In all the time that I have lived in and around Johnstown, I had never been able to make it here. On a recent trip back home I met my sister and her family for a dinner. I'm glad I finally did to check this place of my to try list. From the outside, it looks like a typical hole-in-the-wall bar in the Johnstown area. I had no idea where parking was because every time I drove past here I would be doing it at a pace I couldn't see. I was happy to see that there was ample parking behind the street facing building. Entry from the parking lot takes you up stairs or a zig-zagging ramp that looks fairly new. This area is also connected to an outdoor seating area, can't really call it a patio. Or, you can enter from outside and take the stairs up into dining room. This is a seat yourself establishment. Once you are seated, you are greeted and given menus. What an extensive menu it is. The amount of items on the menu, if you haven't been here before, can be daunting. It took me a few minutes to just give it a once over. When the server came back around to take our drink order she asked if we needed a few more minutes, yes, we did. When she returned I was ready to go. I ordered the Pickle Chips as my appetizer and the Howler as my main. The Pickle Chips were served with a side of ranch for dipping and they were amazing. Perfectly coated, not too much and not too little. Dipping in the ranch cooled them down just enough to be enjoyable. Now, the Howler, is kind of an experience. The Howler is one of their signature burgers. Half-pound patty cooked to your liking. The set toppings on this burger is bacon, choice of cheese (American Cheddar, Swiss, Provolone, or Pepper Jack), meat sauce, and a fried egg. You also can choose to add lettuce tomato onion and pickle. For mine, I went American for the cheese, lettuce, onion and pickle. There really wasn't any need for condiments as there was already so much on the burger to give it flavor. It almost comes off as either a breakfast burger or a chili cheese burger. Although I did as for medium, they overcooked it a bit. What was a nice addition here was the side. You can go with the traditional fries or go for one of many that don't seem to have an upcharge to it. Tater tots, slaw, applesauce, or nachos and one item for an upcharge, onion rings. I went with tater tots. Overall, this was an enjoyable meal. Our service was impeccable. Atmosphere was lively. read more

Love this place, been here numerous times. Great chicken wings. Friendly staff, good service. Great food. read more

Bar food...but even better. We enjoyed everything we had. Actually went back twice after our original visit. We definitely will return. read more

Excellent food, great service, chill ambiance, overall would 100% recommend! Definitely a place to stop if you're in the Johnstown area. Would recommend the Dog Bag, but bring a few others because it's huge! read more

We wanted something else besides the regular fast food we was eating since we're on a family road trip so we stop here at bigdogz Once we entered it took us 5mns to order our food the place is basically exactly a sport bar vending machine,and Tvs everywhere They do have a big outdoor infront seating areas which i can see so far since it was around 10ish pm so we ordered 3 grilled Cajun breaded chicken sandwich to go.......... We basically got just regular bread roll with lettuce and tomato with no seasoned chicken and the chicken was burnt had to peel off the burning part to eat it along with no toasted bread with no butter on the bread...basically everything dry. I mean we ate since we paid for it and needed some energy food but I hope next time the person making them sandwich take consideration in serving what they put on their menu. read more

Bigdogz Grill - a chicken sandwich in a styrofoam container - Sports Bars Near Me - Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Gotta love this place!!! Mike the only business in town with every sport you want!!! Great prices!!! If you don't like a bar sit away in dining room read more

My parents grew up in Johnstown always sharing great memories of bigdogz in their 20s. They even met at this bar. I went to the bar tonight with a few friends and we were rudely greeted as soon as we walked in the door. They made rude comments loud enough for us to hear and rolled their eyes at us. They decided to scan my ID multiple times because i wasn't "old enough" even though I am in my late 20s. After that I decided the place was not relevant enough for me to spend money there. I left immediately and staff/customers made comments like "easy come, easy go". Nothing impressive about this place. Do not recommend. Later I found out the OWNER was one of the people making comments. Doesn't look good for an older business in Johnstown. read more

Love it here, when I was younger I could never play the pac man machine, and this is where my aunt and uncle had their first date, and I really like the Mac and cheese bites read more

This place was ok. We walked and in and nobody told us it was seat yourself so we stood there for a while until we took it upon ourselves to find a table. Service was standard. The ambiance is what you'd expect, Pittsburgh themed. The food was as follows: pizza- gross. It was floppy and greasy. Burger was pretty good but the fries and tater tots were cold upon serving them. If you're in the mood for a burger, go for it. For anything else, find another place. read more

Good Food + friendly service. A favorite place to eat. Breakfast, lunch or anytime . Good basic Bar. Nothing fancy. PLUS ‍Sports ‍ read more

