Baba au Rum — Restaurant in Athens

Baba au Rum’s greatest strength is its variety. After spending a couple of nights, each drink I tried was vastly different from the other. Their signature Mai Tai is incredible, yet the Optaphone I is not just the best one I tried, but overall one of the best drinks I’ve ever had (we came back a second time just because we wanted to drink it again). The menu is maybe too vast for my taste, I’d rather have a smaller one and then let the bartender guide me through some options off the list, but when the quality of each drink is so high I can easily ignore that. If I had to be extremely demanding, I’d say that when the volume of customers is too elevated, they might be rushing a bit too much: the aforementioned Optaphone was amazing on both occasions, but the second time it clearly had a different texture, less smooth (both me and my partner immediately noticed this). A few uncertainties concerning the service. First time, it was a calm, middle of the week evening yet the bartenders started putting some time into trying to propose different drinks only halfway through. Second night, busy weekend. At every drink I asked the waiter if it was fine for us to take a break outside before going back to table. After the 4th one they cleaned up the table, which is a shame because at that point I ordered a Mai Tai which is served paired with chocolate and I was saving it for the end of the drink. Minor issue? Probably. But it’s still a blunder worth noting. Great atmosphere, although a bit...

Baba au Rum totally disgraced my friend. They provided a deeply disappointing experience for me, and I had high hopes given its reputation, but it fell short in every aspect, ruining my last night in Athens.

We arrived during a busy time and ordered two drinks: Pollock’s Highball and the Octophone. The Pollock’s Highball tasted like soda water and whiskey, while the Octophone was overly sweet, resembling artificial key lime pie syrup. Despite being a "top 25" bar, the drinks we had the chance to try were very subpar. But we wanted to switch them out, like other bars I’ve visited have done.

When I asked if we could switch the drinks, the waiter refused, saying we should have inquired about the cocktails beforehand. This response was frustrating, especially since I had studied the menu beforehand. Also, the waiter did not even inquire anything about the quality of the drink when I said I disliked it.

Adding to the disappointment, my friend approached the bar to discuss our issue further with the waiter. The waiter dismissively waved her off, pointing her to the bartender in a rude manner. Meanwhile this is just about letting the bartender know we didn’t like the drinks and the quality is not great. I was completely baffled and shocked.

This place needs a serious overhaul in customer service and hospitality training. It’s unworthy of its reputation and not worth the expense.

For those considering a visit, I hope your experience is...

I had no idea this was an award winning bar when I walked in. I was in Athens for the first time and on a haphhazard bar crawl. I asked for Ouzo and the bartender acted like I had 4 heads because they don't serve it.

I read the menu and was incredibly surprised with the long winded tale regarding Dominican Rum. I am Dominican and never expected to find this crossover in Athens. I don't drink Rum however, and have very low tolerance for sugary mixed drinks, so I asked for Herradura on the rocks. I was once again met with confusion, even though Herradura is listed as the tequila on one of the specialty cocktails.

I assumed this was a language barrier. I scoured the bar looking for Herradura, and there was none. There was also no Dominican Rum. I think I ended up drinking a vodka soda.

TLDR- the service was awful, and they didn't have the liquor their cocktail menu listed. I'm stunned this bar is on any list at all. We only spent 15-20 per person because we stayed for one drink. There were 4 of us. 2 of the 4 were met with the same weirdly dismissive and rude attitude from the bar.

• my sister told me to edit it to 1 star because I was so unhappy it made her anxious but I can only go down to 2 from a 3. I have to imagine that the language barrier caused some of the...