Universal Joint Decatur

A formula has been on the rise across America. If I were to write a screenplay about the trend, I would title it ‘Fill’er up and Check your fluids!’ Universal Joint is part of that trend, each are built inside old service stations. They’re a little bit gritty. Kinda like you’d expect to see Matthew McConaughey hanging around. They always have plenty of charming, friendly staff to pour a nice cold brew. This trip, we had the extraordinary hummus and pimento cheese starter. For dinner, we jumped into the deep end of the pool, ordering the Crispy Buffalo Chicken sandwich, the Gyro sandwich, and the Brisket Tacos. The Gyro was dry and the least favorite of the trio. The brisket was on point and the buffalo sauce was the right temp. And I mention we ordered tots!? For us, our issue was not service food or atmosphere. It was the 3M spray adhesive like stickiness of the table we were sitting at. Perhaps it’ll keep your napkins from being blown away from a big gust of wind. However, it doesn’t set a wholesome tone. Hey UJ! get out your sander and let’s get these tables back in running condition. It’s an old gas station, this’ll get em back on the road and running on all eight cylinders. Still, highly recommended

Cool spot with 1 of the best burgers in Atlanta. They came through with the thick cut bacon, not that cheap stuff. Was pleasantly surprised how fresh and divine the salad was. Very attentive staff. I didn't know if I could handle the jalapeños on my burger, but my server assured me. Great experience.

Great local bar and eatery. Very casual atmosphere and the menus is pretty standard bar food from tacos to burgers, sandwiches and fish n’ chips. A full drink menus available. Most entrees were in the high teens, so with a drink expect to pay around $20 per person. Staff was very attentive and pleasant. We had shrimp tacos and fish and chips, with a beer and wine. There was a single piece of fish with fries. I would have appreciated a little more fries to fill me up. The batter was substantial, but didn’t take away from the fish. Only issue was I wish the fish and chips came on a plate. The fish was hard to cut in the plastic basket lined with a sheet of restaurants paper and the malt vinegar leaked from the basket.

I'm not sure what happened to the U Joint but every issue points to poor management. I really hope they figure it out soon as I really miss how good it used to be. Attaching a photo of an order of tater tots we received. U Joint is known for great tater tots. These came out in broken pieces, clumped together and full of grease. In my fifteen years of coming here I've never received a bad order. Maybe a bad day but this experience, on top of the past 10, finally drove me to write a review hoping management is reading this.

The best trivia around! I really like their format, so we’ve come a few times to play. The service is excellent, and everyone is friendly. Vibes are great, love the outdoor patio seating. Chicken fingers are crispy as heck and their tacos are great. Amazing all around for a fun, relaxing night.

Best neighborhood restaurant/bar right in the heart of Oakhurst. The staff is amazing and the food never disappoints! They have trivia on Wednesdays and live music often. The patio is my favorite part. Tons of fans to keep you cool in the summer and heaters during the winter. Their patio is dog friendly and they even added a dog menu!! Highly recommend adding this to your regular list of places to eat/drink!

Still a classic beer and burgers joint after so many years. Great pours and great burgers are a winning combination every time. And the quaint neighborhood feel makes it even all the more inviting. If you need and burger and/or a beer go check out the Universal Joint, you won't be disappointed.

Service was great. Our waitress was very attentive and food came in short wait. Food was good, but few beers were out of stock. Only thing we cared was the table. It was sticky and could use good cleaning or refinishing its surface.

Dinner at UJ was good. Burgers, Tacos, Salads and Soups to choose from. I decided to get the Patty Melt with arugula salad. Came out rather quickly, first thing I noticed was the salad was small, but tasted good with their Lemon Vinaigrette. Came with pecans & feta. The patty melt was on a swirled rye bread made traditionally with grilled onions, & Swiss cheese. The burger filled the bread which was great to see. Cooked to a perfect medium. They have a full bar with craft beer. Parking is on the street but was easily found at 8pm.

Solid 3 Nice patio and the food was ok. We ordered the peri peri nachos, and they were ok, but it was a small portion of nachos for the price. Not the big plate of nachos you normally get as an appetizer. I saw a Paloma on the menu, so I ordered it. Big mistake. It tasted like if college me tried to make a cocktail. A big poor of cheap tequila and some grapefruit juice. Not a cocktail as described on the menu. Next time I'll stick to a beer.

