Great food and great people. It was a wonderful dinner
Dinosaur is always good food. The service was top notch and our waitress was very accommodating with my 2 kids. I would recommend it for any meal.
Empty table and made us wait 20 minutes for a table Business lunch
Great food, great service and great prices. Higly recommended.
loved it !!! V is the bet server !!!!!! Went in before a concert and had a blast !!! Thank you V !!!!
The food would have been good if we could have gotten in. We had a 6:30 reservation and even with a reservation they were on a 1.5 hour delay. I’m not sure how that is even possible - but it was disorganized and disappointing. Don’t bother making a reservation - they clearly are incapable of any organization. Which makes me question how they can ensure safe food. Avoid this place. Management needs to be fired.
I honestly wouldn’t ever go back here. I had a 6:30pm reservation that wasn’t honored until 7pm, and only because I overheard a hostess saying they had no one with reservations, so I let them know I did. If i hadn’t been standing there, who knows how long it would have taken. They’ve been open for so many years, you’d think they have a system for when events are happening at Prudential Center. It was complete chaos. Our server was friendly and lovely, but my food came out partially incorrect and I noticed the bill at the end had an incorrect and inflated tipping guide. It recommended a 20% tip of $9.99 for a $26 bill. That really sealed the deal for me - never again going somewhere that so blatantly tries to rip off their customers.
Our experience was TERRIBLE! We had a 6.15 pm reservation, we got seated at 7.10 pm even though there were empty tables. We then had to wait 10 minutes for server to come by to even get menus. We ordered food and drinks, the drinks took about 15 minutes (just water and beer). They messed up our food orders (forgot 3 sides, one of which was just a salad). They then said a salad would take "too long to make" so did I want another side. Overall horrendous service and the food wasn't even that good (cold and the mac n cheese was too peppery).
Not worth the effort.
Reservation time means nothing.
Took them 10 minutes to find us silverware after the meals arrived. Had to go though 5 beer choices from the menu before they had one that was available.
They ran out of Fries.
Oh yeah, they had trouble finding us napkins too.
Even though I had made a reservation three months in advance, my reservation time was not honored. I found that to be very frustrating (and I wasn't the only one who this happened to). It was also frustrating that they kept on taking more patrons even though they hadn't honored the people who had reservations. I had made my reservation time two and one-half hours prior the start of the concert which was a good thing since they made me wait for over one hour. Once we were seated, the food arrived quickly (and yes, we ordered off of the event menu not what was posted on their website which was slightly different) but the food was delicious and the waitress was great. In the future, I will be going some where else on the night of a concert.
My party sat at our table for 20 min before our appetizer where taken. The main course was served and appetizers where served 10 min after the main course. The food was average nothing special except the pulled pork that was tasty. I have never had Mac and cheese and whipped sweet potato that was as spicy as the hot sauce on the side of the table. We though about desert but we had a
choice of 2 because they had run out. FYI we ate at 8pm and there was no events on at the prudential center. I would not go back.
Food very good. Service slow.
Had reservations prior to an event at the prudential center. We were seated promptly and service was great. Food was tasty and we got out in time for our event at the rock. Highly recommend!
Although I had made a reservation, there was a lot of confusion at the hostess station which is your first impression and needs to be fixed. When we finally were seated I was looking forward to having their branded Imperial Stout but was disappointed to hear from our server that t was no available there or at any of their locations due to some snafu with the brewer. As a result, we went with a Bud light ($4.50) and pitcher of Yuengling ($22). Note that BPR was a good value at $3 a can. Our appetizers were the 13 wings ($15) and ½ pound drunken shrimp ($14). Our main course was the three-meat combo ($22) with two sides.
Overall the wings (nice size) and collards were the best items, excellent! Very good were the St. Louis ribs, shrimp and coleslaw. The beef brisket was average as was the mac n cheese. Having brisket be the worst main item is not good for business and a “yuge” let down since it was always excellent in Syracuse.
We got there and were told by the Maitre D that “we don’t take reservations on event days”. This had never been communicated and in fact should have been told in advance particularly after we’d confirmed our reservation
Dinosaur BBQ is an interesting place with good BBQ. The place has an authentic southern feel and a nice selection of local microbrews as well as national brand beers. I had the Cajun deviled eggs and thoroughly enjoyed the rich mayo, mustard and egg yolk combination with a dash of Cayenne pepper for a nice, subtle kick. I ordered the trio meal, a tapas portion of beef brisket, pulled pork and pork ribs. Being from Oklahoma, living the last 23 years in Texas and enjoying BBQ across the country, my expectations for BBQ are high. As such, I rated the pulled pork 4/5, the ribs 3.5/5 and the brisket as 3/5. The BBQ sauce comes in a sweet and a spicy version. The sweet version is a traditional Kansas City style sauce. The spicy version was more akin to West Texas or southeastern US sauces. Both were very good.
