Don't Know Tavern — Restaurant in Baltimore

Ridiculously rude bartenders on multiple occasions, across multiple years. Tired of it. Tonight really took the cake

I’ve lived in this neighborhood since 2009 and I have patronized this spot since before its current ownership. Back when No Idea (now Hair of the Dog) and Don’t Know were sister bars.

I bought a bunch of food (individual items and trays) as well as drinks (literally everything on the menu) during the height of COVID & blah blah blah.

I have been talking up their wings for ages, saying that they’re better than Delia Foleys and blah blah blah…

…but never again. This place really has fallen off as well as pissed me off. I can’t even understand how some of these alcoholics behind the bar have even managed to maintain employment here. It’s sad

Especially since the wings these days are only truly worth having when they’re 1/2 price on Wednesdays. And of course, don’t buy any full price drinks. If ur preferred drink isn’t on happy hour special but it’s Wednesday and u still want cheap food, then I suggest that u just get Wednesday wings and go elsewhere. U can dine in with the wings special without ordering any drink except water (great for pre-gaming for elsewhere; get a nice base of food and some water)

Warning about the wings:

About a third of the time, ur wing order will come out ice cold after waiting for like 25-30 mins. Even when sitting at the bar!

Another third of the time, ur wings will come out ice cold after waiting like 15-30 seconds.

Not sure which is worse lol

And then the leftover (and increasingly variable) third of time, the wings do actually come out rather perfect

Either way I’m beyond tired of this place and I don’t even care about their absurdly cheap wings special at this point, like it isn’t even worth it unless u are really dedicated...

Great bar, some great food, but others really miss the mark. The crab dip tots are absolutely amazing, and the BK chicken sandwich with homemade chips was awesome. Everything else our party ordered had the same problem: perfectly executed cooking, with no sauce or seasoning to bring it home.

The fried brussels sprouts were fried to perfection, honestly may have been the best fry I've had on a sprout. But then there's no sauce or seasoning on them and it just falls to mediocrity. A nice balsamic glaze or hot honey would go a long way.

The gnocchi again were cooked perfectly, but super bland. When we got to the bottom of the bowl it looked like there was a tiny bit of tomato-based sauce down there mixed with the bacon, but almost none of the gnocchi had any coverage.

The chicken bites (same theme) were cooked perfectly. Crunchy outside, juicy inside. We ordered them with a BBQ sauce and the "Parmesan Garlic Sauce". Unfortunately they were out of the BBQ sauce we ordered, so we just skipped it and stuck with the Parmesan Garlic. When it arrived it was the fried nuggets and a dipping cup of breadcrumbs, garlic, and Parmesan cheese... No sauce. Never were we warned that it was a dry rub, just a cup of dry seasoning next to the nuggets. Now, we had some ranch already, and those garlic Parm breadcrumbs mixed with ranch made a great dipping sauce so it didn't go to waste, but come on.. don't list a dry rub as a sauce without a disclaimer.

Overall, I'll probably come back at some point, because it was a great bar with some very well executed cooking, but the kitchen could definitely benefit from...

When I walked in, I was initially nervous about the soup selection. I asked the server if there were any “off menu” soups, and he replied with a simple “What you see is what we have.” Unfeathered by his impatient response, I decided to conduct business with this bar. I took a glance at their menu, and immediately, the French Onion Soup (furthermore known as FOS) caught my eye. I decided to inquire with our server (Jeff) on the quality of said soup. He immediately responded with glowing remarks. I decided to take him up on it, and put in for a bowl of said FOS. When I received it only 14 minutes later, I was elated. The presentation was nothing short of exquisite. My bowl was displayed for all to see on fine china. The bowl was a simmering oasis of swiss, provolone, Gouda, French, and onion. Cheese was joyously melting over the edges, positively leaking down under. What else could I do but ask for 11 spoons so that my colleagues and I could indulge in the FOS. We did just that, and we all concurred that our lives would never again be the same.

See for yourself. I’ll be back. Will I...