McCray’s Tavern on the Square

grab hope as a server. she made the experience soooi worth it. the fried and mac cheese with bacon and green is superb.

Came here after Universal Joint where we waited for 20 minutes with no service — much better at McCrays

The service was terrible. Beware: They overcharge on gratuity. This was my second time going and the service was terrible both times. We tried to give them a second chance, but they just can’t cut it. We are never going back!!!

Had lunch today, Memorial Day, while on vacation in the area. Husband ordered the Cuban sandwich with fries. He enjoyed his lunch. I ordered the Reuben sandwich, with home made potato chips.
This time, the sandwich meat was too fatty. I’ve eaten very good sandwiches here in the past, but this particular cut of corned beef was too fatty for me to enjoy eating. I did end up cutting some of the fat pieces off, and did eat some of it.
Our server had to run an errand during lunch time. He recommended the Reuben.
In general, though, we usually do eat here when we are in Lawrenceville.
In the past, I have really enjoyed their fish and chips, and I do highly recommend it as my fav entrée.
They offer a half of a sandwich combo at lunch time, however, our server told us that their chicken salad was «bland with not much flavor «…But three other half sandwiches were offered for sale, but for some reason, they would not offer the half of a Reuben on the lunch combo .
We did get very good service while there, and when our server went to run an errand, the hostess /​waitress took over. She was very helpful, and gave me an extra to go cup for my tea.
I will order the fish and chips the next time we are in town .
This is a good place to meet friends, and they have a nice bar area with regular, locals who make this place seem like the t v show «Cheers», but without «Norm» at the bar.
On Friday and Saturday evenings, we usually don’t go, but the college and young adults of drinking age enjoy this place.
On Sunday, they do offer a nice brunch, which we have enjoyed very much.

Vibe and atmosphere is nice but the food we ordered was pretty bad. I ordered ½ rack baby back ribs and the ribs were clearly old. You can tell by the color of the meat and the discoloration of the bone so needless to say I didn’t eat it. The garlic mash potatoes was bad as well. We sat on the rooftop and the female bartender was our waiter, she wasn’t pleasant either. After taking our order, she took a cigarette break, a bit disappointed because she’s handling food. Plus she noticed I didn’t eat my food, but didn’t care to ask why nor see if I wanted anything else. I may give this place another try but my 1^st experience as a visitor wasn’t great. Everyone else we encounter was pleasant.

Just as a reminder to the staff appetizers come out first not with main course. I come here a lot and this has happened more than once.
Whenever you ask to sit up stairs for some reason they seem to always say there are no seats available, but it you walk up there you can seat yourself just fine.

Once again McRays hits a home run with my Shrimp and Grits. I felt like I was back in Charleston!!!

Love this place good service and the drinks are on point and it’s a nice place to go and the food is really good aswell, I never had a problem, and everyone that I brought there loved it aswell

I like McCrays. They have a few decent meals and their cheese grits are probably the best in the Atlanta area. However, I always feel uncomfortable there as I’m not the type of patron they’d prefer. It might just be the culture of downtown Lawrenceville though, because other restaurants in that area give me the same vibe. Anywho, if you go, enjoy Sunday brunch. Go for Easter, too. The brunch is pretty nice. Like someone else said, there’s plenty to enjoy here. Nothing is amazing but everything is good.

I love McCray’s. Atmosphere is always great, and I’ve never been disappointed by the service, food or drinks. Always a solid place to eat or drink.

The last time we ate here it was typical bar food so we took a long vacation from McCray’s. Then we heard it had improved. Based on our food tonight I would agree. Reed was our server and he did a great job. I had a buffalo chicken panini. The serving was generous with thick juicy chicken and just the right spicy jolt. I got cole slaw as the side and it was also a generous scoop, not the usual shot-​glass-​size portion. My wife had the chicken salad panini and said it was good too. It was too cold to sit up on the deck but it is a nice chill area with a view. The lower level where we ate tonight was noisy and it is not the place for quiet conversation.