If you are in Newark and willing to try a place that might appear out of place but it is very good meal at a good price, give Dinosaur a try. You’ll be happy that you did.
I really loved the fact that they honored my boyfriend and I's reservation because we were on a set time to eat. My server (I can't remember her name but she was "funsize" :-)/wore glasses/african american/worked this past Sunday) was amazing! She gave excellent service <3
Hostess with a Blue blazer and black dress was absolutely rude! Her co-worker, tall young woman with braids, was an absolute doll! I made reservations about 6 weeks prior, when I arrived the rude hostess stated that apparently reservations were not being granted. I stated that I did it online weeks ago and that it should be granted and she cut me off with an attitude saying “I understand what you did, no reservations today. Your wait will be 20mins” and rolled her eyes. Once seated, the kind hostess apologized for her co-workers rude behavior, this is not the kind of behavior needed in this type of establishment, first impressions go a long way! I don’t not understand where the miscommunication between the restaurant and open table occurred, but in a situation like this, it should not be the patrons fault.
The hostess was awesome. I left my notebook behind and she called via the OpenTable reservation I made earlier in the day. Notebook recovered within minutes!
Unfortunately we didn't get to eat our dinner. We arrived at 5:45 pm. Told the waitress we were attending the 7 pm bball game next door. Placed our order for apps, drinks and main course. Got our apps/drinks by 6:20 but kitchen was backed up due to large parties and bball game attendees. We had to leave w/o getting our dinner. Disappointing. Waitress was very nice though.
Had dinner there before a game. The food was actually quite good, the server was good and helpful but the experience at the door was not good. Almost walked out - glad we did not based on the food and server.
I would definitely come again to ey their dishes. The only thing I was not in favor was the restrooms are located downstairs. Both bathroom stall were inoperable.
The service staff was great. Exceeding all expectations. They had my Kane overhead beer on tap so big plus on that for beer selection. I was however not thrilled about the food. Wasn’t terrible but I expected more for a bbq place. May just been what I had but I will most likely not go back in and spend a hundred dollars again to find out.
Good was great. Enjoyed my sandwich with mac and cheese and whipped sweet potatoes. Also tried the donkey punch drink and it was good
Amazing food! Best bbq I’ve had in a long time. Service not so great. First was seated b the bathroom. When I asked for a different table they put us right by the kitchen. And it was super slow - waited a good 40 minutes for our food.
I have eaten here a number of times. My 4-star rating for food might be overly generous, but I've never felt cheated here, either. I ordered the potato salad as a side this time, and probably won't in the future, but my catfish was very tasty; the collard greens, while not the best I've ever had, were certainly satisfying; and the "Asian" cucumber salad was a perfect, refreshing accompaniment. I wish that they automatically supplied hot sauce at the table, because my husband's pulled pork probably could have benefited from an additional "kick." Dino BBQ is our preferred choice when we attend events at NJPAC. If the NJ Devils are playing a home game, or there's a major event at the Prudential Center, it can be extremely crowded beforehand.
Went her after a basketball game as it is right by the Prudential Center. Sat us right by the door and due to the crowd waiting for tables it was freezing. Really ruined the meal. Brisket was very good, ribs ok. Service was good.
My friend and i dined before the Lana Del Rey concert. We wanted something close to the venue. My friend got the pick 3 and I had the wings. Both were amazing. Plus I love places that i can get real sweet tea other than that crappy Lipton stuff haha. Steven was our server and he was great! We will be back!
Entire staff is clueless. I made a reservation for 7:30 on opentable. I arrived at 7:15. I was told I had to wait till 7:30. The place was empty and another group of people came in without a reservation for the same amount of my group and sat down right away. When I asked the girl why she said she was honoring my 7:30 reservation. Are you kidding me?
My server was as no better. 3 of the things we ordered were no longer available. Again are you kidding me. She then brought our ribs, etc on plates. The found normally comes out on trays. When I asked why she said they were out of them. I kid you not. My food also did not come with cornbread. When I asked she looked at me like I had 3 heads. She then proceeded to bring me 2 tiny pieces of cornbread 20 minutes into our meal which were clearly from some else’s leftovers.
I went here because I was at a Seton Hall game and have eaten at the Harlem Dinosaur BBQ which was 10 Times better than this dump.
Manager needs to be let go immediately as this place is a disaster!
Get the food via takeout if opting to dine in, only drink beer from a bottle , service is a mess from front of house to back, manager inattentive at the bar to the dumpster fire occurring around him. Multiple tables complained about service to minimal response. Won’t be going to this location again.