The area is lovely in the city of Decatur and gives a relaxing vibe. Except for the homeless man walking up begging for money while you're eating and no one asking him to stop. Even when you tell him no he keeps going. Fries were burnt, the loaded fries were hard and horrible, table was very sticky and there's no way they even attempt to keep the bugs out. Ordered no onions for allergy purposes and the food came with onions and scallions. Definitely will not return. Should've went to the many restaurants that I frequent in that area but we wanted to give them a try.

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love. -Dr. Seuss Too warm today to sit outside, we were at the bar where we were well served. A couple of cold beers went down nicely while we enjoyed the "show." Burger was very good but I should have added chesse. Fries were crispy. [Review 20040 overall - 640 in Georgia - 1015 of 2023.]

The food is very good with pub fare just a part of it- many other choices. I had the UJoint burger which had just the right amount of jalapeños. Their onion rings are fantastic! The skinny margarita was just as advertised, non of that horrible sweet and sour mix that is always overused.

We had initially gone to a place up the street but their were closing so they directed us here instead. Came here for a quick round of drinks on a Sunday with friends. There were plenty of beers to pick from so I didn't pay much mind to if there was also a full bar. They were still serving food as I saw people eating at 10 pm. Staff was friendly and it seems to be a local spot people check out. Very casual and cheap place to hangout so I wouldn't mind coming again.

The outdoor area is fantastic; faces the street, has an awesome breeze with a combination of high and low tables. Decent beer menu - a little bit of something for everybody. I wasn't too impressed with the food. I would stick to beer snacks. The kid had the Philly cheesesteak quesadilla (special menu item). It was what it was. I had the beef brisket taco, something was a little weird in it and something was missing. I don't think the flavor combination matched my palate . The beer was served a little warm. It could've been better ...

A welcoming feeling to a Cheers Like neighborhood bar. Feel comfortable cheering out loud for the Home Team

Probably the best thing about this place is the patio on a nice day. My friend and I came in around 1:30 on Memorial Day. It was great sitting outside and our table had an umbrella for good sun coverage. Our server was nice and drinks came out in a reasonable time frame. The food took absolutely forever. I finally had to flag her down to ask if she could check on it. I had the French dip sandwich which was not bad. The "elote" was a disgrace. Canned corn with some mayo squirted on it. The skinny Margarita tasted like pure soda water, more like a hard seltzer. If I came back to enjoy the patio I'd probably only order a beer and just enjoy the scenery.

Not much not to like! Great drinks - thank you Paloma. Had the patty melt - awesome. With tots - yes! I forget what friend ordered but she liked it. Too cold for the patio but great patio. Service was awesome. Really like this place!

Great consistent food, service with a smile and a great neighborhood feel. One of top go to places!

Universal Joint is, in my opinion, the best burger place in Decatur. Dissenters may say it's Brick Store Pub, but I've found that U-Joint burgers taste the exact same for $4-5 cheaper and they both have an equally awesome array of burgers and nice staff. While restaurants on the square are quickly turning expensive and somewhat pretentious in their staffing and decor, U-Joint is an authentically Decatur joint that features regulars like Decatur High School teachers grabbing a Friday night beer, local Oakhurst'ean families who walked over, and folks like me who love downtown Oakhurst and want an excuse to drive over. I give U-Joint a 4 star instead of 5 because there is definitely better tasting pub food elsewhere in Atlanta, but U-Joint is top notch if you don't want to drive 30 minutes into Midtown.

They have the rooted, local thing down pretty well. Property values must be up in Oakhurst because there was a lot of golf playing on big screens. It's good, but I would liked it more if it were my neighborhood place. Had a bratwurst and a Guinness, both fine. Lots of can't-mess-it-up bar food that my wife and kids seemed to enjoy. The memorabilia on the walls is old-timey and plausible-looking, as if it could have been acquired properly from customers instead of from a corporate design shop.

Love the location but the service is consistently terrible. Slow to acknowledge your table -- multiple visits where we sit for 10-15 minutes before the first server stops by. Once waters/drink order is in, it's another 10-15 minutes before they return to order.

I don't like leaving negative reviews but sometime they are warranted. I wish I could comment on the food or beverages however after about 30 minutes of waiting I ended up leaving and spent my money elsewhere. 2 tables sat down, ordered and received beverages while I still waited for a canned beverage. Someone even got a Guinness served while I was still waiting. That should say enough. Staff needs to step it up!

