Brown Jug Restaurant

This is, of course, an iconic place for any of us Michigan grads. I haven’t been there in years but we stopped by when we were in town for lunch. Very nice to see it uncrowned as when I normally go there it is on a football weekend when it is packed. Who knew that Steve Breaston was a fan of pulled pork and that Bo’s burger was with fried onions on sourdough rye bread. Very nice lunch spot and great stuff on the walls.

My sip from the "Brown Jug Restaurant" was very tasty. My southwest burger was delicious with a side of steamed broccoli.

Good service great guy at the door for security on Friday August 30th. Me my brother and best friend came up from Pittsburgh for the game against Fresno state. The place was awesome it is a must go to if you are in Ann Arbor and especially a Wolverine life long fan. Thank you for make a good pre game night a great pre game night. Who ever was the security guy I didn't get your name dam glad to have met you we will be back. GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The absolute worst dining experience in my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My son and I stopped in after the spring game today. Now it was busy but there was open seating. It took 15 minutes before anyone even acknowledged we were even present. Once acknowledged we then sat for 15 more minutes before taking our drink order. My son got his bottled root beer and I waited another 15 minutes before I got my fountain sprite. After our waitress took her break 15 minutes long we were able to order. We got the Sheron Moore which was jalapeño poppers, mozzarella sticks, onion rings,chicken strips. The waitress let me know they just changed all the names around so I would need to be specific with my order. Now I literally came here as on several food shows it was pitched as Michigan greats hand picked these orders as their own. The appetizer was pathetic and nothing more than frozen food from a bag. I got the Reuben and my son who will eat anything under the son and never complains got the chicken parm pasta dish. We waited 45 minutes for the worst two meals we have ever had. I told the waitress how terrible the food was and she grabbed a manager. The manager walked up and said I heard you had a problem in the rudest way possible. She offered to comp my meal which was at this point not going to salvage the experience. We then got the bill and my meal was still on there even though the bill wasn’t itemized. I paid and we left after spending more time there than we did at the game. If I were the owner I would be absolutely ashamed of the staff and the poor quality.

Huge portions. Bar type restaurant. Friendly staff. Coke drinks though. 👎trivia last night.

Caveat: ate here during Art Fair. Service was slow. Appeared they were understaffed. Food was good but nothing to brag about. It was basic bar food. As far as atmosphere, if you're not a Michigan football fanatic, this place will leave you scratching your Bucknuts. Having grown up here in A², my memories of this place may have built up my expectations.

Great little place near campus. We popped in for a quick bite after checking out the campus/downtown area. Our family tried a variety of things from pizza to burgers, gyros, and more. The sweet potato fries were awesome! Everything honestly was delicious, only complaint by any of us was the pizza needed to be a little more well done, but it was still super flavorful. We'll definitely be back.

I'm pretty sure my mom and uncle hung out here in the 50s. The staff was very friendly and accommodating and the vibe in the place was chill and relaxing. This place opened in the 30s and it has the feel of history but it's clean and tidy. We watched some March Madness, enjoyed cocktails, and tried the sweet potato fries which were delightfully lightly crispy, especially when they arrived hot out of the fryer. Check out the story of the football rivalry and the brown jug trophy if you don't know it. It's on the drink menu. Go Blue.

The Brown Jug is an Ann Arbor institution. Solid food, cheap beers and a fun atmosphere. We recently stopped in during a slow winter day and had lunch. Couple beers, mozz sticks and the cheeseburger pizza. Our server, while super friendly, was obviously also super high. He kept forgetting our order, the order of the table next to us, and made us repeat things (he asked the table next to us their drink order THREE times lol). He also forgot our mozz sticks completely, and would come to our table with food items that other tables ordered. It was actually kind of entertaining.

Staff and service are great! Went last night and got the sirloin with waffle fries and broc. Everything was great and the steak was cooked perfectly, the cut however was very tough and grisly. Still got it down but not what I was hoping for. Went back tonight and got the south U burg and fries. A+ cooked perfect. Delicious. New go to when in AA.