GREAT FOOD! GREAT ATMOSPHERE! GREAT SERVICE! The four of us went on a Friday night and were immediately seated. We had called ahead for reservations. My sister spkit the shrimp and fish and chips dinner. Both were excellent! Fish was light and batter crispy! My husband had the hamburger and loved it. My brother in law had the fish tacos. They were good in substituting sides. We highly recommend this restaurant for a fun meal!

Love this place. My family and i go there often. Great beer, food, atmosphere and service.

This is a neat little tavern located right in the heart of downtown Lawrenceville blending in with the area’s old towne charm. I used to work in the area so I stopped by for lunch on several occasions and have been there for dinner a couple times. Its a great place to bring co-​workers for a quick bite or a group of friends to hang out on a weekend evening. What’s notable is that they have a rooftop patio overlooking historic downtown Lawrenceville. When the weather’s great, this is the way to go! Such a great view. **Helpful tip: if you don’t know the area and try to park on the street facing the restaurant, good luck! Parking in front the tavern is limited, but there is a nice sizeable parking lot behind the restaurant accessible from E. Pike street. You’re welcome lol!
Anyway, the food… The burgers are fine, not spectacular, but pretty solid. I’ve had the blue cheese burger and the burger with the pimento cheese (forget the name). You can’t go wrong with either of those. My go to dish are the loaded nachos. I get this about 90% of the time I eat here, and this is what keeps me coming back here every time. I intend to try something else at times, but I just cant help it. These are some of the best nachos I’ve ever had! Though they are listed under the appetizers, they are hearty enough to feed one person. You can get them with chicken or steak, and I get everything on them. And whatever cheese they use on them, its so good, I think its like a white cheddar queso sauce or something. In due time, I’ll branch out and try some of the other dishes lol! I’ve always heard the fried mac n cheese and the blue cheese chips are amazing!
The service overall is pretty good and attentive in my experience. The beer and wine list is pretty extensive, lots of great choices to get your drink on if you so choose. For pub grub their stuff is pretty good and I’ll be a regular customer for sure.

Not just another tavern. right in the middle of downtown lawrenceville its got that old fashion
lawrenceville heritage. The beer selection I found here was excellent and service was on point.
the place is not small but it was full on a sat night. The food here is very good. a step above most pub type food. The burger and pasta were ⁴⁄₅ here. highly recommend

I give them 5 stars because the service was excellent and the food was spectacular!
I’m a burger whore and am very picky when it comes to them! We had the Blue Cheese burger and the Grizzly burger. Both were exploding with flavor!
We went at 11:30 on a Saturday and beat the crowds! I’ll make sure to come again.
Yummy!

I just wanna say that maybe I was wrong about McCray’s being 3 stars. I’ve actually been back here probably 5 or 6 times since my original review in 2013 because I truly love the Shrimp n’ Grits. However, I just hadn’t bothered to update my review because while the S&G are always great, other items are hit or miss.
Today we were searching for a place to eat breakfast before my sister (visiting from Florida) hit the road to drive back home. The local dinner just a few clicks away had about a 45-​minute wait. While waiting my sister mentioned she would like to try shrimp n’ grits for the first time. So instantly I decided to call McCray’s just to see if they might by chance be open for brunch. Sure enough, they answered the phone and said a few magical words: «We’re open and there currently is no wait!»
FLAGNOG!!!
I’m going to cut my normal wordy reviews down to simply say my sister and her husband sat imagining how much weight they would gain if McCray’s was within driving distance of their Florida home. «I could eat breakfast here every day» they exclaimed as the scarfed down panini’s, steak n’ eggs with amazing home fried potatoes and nearly half of my shrimp n’ grits. If this had been my first experience here I would have given it 5 stars overall for sure.
Steak n’ eggs (4.5 stars)
Cheese grits (5+ stars)
Steak omelet (3.5 stars)
Shrimp n’ grits (5 stars)
House-​made potatoes (5+ stars)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Personally, I think the management at McCray’s is listening to the reviews posted here on Unilocal.Service was great and the food today was outstanding. No, it’s not the best I’ve ever had, but far better than MY previous 3-​star review (and THEIR overall 3-​star rating) would indicate.
²⁰¹⁶⁄₃₀

My husband and I ate here Saturday night. The food was great and the service was good.
We started off with the Gorgonzola and blue cheese chips appetizer. It was awesome.
For our entrees, I had the Fish and chips with a side of Mac n cheese. My husband had the country fried steak with mashed potatoes and a side of Mac n cheese. We both enjoyed our meals and will be returning.

