Bagels and Grinds is that dependable, right-in-the-middle-of-campus bagel spot that every college town needs. The bagels actually pack a punch, chewy, flavorful, and perfect for a pre-class carb load. Their sandwiches hit the spot, and the spreads? Unreal. They do sometimes skimp a little on portions (we’ve all noticed it), but honestly, the overall quality makes up for it. It’s the type of place you can hit before an exam, after a night out, or when you just need something reliable and warm. Solid vibes, solid bagels, and consistently in the College Park rotation. Call Your Mother is the holy grail. The closest you’ll get to a real New York bagel without actually hopping on a train. Everything about Call Your Mother screams elite bagel culture, thick, glossy crusts, chewy centers, and sandwiches that make you feel like you’ve been handed a present. The options are unreal; every combo feels like it was engineered specifically to make you jump up and down like it’s Christmas morning. The location sits right in the middle of a busy shopping center, which means it gets attention, and it deserves it. It’s the kind of place where you take one bite and suddenly want to call your mom just to let her know you’re eating good. Call Your Mother is definitely the top dog, but Bagels and Grinds is a close second and absolutely holds its own in the bagel scene.
Noah Patti
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We all love our nights at Bents, Cstone, and Turf, but sometimes you just want to sit down like a civilized human being. Maybe you’re craving food that didn’t come straight out of a fryer basket. Maybe you want to pretend you’re a functioning adult for once. Whether it’s date night, parents weekend, or just a fancy night with your boys, here are the Top 3 Sit-Down Restaurants in College Park that will make you feel like you're walking on sunshine. Grillmarx is the hotspot for a well-cooked steak and elite vibes. It’s the go-to restaurant when you want something a little more elevated than your usual fast-casual routine. The vibe screams “classy but still College Park,” with that perfect balance of steakhouse energy and laid-back comfort.Their steaks are unreal, juicy, cooked exactly how you want, and capable of making you forget every mid cafeteria meal you’ve ever suffered through.The bar area is also surprisingly solid. You can grab a proper cocktail that doesn’t come in a plastic cup, and everything about the space feels a little nicer without dipping into full D.C.-level formality. GrillMarx definitely leans “dress up,” but still stays approachable and student-friendly.If you want to impress someone, your date, your family, or honestly even yourself, GrillMarx is the move. Bonus points for having servers who actually look like they enjoy their jobs.GrillMarx: Drinks: 8.7/10 Food: 9.1/10 • Vibes: 8.2/10 • Layout: 8.3/10 • Overall: 8.6/10B Burtons is GrillMarx’s twin sibling who probably interns in D.C. and drives a Lincoln. It’s polished, reliable, and somehow manages to make eating a burger feel fancy in the best way possible. Their menu is stacked, from seafood to steaks to salads that actually taste like something your body appreciates for once.The drinks are consistently well-made and clean. You’re not getting random sugary mixes here, these are actual, proper cocktails that feel intentional and smooth.Burtons is also an elite pick for parents weekend. You can sit outside, act civilized (ideally), and walk out feeling like you just handled three major life responsibilities. The service is fast, the food presentation is sharp, and honestly, it’s tough to find anything to complain about. Burtons: Drinks:8.4/10 Food: 8.9/10 Vibes: 8.1/10 Layout: 8.7/10 Overall: 8.5/10 Honey Pig holds a special place in College Park dining culture. It’s the KBBQ hotspot, walk in and you’re immediately hit with the smell of sizzling meat, the sound of someone aggressively flipping pork belly, and the sight of at least one table recording slow-mo grill videos like they’re submitting it to Cannes.This place is an experience, not just a meal.The energy is unmatched: smoky, loud, chaotic, and perfect. You grill your own meat at the table, which makes you feel like you suddenly have chef-level authority… until you realize you’re either torching everything or serving it raw. Either way? Still a blast.It’s open late, perfect for post-game hunger or debriefing with friends when you need a full table’s worth of food to recover from the day. And the portions? They could feed an entire fraternity chapter without breaking a sweat.Honey Pig: Drinks: 7.8/10 • Food: 9.2/10 Vibes: 8.7/10 Layout: 7.9/10 Overall:8.4/10 When you’re tired of crowded spots, loud floors, and food served in cardboard, remember that College Park actually has some legit sit-down gems. GrillMarx for when you’re trying to impress, Burtons for when you’re feeling polished, and Honey Pig for when you want fun, flavor, and enough food to leave you in a happy coma.Because every once in a while, it’s okay to trade chaos for a real dinner fork