Simply the best everything for pre Happy Hour Fri 11/01/24. We were greeted happily and we are Oregon Ducks fans. We were a group of 12 and the service was 10 star. I believe 'Bell' was our wait person, hopefully I got the name correct. She was 10 star as well. Friday afternoon college bar pre-game. The whole bar team made sure our drinks were constantly full and our appretizers were awesome. Fried Pickles, Potato Skins etc. Order the chips and salsa, special cajun sprinkle on the chips. Not too spicy just right Gringo Style. Several people orderd the Tom Brady, Corned Beef Reuben. Sorry no pictures items eaten too fast.. Everyone kept checking on us Wow Wow Wow I knew we were in a 'Cool Place'. Great quality of the food and super fast ' Jon Taper' service. This would be my go to Sports Bar for Ann Arbor. Love this place. Cheers to the team...I will get photos next time.

Use to be my favorite place. Been coming here for around 15 years. Everything has changed for the worse over the last 6-7 years. Incredible wings turned into mediocre at best, they dont even look the same. Potato skins now seem to be microwaved. The cheese bread was removed because the owners are concerned about the amount of dough used (or something like that ) The only reason I even come here anymore is for game day, they play Michigan on all T.V's and the sound as well. Hurts to see what it has become, but they still draw a good crowd so they probably don't care as much as I do.

Tradition... Memories... Good Variety of good food. Good Bar tenders. Good wait staff... Fun Place with Great People.. AND THEN, it's Ann Arbor

Another icon of Ann Arbor, brown jug is a good place for some solid food at a good price with a very college feel (B)

Super cool sports bar. Awesome vibe, with fun staff. Food was fast & hot on an extremely busy afternoon. Had the meat lovers pizza and it was delicious.

Great place to go watch sports! Jayden is the best bartender in Ann Arbor!!! If you're looking for a fun atmosphere and amazing drinks go check it out!!!!

I can't tell you how many times I've been here, because I went to school long before my days of Yelp'ing, but it's definitely around 6 to 7. From drunken college nights, to celebrating Wolverine victories or drowning our sorrows in alcohol from a Michigan loss, this place always seems to fit the bill. Lol. Atmosphere/Appearance: Set right off of East University is this gem. Nice outdoor seating when the weather is right, but... it's a college bar, so they are very strict about checking IDs, almost every time I've been here. Lol. There isn't much to the decoration or the appearance because... who really cares when all you want is cheap drinks and cheap food. Fair enough. Lots of Michigan memorabilia strewn around inside to showcase the school spirit of course. The restaurant is quite elongated though. The main bar area is all up front along with a few wooden booths. Beyond the bar is another dining after you go down some steps. Booths and tables line either side of you as you walk down the center toward where the kitchen and bathrooms are. Service: We sat at the bar, so service was pretty good. I can't remember the young lady's name, but she took great care of us. Our food came out quickly, drinks were flowing and everything went well. Food: Surprisingly, their menu is massive. The drink menu is even more massive. Lol. There's certainly something for everyone here. I went with their 2 pounds of wings. It winds up being about 20 wings which I was able to split into 4 different sauces. I was able to try their Seasoned, BBQ, Caribbean Jerk and Buffalo. Not bad. Nothing to write home or rave about, but definitely some good wings, though Buffalo was my favorite. Value: VERY good. $4.00 Long Island Iced Teas during happy hour, which is everyday from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. There's a different special every day of the week, so it'll keep you wanting to come back. The 2 pounds of wings were $16.99 which averages out to be $0.85 a wing as a normal price. SO MUCH better than the prices back east where sometimes the HAPPY HOUR specials get DOWN to $1.00 a wing. Craziness. Awesome spot on U of M's campus. If you're looking to get hammered for cheap, eat for cheap or do anything regarding food or drink for cheap... this is your spot. Just hit up their website to find out what's on special that day!

Surprisingly good food for a renowned student dive bar. We arrived Tuesday night with 11 people and were immediately accommodated by an attentive waitstaff.

Brown Jugs are what you get if you're a well-endowed girl and you tan a lot. I would know. You should see my gf. Oh wait, you have. A lot. Anyway. It's a typical little College bar in Ann Arbor which also serves particularly questionable pizza LOL. I don't love or hate this place and the only reason I don't visit more often when I'm in Ann Arbor is because most of the people that come here for drinking or pizza are not the same people who I hang out with when I'm in Ann Arbor. I wish they were though. Hi girls.