Stopped here for breakfast one Saturday morning. Overall, a decent breakfast menu. Nothing crazy or eye catching. I settled for eggs and bacon. My spouse got steak and eggs. Food overall was basic. It was good, but not spectacular. For all the hype I expected to really be blown away, but it was really just basic breakfast food. Service was so-so. Overall a decent place to grab a bite to eat. Might stop again for lunch or dinner. read more

This is a restaurant with the bar in a separate room. We entered from the back parking lot and climbed the stairs. The room was large with TVs, but the TVs were not a distraction. Our waitress was very attentive. When asked about a beer list she said there wasn't one, but she knew the many drafts by heart. We chose the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter. We ordered side salads to start, and pretzel sticks which were soft and chewy--just right. The two were almost a meal! The stuffed crab halibut and mushrooms were delicious. I took half of the halibut for carry out since the salad had filled me. read more

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Food and service is good. Ample portions and good prices. Good pizza. Restaurant/bar is badly located on a hilly corner and parking behind is a hike to the door. Ramp is available but they need handrails. read more

Great food. Great atmosphere. Drinks are always cold. You always run into someone you know there, and it's a great place that you can go and hang out at. The price is great as well. read more

There are two entrances to the Bigdogz Grill, the small front lot will take you right into the restaurant or lounge, while the huge lower lot gives you a flight of stairs to climb. I should have remembered this from when this place was the Lobster Trap. As my grandson was on crutches from a recent foot surgery ( sports injuries ), but he was up those stairs faster than the rest of us. What was once a dark and closed up space has now been opened up to one very large room where you seat yourself at either a table or booth. The room is surrounded by wall sized TVs and our server Jennifer, could not have been more on the ball, she was a real sweetheart! The lounge is behind glass doors and allows smoking, it also has TVs everywhere, in fact this place has 17 in all and is known as the best sports bar in town. They have 16 drafts on tap daily not to mention many bottled beers. You will find pin ball machines, PAC man and others. Remember when entering this bar, you are in Steeler's territory and the walls are decorated with Steeler's memorabilia. You could spend an hour reading the menu which has over two hundred items, plus daily and weekly specials. I'm telling you now, the food is very good and the portions are huge and the prices are low! We happened to be there on the night of American Idols final performance and Jennifer was anxiously going table to table to see if anyone objected to her turning one of the televisions to that channel. Well she did and all heads were straining to watch that one TV so she quickly turned on a few others to that station and turned up the volume, which made it a fun evening out. We started with a bunch of appetizers, the fried cauliflower with cheese sauce was so good and it is almost impossible to find anywhere these days. We had the beef nachos grande which were a huge plate piled high and loaded with toppings, I was surprised with all the food how fast this disappeared, it was a huge hit. The Fiesta Poppers were different with the red chili pepper instead of the jalapeno and were coated in a spicy breading, very good. I'm not a real big fan of fried pickles but they know how to do it just right and they had a nice crunch, the crab stuffed mushrooms were small, bite sized and loaded with crab imperial. Yes folks we then ordered entrees! I had two of the biggest jumbo lump crab cakes with peppers, onions and perfectly spiced, I mean these babies were huge and I only managed to eat half of one, my daughter took the rest home with her as I was leaving the next morning. Outstanding crab cakes, I won't even look at the menu the next time, some of the very best I have ever had. My daughter ordered a trio of wings, as they advertised to have the best in town, this was an appetizer portion and she chose garlic, mild and parmesan. She loved them but ended up taking half of them home as well. My granddaughter ordered a pizza pasta with pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, black olives, provolone & marinara served over angel hair and she wanted to lick the plate. My son in law had "the grinder" which is a Pittsburgh/Johnstown thing, it is a one pound burger served on a long roll with ham, cheese, a fried egg, onions, mustard and Mayo, it was huge, but he ate it. My grandson had a bacon cheeseburger with fries, the patty was huge, hand formed and black Angus, he loved it and it really did look good. It really was great food, everything was outstanding. When I see huge menus like this I always expect run of the meal precooked or frozen food, it was like they specialized in each dish. So if you are looking for great food, simply priced and a fun and entertaining dining experience dress casual and check out the Bigdogz Grill, seriously! I'm giving them 5 stars for being the best sports bar and grill in town. Kudos Bigdogz, you did it! read more

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So so sports bar. Huge open room that smells like stale smoke/grease. Appetizer sampler was good fried assortment that arrived in a "big dog" sized dog dish. I kid you not! Clever. Prices are great. Service was good. Seems like they need to pare back the huge menu and just work on perfecting a few select dishes. Ladies room was filthy. read more

