Standard college bar. So you know what you're getting yourself into.
I went with my friend for happy hour ($2 Coors and $0.50 slices of pizza normally, with $2 Yuenglings on Tuesdays only).
Beer was cold, pizza was passable. You really can't ask for much with prices THIS cheap.
Service was mediocre. Had to basically stand up and tap our waiter on the shoulder to get his attention.
Bottom Line: Come here if you want cheap beer and pizza, because that's all you're going to get.
This is the place to go people! If you're wallet is empty, you could afford going here with spare change. Ofcourse the more change you have, the more beer you can afford, but if you're sofa cushions weren't on your side today- you can still have fun here! Coors are $2 and pizza is 50 cents. I am personally a huge fan of pizza, so if I can have that for pocket change with my happy hour drinks, I'm in. It's super local, and you are always bound to run into a fun group of people, and often times your friends. It's the most fun with a large group of people, but lack of willing participants shouldn't stop you from going with one or two friends!
xoxo, happy HH
In short, an awesome place for happy hour. They have 50 cent pizza slices and $2 Coors. I wish they had more drinks for happy hour, but hey, for that price, I'm not complaining at all. The pizza slices are bigger than I expected. Some of my friends say it tastes like frozen pizza heated up, but I don't think it's bad at all. Of course, it's not the most amazing pizza I've had; it's pretty good considering what you're paying. They do have other food specials for happy hour, but I only get the pizza, so I can't really tell you much.
If you go with a lot of friends, get a beer bong. It's pretty cool and it's fairly cheap! Service is a bit slow though. I don't know where these servers/bartenders disappear off to, but it takes a while to flag someone down.
I used to bring dates here when I was a youngster at RU...it was meh back then...
411:
...there's an area to have a calm date night...and there's a giant oblong-shaped bar...which is hella wide (I'll get to that in a sec) for crazed college kids to get mangled and hit on anything that moves.
Let's play ball:
...came here with my date after my formative college years and the bouncer says with a smile, "wow, you and I are both kinda old for a college bar" [STRIKE 1!]
...as soon as we sat at the bar, there were two shirtless pudgy young dudes dancing on the wide bar top...with NO chicks...NO CHICKS...man, fat boys need to check themselves, yo [STRIKE 2!]
...when I went to the restroom, some drunk punk started kickin it to my date...psssh, he was lucky I wasn't splashed or it woulda been the end of him [STRIKE 3!]
[Yooooouuuuuuu'rrrrrreeeee OUT!!!!!]
I've have been here a few times as a youngster and I returned recently. Nothing has changed. It is super loud, super cheap and full off college kids. They have darts and the ladies room surprisingly was not all that bad. The staff does a nice job at giving out warnings or tossing someone out if need be.
My date went to the bathroom and I was quickly approached by a nice young man maybe 21 and a half named Kyle. He asked me in a slurred speech If I would like to dance. Its not really a dancing place I said to Kyle but thanks for asking....I don't think Kyle had much of a game plan before he approached me. Thanks Olive Branch for making me feel young I needed it.
50 cent slices and $2 drafts of coors light. What more needs to be said? Big college crowd, great go to bar for happy hour. Though don't expect much other than that, but if you're here during this time, is there anything else you'd want? Their LIT's are alright too. The slices are decent, thin crust, good sauce, nice amount of cheese. They are 50 cents, so don't be expecting a huge filling slice. About 4-6 and I'm sufficiently full. Definitely a Rutgers go to!
Review Source:The place is kind of small considering the amount of people come here for happy hour.  Although you can't beat 50 cent pizza slices and 1 dollar beers until 8pm.  The pizza always comes out warm and taste delicious with refreshing cold beer. Perfect for your friends and  large groups of people.  Servers and Bartenders are really nice and they know when to pick up empty cups and bring more warm pizza and cold beer when you order it.  This place is one of the spots that I will keep coming to.
Review Source:The Olive Branch is, by far and away, the best bar/grill in the College Ave area. The staff is EXCELLENT, always really friendly, engaging and attentive. The food is inexpensive, but incredible - I've never, ever had anything here (even the $0.50 pizza slices) that disappointed me. The Branch Fries are my favorite menu item. When I was in college, this was a great place to stop before nighttime extracurricular meetings to have a few beers, a slice of pizza, and watch some ESPN or relax. Now that I'm a little older, I still enjoy going here with friends and kicking back to catch up and people watch.
Review Source:The Olive Branch is the quintessential college bar. Cheap beer, good food, friendly staff, and lots of people.