Drinks were good. The waitress was super friendly and the only person working and she was taking care of 8 tables. Our sampler came and it was cold, she did it over and it was just as cold the second time. Just drink don't eat here.

Atrocious staff and below average food/drinks. With that combination, I would highly recommend that you stay away from here as there are so many better alternatives in Ann Arbor. I came with two friends on a Friday night and were greeted extremely disrespectfully by the bouncer. He refused to look at my friend's ID as she took it out, and rudely pointed right to the door. Mind you, we are all of LEGAL age to drink. He claimed that her real ID was fake, and sarcastically said "I'm from Georgia" and pointed again to the door. Meanwhile, he let the group of underaged girls behind us in, taking less than a second to "glimpse" at their fake IDs. I have never experienced such disrespect from the front staff here, but this guy is going to give this place a bad rep. No one deserves to be treated like that by a low-class college bar.

The Brown jug has an amazing atmosphere! The best place to go and watch all your favorite college or professional sports. Jayden was absolutely wonderful! He made sure we were always taken care of and had the best drinks behind the bar. Best bartender in Ann Arbor by far!

The bartender tonight was wasted he let us know. Took us 10 mins to get our drinks we asked if he was still making them and was like sry I'm wasted. Probably do something about jay. Christina fixed everything. Even after jay charged our tab to someone else. She flipped our experience. Christina was awesome :)

We came in for just a couple of drinks one Saturday. I can imagine this place is very popular on game days. There is a nice beer selection with a full bar. They also have a food menu that looked good. We weren't hungry, so we did not partake. Service was great. Our bartender was super friendly. I am kicking myself for not getting her name so she could get the kudos she deserves. Even for a non-Michigander who does not follow college football, I found this place really fun. It inspired me to look into the history of the Brown Jug rivalry with Minnesota. Beer and an education at the same time!

Letting people know that they charge a 3.99% administration fee if you use a credit card. Been to a lot of eating establishments across the country and first time that have seen this...amazing.

Per health department https://www.washtenaw.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1208 Possible COVID exposure on 10/1-10/3/2020.

Best chicken tenders and fries ever great prices great energy only bad thing is the security they are very rude and unprofessional

Great food. Highly recommend the mini tocos. Great service. Waitress was very kind. Great ambiance and setting.

I went to the Brown Jug last night on a Tuesday. It was my first time in. The atmosphere was cool and classic and seemed like a staple in AA. However, it was not very busy and took about 20 minutes to get our drinks. I was surprised by that. Besides takin a while to get our drinks, the apps were good. But I most likely won't be back soon

Great bar food. The kids that work there are sweet, nice and work hard. I had the club and it was the best I've ever had. Husband has the BLT. He said it was great. They have a lot of beer on tap. The only reason why not 5 stars was it was so loud.

They don't have NFL Sunday ticket or the ability to play different games on different TVs so the whole bar was forced to watch red zone which is COMPLETELY unacceptable for a sports bar on a football Sunday. They were clearly understaffed and the poor servers were frantically trying to keep up but they simply couldn't. We didn't get our drinks until after 20 minutes of sitting down; food took about 40 minutes. They're losing money as we would have drank a LOT more beers but they couldn't bring them quick enough so we each could only get two in an HOUR AND HALF . Again, not the staff's fault as they were clearly trying. This is on management for running the bar so poorly.

Alyssa was a great server love the high energy and definelty recommend if you go to get her as a server, you won't regret it.shes very attentive and nice and happy going she made the experience alot better

This place has the worst capacity policies and doormen out of any bar in Ann Arbor. I was waiting in line to get in to watch the Ohio state game and my friends were already inside at a table, but I was told the whole bar was at capacity so I couldn't join even though the table had an empty seat. Ok that's fine, understandable, so I wait in line. Then people leave, and he says ten people have to leave before anyone is let in. Makes no sense unless they were already over capacity. Then he lets in these two kids standing behind me in line because their parents showed up and told him something, and then they walked up and told him they just wanted to say hi to someone, he lets them in, and they never came back out. Finally more people leave and he lets in some people. Then more people leave and he won't let in more and says it's because there's too many really drunk people at the bar. When someone suggested kicking them out, he said he couldn't because they were spending money...as if the rest of us wouldn't be? You're supposed to kick out people that are clearly wasted, but even more stupid was that I didn't even want to go to the bar. I had a seat waiting for me at a table. The whole thing made no sense and was completely frustrating.

