Smiler’s Grill & Bar

Been coming here for years. Love the neighborhood bar but the food is better than average bar food.
They have great service and all the girls that work there are awesome. June and Erika have been there for so long and they remember me every time I come here.
Pool table is always fun. Parking is on the street and free and always able to get a spot.
They can also accommodate a big group and this is why we keep coming back year after year.

Never, ever, ever order take out from here. The only reason I am giving two stars is because dining in has be good. But dear goodness, tonight might have been the worst take out I have ever had. The wings were dry but greasy all at once and yet the best thing we got. The chicken sandwich had seasoning on two random parts of half a chicken breast accompanied by barely cooked French fries (for additional cost.) the nachos were a complete joke: bottom of the barrel nachos with old tomatoes and lettuce with turkey chili that makes me fear for my bathroom in the morning. The best part was the sour cream. I’m very sorry to write this for a place I have genuinely enjoyed but this is honestly the worst take out I’ve ever had :-(

Great local pub with good food and beer. Also an awesome atmosphere.

I come here only for French onion soup and beer so I haven’t tried any other food yet. The soup is very delicious!
Recommend:
French onion soup

Ahhh… Smiler’s! … Some of the best food in the valley! I come here often and I can say that their lobster bisque soup is the best I have ever eaten. I burn my mouth on it every time… let’s leave it at that.
Fine martini menu as well and extremely fair prices.
Service is up and down (depending on how busy it is … it is usually a pretty happening place during dinner time) but the bartenders/​waitresses are always in good spirits and will definitely keep you entertained and in a good mood.
Nice mix of craft beer usually … fantastic appetizers… and a friendly staff/​atmosphere!
Love this place.

Fabulous atmosphere! Fabulous martini menu! Join the martini club. It’s a must. Great high quality food. A favorite is the meatball parm hoagie. :)

They have excellent food. Try the Pepsi chicken. You’ll die happy. The martini menu is fantastic but the service can sometimes be lacking, depending on who is working!

Great casual atmosphere. You can see it is a favorite place of locals and regulars but welcoming to new folks. The crab bisque is outstanding!!! Full of crab including big pieces. Interesting menu, not filled with the usual boring stuff. Looking forward to trying something different next time.

I went here on a recommendation. I had the wings and the chicken franchese (their spelling not mine). The wings were over cooked and the chicken for the Francais was deep fried, the pasta was mushy. The salad was made hours ago. The staff was friendly. The portions were plentiful but not worth the price tag. I gave it 3 stars only because it was the only thing close. Skip this one.

Smiler’s is a great alternative to other area establishments especially if you want to avoid a chain. They have a surprising selection of alcoholic coffee beverages. I tried a «monk’s rope» with Frangelico. Their French Martini was also very good and HUGE. The food was just okay. I ordered the boneless chicken wings. The service was good. I would definitely go back.

Overall terrible. We had 3 different people wait on us at various times, none of which seemed to actually care about our table. Very slow service in general.
Food was disgusting. Their idea of «pepper jack cheese» (direct quote from the menu) is some kind of cheeze wiz nacho sauce that tastes like it just came out of a can. At least advertise it as SAUCE instead of cheese.
Once we finally got our check it was very difficult to determine who had what. Of course the waitress never offered to split up the check so we had to just figure it out. Pretty difficult when all drinks are listed as «service code 20» and all food as «service code 1».
I will NEVER go back here.

Great food, fantastic drinks, medicore service… BUT GREAT FOOD! The people serving can sometimes be a hit or miss. First time we went the waitress was ultra friendly. Second time they didn’t seem too friendly. The food, however, was incredible. The drinks even better. Definitely a good place to go.

I’ve never had a bad meal here and they have a great variety on the menu. Great selection of bar food. The burgers are enormous and the sangria is fantastic. Portions are huge in general, you will leave full with leftovers for a great price.
The service is ok, and the place is small but if you sit in the back room it’s not bad.