Happy hour goes everyday weekday until 8:00, so it tends to be very crowded during that time. But if you're willing to brave the crowds, $0.50 pizza slices and $1 Coors Light is your reward. The place almost literally empties once happy hour is over, and the atmosphere becomes one of a calm neighborhood watering hole, which is the side of the Olive Branch that I love.
The wings are crisp and saucy, they make tasty "dirty" sandwiches (sandwiches made with garlic bread), the beer is ice cold, and there are at least 10 TVs to stare at. There is also a jukebox, which is unfortunately often played way too loudly during happy hour. You may also want to note that there is a $10 credit card minimum, and table service ends at or before 10:00, at which point you have to get your own drinks from the bar.
What makes OB great is their happy hour specials. The 50c pizza slices and dollar beers are awesome! The pizza comes out super hot and the sauce has a really nice taste (surprisingly!). I've come here several times at their happy hour and I have not once been disappointed.
That being said, if you try coming here at night, the bad attitude, delayed service, and lack of seating might annoy you. There was one bartender in particular who was so incredibly rude. Not only did he mix us the wrong drink, he yelled when we asked him to change it. Apart from that, they have a few screens and games showing all night so if you're lucky enough to find a spot to sit, this place can be enjoyable.
Bottomline: go here during happy hour for specials or for a relatively chill night. This is not the place to be if you want good music/dancing.
I've been here quite a few times and have spent a decent amount of money here and the bartenders always have the same bad attitude. They aren't friendly or fair (helped other customers when they have seen me waiting.. literally someone walked up next to me while I was waiting and got attention first) at all.. Being a fellow bartender I can sort of understand some indifference towards customers on busier nights but tonight was the final straw. 12 other people including myself were drinking and having a good time.. Being loud and such. The staff decides at 12:15 to start turning off the lights.. Literally most of the lights without saying a single word to anyone. They didn't even close out tabs or drop checks.. Just turned off the lights and TVs  and expected you to take the hint. What kind of business treats their customers like that? Not one bartender said a damn word. Terrible staff. Making a point to never come here again and tell everyone I know to do the same.
Review Source:Ah! College memories! Even though I didn't go to Rutgers!
I was last here earlier in the summer. Not much has changed. The tables/booths get a little cramped. It doesn't get too crowded, except during happy hour, but I've never had a problem finding a parking spot. But it's cheap and of course, nothing beats $.50 pizza slices. (:
Seriously?! Can you get better then 50cent pizza slices and $1 mugs? No way. This is my favorite place to go at Rutgers, it's not as crazy, drunken, "I just turned 21" kind of bar. It's more of the "I'm tired of being overly crowded by stupid people" bar.
There's booths and tables to sit and hang out with friends with a bunch of TVs, on different channels, to watch all the sports games. The bar is really big with a lot of high top seating. Darts. Good food, good atmosphere. The french fries are awesome. It's not overly crowded except maybe during Rutgers football or any really important sports game. They recently have a "beer fest" type in the spring time, you pay a set amount and get to drink all day.
Recently, they have a DJ coming in on weekends, I'm not so much a fan of them trying to be like the other bars but it's not terrible. It sucks when you're just trying to have a conversation. Other nights it's not like this. I love the atmosphere and this is my go-to happy hour/bar. The spring/summer time it's nice to skip class and go to happy hour. It's street parking but there's a lot across the street that you can park in after hours.
They're pretty strict on checking IDs, I wouldn't try a fake at this place. Go somewhere else for that.
The Olive Branch can be summed up pretty easily: $1 beers, and 50 cent slices of pizza during happy hour. That's the only time I go, and I would like to keep it that way. Otherwise the place just gets too insane and the people who work there stop being so nice. Otherwise I'd definitely recommend going for happy hour, watching Cash Cab on the tv's and playing with everyone else in the bar, and then getting the hell out of there before 9 or 10.
I did leave my debit card there once by accident and the people there were nice enough to not use it/throw it away/etc., so that's a plus, thanks OB.
If you went to Rutgers (or are attending), you know that this place was/is a fun place to hang out at with cheap beer and pizza. It's not meant to wow you with a great ambiance and amazing drinks. It's a college joint with fun times and memories - If you want more than that - hit the bars downtown .. expect good drinks and less college kids, but be prepared to pay for it.
