Urban Johnnie

[shawnw]

I walked to UJ from Midtown for lunch with one daughter. Walking back for dinner with the other, since they were not both available today at the same time...

Very good food and good experience.

[Urbanized]

I just want my Johnnie's cheese! I KNOW the third time will be the charm...

[soonerguru]

Hopefully ABLE does not hassle them about servers walking liquor, wine and strong beer across the sidewalk to the patio. That has been an issue previously in Bricktown, as technically the sidewalk is a public area and not licensed premises. In fairness, I don't think they have been as aggressive about enforcing this lately.

Ahem. Don't give them any ideas!

[OKCretro]

went before the game last night, had a burger and fries very good,

only complaint is that half the TV's were on espn. I can not stand "espn sports bars" the restuarants that only will show espn. Didn't see a single tv on the thunder pre game. There were several college games on and not to many TV's actually show live games.

they claimed to have "all the sports packages" but no tv was turned on to a nba game or a hockey game. And yes was there after 6 so games had started on the east coast.

[onthestrip]

went before the game last night, had a burger and fries very good,

only complaint is that half the TV's were on espn. I can not stand "espn sports bars" the restuarants that only will show espn. Didn't see a single tv on the thunder pre game. There were several college games on and not to many TV's actually show live games.

they claimed to have "all the sports packages" but no tv was turned on to a nba game or a hockey game. And yes was there after 6 so games had started on the east coast.

That is a complaint I have on many "sports bars." Dont have tons of TVs and then let the 16 year old hostess be in charge of programming. A manager should always be aware of local teams and when and what channel they are on as well as anything that might have local interest. There are many places that Ill have to tell the waiter to turn the channel if say OSU or OU are playing on ESPNU or something like that.

[dankrutka]

Yep. Republic (at least used to) have a planned list to make sure game's were shown. It's great to not have to ask, then wait, 15 minutes to get a game on in a sports bar. Hopefully, they develop a system.

[catcherinthewry]

I went to Franco Harris' sport's bar in Pittsburgh on an NFL Sunday when the Steelers were out of town. They had every TV labeled for which 1:00 and which 4:00 game would be on that particular TV. It was the best sports bar I've ever been to. That being said I have no problem asking my local Louie's bartender to change the channel.

[Urbanized]

Yeah, I would suggest it to them and surely they will change to accommodate, at least while you are in the restaurant. If they get asked enough they will develop awareness. Not sure about West, but I know Johnnie's doesn't really do sports on TV so they probably just aren't dialed in.

[David]

Eating here as I post this. Not bad, not bad at all.

Pretty busy, but not so much that they couldn't seat me on the spot when I came in at 8, with a few more open booths behind mine. They are getting some to-go orders as well if the older fellow picking his up at the door when I came in is any indication.

The comments about every seat having its own TV are completely on the money. Seems to be a mix of ESPN stations and a few others.

I'm usually more of a Theta guy, but I tried the Steve McQueen on a whim and I was not disappointed. The mac & cheese side is good too.

Unless something goes terribly wrong, I could easily see making many return visits if I lived locally. As it is they will almost certainly be getting a bit of returning patronage from me.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[David]

Talked myself into the Battered Apple rings for dessert, but had to take half home as they were huge for a single person.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[benjenn]

Three of us went by this evening for dinner. We got there early but there were quite a few people already there. We asked to be seated upstairs and got seats right away. Rusty was our waiter and he did a great job. Hubby had a "north of the border" with a veggie patty instead of chicken, our friend had the crab cake appetizer with onion rings and I had the hummus with a cup of veggie chili. We all tried a bit of it all and I have to say everything was really good. We're not big sports fans so all the TVs didn't impress us much but we really liked the atmosphere in spite of that. We're really looking forward to sitting outside once it's warm enough. Living so close, we'll definitely go again and again. I think everyone should give it a try for sure.

[Anonymous.]

I think they have been running around ~200 heads through there each day so far this week.

