The Side Bar

My office rented out the Side Bar a few months ago for a retirement party. Overall I found the space was fairly large and the food in general was good. We had a variety of appetizers. The only thing I would change was the timing of when the different dishes came out, but I’m not sure if that was something our group controlled or the restaurant. Overall, I would recommend reserving The Side Bar for large group events.

Side bar.12 taps craft beer. A few very good. Enjoying a dogfish 60 minute and a very sweet Brazillian batender. The bar is a bit quiet, but it is a Monday. You can converse in this place without yelling over crappy house music. this is the actual quiet bar next to the Famished Frog

I like the atmosphere of this bar, however the bartender (ess) that is usually there is incredibly rude. We have been there several times while she is working, and each time she has a negative attitude and makes the experience unenjoyable. After our last time there, we will not be going back. It’s not worth it to get such bad service. AND she also made a racist comment about the server.
There is a male bartender who seems to be very good at his job, however, if they can’t hire a fully capable staff, I’m not interested. There are other good bars in town.

I like this place and have liked it for years.
check out the beer menu, and if you join the beer tasting club you can keep track of all the brews you have tried.
eventually some type of prize is earned — but don’t do it for the prize.
do it for the joy of research.

My favorite bar in town — perfect for upper 20s/​lower 30s, chill, good crowd, great mixed drinks, and a growing craft beer presence.
Back when the Side Bar was a cigar bar, it was frequented by a much older crowd (now moved to Roots & Sushi Lounge) and was often empty. Now, it’s a much trendier, cooler place with a touch of sports bar vibe, often live music playing, and a good group of people.
In a town known for having douchey crowds (see Sona, Hopper) this is a bit of an escape. Good seating options (couches, comfy chairs), a new specialty mixed drink menu (pretty solid), a growing craft beer set (Dogfish 60, Ommegang BPA, Rogue, a few others on draft right now plus decent bottles), and solid bar food options from the Frog.
The Side Bar is a very useful venue too, open 7 nights a week — Tuesday for free World Tavern Poker, Wednesday for Trivia, and all nights for general bar usage, plus great for a private party up to 75.
Good bartenders, solid TV angles, great crowd, comfy seats, good events…just a winner across the board.

Nothing special but great if you want some space and room to chat in Mo-​town. I believe it’s part of the Famished Frog but I could be mistaken. I was there this past Saturday and they had awesome drink specials. I actually forgot I was in Jersey when I was handed a $ 3 Yeungling and a $ 5 martini. Okay it was impossible to forget I was in NJ, I love NJ! Hmm, what else to say, there are couches and a 90’s band was playing. There were also tons of roller girls partying. Overall this place is good if you want to have a party and not reserve a space, chances are you will have a good portion of the place to yourself.

I have always been a frequent patron of the Side Bar for many reasons, but especially because you can enjoy a drink with friends in an environment that you don’t have to yell over loud music. The lounge setting with comfortable couches and tvs really adds to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, I feel that this place has lost its way and has become quite a resemblance of a ghost town. I now walk in and can hear crickets. The bands/​solo artists that play at the Side Bar should be publicized more. Additionally, some major PR moves are needed to bring this great bar back to life.

I was out last Friday night with a couple of friends and decided to leave the hopper and check out another bar in the area. A buddy drove and parked out by tashmoo. Both Dark horse and Sona had long lines, surprisingly so did the hopper, and one of us wanted to go to a bar we have not been to. So with limited options, the side bar was brought up and decided upon as a place to go.
Upon entering I noticed it wasn’t too busy. When everyone else had a line to get in, we just walked in. The bar was maybe half full with half the seats around empty. So we went to a quiet corner and ordered our first and only round.
This is where our experience really took a turn. Not that it started out beyond average, but I was surprised that when we ordered drinks. The bartender gave our friend a «look» or that was what was claimed. Not thinking anything of it we order our drinks and then just mingle. When we were all at the bottom of our glasses, I tried to flag down the bartender for another round. I was left waiting for 15 minutes. Which I can understand on a Friday night when your 5 deep. Not when half the bar is empty. She kept flirting with some guy in the corner ignoring most people on our side. After my friend finally got her attention and asked if she can help us next, she made a snippy remark about getting to us when she can and we waited another 10 minutes. Again perfectly fine when you’re taking orders and making drinks. In the whole time from when I originally tried getting her attention she opened one beer for the guy she was bsing with.
When she finally came to help us I told her just to close out my tab, which apparently takes another 10 minutes for her to bs with the other bartender. Then when I finally got the bill we got charged for 2 rounds and a 5 dollar thing of olives? I immediately brought this to her attention and told her she needed to take the extra stuff off. She insisted I ordered 2 rounds then move to say the other bartender got them for us. So after calling her over giving her an aggravated stare and asking her if she gave us any drinks she said no and the original bartender begrudgingly took the drinks off our bill.
On my friend advice I later check my statement and found out she charged the original amount. I kept all of my receipts but this is just annoying, I will probably never go here again. It’s unfortunate as some of the other reviews put this place in a good light.

No longer a cigar bar… this has it’s pros and cons… but we still go there. They generally have live music on Thursday and Friday nights (although not in the sumer) and a DJ on Sat nights. They do have the BEST bartenders :-) go there if you’re in Morristown and want a really good drink mixed up for you. They share a menu and kitchen with the Famished Frog– including a late-​night bar (limited) menu. That’s extra handy on weekend nights.

This was a lovely respite from hectic day where you could relax with a fine single malt and a great cigar. Now its just another empty space with a peculiar ambiance.

We went to this «Sophisticated Gathering Place» and found it was no such thing. We were looking for a relaxing place to go after a great dinner to have a few drinks and a cigar. We thought The Side Bar would be the perfect place. What a disappointment. We walked in to a loud DJ playing bad 90’s hip hop and 70’s disco with dancing drunk divorcee’s.
If this is the enviorment that The Side Bar is, «sophisticated» and «relaxed» are NOT two words that should be used to discribe this establishment.
What did we expect? Sinatra or Dean Martin softly playing in the background and low key patrions. You know, sophisticated. Far from what it is advertised to be.

Morristown’s only cigar bar is a unique experience, and some of this review may sound a negative, but honestly, I love this place, so read to the end. The décor is kind of faux library and the walls are lined with fake books. In addition to a large bar area, there is a very large «lounge» with old (and pretty ugly) couches, as well as some chairs that are so comfortable you may never want to leave.
They have a reasonable sized and priced bar menu with things like baked brie, cheese platters, seared tuna, buffalo wings and calamari ranging from $ 8 — $ 12. In all honesty, nothing on the menu is fantastic, but its all good, and hey, its an option for something to eat, so that when you settle in to one of those oh so comfortable chairs, you dont have to leave. The desserts, however, are actually delicious. Try the carrot cake. Yumm! The wine and spirits list is very good, (I had a fantastic merlot tonight) and very reasonably priced, and they have a really good selection of cigars all kept in perfect condition.
I cant speak for all the staff, but the bartender that is always there when I go is terrific, and she somehow remembers what I had the last time I was there– a rarity these days.
They have live music on the weekends, and music playing during the week (really really shitty music mind you– kind of bad r&b i guess?) but its just the right volume so that its not annoying, and several big screen tv’s to keep your eye on the news or whatever game is on.
Bottom line– something about this place is very comfy. Laid back. Chill. Its not too cool in any way. Its not seedy (despite those awful couches) and somehow… even though they have fake books on the wall, its not cheesy either.