RJ BENTLEY’SRJ Bentley’s (Bents) is that perfect mix of drinks, vibes, and atmosphere that you just can’t beat. It’s got the best layout in College Park: a patio, an outdoor area, and two indoor bars that somehow never feel too cramped. Even when it’s packed to the brim, you can still grab a drink thanks to how well they set up the tables and bars.The drinks are fantastic, there is nothing better than a jäger bomb at happy hour, and 12 ice cold coronas with limes. The food is insane and is way better than it needs to be. Think bar food that could actually pass as a real meal. The crowd is mostly Greek life, giving it that lively, chaotic, and entertaining energy.Friday Happy Hour is an absolute enlightening experience, this is where Bents peaks. The outside area turns into an area of pure socialness, presenting Bents as the hub of casual conversations, and great drinks. If you're not at happy hour, you’re missing out.But you want to know what grinds my gears? There is no Apple Pay (seriously, why?) and no doubles. But they pour heavy anyway, so you’ll survive.Drinks: 8.8/10 Food: 7.9/10 Vibes: 9.4/10 Layout: 8.9/10 Overall: 8.8/10. Cornerstone (Cstone or Stone) is the main bar at UMD, this is the one everyone knows, everyone ends up at, and everyone has a story about. It’s two floors of pure entertainment. Downstairs is your sports bar dream: TVs everywhere, tables for days, and endless beer, and specialty shots that will make you nonverbal. Upstairs? More of a dance floor-meets-bar situation with a DJ and fewer tables, perfect for your late-night antics.Cstone’s got something for everyone: Greek Tuesdays, Bottomless Mimosas on Saturdays, Sunday Drafts, and the usual Thursday–Saturday madness. Their specialty shots and daily happy hours never disappoint. The food is easily one of the best of any bar in town and includes actual flavor and real ingredients, not just fried grease and cross contamination.That said, what Bents has that Cstone doesn’t is soul. Bents feels alive; Cstone has more of a casual bar feel. But still, it’s the cornerstone of the College Park bar scene for a reason. They have apple pay and a rewards program so that's sick.Drinks: 9.2/10 Food: 8.2/10 Vibes: 8.7/10 Layout: 8.3/10 Overall: 8.6/10. The Greene Turtle is for the sports lovers. They have TVs on every wall, a bar in the center, and high energy during game days. It’s not a “get blacked out and pass out on a random patch of grass” kind of bar, it’s more of a “scream at the TV and crush more wings then you can handle with your friends” type vibe.It’s elite for pregames, Sunday football, or just chilling with a few pitchers. The food slaps, the vibes are strong, and for being one of the newer spots, it’s carved out a serious niche. It’s College Park’s ultimate sports bar, pure and simple.Drinks: 8.4/10 Food: 8.3/10 Vibes: 7.9/10 Layout: 7.8/10 Overall: 8.1/10. Terrapin’s Turf (Turf, if you call it Turfs, you’re a geezer) is chaos in its purest form. The drinks are either battery acid strong or barely alcohol and all juice, no in between. Their food is not that bad but is definitely the worst on the list. The dance floor is shoulder-to-shoulder, but the nights are unforgettable, or completely forgettable, depending on how it goes. Turf is the freshman bar that includes a dance floor and two main bars to get drinks, sometimes the outside patio bar is open depending on numbers. They include many different types of deals throughout the week such as, wine wednesday and karaoke, wing and beer tower deals, power hour, and mimosas on saturday. Their layout is very good and can include a plethora of different vibes. Turf is kind of a night club in a way and this is evident through their crowded dance floor and presence of blacked out college kids. Turf is that freshman year fever dream, it’s overcrowded, sweaty, loud, but legendary. You have to graduate from turf at one point, but it’ll always hold a nostalgic place in your heart. The reason Turf is this high is not because of how good the bar is, it's this high purely for nostalgia reasons. You don’t really go to Turf after freshman year, but sometimes you end up there anyway, and somehow… It feels right. If you do end up at turf make sure to get the Johnny Special from my boy Johnny. Drinks: 6.9/10 Food: 7.2/10 Vibes: 8.4/10 Layout: 8.2/10 Overall: 7.7/10. Looney’s is the definition of a solid bar that never quite gets the attention it deserves. The drinks are great, the food’s solid, and the atmosphere is always fun. The only real problem? Location. It’s just far enough from the Cstone-Bents zone that people forget it exists until a bar crawl rolls through.Still, if you’re watching sports, hitting a crawl, or just need a reliable spot to down a few crush buckets, Looney’s delivers every time. Big central bar, tons of bartenders, good crowd — underrated gem.Drinks: 8.0/10 Food: 7.4/10 Vibes: 7.2/10 Layout: 8.2/10 Overall: 7.7/10. The Hall CP toes the line between bar and restaurant, but broooo, does it do it well. The food is great, the drinks hit, and the outdoor area is massive. They throw concerts, host events, and keep the energy up without going full “Turf mode.”It’s a versatile spot, equally good for a chill dinner or a blackout cocktail session. Never a bad time at The Hall.Drinks: 8.0/10 Food: 8.2/10 Vibes: 6.6/10 Layout: 8.1/10 Overall: 7.7/10. Ledos a pizza place first, but don’t sleep on that little bar tucked inside. It’s perfect for a pre-game, a private event, or just crushing a few beers with your boys before heading out or after heading out.The pizza’s elite, the drinks are solid, and the vibes are lowkey in the best way. It’s not really a “bar-bar,” which is why it lands last, but don’t get it twisted, Ledo’s has its moments.Drinks: 7.5/10 Food: 8.0/10 Vibes: 7.1/10 Layout: 6.1/10 Overall: 7.2/10
Wow, what a debate. On one hand, you’ve got the sweet, smooth, dangerously drinkable Green Tea Shot which is a mix so tasty it could make you pass out on a random patch of grass (they go down like water… usually a 60/40 water ratio anyway). Who wins???