We met an old friend here for drinks on Friday night. This place is a classic college bar with sports playing on the TVs and college banners and pictures on the wall. It was pretty jammed given it was "happy hour". We did not even look at the menu so I cannot comment on the food nor the selection but the beer and mixed drinks were all decent and the prices reasonable. I'm sure if I went to school here in the day this would have been one of my hangouts...

Absolutely the worst service ever. Wings took more than and hour and I don't think I saw such a shit show anywhere else. I would highly recommend to spend your night elsewhere

Went back after years away from A2 for nostalgic reasons. The food was horrible. The server told us they didn't sell pizza after 11 pm (shouldn't that info be on the menu?). So we got nachos. H.O.R.R.I.BL.E. Cheese sauce, tasteless ground beef, tasteless jalapeño, super thin chips - the onion was the only ingredient with flavor. I don't know how they managed to make chips and cheese worse than something you'd get at a movie theater.

My first time here and I was was enjoying myself until my server ruined it. It's a Friday night so everyone's out and my friends and I've never been to Jug before, only to Charley's. We decided to give it a chance. The moment we got inside, it was pretty packed, not surprising. We then found a booth. The moment we were seated, our server came up and asked us if we were ready. But since it was it first time, we needed extra time. We took awhile to decide but she never came to check on us. The service was pretty bad since it was super busy. We ended up stopping another server to take out order. Although he was busy waiting on his tables, he was happy enough and took the time to take out order. Once he took our order, we waiting 5 minutes and or server finally came to us. She asked us what we wanted and told her another server took our order so we told her our food order. She left quickly. Everything was going great. Everyone had their food and drinks. The drinks were delicious and we had a lot. The food was also amazing and came out at a reasonable time. However, service was pretty slow even when there were less customers. The guy who took our drink orders was always walking around and making himself available to his customers, however our server was never to be found. The moment we didn't need anything, she came to check up on us every 5 minutes even though we were still eating and drinking. When we were ready to leave, we tried to flag down our server. We looked around and saw her flirting with another customer by the bar. We had to talk to two different servers to finally get her to wait on us. We asked to split the bill and we only told her part of the splitting and left. She came back with incorrect orders. She left before we could say anything. She also added 20% gratuity. At first my friends and I were confused because it's normally added when it's 6+ people. So we tried to get our server to come back to us to let her know about our bill issues. Again, it took 2 workers to flag her down. When she was taking awhile to come to us, we asked the server who took our drink orders if 5 people constituted as "larger groups" in which our server explained to us "on Friday nights, people haven't been tipping well, so we've been adding gratuity to larger groups". He told us we shouldn't have gotten charged so he told her. She came back to our table with an attitude and said "we normally do add 20% gratuity on Friday nights for large groups but if you guys don't think I deserve 20%, then don't tip me that much". What that, she left. Although she was never attentive to our table and all of us understand it's hard to tend tables when it's busy, however, if she believes she deserves 20%, she should have shown it. The server that served us in the beginning was definitely way more helpful than she was. I ended up tipping both of them. If she did a better job, she definitely would've deserved a better tip. I can't believe what was such an amazing experience became such a terrible experience. It's going to be awhile before my friends and I plan on going back. She was definitely rude. **i didn't want to put her name since it's private information. However I will never forget her name.

