McCray's Tavern

jimsimply

Georgia

3.63/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 4.5 | $$

McCray's is on court square in downtown Lawrenceville. Dark wood lends something Old World to the good atmosphere. At night, it's pretty dark inside.

It's a little loud indoors, but McCray's best aspect is the rooftop seating. You'll get three-season enjoyment there, especially if you enjoy tobacco. The view of downtown is great.

The beer selection is fair. Thirty taps or so, with some good domestic craft brews usually available, (I've seen Brooklyn and Rogue on a regular basis). I enjoy a good stout, and I've had Rogue's Chocolate Stout there, as well as But no Belgians or more "exotic" brews there.

All in all, a decent restaurant with better than average beer.

01-08-2009 14:19:58 | More by jimsimply

TheEclecticGent

Georgia

4/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

The girlfriend and I went to see the local rendition of Dracula at the Aurora Playhouse in Lawrenceville. Friends of ours invited us to stop by for beer and food at McCray's Tavern after the play. It was a quick walk from the playhouse to the tavern around the Lawrenceville square. The tavern is decorated with dark wood in the typical Irish Pub style. Tables and booths are also made of similar wood. The bar itself is toward the back and slightly to the left. However, we sat at their rooftop outdoor seating. The access stairs to the rooftop is just past the bar on the left. After winding up several sets of stairs, a person is basically on the roof, "three floors" up overlooking the city of Lawrenceville and its historic square. After fighting with my vertigo on that last catwalk like ramp, I sat down to enjoy the cityscape in the setting sun.
They have about 40 taps lined up behind the bar and about another 20 or so bottled beers. McCray's doesn't have any rare or unusual beers, but they do have a solid selection of craft micros and a few imports. We had some Rouge Chocolate Stout and I later had a Paulaner Dunkelweizen. They had beers from Brooklyn Brewery, Hebrew, Anchor Brewery, Terrapin, Stone, and several others.
The menu was extensive and the food we tried was very good. Especially, liked the bite of penne pasta and portabella mushrooms I sampled from my girlfriend's plate.

11-05-2008 22:26:42 | More by TheEclecticGent