Good august salad

The Loading Dock Pub appeared to be closed Sunday, so I found this place on Unilocal as an alternate with solid reviews, so we took to 2 mile drive to Dickson City to check this place out.
Street parking is your only option on this corner bar. Nothing pretty to look at from the outside, so in we go.
Much better interior. A cool bar with many seats inside, but a bit cramped for my liking in the front seating area. Much more spacious in the back.
Music was a bit loud and filled with locals, mostly at the bar. A nice back space with a pool table was a nice touch.
Service was very friendly and prompt. For a craft beer fan, you will not find much to interest you, as they are mainly BMC products, a cider and of course one or two Yuengling beers. I opted for the Bock and it was not very fresh.
We ordered up their hot wings and compared to the Loading Dock, these majorly paled in comparison. They were larger, but the hot wings tasted more like a BBQ sauce, and an odd buttery flavor to boot. Not very good.
My meal was the porketta w/​fire roasted peppers and sharp provolone. It was good enough, but nothing to make me want to go back.
My two buddies ordered the french onion soup, and they found it way too salty and the onions were huge, onion rings and they were not soft at all. Neither finished their crock.
2 stars seem low, but «meh, had better» applied perfectly. I won’t be back.

This establishment’s name is appropriate as every time I leave here I have a contented smile on my face! They have been around about fifteen years and most folks would call them a gastro pub with some of the best food you will ever taste.
If you drive by quickly and note the neighborhood and the building you will probably assume «dive bar.» You would be very wrong. You will have a challenge parking. There is no private lot and the streets are very narrow. There are signs everywhere telling you not to park here or there etc. It can be frustrating but my advice is to tough it out and find a spot. You won’t regret it.
Once you get inside you’ll discover a beautiful pub with a nicely appointed and inviting interior. Expect lots of warm-​toned wood. There are about a dozen seats around a well-​stocked bar. There are a few tables and a nicely lit pool table.
On my latest visit I stopped in for and early lunch and an adult libation or two. I sat at the bar and was served by the lovely Joanna. Cute and competent is a great combination! The beer selection is fine with all the standards and a few crafts. The liquor selection is outstanding and all kinds of specialty drinks are available.
When I think of the menu the first word that comes to mind is stunning and the second is huge. Of course every kind of pub grub is there but there are dozens of specialty items. Let me give you an example– I ordered the Italian Muffaletta sandwich ($ 11). It consists of Italian meats and cheeses along will a delicious olive relish. Now get this, it’s baked in a bread bowl! That’s right, I said baked in a bread bowl. It’s then cleverly cut and served as a sandwich. It was warm and savory and a little spicy and in every way incredible.
If you are anywhere in the general Scranton area, drive over to Dickson City and stop in. Access is easy from Route 81. I travel for a living and have eaten in hundreds of restaurants and this is definitely a four star experience.

Decent place to hang out. Very good menu and very extensive. I would go again.

Went here again just this past weekend, and I’ve got to say, I was pretty pleased.
My girlfriend and I got a couple drinks — my margarita was pretty good, and her French martini was amazing. I ordered a plate of hot wings along with my drink, and these suckers came out SMOTHERED in sauce. I’m normally not a fan of the usual buffalo wing sauce that tastes like straight-​up Frank’s, but they cut their sauce down to be a bit more mild and buttery thankfully. Man, I couldn’t get enough of it. I also ordered their «Crabby Patty», which was a pretty typical crabcake sandwich. I thought the size of the patty could have been a little larger, but it was pretty delicious and the fries were absolutely perfect — nice, thick, and with that perfect balance of crispy and crunchy.
We’ve been here a few other times, and based off that I would also recommend the buffalo chicken fondue and the bison burger. Both delicious.
Only negatives is that it can be hard to find a table sometimes when the place swells up with locals, and the service of the waitstaff was just ‘okay.’

I read some of the other reviews, and just to help with anyone trying to park… The street right across from Smilers has plenty of parking, yes you have to cross a busy road but it is worth it. There are nights here where the trendy crowd comes in. In general I have found it to be more low key with «locals» and «regulars». The Wait staff is fantastic. The food is not cheap, I have had a few entrée’s and loved them. I find that now when I go I get a plate of beer battered fries. It is super cheap for what you get and goes great with the beer.
Other than that, you can drop a few bucks in the jukebox and shoot some pool with your friends at this neighborhood hangout.
Who knows maybe I will see you there!!! ;)

I was here for the first time last week. After a long day of landscaping a friends yard and drinking beer, this was probably not the best choice of bars to hit up. Tired and dirty, I did not fit in. It seemed like a young professional crowd (one I use to belong to). The beer selection was average for a trendy bar.
The thing that I really did not like was parking. There was none. Park on Main Ave at your own risk. It is a narrow stretch of road, and you may be missing a mirror when you come out. And have sun driving up and down the narrow side streets.
Moving on, The place was pretty crowded, so that leads me to believe that it is a pretty happening place. It was elbow to ass cheek in there until we found a little spot by the pool table to hang out at.
It is worth a stop in… if you are in the neighborhood. I would not make a special trip here.