I've been here a few times already. The vibe of the place is great, and the service is good. However the food just never hits the mark. Fries are always burnt and soggy at the same time, probably being cooked at the wrong temperature. The burgers always fall apart half way through the meal, with the buns very over-sauced to the point of being sloppy, and the patties under salted.
It really has the potential to be an awesome neighborhood spot that I go to more often, just hope they can improve the food a bit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
L R
Good happy hour otherwise the drinks are on the expensive side at $14 minimum for the cocktails .
Good happy hour deals. We ended up getting plenty of appetizers for the group. The calamari and mozzarella sticks were nice and crunchy without being too oily. The pork belly was soft and tender but on smothered with too much sweat sauce (bbq?). Cauliflower bites were just ok. Fries could have been more crunchy but decent.
No annoying music blasting so that was good. Glasses were not so clean - had lip stain on the glass of water. Otherwise everything else seemed ok.
Didn't get a pic of everything but I thought the blue drink was just eh for $14 especially. It's a matter of taste. Nice presentation though. My friend liked her match alcohol drink - she got two of it for $28, so you can see how everything starts to add up quickly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
Sujana S R
The soup was absolutely amazing so good, OMG! I also tried clams for the first time, and they were really good, especially with the delicious sauce. The chicken wasn’t the best, but overall, I had a great experience. Definitely coming back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
T Dale
Tried Buddy’s for the first time and have a mixed review.
Service - Good.
Food - Average. I had chicken and waffles, the waffles were cold but the chicken was hot, however didn’t blow me away with flavour. I also tried the chicken sandwich, chicken was dry and I wouldn’t recommend that.
Drinks - Good. Priced well, margaritas for only $8 and they were pretty strong. They also had a happy hour going on well drinks.
For anyone heading to buddy’s I’d recommend trying the breakfast, or going for a drink.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Juan Camacho
It was okay nothing to brag about. For the price that I paid. I've could off gone somewhere else for a lot less.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Mark Boyles
We had a good time. Four of us on a Tuesday evening. Had beer, burgers and fish and chips. All were good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish and Chips
Mihir Yerande
All their burgers are interesting and tasty!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
marianne simonton
Great burgers, friendly, attentive staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tuan-Anh Hoang-Vu
Good food and great vibes. Kids friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Manthan Shah
Decent brunch spot in downtown. We got pancakes and an omelette. The pancakes were fluffy and not overly sweet, which was nice. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any coffee when we went which felt like a miss for a brunch spot.
It took me 3 weeks to be in the proper mindset to write this review. Firstly, I will say that the brunch vibe that we all are looking for is here. The space to have food drinks and meaningful conversation was definitely possible. However, my experience as a brunch reviewer turned absolutely sour once the manager was so unprofessional and rude to my guests and I. We all drove an hour each to check out this spot. We were told the wait was 40 minutes. We waited in our car for 45 minutes and our table was not ready. No worries because it's brunch. Chill time Sunday's right? WRONG. This is when the review goes left. The bar was available, so we all ordered a drink and sat down while we waited for our table. The manager came over and said that we had to get up from the bar because he had reservations for the bar. We all got up and had drinks in hand with no problem until we were standing behind empty seats. I proceeded to ask the manager if it made sense that I was standing up with a cup of coffee by an empty seat and he said the optics were not good if we were sitting there. That could mean so many things.....we waited about 15 more minutes total wait time 1.45 hours a young lady seated us and offered a complimentary carafe of Bellini because they understood that the manager was doing too much. By then, my appetite was non existent. I didn't want to make a scene. My only regret is that I was not treated well and I spent my money in this place. NEVER AGAIN. As a note, the bar remained open the entire time we were there. I was so uncomfortable and this has not set well with me since I left. I would encourage all to demand respect when you spend your hard earned money in an establishment . I brunch and review EVERY Sunday in NJ, NY, DC, PA, GA & DC and this has been the very 1st BAD SERVICE REVIEW. 👎🏾 The OPTICS here are no good for me. I guess I didn't look like their typical customer 🤷🏽♀️
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Francheska Vargas
Simply put, skip this place. I was surprised to hear Buddy JC is considered a Jersey City classic because our experience was anything but enjoyable.
