Let me start by saying this review is biased: Two Stones is my favorite spot in Newark. Now that’s out of the way…
A few years ago, the small corner pub at Marrows Road and Route 4 changed hands and reemerged as Two Stones Pub. I’d avoided the place for years because it had been a dive, but friends kept telling me it was worth a try. One night with no other plans, I finally checked the menu and discovered why: the chef who helped establish the Pig and Fish in Rehoboth was now running the kitchen here. Since that discovery, we’ve found ourselves back at Two Stones almost every week.
Two Stones offers a large beer selection and a menu that changes with the seasons, which keeps each visit fresh. It’s far enough from Newark’s college scene to avoid loud crowds, yet close enough to be a convenient neighborhood gem. The restaurant runs daily specials and monthly beer dinners that draw locals and visitors alike.
The menu swap to summer offerings once made me a little sad—I missed the catfish—but I also appreciated that the chef keeps things creative. On one recent date night we started with the Dirty South Chips: kettle chips piled with pickled onions, cheese fondue, pulled pork, and cilantro. It’s a shareable starter that almost made us stop right there.
For dinner I had the TBA Burger, a rotating chef creation. That night it was a burger topped with sauerkraut, mustard, and bacon served on a pretzel roll—simple, well-balanced, and exactly what I wanted. My partner usually gravitates toward mac and cheese—blackened chicken or braised short rib versions have made regular appearances—and this season he’s eyeing the Lobster Mac and Cheese and the Lobster Roll. That evening he ordered the new tuna dish: pepper-crusted tuna over a ramen salad with a tangy dressing, light and refreshing on a hot night. He paired it with a Brooklyn brew, one of his go-to beers.
Dessert options include treats from a Wilmington bakery and house-made bread pudding—if you try only one thing, the bread pudding is a must. We’ve even ordered birthday cakes from a local bakery. Even when full, we rarely refuse a slice of their rotating cake or the Brownie Bottom Cheesecake.
Two Stones is exactly the kind of place where you can be comfortable, well-fed, and happy. They post daily specials and menu updates on their social channels, or you can drop by and let the food speak for itself.
Two Stones Pub — 2 Chesmar Plaza, Newark, DE. Open daily.
If Newark is too far south for you, there’s also a Wilmington location.
I eat at Two Stones often and this is an unpaid, unsolicited review—though I wouldn’t say no to a shirt from the pub.