By Danni Ybarra |Staff Writer|

Newly-built University Bar & Grill has potential to be a great local hangout for CSUSB students and surrounding residents.

Located at 2999 on W. Kendall Dr., it is open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday and Monday.

The new restaurant is the perfect place to stop for a drink after a long day of classes.

Having only stopped in once, I have yet to make my final decision on the restaurant as a whole.

There were only four other people in the restaurant besides my party of two, and no others arrived during the hour and a half I dined.

This was slightly off-putting to me; I enjoy having at least a small crowd of people in a restaurant, along with a bit of noise, to set the atmosphere and allow me to let loose of the tension from the day.

“I’ve driven past [University Bar & Grill] a few times on a weekend and it looked pretty good,” said student Sameje Palmer concerning the amount of business the restaurant receives.

Aside from the lack of people in the restaurant, the modern decor with booths, tall tables, and numerous flat screens playing ESPN and Fox Sports gave off the sports bar vibe they are clearly trying to achieve.

“It’s just still really new. It needs to be broken in,” said Palmer.

Upon reading many Yelp reviews, I was not sure what to expect when it came to the service or food, but I was pleasantly surprised by both.

I had probably the friendliest waitress around—very attentive and engaged.

She took our drink order and brought them out to us right away. I highly recommend their mango margarita on the rocks!

Palmer also believes they have a great selection of beers, including drafts and IPA’s.

Despite the fact that their kitchen doesn’t open until 4 p.m., it did not take long for our food to come to us.

The Yelp reviews mentioned cold food or a long wait time. This did not happen to me.

I thought the chicken club sandwich and macaroni and cheese I ordered were perfectly cooked to order and delicious!

We were informed, however, that there was only one cook at the time.

This may have been the problem for the other customers and what may have caused their poor review.

I did keep in mind the fact that there was not many people in the restaurant at the time, allowing the service to exceed expectations.

The prices were also exactly what I was expecting.

Everything on the menu is around $10, and they give generous portions.

“It really could be such a great place, but I’m scared they won’t get the business they need and we will lose it,” said Palmer.

“The students are going to have to be the ones to keep it alive. They just have to give it a chance,” continued Palmer.

All in all, I will need to visit a few more times, but I do believe University Bar & Grill can become a popular eatery in the area if people, especially students, take advantage of it.