Review Source:I understand that this is just a mediocre bar that caters to college students with little cash and simple desires of drunkenness, but my experience there last night absolutely ruined it for me. I've only been there a couple times before and have dealt with an extremely squished table, idiot beta-males pretending to be alpha, poorly mixed drinks, but honestly I've never cared before. It's the college experience to have a blast even at crappy places. But for the first time I was outraged at the behavior of management and the employees. We were bar hopping out for a friend's 22nd birthday and Olive Branch was the second bar we were planning to hit. All of us were overage and promptly showed our IDs at the door. A girlfriend of mine got stopped and asked for a second ID. The only thing she could provide was her RU-ID, because honestly, who carries anything more besides state ID, school ID, and some credit cards when going out. She is 22 and looks pretty much the same in her photos. I have no idea how she was the one who got stopped. They said that they had a problem with it and wouldn't let her in, meaning we ended just hitting another bar. It really is one thing if I knew that she was in fact using a fake or borrowing an ID, but for a legitimate state ID, come on. She's been here many times before without a problem. They don't have any scanner so we couldn't do anything to prove that it was her without going home and bringing something else. I had a suspicion that they just thought she looked too young, as she is Korean and I suppose they can't tell her age (hispanic bouncer and white employee, a manager possibly). I then looked around the bar and only saw 1 or 2 other Asians in there. The furious part of me wants to scream racism, but the more rational is excusing it by thinking that it was just unlucky that my friend's horizontal state ID that looks exactly like her was rejected. But even the rational me feels like there was stronger scrutiny with her race being an underlying basis. I wonder why they didn't say anything with my still vertical ID that has a picture of me with super chubby cheeks, a bizarre haircut, and glasses, but she got called out.
So yeah, maybe we should all carry our state ID, RU-ID, birth certificate, passport, copy of my electric bill, transcript, health insurance card, and whatever else when we go to Olive Branch, you know, just to be safe.
Being so close to Rutgers, let's go back to college with some simple math... Start with...
   Location close to campus
  + alcohol
  + DAILY specials on that alcohol
  + specials on food (50 cent pizza)
  + Just a touch of shady-ness/Dive bar-ness
--------------------------------------------------Â--------------
  = Ideal College Bar
While this fits the niche of a college hang out, I have never been to the Olive Branch when it was even close to being full of people. You'd think that with this formula, there'd be a line around the corner, but for some reason, that is not the case.
I say if you are looking for a cheap night out with your friends, stop on by. Otherwise, you can spend your time and effort elsewhere.
went to the "octoberfest" they had for $40 a ticket with german style food which consisted of a hot dogs ,pretzels and lame potato salad ..good beer selection but mostly frat guys shouting R! U!  music was a dj  ..should have been called "collage fest" if you are a binge drinking collage student it was banging
Review Source:If you go here early enough, maybe go straight here after work around 5pm then you can enjoy their happy hour deal which are domestic beers for a buck. Â Pizza is super cheap I think it was 0.50 cents, yes it was confirmed by Tanya N. that it is .50 cents! Â I remember eating I think 10 slices of them. Â Yeah I know Im a pig, but listen if you see how thin and small the pizza slices, you'd say to yourself, oh yeah I can eat more than that guy! Â Like I said, go here early to avoid the young drunk crowds!
Review Source:This was the local bar for happy hour because it was the biggest bar with tables. The guys checking ID are usually assholes (they used to give me a lot of crap with my ID even though i was 21 and using my own ID) but that's to be expected since it's a college bar. Just come prepared with a second form of ID.
Their happy hour deals are dollar beers (Yuenglings and Coors Lite, baby) and 50 cent pizza slices. The pizza slices are thin and have a distinct sweet tomato taste that will stay with you long after you have graduated. You wind up spending hours, days here and still meet the college student budget. It was glorious.
The staff is generally very nice, with a few exceptions if some of the girls have been working all night - they do get tired. You can usually find a sports game on during happy hour or a Rutgers fundraiser going on at night.
I may be a little biased because one of my good friends works here, but honestly, I don't think I am. Â The Branch is a great spot.
Good variety of drinks at very reasonable prices, great food, great atmosphere. Â Great place to watch a game. Â Awesome staff.
You name it The Branch has it. Â If you're in New Brunswick for any reason and you need a place to drink, look no further.
-Summary-
Pros: Open space, places to sit, good happy hour, plesant staff
Cons: Can be tricky to navigate around the bar.
My good college bar at RU, Olive branch is what I like in a college dive-ish bar experience. Drinks served and consumed with the intention of getting drunk, busy but not insanely overcrowded, good happy hours, and a nice staff. Location is decent, a very good fall-back bar.
Happy hours are the best time to go. $1 mugs and 0.50 cent slices! Somehow i always manage to spend $20 though.
The place is usually cool and relaxed. The male waitstaff are friendly but the several the female bartenders and waitresses i've encountered act like they have something stuck up their ass.
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