The blonde waitress wearing a blue skirt and short sleeve T-shirt serving the back tables on Sunday night 8/7 around 1 in the morning is racist. I didn't catch her name but we sat for about 20 mins before she checked on a table of white people before us and then came up to us and asked "are you guys just sitting down?" We were about to leave but my friend being nice ordered a round of shots and her boyfriend asked for a glass of water. She walked over to the gun filled up the glass of water and then set it on a ledge and walked away instead of dropping the water off 3 feet away at our table. We waited about 5 minutes and then left. She didn't say a peep to us as we walked out the door. Should have asked for her name

Came in on a Monday Night and it was pretty packed. As others have said, wait staff understaffed and couldn't get a drink for about 10 mins. Had to eventually just walk up to the bar and the bartender was nice enough to get us a couple beers. Finally had the waitress come over after flagging her down to order wings and Chicken nachos. The prices are actually cheap, but food is simply not good. Nachos had the canned nacho cheese sauce with very little chicken which the wings just didn't look appealing at all. They had a trivia night going on which was fun and the crowd was all college students. After looking around, not many had any food, just drinks so it seemed like,they know the drill. Drinks good, food bad. Fun bar but eat before going.

Lindsey was so friendly! She fully explained all the daily deals so well and helped us decide on what was best for us

It might be saying something that on the Saturday night after a big rivalry football game, there was still no line outside of The Brown Jug. However, I guess that's good for us since there was pretty much no wait to get in. Inside, half of the room is sort of like a standing bar, while the other half has a couple of booths. It was pretty much at capacity, and, in the last hour of service, the staff was definitely still hustling. We seated ourselves at a dirty table, but it was cleaned relatively quickly. The drink selection was respectable and around $5-7. We got in around 1:15am, and they were doing last call drink orders and had already shut down the kitchen. It took about 10 minutes for our 5 drinks to come out, and we were able to enjoy ourselves for a bit before heading elsewhere. The atmosphere was a bit dirty, but nothing out of the ordinary for a college bar. The drinks were not that strong at all, but the cheaper price compared to other bars made up for it. As with any other bar, if you're here with good people, it'll be a good time!

Such a great place for an overpriced extra large Long Island, seriously though, obviously because of their location, things are a little bit pricey, but it doesn't get more college or more or the best local hangout then this place! Their cocktail menu and shot menu is absolutely incredible and a ton of fun! Also if your going to eat, the owner is Greek, try the Greek food section of their menu it's absolutely outstanding, especially the grape leaves!

We went there this afternoon for fries and drinks. They have two varieties of fries that are gluten free and one (the waffle fries) that have as glutenous coating. The bartender told us which fries to order (yaaasss!) He was overworked, as he was supposed to work at the sister- restaurant, also, Blue Leprechaun. He was a very nice fellow and did his best.

This is definitely a three star place, and that's perfectly fine. It's a typical college bar where you expect the service to be slow, the drinks to be cheap, the food to be decent and the crowd to be fun. I recommend their LITs, they're very affordable and will get you where you need to be AKA buzzed. I would NOT recommend this place for food. My wings were good, but almost everyone else's food came our lukewarm. Finally, our server was very nice. He seemed overwhelmed, but did his best to keep up with everyone of his tables.

This was the only bar that I could get a lineleap pass for the Michigan 2021 elite 8 game on 3/30/2021. I purchased a singular pass on lineleap the morning of, and called Jug right after to confirm what 1 pass entitled me to. The bartender on the phone assured me that a singular pass allowed me a table for 6 people as long as I showed up at my time with my group. Fast forward to the time I was assigned, I show up with my group of 6 patrons excited for the game. When we walk in, the manager tells me that my pass is only good for one patron, which is a completely different story from what the bartender on the phone told me. After explaining the situation the manager, he called the owner but would still not budge, and instead explained that they changed the terms of the ticket AFTER I had purchased it. All they could offer was that I could dispute the charge in the lineleap app, and I'm pessimistic that they will even refund the money I paid. Overall, it was an incredibly frustrating experience, but at least I didn't spend any more money at this establishment. From past experience, I'm not even sure this place should qualify as a bar with how little alcohol they put in their drinks.

