Dive Bar in the Middle of Nowhere I have only been here once before and that was September 2022 to buy a shirt. This time I did sit at the bar and order a beer. It does not have much curb appeal but once you are inside your impression will improve. They have 6-8 beers on tap. I had the Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City Brewing, Tampa FL. Note that they offer the 30 Burgers menu which obviously has burgers but you can also get wings, etc., or a small bar pizza. FYI, the wings looked very good from what I could tell from the guy eating them next to me. Service at the bar was average at best, so don't expect to be treated like Royalty, lol! If you are in the area, drop by, salute the American flag before you walk in and say, TIP: Get a pretzel Thanks read more

The Royal - Dive Bars Near Me - Branchburg, New Jersey

it's good food but the service sucks at the bar and it's loud..get table service and you'll enjoy it more, but don't be seated near the bar if you don't want to yell to be heard. read more

Small bar big personality. I believe everyone knows everyone here. The staff is friendly. It's a good local bar. Small pool table in the back. I didn't get to try anything on the menu except for their nachos which I really liked. The only thing that sucks is the place is small so if the bar is full, you pretty much don't have a seat. I do believe they can work a little bit more on the cleanliness of this place. read more

The service was excellent and the bar is attached to 30 Burgers, so you order food off that menu and the wait staff will bring it to you. Very nice beer selection and they do trivia on Tuesday nights, which was fun. read more

This place is great! Bartenders are friendly and the espresso martini is fab! What a great time read more

Wonderful dive bar. Needed to kill time and found this. Seemed most people are regulars. Staff was very friendly and prices seemed fair. Will 100% go again if I'm in the area. read more

Good food, great people, diverse menu.... Burgers, chicken sammies, crispy fries... good beer selection

To the person below - 'no colors' refers to no flashing gang colors, it's not a racism thing. That having been said, tried to go get a burger today - was immediately put off by a restaurant deciding that their political lean was my concern, and even more so when the gruff gentlemen at the bar pretty much accosted me for my "I voted" sticker. I will never be back, despite having been here regularly over the years. Clearly my money is not wanted here. read more

Once or twice a year my job ships some of us to NJ to train in our Home Office. And once or twice a year we end up staying in a hotel in the middle of nowhere NJ. Thank goodness for The Royal! Insurance people do two things: write insurance, and drink! Every time we are in town, we hit The Royal. It's 1 mile from our hotel, the employees are amazing, and they have a great liquor selection! The last time we were there was last March and our waitress (Megan) remembered us and provided great service as always. My coworkers and I come from all over the country (some international) and we go there 2-3 times during the week we are in town. We always go on Tuesday night for trivia, and the evening before we all head home. You can get an appetizer, a meal, and two drinks for under $30, while enjoying good music and great company. read more

I mean, for what it is, you really can't beat the Royal. They give you a huge plate of food that is prepared quite well for a very reasonable price. The servers are truly angels who work their backsides off for the customers. A friendlier place I challenge you to find anywhere! They have a super patio location for outside dining during warmer weather. Inside the atmosphere is typical of most restaurant bars, with big-screen televisions all over the walls and raucous customers. On Tuesday nights they have a Trivia contest for customers that is super fun. It really is a great dive bar, so go ahead and dive right in! :-) read more

Great burger and beer. And to the dullard saying this place is racist because their sign says no colors... it's targeting gang colors. Must be exhausting to try and find racism in everything. read more

This is hard to believe in 2023 - but there's a neon sign posted outside that says "No colors". Added with the fact that its surrounded by a ton of American flags I would believe that this was statement was intended to be racist? I was stunned because while I wanted to eat at the diner next to it, I was waiting for my group to come and saw this place next to it. I thought...oh...they're patriotic, nice. And then under the sign, "Casual and Fun Dining" I saw "No colors". Damn. Instant fight or flight, I had to take my business somewhere else. p read more

Yes it's a dive but very friendly people and the prices are amazing TV sets everywhere and hamburgers are their specialty. Not bad.

What a GEM!!!!!!! This is an old time bar with character that doesn't quit. Keep an eye out or you'll drive right past it. Great cold beer and fantastic food. The best part is the service and the way they treat you . . . like they've known you forever. You will leave with a wonderful warm feeling and a plan to return soon. Brooke and Carey are the best!! Thanks for a great time ladies. Dan and Kat will be back to see you guys just as soon as we can. Love you guys! read more

Best bar ever. Good burgers. Good happy hour. Good darts. Good beer. Good TVs. Pretty cheap

Bugs in food. Mouse droppings on floor and table. Very dirty!!! Zero stars. ...never again. My daughter got food poisoning!! read more