We started with the Street Corn Empanadas, which were incredibly oily and overly salty—not a great first impression. Hoping the Buddy Burger would redeem the meal, we were instead met with a greasy, soggy mess. The bun was completely overwhelmed by the excessive condiments and toppings (pickles, pickled onions, gouda, sweet chili, garlic aioli), falling apart before we could even take a decent bite. To top it off, my husband specifically asked for no cheese, yet they still added it, despite him repeating his request multiple times.
The sweet potato fries were just as bad—severely undercooked, hard, and lacking any crispiness or flavor. It felt like they had been pulled from the fryer way too soon.
Service wasn’t any better. We informed the staff we were waiting for a friend who was running late, and after 15 minutes, they asked for the extra chair back—which would have been understandable if they actually needed it. Instead, it sat unused for another 15 minutes before our friend arrived. Then, immediately after we paid, they asked us to vacate our table, despite no one waiting to be seated. The whole experience felt unnecessarily rushed and unwelcoming.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Brandon Mejias
It was absolutely amazing the food was amazing the environment was great and the service was amazing you should 100 percent go here I recommend the Spicy Chicken quesadilla and calamari
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sam Hernandez
Very busy during brunch on a Saturday but it worth the 15-20 min wait. They turn tables pretty fast and the food portion match the prices. Music is not too loud and you can head to the bar area for some amazing mimosas once you get done eating. Customer service was okay, because they were so busy the servers were kinda short with you. I will definitely come back though!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Ellen Qian
We desired some American food the other day, so we chose this restaurant closer to our place. The service was okay, but the food was off my expectation, especially the fish and chips. They are soft and mushy rather than crispy. For the cauliflower tacos, corn/pumpkin seeds accounted for much more proportion than cauliflower, and people sensitive to spicy should avoid this dish, as it’s bit too spicy. Not sure for the revisit, maybe will try burgers next time
I've been here a few times already. The vibe of the place is great, and the service is good. However the food just never hits the mark. Fries are always burnt and soggy at the same time, probably being cooked at the wrong temperature. The burgers always fall apart half way through the meal, with the buns very over-sauced to the point of being sloppy, and the patties under salted.
It really has the potential to be an awesome neighborhood spot that I go to more often, just hope they can improve the food a bit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 4
Good happy hour otherwise the drinks are on the expensive side at $14 minimum for the cocktails .
Good happy hour deals. We ended up getting plenty of appetizers for the group. The calamari and mozzarella sticks were nice and crunchy without being too oily. The pork belly was soft and tender but on smothered with too much sweat sauce (bbq?). Cauliflower bites were just ok. Fries could have been more crunchy but decent.
No annoying music blasting so that was good. Glasses were not so clean - had lip stain on the glass of water. Otherwise everything else seemed ok.
Didn't get a pic of everything but I thought the blue drink was just eh for $14 especially. It's a matter of taste. Nice presentation though. My friend liked her match alcohol drink - she got two of it for $28, so you can see how everything starts to add up quickly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 3
The soup was absolutely amazing so good, OMG! I also tried clams for the first time, and they were really good, especially with the delicious sauce. The chicken wasn’t the best, but overall, I had a great experience. Definitely coming back
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tried Buddy’s for the first time and have a mixed review.
Service - Good.
Food - Average. I had chicken and waffles, the waffles were cold but the chicken was hot, however didn’t blow me away with flavour. I also tried the chicken sandwich, chicken was dry and I wouldn’t recommend that.
Drinks - Good. Priced well, margaritas for only $8 and they were pretty strong. They also had a happy hour going on well drinks.
