Top Dog

You can't beat Top Dog's happy hour! Cheap drinks and a free food buffet.

There is a spacious indoor bar area and an outdoor patio with a few other bars and a bunch of tables. You almost forget route 70 is right there.

So the buffet is similar to a food table at a family BBQ. Today's selection included fruit, veggies, 3 pasta salads, a cheese plate, burgers, hot dogs, sausage and an alternating buffalo wings/potatoe skin tray. Not the best but for free not too shabby! To drink, I had an orange stoli and club as part of the $3 you call it menu.

The crowd is an interesting mix. Young professionals, middle age locals and senior citizens who were clearly just there for the buffet.

Two drinks and a free buffet for under $10 rocks in my book!

So, I never imagined that this would be anything above a sub-par experience, but my most recent visit to Top Dog (probably my third visit total) was not as bad as expected.

Top Dog is what I consider SJT (South Jersey Trash). This consists of a bunch of scantily dressed girls, tough guys that want to be like The Situation, and bartenders that do everything in their power to avoid eye contact with you while you wait at the bar for 10 minutes. I came here when I first turned 21 (not too many people in here are that much older) and vowed never to return again. However, a friend who desperately wanted to go brought me a few nights back.

What saved them from complete failure were two things:

1.Decently priced beers-$2 for a Yuengling OK-already a good price and on a Friday night, that is just unheard of unless you go to a dive bar.
2. Half of our time there was spent on the outdoor deck. The bartenders were extremely nice and were quick to deliver us our drinks. The inside-different story.

In closing I would not recommend coming here. It's your typical college bar/I just turned 21 and feel like a bad ass kind of place. Don't come here expecting class because there is none to be had in good ole' Top Dog.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I stepped foot in this place over the age of 25. Alas, it was a friend's 24th birthday and the decision was not my own.

There are two parts to this establishment. The downstairs is a sports bar/restaurant and the upstairs is a club. After hanging out downstairs for a while, a few of the girls decided to check out the upstairs. Two bouncers made a huge production of searching purses and patting down all guys. A sign that read "NY Style Dress Code" was posted nearby. This should have been my signal to turn around but curiosity won out and I paid the five bucks to get in (it's ten for guys). We proceeded up the steps... and straight into a code-red situation: popped collars, wannabe platform dancers and more hair gel than a mid-nineties LA Looks campaign.

A few girls wanted to stick it out and dance but I made my way back downstairs to watch the Flyers' game. My experience was severely hindered by the constant opening of a side door that let in a very cold and smoky draft. Apparently, the patio area that is open in the summer also doubles as a smokers' lounge.

While the building itself certainly holds many memories of my past (under 18 dance parties back in the day at The Iguana, my first real bar experience after my 21st birthday at Top Dog, etc.), the ship has sailed.

Its said that 2 wrongs dont make a right however 3 rights do make a left. This is important information to know when driving in Jersey. Y'all Jersians may be used to this set up but it confuses the shit out of me and my GPS Chewie. After pretty much stumbling on Top Dog, where I was to meet a friend, I felt like Clark Griswald in London trying to get to it. " Look Kids! Big Ben! Parliament!"

Eventually, I did find my way to Top Dog. My companion explained that this place has had an identity crisis as of late and the current incarnation was that of a quasi-Hooters, with busty/leggy waitresses and guy foods. It was fine for the purposes of meeting up with an old friend and catching up on our chaotic lives. We sat in the outdoor area and took advantage of the comfortable evening.

The food and service was better than average and entertaining. We both enjoyed our beer and food choices. No complaints about any part of our dining experience. The atmosphere outside was cool, with flaming tiki torches and jungle setting. Around 9pm, a DJ came out to spin some tunes, which made our conversation increasingly difficult, but by then , we were winding down anyway. Looks like a fun place to hang out for the single crowd.

Getting back home was infinitely easier, as the road easily ran directly to the BF bridge. I was happy to be back in PA, the home of the left turn. That said, I feel that Top Dog was worth a trip over the bridge and a little extra wandering. I look forward to my next visit and promise not to enjoy the short skirted waitresses walking quickly too much.

**Nightlife Review**

Ended up going over to Jersey with some friends on a Saturday night and wound up here because, well, this is really the only spot I heard was even remotely decent to go to in Jersey besides AC. The interior reminded me of Bennigan's (I miss them!) or an Applebee's. There were 2 bars on the first floor and plenty of TVs around to watch games and whatnot.

We hopped in line and, as much as I HATE when ladies have to pay cover to get into places (because women help bring in most of the revenue for clubs!), I grudgingly paid the $5 (guys pay $10; no cover if you're buying a table). Also, a guy in my group of friends had on Polo boots and they denied him entry--so guys, sneakers or shoes are a must.

Once upstairs, the place was packed. I headed to the bar where I was quickly served. They have pretty decent drink prices so I partook in a few ;-) Nice array of people there, except for the creepy older white guy who's a regular there (I was told this by other patrons in the club) and dances up on the platforms usually reserved for female dancers. ::SMH, not a good look Top Dog::

Overall, we had a good time as did most of the other people I saw and met so I'd go again. Definitely bringing some fun friends with you helps make this place a lot more fun than it actually is.

this place is horrible. It has changes names a few times and i was Leary to try it.