The ROYAL is not your typical bar. It's a small friendly neighborhood dive bar on Rt. 22 East in Branchburg.. The bartenders all make a good stiff drink along with shots and are happy to do so.. In the back are high top tables so u can order one of their delicious burgers and bar food...... The ROYAL Is attached to 25 burger restaurant , I believe that's why they serve good burgers. There is a pool table in the back...Off of the main bar is another room with a pool table.. They have darts too...Music is provided by a jukebox which seems to keep everyone happy and singing.. It's the most fun on the weekends.. There are flat screens everywhere so you can watch all of the different Football games... The ROYAL sells package goods which is great because there's not many liquor stores around that area.. This bar gets a nice mixture of people. Young, old, blue collar, biker, businessmen. Everyone gets along... Tuesday's is trivia night... Outside is a nice size parking lot and a couple of benches for relaxing... What this bar lacks in size they make up in character... read more

See all

Great service, very good fries and hot dogs. Very clean and nice welcoming ambiance.

Thank you YELP for a great find! I had bookmarked The Royal a few days earlier thinking we would be in the area. That plan didn't work out, but while driving home one day with a hungry husband I needed a place to go quick. The 25 Burger and Royal combo came up and off we went. The set up is a little quirky. The Royal bar looks like one of those old rail car diners with a modern looking 25 Burger attached. We walked in and grabbed a high top table and the waitress came right over with some free popcorn. Since it was Sunday Football we had the $2 Coors light drafts. The bar had a few regulars watching multiple TVs all tuned to the various games. The bartender took great care to make sure the fan had his game on the TV closest to their seat. We ordered our 25 burger which the waitress delivers to your table. Those burgers were good and it's really great that you can order the 25 burger and not leave the Royal. Yes, the Royal has other food options that we did not order on this trip. After we ate, we took a walk to the back where they have a pool table and dart board. In the other larger dining room they have a beer pong machine and more TVs. We stayed at the Royal far longer than we planned but only because we enjoyed it so much. The customers are there to relax and have fun, the service is great, and the overall vibe awesome. Hope I have an excuse to be in the area again so I can stop in for longer than I plan. read more

Great place extremely friendly and great foof

I was here yesterday for food and drinks with friends and I had a great time dining outside. Service was excellent and food was great.

Wouldn't ever go back. The food has gotten worse, the service is awful as always. Bartenders will stop any song they don't like on the touchtunes machine, including songs by Johnny Cash. Don't waste your money in this filthy dive. It is worth stopping in to count the number of flies on the ceiling. I have seen hundreds. read more

Best burgers I done ever had verry good service and ambiance overall a good place to go worth the money.

Great local bar. I just had 6 wings and a basket of bacon. :) Service is friendly and cool to an out of towner. I will be back. read more

The Royal - Dive Bars Near Me - Branchburg, New Jersey

See all

First time and it was great! Staff is fabulous and the Bingo prizes are super fun! Atmosphere is warm and cozy. Janie read more

It's a dive bar, but a decent one. Bartenders are really nice, friendly, helpful. So-so selection of draft beers, but great burgers from next door delivered to you at the bar. Recommend leaving your politics in the parking lot unless you're MAGA. ("Let's go Brandon" sign at bar spoke volumes.) Televisions everywhere. A bit grimy, definitely not fancy but it is what it sets out to be. read more

Literally the best burger of my life. Ordered the #2 medium rare and I might just go back today for another!

I don't know how this filthy dive bar gets such high ratings. Must be the free popcorn, I don't know. The only saving grace is 25 burgers next door which you can order from the bar. Bathroom is dirty and smells, skylights in the pool room have things growing on the them. The music is too loud and the waitress didn't know what beers they served. read more

Came here because it was rated pretty well for their burgers. Showed up and wasn't even sure if I was in the right place. Usually that means the food it pretty good based of off past experiences but this time I was let down. I felt like the burgers were about on par with Five Guys, which isn't bad but having so many reviews saying how good the burgers are, I was disappointed. This seems to be a pretty popular spot with people who grew up in the area and many of the other people in the bar looked like they have been coming there for years. The service was good, people were friendly, but it was really noisy when I went on a trivia night. read more

Perfect dive bar. Good beer selection, from PBR To micro brews, burgers from next door. Everything you expect. No major hipster infestation, everyone from blue collar guys, to office people. Anyone can feel comfortable. read more

Came a few months ago and now a regular and we love this place, mixed crowd which makes it even better! Burger place next store supplies the food and it is great. Live music once in a while, some red headed girl and a fantastic guitar player! read more

