iBar — Restaurant in Baltimore

At least once a month my best friend and I go eat somewheres and normally try a new spot. We arrived at the ibar on Sunday afternoon about 1:30 p.m.. since we were a two-party table we sat at a small table at the end of the restaurant. Everything seemed to be going okay at first. We did have to ask for a menu though that was kind of annoying. After which we ordered appetizer of half a plate of nachos, my best friend ordered chicken marinara and I ordered chicken marsala.

The pasta dishes each came with a salad. So we received our non-alcoholic drinks and it kind of seemed like a pretty long time and no salad or appetizer had been brought to our table. So I commented to my friend they should bring something salad first if the appetizer is not ready. Finally the salad arrived and I will say it was very tasty it tasted very organic and fresh however the dressing was not amazing.

We were barely finishing up with our salads when the half a plate of nachos came out. Being that we were required to sit at the tiny table because we were a two-person party the table was immediately getting crowded with two drinks two salad bowls a plate of nachos and extra plates so that we could split the nachos. However we made do and my best friend started to take her portion of the nachos and then all of a sudden our pastas arrived.!!

The timing of the meal was awfu. I immediately stated to the server that there is no way all this food is going to fit on this tiny table and requested permission to sit at one of the larger tables. Instead of being accommodating the server gave a little TalkBack saying oh the boss is going to be mad because we're not supposed to do that and this table is for bigger parties. Which I then told him it's not our fault you brought all the food out at once and that the meal was not timed correctly and that all this food cannot possibly fit on that tiny table

Begrudgingly he moved us to the table where our plates would fit. My friend had just got off of work and had not eating anything all day and she began to eat her pasta right away. I also had not had nothing to eat on that day and had taken three rounds of medications so I was definitely hungry and it was time to eat however I needed a moment to finish the nachos. The nachos were decent however the pico de gallo was extremely hot almost unbearably hot and I can handle spicy food but it was a little too much my mouth was on fire.

Upon finishing the nachos I took the cover off of my pasta plate and I realized that the waiter had given me her chicken marinara and that she had received my chicken marsala. So I told my friend I think they gave us the wrong orders they gave you my food and I got your food. Meanwhile all this time no one had come to check to see how we were doing how was the meal so we had to call someone over to our table I believe he happened to be the manager and we told him what happened..

At first there was a little hesitation but it appeared he was going to comp one of the pastas and have the cook make me chicken marsala which I ordered. However my friend is such a sweet person she told him no no don't worry about it leave it on the bill and just also make her the chicken marsala. I personally didn't really agree with that but she said that she could eat it later or give it to a homeless person or something so that was her decision. So after which I had my order placed for chicken marsala it was like 25 minutes later and my food was still not at the table my friend was already finished eating almost and I still did not have my entree in front of me and none of the staff was even paying attention to what was going on at our table it was horrible. So we had to call the server over again and ask where was my entree it was ridiculous.

It took more time for my chicken marsala to arrive. As I began to eat it I couldn't taste Marsala wine so I started to inspect the dish and realized it was basically brown gravy being called Marsala wine. The bill was $80 and the food was not great and horrible service do not waste a minute of...

I had to revise my review as I had one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had. It pains me to write this because I LOVE their wings and the atmosphere and bartenders of the upstairs bar.

We attempted to eat upstairs but because we had my 3 year old we weren’t allowed to, which was totally fine and it is what it is. I understand places have off nights and sometimes can be inconsistent, but tonight was inexcusable, in my opinion.

We moved downstairs where there was a single waiter serving maybe 8 table, so I completely understand he was busy, but that’s not an excuse to be rude.

We placed our order for food, we ordered fish tacos, chicken quesadilla, steak quesadilla, Philly cheesesteak, and two burgers. For the burgers we said we’d like them as rare as possible, and the waiter repeated it and said no problem.

The food was brought out in waves, which we were told ahead of time, so no biggie.

Where the issue came was 1) the time between waves of food delivery. The fish tacos came out, and not exaggerating, 30 minutes AFTER everyone else finished our food. 2) the burgers were well done, and when we said something, the waiter went to the manager who said “yea we don’t do rare, so they’ll have to eat it that way.” When we said we don’t want it rare, he took it off the bill, and we reordered fish and chips. (Appreciated this, but the manager was honestly the rudest manager I’ve ever experienced at a restaurant…. More to come on this). 3) the attitude of the manager and waiter. 4) the food (other than the wings, which were good as expected).

The fish tacos and the reorder fish and chips took forever to come out. After being there for nearly 1.5 hours without the tacos coming, we said to the manager, “you know they never came out and sat there waiting while everyone else finished their food” and the manager said with attitude “yes I know, thank you” in a condescending tone.

Look sh*t happens, kitchens get backed up, etc, I get it… I worked in restaurants for 5 years, but the attitude of the manager was beyond absurd. There was no apology or even excuse (even if made up) for the delay, just condescension.

The quesadillas tastes as if they were frozen, the burgers were fine, the drinks were made by the waiter who sat there and ate his food in front of us and was on his phone much of the time.

I really don’t have words for what we just...

TLDR: The wings live up to the hype. Both Medium and Hot flavors are tasty and wing size to price ratio is great.

Vibe: 3/5. Located right on Maryland Ave in Old Goucher, ibar is a small bar restaurant that includes a half dozen high tops and a sizeable bar for seating. As for location, on the day we visited police had roped off the entire block directly in front of ibar due to a body being found right up the street. This was at 4pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon, so take that into consideration for neighborhood safety. However when we walked into the bar, there were a fair amount of people hanging out as if nothing happened, so either this is a common occurrence, or the wings are THAT good!

Service: 5/5. The staff at ibar was wonderful during our visit. Service from both the bar and kitchen was great. Our food and drink orders came out perfectly done and in record time. There was a small hiccup when it came to paying the bill, as the waitress gave us the wrong tab, however it was quickly resolved.

Food: 4/5. Top tier buffalo wings! Ibar claims to use the same wing recipe as Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, which many consider to be the founders of the dish. During our visit, we opted to try both their medium and hot sauced wings. You are also given the choice for level of fried doneness per each wing order, a major plus for those who like extra crunch (me). Both sets of wings came out meaty, piping hot and thoroughly sauced. Both sauces had a great flavor balance between heat, vinegar and savoriness. The spice level jump between medium and hot is decent, with hot having a substantial lingering afterburn. Upon request, we were given a sample of the hottest level sauce at Ibar, the inferno, which has added capsaicin extract to the sauce to take it to the hottest of hot. Definitely not for the faint of heart. As for the drinks, the bar has a nice selection of local drafts as well as a well priced cocktail menu, which includes the Baltimore staple fresh squeezed orange crushes. Overall, Ibar is a solid contender for best wings in Baltimore. In my opinion, I prefer longtime favorite Kisling's wings slightly over Ibar due to the more vinegar forward sauce and ginormous wing size, but only by a...