The food was not very good, the service was worse and the people there looked like they were trying out to be cast members of Jersey Shore.... I mean that in the worst way possible

I would not go here if Jesus himself was going to be there

okay okay....so my rating may change if I go here on one of their special nights but tonight (literally just a few minutes ago) was all about locating a TV to watch the dallas miami nba game.

The Bar is pretty, appears to have the potential to be very lively with the right crowd. The location is nice. My con, the bar tender advised me that they don't really have any virgin drinks. (i know i know....it's a bar) I always ask for really nice virgin drinks when i go to bars so to not have any sucks. I drank ginger ale....

so, this is a rating in progress. I'd go here again....but so far I wasn't "wowed" by my first visit.

Being well past my 20s I have never been at this place past 9:00 pm so I can't comment on the dance club. I do enjoy Top Dog's Friday Happy Hour though especially during the warm months when the patio is open.

A few Fridays ago we stopped by for Happy Hour. The food was great, the beer was cheap and people watching was tops. You see, the people watching at Top Dog is part of the draw. There is always that group of cheesy older men trying to get the attention of the girls a third their age from the office who are out for happy hour. Then there is always the obviously recently divorced, way over dressed lady sipping a chardonnay by herself at the bar hoping to catch the attention of one of older men hitting on the office girls.

And of course we have that group of obnoxious guys who are tripping over themselves to get the attention of the waitresses. I am not sure you can actually call them waitresses or servers as there are always at least 3 or 4 who never seem to wait on anyone. I think you have to be between 16 and 21 to qualify oh and I must mention that the new uniform is an itsy bitsy catholic school girl uniform that makes Britney Spears look modest. The last night we were there, one of the girls' sole job was to attempt to hula hoop at the end of the back bar. Every time she dropped the hoop she started over vigorously rotating her hips which caused her itsy bitsy school girl skirt to lift high enough to expose her bare cheeks. This of course got the attention of the drunk group of guys who all had cell phones out hoping to get that perfect picture of the girls bare bottom to post on facebook.

Well back to the food. Overall, the food is pretty good. A year ago Top Dog had gone to this serve yourself concession stand type theme serving a very limited menu of basically burgers and fries. The burgers and fries were out of this world and dirt cheap. Seriously, it would cost more to eat at McDonalds. They now have a full menu and wait on you rather than having you wait on yourself. The burgers have been expanded to include a few variations beyond burger and cheese burger. They have added sandwiches and small and large plates. We haven't tried the plates but have tried some of the sandwiches including the club on a cibatta roll which was fantastic. The best thing to top it all off is that instead of a regular dill pickle in your basket they serve you a fried dill pickle. OMG I wonder if I could order just a basket of fried dill pickles?

Top Dog offers nearly everything one could want - night club complete with cage dancers (upstairs, cover applies), restaurant, huge outdoor covered patio/bar with tiki hut, board games in the summer and DJ year-round. Happy Hour consists of free finger food, cheese and crackers, etc. Great domestic beer specials and wide assortment of premium brews on tap. Ample TV's both inside and out make it a good destination for Eagles/Phillies games.

Appealing primarily to the younger club crowd, TD doesn't offer much in terms of live entertainment but they do pipe the DJ inside and outside. Unless you're a 20-something chick, the DJ pretty much sucks but it is what it is. They usually throw on some 80s classics earlier during Happy Hour which is much appreciated especially since the average age is 40+. But I never travel to any bar expecting to hear good music so I tune it out completely and/or openly make fun of it.

The female bartenders are attractive and known to wear skimpy cheerleader outfits and frankly that works just fine for me. I know this turns off some women (based on subsequent reviews) but the truth is jealously is a normal human trait and people carry around baggage. The bartenders are courteous and friendly, the type of place you can drop in alone for a few drinks or go with a large group.

Service at TD can be a little slow at times, the Happy Hour consists of regulars and due to proximity to office space the crowd can be unpredictable - sometimes it is jammed packed. Management works the bar when it is short-handed which is nice to see because many places don't care enough to provide decent service. The parking lot is huge and will be crowded on weekends late at night.

The bottom line is TD makes an effort to appeal to an older Happy Hour crowd as well as the 20-something nightclub crowd. As long as you don't mind the age melting pot it's a great spot to relax with friends. Bottom's up!

I keep wondering how this place turns a profit...but in a good way. It has been through several owner, but I like the current incarnation.

On weekdays, if you organize a happy hour, everyone in your party gets 1 free drink and there are usually domestic beers on sale for $1 or $2 after that. They also put out a big spread of food that is free during weekday happy hours.

The outdoor patio is beautiful, with a koi pond, some games and a full bar and is probably the most smoker-friendly location in South Jersey, since they allow smoking outside. They even heat the area during the winter for those of us who like our nicotine fix.

The food is just okay, but the bar prices can't be beat and I like the vibe of the whole place. Good place to get together for drinks after work if you work in Cherry Hill or the surrounding area.