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    Universal Joint

    3.3 (452 reviews)
    ModerateNew American
    Open 11:00 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Universal Joint Takeout or Delivery

    Universal Joint Photos

    UNIVERSAL JOINT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Casual
    Happy hour specials
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Universal Joint

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    Reviews With Photos

    Pimento Cheese
    Shivi P.

    We got the pimento cheese platter with pita, tzatziki, ranch, celery, and a bunch of drinks. The mule of the month (blackberry) WAS AMAZING! Perfect balance of tart and sweet. Pimento cheese was easily the best pimento cheese I've had. It was not too mayoy which I think is hard to do with pimento cheese. Also the cheese sharp but still mild enough to let the pimento peppers shine. The cucumber salad that was served on the side was probably my favorite thing here! Must get! Very reminiscent of cava's pickled onions. The pickled tomatoes in the salad were the highlight of the dish - sweet and tangy. Perfect balance to the rich pimento cheese. Ranch was AWESOME. Homemade for sure. * perfect bite - sandwich a healthy spoon of pimento in between a slice of pita. Put a slice of cucumber salad and tazazki on top. DELISH! Denise was an ABSOLUTE PLEASURE! She is so kind and real with her recommendations. She really cares about customer experience. Have to come back for the pimento cheese and cucumber salad!

    Jennifer E.

    If you're looking for a place that's dog friendly with a great outdoor atmosphere this is definitely a great place to go. It's really nice to see how friendly and kind the staff are to both pups and patrons. Random note : Definitely have to highlight how comfortable the chairs were. I feel like alot of outdoor seating establishments comfortably is always a crap shoot the chairs are either metal or too small but the chairs here were pretty great. We ordered the peach mule which was tasty and sweet and switched to the grapefruit Paloma's to follow which tasted like summer. For appetizers we ordered the wings unfortunately they were a bit too crispy and dry but must say very tasty blue cheese . For our mains I ordered A cheddar burger sub the raw onions for grilled while the burger was juicy but slightly unseasoned the order came with both raw and grilled onions which was a bit ridiculous. Fries were tasty & seasoned well. My sister ordered a burger melt with American cheese no mushrooms on sourdough instead of rye . She received a burger on sourdough with mushrooms zero cheese when we asked the waitress if she could bring just a slice of cheese she seemed a bit hesitant to go back in the kitchen to ask for it . There was a moment when she said she was having issues putting it into the POS system cause it was making her charge us for a slice of cheese which was very bizarre cause the burger melt is supposed to come with cheese . It took her a little over 10 min to actually bring the single slice of cheese so by the time we were able to eat our food was pretty cold . While this isn't a reflection of the service we got the impression that the kitchen staff were kinda messing with us because we had these substitutions. Though It's also possible our waitress didn't put it in the system correctly but I would suggest if modifacations aren't feasible, it should just be said that it's not allowed to avoid a frustrating dining experience. Great chill outdoor atmosphere| Good service |Good Drinks | Food 3/5

    Philly Cheese Steak
    Kat G.

    My husband and I had a nice day out with our dog, walking in a nearby park. We thought we'd have dinner and picked Universal Joint because they allowed dogs on their outdoor patio. The evening was nice, my patty melt, my husbands Philly cheese steak, and our waiter, Travis, were all great. The ambiance however left a lot to be desired. Understand, I love kids. I have no problem with children out in public. I also understand the difficulty in finding childcare while you work. Yet apparently some employees needed to bring their children to work at the restaurant. The outdoor patio was their playground and the 3 of them ran around screaming and yelling, run around tables, turning over chairs to make a fort, climbing on the wall surrounding the patio, crawling through the planters, and generally being obnoxious. If you were trying to have a nice dinner it was hard with kids running by your table screaming at the top of their lungs and throwing toys, your dog being nervous because of the running and noise making, and your personal space being totally ignored. I know it's a difficult situation for bored kids, but when you're paying for dinner it's not the surroundings you expect. We didn't even wait to have dessert, we just wanted to leave. Be considerate of your customers and do better.

    Dog Friendly Patio
    Daniela E.

    We came here on a Saturday night and sat on the patio where they were playing live music with our two pups. It was great that they are super dog friendly, brought out a nice big bowl of water and sat us in a corner. The customer service was great, the host was super friendly and our waitress was very accommodating. I was indecisive on a cider (triple jam cider) and the draft cocktail (lavender lemonade) which she allowed me to try both before I picked. By the way, the Bold Triple Jam Cider is super delicious!! On to the food... they have quite a bit of selection we choose a California Burger (we ordered medium well, but it came out well, well done) however the flavor was there but the "micro greens" they placed on top was a bit old (check out the pic) and they didn't need to add it. However, the universal fries... we felt like it was missing half of the order.. for $11 it was literally a hand full of fries, smothered in scallions/ cut up jalapeños... it was lacking actual fries, cheese and bacon. So, this was really disappointing. Overall, we would give them another try.

    Good service and pretty good food. The fries had this tasty seasoning on them. Burger had nice and hot melty cheese. I always forget this place, but when I see the food I remember.

    specials menu
    Brensi M.

    I was there in a Friday night and they were pretty busy we were lucky to find 2 chairs at the bar. We sat down and the bartender was awesome. She was friendly, patient and helpful as we decided on what to order. The bar is a cool chill spot with music some people started to dance at one point. There is no dance floor but people managed with the space.