OMFG, where to start. It took ages to get someone to acknowledge that we were there. Then once seated and served the service was Horrible. The server and person bringing out the food acted like we're were bothering them with simple requests. Avoid at all costs.

This place is in a nice area. Doesn't have its own parking .. need to find something on the street but parking isn't too bad over here. Walking in the place was set up real nice seems pretty clean and service was pretty good. The food however wasn't great overall, we started with the hummus which was great. We had the fish and chips and the Philly both meals weee mediocre at best. I'd come back to drink at the bar... real nice bar .. we had some good wine. But I'll eat before I come.

The food is great, the people are real, and there is always good sports on TV. Great neighborhood bar!

This is a great neighborhood joint, with good eats and drinks. I've been patronizing this place for many years. The last time I had dinner there, though, I was very disappointed. First, I was charged $8.90 for what seems like a regular, not-special pint of beer. This seemed a little gougy especially since the beer menu doesn't show prices. Second, when the bill came, I noticed a mysterious service charge. The waitress explained that they now charge a service charge for using a credit card. She said that this was indicated on the receipt, but I didn't see it disclosed on the menu. When I go out to a restaurant I don't want to have to pore over the menu/receipt to discover what I'm really getting charged. This kind of money-grubbing shows disdain for customers. I don't like to feel like I'm being cheated when I eat out. I'm talking about this, because this kind of thing will only increase if customers don't speak out.

Food; a Gyro was so very very dry and the Server didn't seem to care. I mentioned it too. You'd think he would do something about it, nope!

Oh my! I really like the atmosphere at this place on a Saturday evening ..... good vibes, good drinks, great service ( we had the " call me an uber" ) but the menu seriously need a lot of work. We ordered chips and queso and it was a hard NO for me, we ended up sending it back because the chips tasted burnt. So we ordered the universal joint fries and they were much better, but not even great. We absolutely love Sylvia!!! She was truly a sweetheart (hearts). She gave us amazing service and suggested the burgers and the cuban sandwich we ordered. Really good sandwiches, but not great to choose as far as side items. Sprouts and grapes were in everything. We order the fried Brussel sprouts and they were burnt also, so its an extra hard No for me on those. I guess its pretty safe to say that we will be trying out some other places before returning here again.

A great local spot in downtown Lawrenceville. Consistently good food and very friendly service. I love their salads for lunch.

To be honest it seemed like a decent place until I opened the box to find an unseasoned quesadilla which was terribly overpriced. Nice to go charge as well.

The service here wasn't good on the day I went there with my wife and daughter. First of all, their Covid-19 protocol was a little confusing. They had a sign outside the door where you go to order that says,"Stop! Order here". So, people stopped outside the door, thinking they had to wait for someone to invite them inside to order. It wasn't until someone skipped the line and went inside to order is when they figured it out. Secondly, after ordering our food, we waited about 15-20 minutes until they finally delivered my non-Philly Cheesesteak cold with cold tator tots. My wife and daughter's chicken wings and shrimp tacos were nothing to write home about either. And, finally, which I should have actually mentioned first, while we waited 20 minutes for our food to come out, one of the staff actually asked if we wouldn't mind switching tables and moving from the covered screened in area to the more crowded area with a bunch of obnoxious teens who were part of a large group, because they were trying to socially distance. Which, made no sense to me, since we were all outside, and no one was wearing masks anyway. Just not a good experience at all!

Last night we were sitting at the bar, and normally we like coming here. Last was different. I ask the bartender what was the soup of the day. He rolled his eyes and walked away to see what it was. Italian wedding. I said I will take a cup, and a smash burger. And the person I was with ordered the philly cheese steak, and tots. Our orders came out. I got my smash burger and some other soup. And the person I was with got a gyro and fries. He sent the gyro back. I didn't have the soup. It was like it was our fought for not getting what we order. Just the attitude. It will be a while until we come back. The one bartender needs an attitude adjustment. 02/20/23. Around 6pm

My girlfriend and I love this place!!! Food is consistent good and staff is wonderful. BRING BACK THE JERK CHICKEN NACHOS PLEASE!!!!