For anyone heading to buddy’s I’d recommend trying the breakfast, or going for a drink.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
It was okay nothing to brag about. For the price that I paid. I've could off gone somewhere else for a lot less.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
We had a good time. Four of us on a Tuesday evening. Had beer, burgers and fish and chips. All were good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish and Chips
All their burgers are interesting and tasty!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great burgers, friendly, attentive staff.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good food and great vibes. Kids friendly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Decent brunch spot in downtown. We got pancakes and an omelette. The pancakes were fluffy and not overly sweet, which was nice. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any coffee when we went which felt like a miss for a brunch spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
It took me 3 weeks to be in the proper mindset to write this review. Firstly, I will say that the brunch vibe that we all are looking for is here. The space to have food drinks and meaningful conversation was definitely possible. However, my experience as a brunch reviewer turned absolutely sour once the manager was so unprofessional and rude to my guests and I. We all drove an hour each to check out this spot. We were told the wait was 40 minutes. We waited in our car for 45 minutes and our table was not ready. No worries because it's brunch. Chill time Sunday's right? WRONG. This is when the review goes left. The bar was available, so we all ordered a drink and sat down while we waited for our table. The manager came over and said that we had to get up from the bar because he had reservations for the bar. We all got up and had drinks in hand with no problem until we were standing behind empty seats. I proceeded to ask the manager if it made sense that I was standing up with a cup of coffee by an empty seat and he said the optics were not good if we were sitting there. That could mean so many things.....we waited about 15 more minutes total wait time 1.45 hours a young lady seated us and offered a complimentary carafe of Bellini because they understood that the manager was doing too much. By then, my appetite was non existent. I didn't want to make a scene. My only regret is that I was not treated well and I spent my money in this place. NEVER AGAIN. As a note, the bar remained open the entire time we were there. I was so uncomfortable and this has not set well with me since I left. I would encourage all to demand respect when you spend your hard earned money in an establishment . I brunch and review EVERY Sunday in NJ, NY, DC, PA, GA & DC and this has been the very 1st BAD SERVICE REVIEW. 👎🏾 The OPTICS here are no good for me. I guess I didn't look like their typical customer 🤷🏽♀️
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Simply put, skip this place. I was surprised to hear Buddy JC is considered a Jersey City classic because our experience was anything but enjoyable.
We started with the Street Corn Empanadas, which were incredibly oily and overly salty—not a great first impression. Hoping the Buddy Burger would redeem the meal, we were instead met with a greasy, soggy mess. The bun was completely overwhelmed by the excessive condiments and toppings (pickles, pickled onions, gouda, sweet chili, garlic aioli), falling apart before we could even take a decent bite. To top it off, my husband specifically asked for no cheese, yet they still added it, despite him repeating his request multiple times.
The sweet potato fries were just as bad—severely undercooked, hard, and lacking any crispiness or flavor. It felt like they had been pulled from the fryer way too soon.
Service wasn’t any better. We informed the staff we were waiting for a friend who was running late, and after 15 minutes, they asked for the extra chair back—which would have been understandable if they actually needed it. Instead, it sat unused for another 15 minutes before our friend arrived. Then, immediately after we paid, they asked us to vacate our table, despite no one waiting to be seated. The whole experience felt unnecessarily rushed and unwelcoming.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
It was absolutely amazing the food was amazing the environment was great and the service was amazing you should 100 percent go here I recommend the Spicy Chicken quesadilla and calamari
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very busy during brunch on a Saturday but it worth the 15-20 min wait. They turn tables pretty fast and the food portion match the prices. Music is not too loud and you can head to the bar area for some amazing mimosas once you get done eating.
Customer service was okay, because they were so busy the servers were kinda short with you. I will definitely come back though!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
We desired some American food the other day, so we chose this restaurant closer to our place. The service was okay, but the food was off my expectation, especially the fish and chips. They are soft and mushy rather than crispy. For the cauliflower tacos, corn/pumpkin seeds accounted for much more proportion than cauliflower, and people sensitive to spicy should avoid this dish, as it’s bit too spicy. Not sure for the revisit, maybe will try burgers next time
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
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