    Turkey Pita Club w/ fries
    Meri L.

    Had a good lunch here with a friend! I ordered the turkey pita club with fries. It had cajun turkey, smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, arugula, tomatoes and chipotle aioli on lightly toasted pita bread. It was delicious!! All the flavors paired together well and it was a great marriage of flavors. I really enjoyed the chipotle aioli also. It came with fries that were also really good. They were lightly seasoned, but it was just enough. Nice and crispy to my liking. My friend got the salmon BLT. She enjoyed it as well. We got Blue Moon. It wasn't on tap though, just bottled. Service was decent.

    Chees curds
    Chantel W.

    Quick lunch bite...cheese curds were absolutely delicious and the chicken sandwich I had was juicy and decent. The philly was also had and was good.overall the food was quick and good. I would recommend

    Menu
    Helena M.

    If you're looking for casual dining, this is the place. Emphasis on casual. Definitely not the place I'd recommend for anything too formal. People had theirs dogs around, kids were playing, it was very casual. Not at all a problem, I just never got the vibe from Yelp! It was a pleasant casual though, very familiar. Rating 3 stars. The food was good, nothing to write home about but good. I ordered the salmon BLT, a Yelp picture encouraged me and I'm glad I did. The sandwich was great, well seasoned, however the bread did get a big soggy relatively quickly. Wasn't too much of a problem. The fries were skinny, which aren't my favorite fries. I should've ordered tater tots in said. I asked for a side of ranch and that definitely brought together the meal. My favorite part of the meal was the drink. I ordered the Blueberry Lavender Vodka Lemonade and it was great! Didn't taste like liquor at all, but the kick was there. Overall, I'd come back!

    Turkey Turkey Pita Club
    Maggie K.

    With quite a few options to choose from when eating in downtown Lawrenceville, we went for a spot that had a wide variety of food. From burgers to salads and sandwiches, this spot can get any water in your party something to eat no problem! I ordered a Turkey pita club and my husband the special burger for burger week, and both were tasty and flavorful although nothing exceptional. We did like the ambience of an old garage and liked how it was decorated.the staff was professional and kind, and seemed to be invested in their work, not just there for a paycheck. A solid spot for a burger and a beer with easy parking and walkable to the town.

    Chicken salad sandwich
    Jennifer D.

    How have I managed to not review this place yet? I absolutely adore UJ, and in this weird pandemic, it's one of the safest places to grab lunch in downtown Lawrenceville. They do offer indoor dining, but their patio is where it's at. Spacious and equipped with space heaters, the fact that UJ is in a former gas station offers the perfect setup for opening a large window and getting the air circulating. The menu is full of everything from large salads and standards like burgers and quesadillas to more inventive dishes. I've tried many of them and always leave satisfied with the food, service, and more than decent beer list. Highly recommend this stop on the corner!

    Shaunda H.

    Came here for lunch. The outdoor seating was awesome. Loved how the doors opened on the side, so even if you're inside, you still feel outside. The food was delicious, too. The only thing that made it 4 stars was that our server had a runny nose. That was not cool. he or the head server should have asked him to go home or wear a mask.

    Ravi B.

    I've been here a couple of times and what I appreciate most about this place is most of the time I can play my favorite songs with their touch tunes. However, even when they have a DJ or playing a game they have great service and food and a fun atmosphere. I get the most community-feel here out of all the restaurants in downtown lawrenceville

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    3 years ago

    Brussel sprouts and spicy egg rolls here are great! I would not recommend the Buffalo chicken sandwich or tater tots

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    Sorry but immediately get 1 star for the most terrible sweet tea I've ever had. Bitter and not sweet at all.

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    2 years ago

    bad food, poor service, pretty sure the owner does drugs. Do not recommend, horrible customer service

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    Page 2 of 12

    Ask the Community - Universal Joint

    Is it dog friendly?

    Yes! You can enter by the horseshoe court/ the patio.… Read more

    View All 2 Questions

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    Enjoyed another meal at this tavern. They have a great selection of draft beers and full bar. Food…read moreis always on point. Service was good and we made it to the show by 8. Live music on the weekend is a plus.

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    Sweetsong Kitchen & Bar - Chicken sandwich

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    im not even kidding this mightve been the WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIECE IVE EVER HAD... which is…read moreimpressive considering its hard to impress me BUT EVEN HARDER TO DISAPPOINT ME. came in for dinner and ordered three dishes: crab cake, wagyu steak, and braised short ribs. the crab cake took FOREVER... other tables literally got their food before us even though we were seated earlier. i think we had to wait a good 30 mins before we got it. next was the steak... which probably took another like 15 mins after the crab cake. now when i say this mightve been the worst seasoned steak ive ever had i MEAN IT. this thing was literally seasoned with thoughts and prayers cause never in my life have i ever even remotely felt the need to season a WAGYU STEAK, yet there i was using the salt and pepper shakers to give this thing even a semblance of taste. ive had airplane steaks that tasted way better than this.... travesty the kicker? OUR SERVER NEVER PUT OUR ORDER OF SHORT RIBS IN. after abt an hr and no short ribs i asked where it was and waddayaknow our server made a mistake and never put it in. at that point i was so fed up me and my coworker just left. HOLY HELL that was a mouthful. NEVER AGAIN!!!

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    Restaurant Seating

    Universal Joint - newamerican - Updated May 2026

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