Atmosphere and location was great here with an outside patio. There was a lot of local restaurants in this area. Price wise for meals were around $8-$13. Appetizers: BBQ Pork Nachos ($9) - Didn't taste too much of the BBQ in it, mostly covered with cheese. Still enjoyed it. Meal: PBAT (Pimento Cheese, Bacon, Arugula, Tomatoes) ($9) - This one was pretty interesting. The blend of Pimento Cheese and bacon was a good mixed. You get either fries or tots side as well with this. I think the only reason I gave this place 3 stars is the service, my group and I just felt a bit unwelcome here. Not sure if the place was understaff or not and it could be the reason why it might have been an off day for the waiters/waitresses. I'll come by here again one day to try out some of the other foods and drinks. I still recommend this place though because it's a neat little spot and it's not too crowded when I went.

Hit or miss. Good atmosphere. Sometimes my food is so good, other times it's meh. Even if I have ordered the same thing that I had previously gotten. Their rules for dogs are confusing as well even though 80% of the seating is outdoors.

Ujoint has been on point lately. A great option for safe outdoor dining during this awful era. Amd even if it's raining, half the patio is covered. Eileen (server) is amazing! And the food has been on point lately. My only issue with Ujoint is...they're lacking in "entree" style meals. But for what it is, it's excellent, and Eileen rocks! So nice to have such great service.

The restaurant was really a breath of fresh air. Every body we met was very very friendly. We made some new friends. The food....cooked just like I asked. We had the Angus burger with fries and the talapia tacos with beer and h2o. Generous portions and such a comfortable atmosphere. Greeted imediattely and everybody spoke as they came past our table! Met Jackson and Elyse...... We will be returning here soon!!!!!! Made us feel so welcome. The surrounding stores were super cool. We felt like we were on a different planet. This will definitely be on my list to buy a home in this area!!!!!!!!!!!!

Been in Decatur for 3 years and I've never been here. From what I hear it's a staple of Oakhurst, unfortunately I will not be returning. First off they were short of many options because of food shortage which I understand because of the storm but what I did eat was not good. They over cooked my burger and I ordered cheese fries and the cheese was hard and tasteless. The table was dirty I could go on but I will stop here.

Great place to throw back a couple brews and watch the Braves! Also the best wings in town (well, maybe except for Moes n' Joe's).

I really did not want to write this but after several visits each being absolutely horrendous: I have to. Where to begin? From staff walking around with cigarettes on their ears, undercooked food & food poisoning... which landed a whole 50% off the food. An Irish car bomb with Khalua instead of baileys, our cocktails coming out after food, which was just appetizers (50 minutes for apps, 52 minutes for drinks). Every single one of these things was on separate visits within the last two weeks. I live down the street & I've tried..... so many times.... If I do come back I'll be sure to sit at the bar. Do better.

Don't come here. Server tried to steal my debit card...it accidentally fell in her pocket. Little kids begging for money didn't help either.

3rd time here with Simba. They still allow dogs. *Phew*. But you have to sit at the open, unsheltered area. And sit on the edge, no center tables. Service as usual is great. Food arrives timely. Our server disappears when you want her and magically appears when you look up looking for help.

It's been a while since I visited Universal Joint. There are so many other nearby choices. But the U Joint is worthy - it's a great neighborhood bar with solid bar food and a good vibe. Service has been just fine - better than fine, actually - every time I've stopped in. Not crazy loud. It's a good place for drinking' and jawin' with friends. Or sitting by yourself if that's what the evening has in store. - Draft list is not extensive but they have enough variety to satisfy most palates. - Wings are good - Burgers are good - Tots are great Recommended.

Amazing food and staff. If you pass it by you will regret it. Fish tacos are my fav, with plenty of adult beverages on tap.

If I could give 0 stars, I would. My husband and I went there on a Saturday night to check out somewhere new for food and drinks. I walked inside and asked if we could sit outside on the patio. The host said yes and gave us menus. Nobody ever came to our table. There were two women sitting nearby talking and being served drinks. The server/host came to them with drinks and never acknowledged us or even looked our way. We waited 10 minutes before we got up and left. Before we left, I went to the host booth and told him that we had been waiting for 10 minutes. He stated that we have to come inside to order. Mind you he never mentioned that when he gave us the menus! I told him that we didn't know that and it was our first time there. Definitely felt unwelcome and will not be returning!