Best food in town Everything's seafood pizza It's one of my favorites most importantly they didn't decrease Their menu they adapted. If only more businesses would follow their lead read more

5 stars I haven't been there since 2006/2007 so that's completely based on rep. Good food and nice girls in a relaxed atmosphere. At Big Dogz I once cheered an interception AGAINST the Steelers and lived to tell. Even if haters say the food sucks or the help is no longer attractive I'm going back! read more

Big Dogz is a fun place to watch sports, with multiple screens and good food-- but a big disappointment that they didn't renew the NHL package, since a lot of us are dedicated hockey fans. This used to be the one bar on Johnstown where you could watch any hockey game, not just the Pens games, and several of us are hoping that was an oversight that will be remedied? In many ways, this is our favorite bar. The manager, Mike, is a regular presence, and he keeps standards high. Food is always generously portioned and tasty, and beers are always icy. And breakfast remains the best deal in town. read more

Went for dinner and a few beers one week night. Service was spotty if you weren't a regular and the chicken Alfredo tasted like paste. The beers were fairly cheap but would I ever go back? Nope. If you don't mind lackluster service and mediocre food, you'll love the place. read more

Hmmmmmm. This is hard for me. One of the few reviews that dont have a happy ending but here it goes. Lemme start by saying i am basing this on this particular visit on fish fry friday. My company went with the perfunctory fish dinners which are rather cheap but i can see why. Some got baked. Some fried. Breading was hard as a rock and super greasy. The baked.....baked to oblivion. Neither one worth puttin in the belly. I chose to be different and got crab stuffed portabellas. Yikes. A small portabella with a pile of microwaved mush piled on top. The portabellas tasteless. The crab cake more stuffing than a Holiday bird. At least sautee the cake please but no evidence of preparation other than microwave quality for my Cakes. Said it had melted mozzarella on top. I envisioned a broiled golden brown cheese...nahhhh. Not even melted. The side of onion rings cold n hard. Couldn't eat any of it. Shame cause it was one of the priciest meals on menu at 16.99. Its just a case of an over ambitious entree without the delivery. The pluses I have had breakfast here in the past which is to die for. Service was great. Great sports bar atmosphere. Some decent beers on tap should definitely stick to bar food and beer when in Rome read more

Bigdogz Grill - Sam Adams Cold Snap to start the eve!!!!! - Sports Bars Near Me - Johnstown, Pennsylvania

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First off let me say this, I'm very disappointed in myself for living in Johnstown for almost a year and just now stopping into the amazing establishment. From the moment you walk in you feel welcomed. The bartender Michelle was very polite and gave such excellent service. She made sure I never went thirsty and made sure she filled me in with the daily special. I must say this has to be by far the best place in town hands down. I will be sure to make a return. If you are ever in Johnstown I recommend that you stop in for a few beers and a burger if you have room ! read more

Bigdogz Grill - Black and blue burger. Made to perfection. - Sports Bars Near Me - Johnstown, Pennsylvania

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Great place to meet up with friends and enjoy food and have a good time period great environment, friendly staff, nice bar area that displays an assortment of beers and liquor. It's always a good time. I have been a customer since 2000! Mac n cheese wedges are a must try! read more

Bigdogz Grill - Mac N Cheese Wedges... May not look like much but so so worth it! - Sports Bars Near Me - Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Well, all around terrible experience. Start off, dining room had about 3 other patrons in it, but they were extremely loud and disruptive. For 6pm on a Tuesday, I wouldn't expect to hear screaming cusswords. Then, the beer on tap was flat and terrible. They were out of wings. Out. And half out food wasn't out when half our party was finished with the food. Didn't receive multiple items. And multiple of them were wrong or just plain not good. To top it off, having racist slurs and cuss words carved into the dining room bathroom is legitimate trash. Would not recommend. read more

In response to Nathan Z. This is why the owner is rude. Two people from our group that ate there that day went up to the bar to pay their bill. The owner took the reciete of the one person rang them up, then went back to playing on his computer while the other person stood there, reciete in hand waiting to pay. The owner looked at him and said "oh you want to pay your bill?, she (the bartender) will be right with you" Not sure why he rang the one person up and left the other standing there waiting for the bartender, who was very busy that morning. read more

Great place for breakfast. Lots of room for a group to meet up. Good food and good prices.