So good. I mean, I’m not playing… It’s so good! The service was very polite and prompt. We came in town from Indiana for the holidays and we will definitely come back next year.

McCray’s Tavern on the Square is a traditional bar and tavern in downtown Lawrenceville. There’s a second location in Smryna’s West Village. I’ve been to both locations and they’re essentially the same.
McCray’s Tavern on the Square is a popular spot for local Lawrenceville suburbanites. On weekend evenings, this place gets packed with twentysomethings to middle aged folks looking to unwind. The tavern is partitioned into a few different sections. On certain nights, one of the rooms has a DJ and live music. It almost becomes like a dance club, which I think is kind of strange for a tavern.
Aside from that, McCray’s is pretty much the typical American tavern. It’s relatively new. The atmosphere is casual and the noise level is loud. If you’re looking to have a meal without having to raise your voice to speak to another person at your table, you should look elsewhere. Also, there are several TVs mounted high for your sports viewing pleasure. I wouldn’t consider this a sports bar though.
McCray’s food menu consists of standard «pub grub» fare including sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads, and appetizers and entrees like chicken tenders, wings, fish and chips, shrimp and grits, meatloaf, and ribs. There are hardly any creative or original items, so the menu is straightforward and you know what you’re going to get. At dinnertime, expect to spend about $ 10 – 15 per person for most entrees. Burgers are in the $ 10 – 12 range, which I think is a little expensive if you’re not paying for a gourmet burger. There are weekday lunch specials (11am-​3pm) for $ 6.95.
I’ve tried a few items. They include:
Fried Macaroni and Cheese — served with bacons, scallions, and a honey mustard dipping sauce
«Flint» Fish and Chips — seasoned and lightly battered fried cod, served with French fries and tartar sauce (I subbed coleslaw in lieu of fries.)
«Monford» Burger — 8 oz. ground beef patty topped with pimento cheese, bacon, and jalapeño on a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, onion
I can’t say I’ve been too impressed with the food, but it’s not bad. At $ 6.95, the fried mac and cheese seems like a reasonable deal because of the portion size. It could almost be a meal unto itself. Four fried mac and cheese fritters come with each order. Each fritter is bigger than the size of a golf ball. It’s basically balls of elbow mac and cheese, battered and deep fried, and topped with scallions and real bacon bits. The quality of the mac and cheese isn’t very good, which is a big reason why this dish is mediocre.
Not sure why the fish and chips have the moniker «Flint» in front of them because these fish and chips are generic. The fried fish filets are quite small and measly here — just not a whole lot of meat. Maybe I just happened to be unlucky and get a lackluster batch, but almost every other bar I’ve ordered fish and chips at, the fish filets have been bigger. Taste-​wise, it’s good and what you’d expect. Four small fish filets are served with each order.
If you want, you can sub a different side in place of fries. There are about 10 sides to choose from. These include pasta salad and sauteed spinach. I subbed slaw in and thought it was okay. McCray’s slaw has a lot of mayo. I’ve also tried the pasta salad and liked it. Bowtie pasta are used and the side is tasty and refreshing.
The burgers are big. The Monford burger patty is thick and hearty and is topped with a heapful of pimento cheese sauce and two strips of bacon. The red onion, tomato slice, and shredded lettuce are crisp and sufficiently fresh. Altogether, the burger is filling for sure, but not as appetizing as I hoped. Both the meat and bun are average. I think one of the biggest burgers on the menu is the Grizzly Burger, which one of my tablemates has ordered. The burger patty is served with a giant onion ring on top and a steak knife sticking down through the middle.
Service is fine. Brittany is a good server.
Parking in downtown Lawrenceville can be a pain, but there should be plenty of free parking spaces around the Square and on the street. Just be sure to obey the rules on the parking signs, especially during regular weekday business hours. You may have to park a couple blocks away.