The food and waitress were great. I’ve eaten here many times in addition to Harlem and Syracuse locations. I have 1 criticism. I made my reservation 2 weeks ahead of time to eat pre-Seton Hall basketball game. The day before, I received a text message from the restaurant confirming my reservation. The morning of the reservation, I phoned the restaurant and asked if I could make it 30 minutes earlier. The man said yes. When I got to Dino BBQ, the receptionist told me Dinosaur Barbecue does not take reservations on game days. I showed her the open table confirmation and text from the restaurant to me. She said it did not matter. My reservation would not be honored. We had to wait 30 minutes to get seated and then could not order appetizers (I love their Wango Tango Wings) because we’d be late to the game. I would have appreciated it if she would have moved us ahead of the other groups because the mix up was their fault. I’d have given them 5 stars if they would have honored the reservation.
We made a reservation;however, when we arrived they said all reservations are cancelled on event nights. We had to wait quite a long wait. Food and service was outstanding!
First, I made reservations for 6 at 5:15 and when we arrived, they said they do not take reservations, so why does their website mention reservations..... Next, all 6 of us had ordered from the menu and then about 15 minutes later, we all had to order totally different things cause they were out of what we ordered.... NO SALMON, NO RIBS, NO BRISKET, NO CORNBREAD. We were all very disappointed.
Always looked forward to having a meal here so I made reservations through open table for my son’s birthday. When we arrived we were told that they do not accept reservations made through open table and would be able to seat us. I explained that I made the reservations through their own website which directed me to open table. We ended up sitting at the bar and not my idea of a birthday celebration for my 14 year old son. My recommendation is to update your site so you no longer show as partnered with dinosaur bbq when making reservations. The food was not great either. It’s like another big bbq spot that pre-makes their food and so when it comes out it not hot or made to order. Also they were limited in the side and dessert dishes. What kind of bbq spot doesn’t have mashed potatoes?! I would have to say I ok with not ever going back.
We had an awful experience. First of all we had a show to attend at NJPac at 7:00....knowing this location is busy especially when there are events in Prudential Center and NJPac - I went online to reserve a table for 2 at 5:00pm. When We arrived at the restaurant we were told that they could not honor the reservation because there were events that night and that we would have to wait for a table with a 45 minute wait. We opted to sit at the bar since we had a limit on our time. As we sat at the bar we ordered 2 beers and we received them in a plastic solo cup because they didn't have their pilsner glasses washed. We waited 10 minutes to be served the beer and Were given a menu to order. After we decided what to order is when we were told that 3 of the items we wanted were not available. So now we had to rethink our order. Once we reordered we were told after waiting another 30 minutes that one of the main entrees we ordered were no longer available. Now we have been there for 1 hour and have less than 15 minutes to eat so we had to quickly order something else and scarf it down so we could make our show. Part of the meal was cold. We asked to speak to
Manager since we were having a terrible experience. He explained about the "scratch kitchen" and how it is common that they could run out of food. We wanted the ribs which was the reason we went there and they ran out of Korean and St Louis style ribs. So the manager did comp our meal and he gave us a GC to return on another date. My advice would be avoid a night where they have events going on if you want to get a table and food you wish to order.
We went after and event at Prudential Center. They were not honoring reservations at first because the "system was down". People were yelling and chaos ensued. Finally sat after 30 minutes waiting. We sat by the door and every time it opened we froze (it was 0 degrees out). The appetizer of wings came out cold. The kids food came out quick. But adults took a much longer time. We asked for desert menu while we were waiting for our food (kids already finished) and were told the person who is in charge of desert was on vacation. That's right -there was NO DESERT! I've never been to a restaurant with no desert options. One time a restaurant even went out to buy Oreo's as a consolation to their non existing desert. The staff seemed fluttered and not on top of their game. The entree's were good - but i don't think i would be back anytime soon.
We went before the Seton Hall basketball game. Service started out a little shaky, think it was a shift change. However, once in the groove service was amazing and although they had a huge crowd we were never rushed through our meal and even had another round of beers after our check was paid.
We had horrible experience.
Waiter Took our food order and we did not see the food delivered for over one hour.
Will not return
Overall good. Not a lot of communication from the girl at the front desk when you check in. And wasn’t just me. Another group checked in right after me and didn’t say anything back. Checking on tables? It’ll be a few minutes? Just kinda stood there and then we needed to ask what was going on..
Good Food-lousy slow service was especially noticeable as we gave ourselves an hour and 15 minutes to eat and then walk to basketball game just steps away...We made the open table res for 4 however a snow storm delayed our arrival and we called to hold reservation as we looked for parking....only to be told "we don't take reservations for special events"...it wasn't an issue as we arrived within 5 minutes and got a table but if that's the case what is the point of having a reservation???? again slow uninterested wait staff made the afternoon less than what it could have been