[Urbanized]

They did 140 today at lunch.

[catch22]

Hopefully you mean people and not revenue dollars.

[Urbanized]

Haha yes people. Unless they did a dollar each person.

[gopokes88]

Yep. Republic (at least used to) have a planned list to make sure game's were shown. It's great to not have to ask, then wait, 15 minutes to get a game on in a sports bar. Hopefully, they develop a system.

I've never had a problem getting Republic to switch a channel for me. Ask the hostesses, they know where the remotes are. If you don't know the channel # might take them a minute. I can't remember if they use cox or directv.

[dankrutka]

I've never had a problem getting Republic to switch a channel for me. Ask the hostesses, they know where the remotes are. If you don't know the channel # might take them a minute. I can't remember if they use cox or directv.

I must not have been clear. I meant to use Republic as an example of a sports bar that does it right. They have a schedule of games, but, yes, they'll also change it upon request. I was saying it's frustrating when I'm at other sports bars that do not do this.

[mattjank]

Just got back from lunch there with 8 from my office. Really a great place. It was pretty full inside when we got there, and we were all jealous of the folks that had filled the patio tables on this gorgeous afternoon. Most ordered burgers with sides. Food came out right, fairly quickly for as busy as it was. Everything tasted great, (my favorite was the kale salad), with the exception of the onion rings, which looked and were cooked perfectly, but sadly the batter was on the bland flavorless side. With this being conference championship week, the tv's were in full force.
Will definitely be back, maybe even this afternoon for beers. Several coworkers commented how much of an urban feeling it was to walk there from the office.

[warreng88]

Can someone post a menu? Going to try it tomorrow night with the wife.

[Pete]

Menu is linked in the article above.

[soonerguru]

OK, so I've been to Urban Johnnie three times now. I have to give a shout out to the quality tacos on the menu. For dinner, I had the scrumptious barbacoa tacos -- wonderful braised beef served on handmade corn tortillas, served with house-made salsa, sour cream, yummy fresh guac, onions, diced tomatoes, queso fresco, and a side of black beans. Delish. The salsa, made fresh daily, is a wondrously smoky and spicy concoction of guajillo and ancho chiles. Tip: ask for the grilled jalapenos as a side to kick it up a notch in the spice department and add piquancy.

For brunch, I found out they serve a breakfast version, containing "soyrizo." Now, I'm not against fake meat per se, but I was skeptical. The waiter assured me that it was good and he was right. I honestly could not tell the difference between chorizo and the soyrizo that provides the protein heft to the vegetarian breakfast tacos (the irony of trying a fake meat soy product for the first time at a Johnnie's establishment was not lost on me.).

For dinner, my wife had the crab cake and it was comparable to some of the delicious crab cakes we had in Baltimore, the crab cake capital of the universe.

The street-side seating on the patio has a Euro flair, and we definitely appreciated the quality indie music sounds and urban vibe of the place.

Urban Johnnie is aces.

[Mel]

Buy a multi brand/function remote. Learn what pub has what brand of tv. Print off code list. Hilarity will ensue.

[benjenn]

Buy a multi brand/function remote. Learn what pub has what brand of tv. Print off code list. Hilarity will ensue.

LOL. Oh, now THAT is funny.

[no1cub17]

I can't believe we have a place like this in downtown OKC, just down the street from where I live. I mean WE CAN WALK HERE AND THEN WALK HOME. They get an automatic win from the wife and I for using fresh jalapenos and not pickled. Everything we had was delicious. If they indeed have Sunday Ticket, I will be downing anchor steam and veg chili cheese fries by the dozen this fall.

[benjenn]

I agree! Thrilled that we can walk to such a cool place. I think this will be the perfect place for people to bring out-of-town guests to blow them away at finding something so cool in OKC. I am thrilled they have so many vegetarian options -- I just don't understand why more restaurants don't do that. In the meantime, places like Urban Johnnie will just get our business instead.