons is 65 — don’t play Britney Spears.
Complimentary bread was a bit stale, but I appreciated the soft, whipped butter.
Beer was served with chilled mugs — well played!
I had to ask for a drink list — that was annoying. Especially with a large party — wanting to get down and be festive — it’s in your best interest to push us towards the booze. Most people in my party just randomly shouted out domestic beers, and hoped Joe’s had them.
My Irish Coffee was weak — not weak in booze, but rather served with weak coffee. I’m also pretty sure they used skim milk rather than cream.
We were led to believe Joe’s only offered one desert — the pumpkin cheese cake. After half of us already ordered. my Aunt Lynette found out that we could order any desert on the regular menu. Too bad a regular menu was never provided. When prompted — the waitress orally informed us of the other options.
Pumpkin cheese cake was amazing! By far the best thing I ate — creamy and light, with homemade whip cream –YUM! I also loved my Aunt Lynette’s salted caramel cheese cake. It tasted exactly like Goetz’s Caramel creams.
Décor was nice. Large, clean bathrooms, nice dark wood paneling dining room. comfortable chairs.
All and all — it was an ok experience, but I’m not rushing to go back. It’s nice not to have to deal with cooking and cleaning the house — but the experience just felt stale and anemic. I was also expecting higher quality food and service from a restaurant owned by Atlantic Fish Company and Abe and Louie’s.
2.5 stars.

I chose to sit in the dining room as I wanted something a tad quieter than the noisy bar area. But karma seated a couple with a noisy two year-​old behind me. Silly parents thought they could reason with a two year-​old.
Why did I chose Joe’s? It was convenient (behind) my hotel and they offer a 10% discount to hotel guests. I was not in the mood to engage Woburn’s traffic.
I arrived ~6:20PM and was seated immediately. Bar area was quite busy/​noisy. Dining room, not so much. Sabrina was my server. Attentive, hustles, knows the menu, hustles … and got everything right the first time. She should be working somewhere more upscale — bigger checks should equal bigger tips.
I opt’d for their $ 25 prix fixe menu. The three shrimp appetizer, seafood stew entrée (mussels, salmon & a very petite lobster tail in an unremarkable sauce) and a bread pudding w/​ice cream dessert. It was satisfactory, but did not delight. Would I order this combo again? No.
Will I return? Possibly. After long days, I’m really not in the mood to travel for food.
WiFi network is insecure. A business computer/​server is on the same subnet that customers access. Baaad juju.
One star for the guest-​WiFi network.
Three stars for the food.
Five stars for Sabrina.

For all the polish and crisp collars on the staff, I’m a bit surprised as to how sloppy the actual food is at this regional chain’s locale.
My turkey burger ($ 14) came on a «buttered”-greasy whole wheat bun with what seemed like sliced bleu cheese and a side of bland guac. The sauteed spinach requested in lieu of the standard fries featured limp, ashy leaves swimming in oily base.
I can see the inherent appeal to Joe’s, especially if you’re a road warrior salesfolk who wants to close your clients over a seemingly high-​end lunch. Bring the heavy pen, order the seared ahi tuna salad and bask in commissions and bottomless iced teas. But for a pair of hangry kids who just wanted a solid burger, Joe’s limped to the rescue.
I’m in no rush to head back.