The Brown Jug is thick with undergrads drinking pitchers of beer. It's not that there's anything special about the food or the beer, it just happens to be on South University, and students have been drinking pitchers of beer at the Brown Jug since your grandfather's day. Don't go to the Brown Jug when you're hungry. Go when you're thirsty, and stay until you get hungry. The name of the restaurant refers to The Little Brown Jug, one of the sweetest trophies in college football, which started out as a water jug for the Michigan Wolverines. It was left behind on the field after a 1903 game against the Minnesota Gophers, and when athletic director Fielding Yost asked for the jug, his counterpart in Minnesota told him he'd have to win it back. In retrospect, the boldness of Minnesota's athletic director may not have been well-advised. Michigan now has a record of 65-22-3 against the Gophers. I've heard that winning the jug is a lot more important to Michigan players than the supposed rivalry with MSU, which I suspect exists only in the minds of East Lansing residents. To find out more about the jug, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Brown_Jug_%28football%29. To get your own brown jug, go to South U with a bunch of your undergrad buddies and remember to take your rent money with you.

This place is probably ok for lunch, but horrible after 6 pm. I'm not sure why but in talking to professors who come here for lunch, they seem happy. I largely came for dinner around 7 or so and stayed for a couple hours. I truly regret doing so.

My review is probably different from everyone else's as I visited Brown Jug in the middle of the weekday. Not only were there fewer people there compared​ to a typical Saturday night, but I also ordered something completely different than one would on a typical Saturday night: a healthy cauliflower​, vegetarian pizza! I've had my fair share of cauliflower, vegetarian pizzas and this is one of the best I've eaten. It honestly tasted like a regular, carb-filled pizza crust, making me question if it was really made out of cauliflower at all. Either way, if you want a peaceful food break in between classes in a place that's more known for its sports bar​ on a game days, I'd recommend Brown Jug.

Look. It's the Brown Jug. You come to Ann Arbor, you are bored on a day that ends in y, one thing leads to another and you end up at jug. The service is trash. The food tastes good, but takes 45 mins to get to you and one thing is wrong. Whatever life is good. Solid 4 /5.

Just had the calzone w ham, onion and mushroom for take out. If you like lots of dough/crust, this is for you. Skimpy on the toppings. $16.00 over priced. Not planning on ordering another calzone from here any time soon.

Perfect place to celebrate my son's 21st!! Not one, but two free drinks from the mgr/bartender. Nate was super accommodating when I called to make the reservation - seating outside if no rain, inside if rain. Our waiter Damion was awesome and even asked to join in with a party hat (he wore his longer than we did - still had it on when we left :))! Nachos were pretty good and HUGE (my son and I shared and could not even finish them) and the omelette, available for dinner was huge too! Thank you guys!!

Waited over 30 minutes with no service multiple wait staff looked at our table noticing we didn't have any drinks yet we ended up walking out 0/10 do not recommend

The service last time i was here was SO BAD its not always that bad but i came on a monday night and barely got helped. My friend who is underaged also got her fake bent and denied which i know is good for them but then me and my of age friends also had to leave so sad i guess

We went here last April. My friends liked the music they were playing. Place was great. We should've come early. The price was great. $12 for a pitcher of long island? Whoah, nelly! Bathroom was decent. We had to wait a bit for them to clear out a table that has been abandoned for a while. We were asked to leave the premises, one of my friends started to get sick. Nonetheless, the experience was okay.

Pull chicken samples was spicy but not flavorful, can have really been something, but sadly came up short. Not even the fried egg and Guacamole could save it, waffle fries are good though

I went to the Brown Jug for drinks and was severely disappointed. We ordered two pitchers of long islands, which seriously tasted virgin. There was no alcohol, or at least much too little. We told our waiter about it and didn't hear from him from for half an hour. If you want to order a Long Island and get the worst excuse for one ever and be neglected -- come here.

Seated outside on patio without IDs checked - both are recently 22 so yes, we should have been IDed - the bar was not busy on a Monday night but service was slow and orders were not followed/written down. Drinks had to be ordered from a second waitress because first waitress could not be found for reasons that we could not understand. We were told that appetizers were buy one get one free. What we did not understand was that our bill would be 20% gratuity off of the original price without the "free" appetizer's price subtracted. This complex procedure was not clearly defined on menus or communicated to us as guests. When we questioned our server, she did not provide a satisfactory answer. Also our receipt said 4 guest when we were clearly at a 2 top table with 2 chairs, menus and silverware. Our server's name was also RAT TAIL ON OUR RECEIPT NOT PROFESSIONAL OR COMFORTING!!