This place is a MUST visit when you're in New Jersey. As an out of towner, this was everything I hoped from a New Jersey bar. In the words of Stefon, this bar has everything: cheap beer, six packs to go, a beer pong video game, New Jersey music anthems, crazy characters, free popcorn and shots, shots, shots, shots, shots. I'm so glad we came to check this place out. Total slice of life. You may get lots of looks when you walk in, but they'll quickly warm up to you. read more

The Royal is your dive bar haven! I love this place cheap beers and shots friendly fun staff. Pool, Darts, TVs, beer pong machine, digital juke box with any song you want on there, to go cooler with a great selection for a good price what more could you possibly want in a bar? Oh that's right it's connected by kitchen to a 25 burgers so you got In my opinion the best burgers in Jersey right there as well. I love that I'm able to get my favorite buffalo chicken sandwich and Bacon cheese fries all while I'm playing a game of pool. best hang out spot in the central Jersey area! read more

The Royal - My friends mom and I won the royals Facebook T shirt give away one time this our picture when we picked up our shirts! - Dive Bars Near Me - Branchburg, New Jersey

One of my favorite places to get a drink. All the bartenders remember their regulars and get you your drink fast. The two pool tables are great fun plus sometimes the back room will be a ping pong table. A dart board for fun too. I've spent countless nights playing cricket with some friends. Oh and they have 3 coolers of beer and wine, in case you want to continue the party somewhere else after last call. Never any drama and you always seem to run into someone you know. ( if your from the area ) this is my bar. read more

The Royal - Dive Bars Near Me - Branchburg, New Jersey

See all

This is what a blue collar bar should be. Friendly, cheap, fast and full of things to amuse yourself with. The Royal is located next to (attached) 25 Burgers, which it borrows for some of its menu. 25 Burgers makes for some excellent bar munchies, and in addition they sport their own kitchen to help fill out the menu. Great rotating happy hours including a $2.50 Blue Moon on Weds. 2 Pool tables (in separate rooms), darts, and a jukebox fill out areas to amuse yourself. There's plenty of room between the bar and booths and the staff is friendly and attentive. Make no mistake ... this is where the guys go after work and the local softball leagues wind up, but this is a neighborhood bar done right. Tip of the hat. read more

Great dive bar! Good beer...friendly patrons...lots of regular folks! My favorite is the pork roll egg and cheese sandwich....yum....!!! read more

The Royal - Here's the bar... - Dive Bars Near Me - Branchburg, New Jersey

I don't know how this place gets anything less than four starts. As soon as I walked in, I knew I'd be a fan. This is a tiny hole in the wall townie bar that is "posing" as a dive bar in an otherwise higher end area. I think anyone who rates this place 1 star should move on down the road to Buffalo Wild Wings or Houlihans. The reason I can't come to call this a true dive bar is because the servers and bartenders were all so unbelievably NICE! Like, genuinely chatty and helpful. We had mutual friends! We shared favorite beers! While yes, the interior is a bit dingy (not dirty), small and certainly dimly lit, a true dive bar should also come with a little grit from the waitstaff and bartenders. If I do not get sassed while at a dive bar, than I do not truly feel that I am at a dive. Classifications aside, I fully enjoyed my first trip here. I was with a larger group of coworkers coming from our annual holiday party looking for a fun spot for the "after after party," and we were going to make our way to the Stagehouse, but felt that it was way too far away. Someone recommended the Royal, and at first was a bit hesitant because she thought it would be too rough around the edges for some of the folks there. It was not that, at all, and everyone enjoyed themselves. We played pool, we laughed and maybe there was even some singing and dancing accompanied by juke box hits. We drank a little more than we should have, and closed out the bar. We did have some bar snacks and of course some of that complementary popcorn, but no burgers, though all I hear when I mention this place is how good the burgers are. I'm just sad that I didn't find this place sooner! They have a great tap list, lovely service, and a very townie atmosphere where everyone seems to get along. So happy to have found this "dive" in my area! read more

Definitely a cheap dive bar that happens to be great, not a fake trendy "dive" bar trying too hard. I was surprised as to the amount of craft beer they had, because the looks of the place says Bud/Miller/Coors only. Founder's pints for $4 is always a good thing. I went for a burger and beer lunch, and even at 2pm on a weekday there were a bunch of people settling in for drinks and food at the bar. Bartender was pretty attentive and friendly, everyone else sounded like regulars. The fact that the burgers come over from 25 Burgers, some of my favorite in NJ, seal the deal. I'll be stopping in again the next time I'm in need of a burger and beer. read more

Pretty relaxed hole in the wall bar smack in the middle of nowhere. Open later than most in the area and have down to earth bartenders and 'greeters'. read more

The Royal is an instant classic. Come for dirt cheap drinks and fairly priced food. While the atmosphere leaves something to be desired, its inability to try to be something its not is refreshing read more