Located in the former Lobster Trap, kudos to Bigdogz for radically cleaning up one of the nastiest places in town. Completely redone on the inside, this place features a separate bar, then a large open seating area with plenty of natural light. You'll find plenty of flat-screen TVs tuned to sports channels. Their huge menu tends to be more modern than the mealoaf and mashed potatoes standard local diner fare. Their wraps feature herbed tortillas, they revolve a selection of new & interesting soups. Their portions are quite large. The only ding I give them is on the atmosphere of the place...for reasons I can't explain, it always seems very cold and impersonal when I'm in there, it feels very "eat and get out" On the other hand, it's the same reason that the place is good for business lunches with clients, where you don't want to linger past your lunch hour. read more

Where do I begin...the place smelled like stale smoke. I think they smoke in the bar area, but it lingers to the dining area. The menu is overwhelming, its has so much to chose from. My kids were served warm chocolate milk that literally tasted like cow shit....We had the shrimp special. Shrimp was very large and looked great but had little flavor. I had a quesadilla, which was actually very good and stuffed full of chicken, veggies, and cheese. My husband had wings, which were improved once he requested extra sauce. Overall a bar restaurant with so so bar food. read more

I was working out in Pittsburgh and my bf was in State College so I tried to find someplace to meet in the middle for dinner. We decided on Bigdogz because the reviews were great. This place is a divey sports bar. Their menu is quite large, but nothing out of the norm for a place like this. We ordered wings, a gyro, a burger and a house salad. All the items were very generic, but ok. We won't be back...there's a Chilis, Red Lobster and other stuff down the road. read more

Stopped by BigDogz Grill on our way back up 219 to Ebensburg. It is a pretty standard sports bar. Sports bar require 3 things, multiple TV's, beer and wings. Without those 3 you can't even be considered a sports bar. BigDogz meets all the requirements in that they have a bunch of TV's (mostly on the smaller side, but OK) a decent beer selection and good wings. They also have a decent menu with pretty good food. In Philly it's probably a 3 but it's getting a bump up to 4 from me because it had hands down the best wings I've had in the Bedford/Ebensburg/Johnstown area. It's definitely a good place to go to catch a game. read more

This is one of my most visited restaurants in Johnstown. They have huge portions of food. Its good "bar food" sandwiches pizza ect... They have a good selection of draft beers (usually 8 or 10 on draft) They are open late and have about 8 tvs showing different sports games. Only downside is food sometimes takes a long time due to small kitchen on busy nights. read more

My favorite place to watch sports! They will always put on your game and the food is great. Always a fun conversation at the bar. Bartenders are friendly and the beer is cold! Fun video games when your team is losing. Even the breakfast menu is awesome for those early morning appts at Carmen's read more

One of the best and only sports bars in Johnstown, you will find a great atmosphere for both adults and kids. Lots of TVs, nice servers, and a big menu to choose from. I suggest the buffalo fries and the fried cheddar bites (I don't remember the exact names). They are my favorite. Only con, bar area (separate from the dining area) is still smoking. Really wish they would ban smoking all together so more people can enjoy the unique bar they have. read more

I've never been inside this place and most likely never will. You can smell the dirty fryer oil from the road, No Thanks.

Really great place to go in Johnstown. Their wings are awesome, and they have great steak specials! Great staff as well. Their cheese platter is to die for! Highly recommend! read more

The servings are ample, But the place is filthy. Every time I go in there the tables are sticky the salt & pepper shakers are dirty, the ketchup bottle may say Heinz BUT they are refilled (the bottle labels are faded), probably with inferior product. Entering via lower lot entrance, one is hit with the smell of sewage. The cooks come out of the kitchen and look dirty. The bathroom floors are sticky and smell. I eat there less and less often, usually when I forget how dirty, smelly, and sticky it is. read more

The mild wings were medium heat. The wings were small, dry and very poor quality wings. Looked like they hacked them up in the kitchen rather than buy from a vendor. Pretty disappointed. read more

THEY HAVE ROACHES. Roach ran from under my girlfriends steak and ran in circles on the plate. We told the manager and he said "aww that sucks" and refunded us. read more

Waited an hour and a half for our food which came out cold, forgot our wings and when they came the gave us the wrong ones! Bad service, nobody was training the new waiter. read more

When I first arrived in Johnstown, it was the middle of the night in March. It was cold outside, and everything was closed. Bigdogz was the one bright spot we found. The food was decent, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere was homey. A lot of the appetizers were greasy, and the salads were lacking, but the entrees were good. Bigdogz is one of the few places serving food late into the night in Johnstown, and it fills a much needed niche. read more