We came in on a Saturday afternoon and sat on the patio since it was nice out. pet friendly. The patio was pretty packed. I only had the queso, salsa and chips. the chips were kinda hard. Salsa and queso was alright. Definitely like bar type queso and salsa. Not really their specialty but they have it anyway because who doesn't like chips and dip right lol I also ordered a dark wine I forgot the name but it was said the flavors were black cherry and vanilla I believe but I didn't taste either but I'm not a wine connoisseur so it could have. Service was quick and attentive.

Cool place. Came here after the wine festival. Ordered olives hummus with red truck Pinot. Pretty good but I wish there were more olives. Cool little spot. Our waitress was sweet. Parking on the street. Dog and kid friendly.

Ordered some takeout from here since hubby was too lazy to walk down the street to eat. He got the U Joint burger and I had the Arugula and Mushroom Quesadilla. Both were super tasty and well done. We also had the tater tots. I love tater tots! Menu had lots of other tasty looking items. And they had some nice outdoor tables if you want to eat there. Wouldn't hesitate to go again.

Disappointing first experience at this neighborhood spot. Spend your money across the street at Steinbeck's or even Mojo's. Slow service for a half-full spot. The waiter was overly talkative and made excuses for, in his words, "forgetting about us". I ended up walking to the bar to get menus myself, and a second time to the host stand to remind them our party of four was at the back waiting for our beers after waiting 15+ min. Won't be back.

While in this part of town with our dogs we checked Bring Fido for a place to have lunch. We decided on this place and when arrived we found lots of people were there with their dogs on the patio. Hostess informed us there would be a wait for a table as they only allowed people with dogs to sit at tables on the edge of the patio along the railing. After a significant wait we were seated and then had to wait for our server. When our sever finally made his way to our table we were already ready to order food and we asked for a bowl of water for the dogs as we saw them under other tables. Our sever informed us they only had a few of the bowls and we would have to wait for someone with a bowl to leave. Both of our orders came out wrong and had to be sent back. Refills were an afterthought. From what we could tell our server only had 4 tables so I'm not sure where he kept disappearing too for long periods of time. We spotted the Pizza place across the street and kind of wished we had gone there instead. Once we got what we ordered it was not all that great. Dog's never did get a bowl we gave them one of our glasses. We were there for almost 2 hours just to have lunch. Not worth it, we will not be back.

I'm pissed at this place. I like the food. I like the beer. I enjoyed it a lot pre-pandemic. But, man, the people here think it's still 2019. They gave up on COVID precautions quite a while ago. You have to cram inside with all the other barflies who want to kill themselves with a virus just to pay and pick up your order. You can't even pay online. I really do feel for the staff who would probably rather not be put in these situations with customers who can basically throw caution to the wind. Heck, the UJ in Clayton, Ga (you know, deep Trump country) has better adherence to COVID protocols. I was just up there. It's a cute town for people who don't believe in public health and rationale. But at least their UJ wasn't letting everyone sit shoulder-to-shoulder and breathe on each other like the one in Decatur. Super disappointing.

Neighborhood bar with a large patio and bar. The menu is mostly burgers in the $10 range. Parking is on the street around Oakhurst. The food is pretty good, but nothing is stand out amazing. I'm not a huge fan of their salsa. The patio is dog friendly.

I'm definitely a fan of this neighborhood establishment, they have great drink deals and a very nice outdoor patio. The bartenders are very very and sociable. Today I hade the blackened fish tacos and the loaded French fries. The bacon was cooked a little longer than I prefer but they were still very good. The blackened fish tacos were made to perfection and I had a Basement IPA so you know that was good. There is ample street parking and a parking lot across the street.

We love this place! The food is great...burgers, wings and quesadillas are our favs! Wonderful staff also. We order at least once a week!

Not very welcoming. Nonchalant service compared to what other patrons receive. I don't recommend to people of color to be honest. They need to do a better job making everyone feel welcomed.

The only think this place has going for it is the patio. The food is bad, really bad. The beer selection is uneven and has selections that feel more like 2009 than 2019. I really want to go to this place but after trying a few times I just can't stomach it. The quality of the food like like what you would expect from a small college town bar or something in the burbs. Really wish that Oakhurst had better bar food. Also they have one video game...freaking golden tee. Geez. Again, feels like 2010 all over again at this place.

They didn't have anything good there food Isn't good at all shit worse meal I have had better