Koco's Pub — Restaurant in Baltimore

Dinner this evening, started with a strange exchange between my cousin and the manager of Koco's Pub, who was at the "Welcoming" station, at the entrance. We had a reservation, and there seemed to be a problem with them seating our 4 person plus one baby, party. After some back and forth, we were seated and proceeded to enjoy our evening. The famed crabcakes were mediocre in flavor and general quality of the cook. Everything else was quite satisfying, therefore there was little need to complain. The problem arose when my dinner mate, my cousin, asked for a small bit of human kindness from the manager. We had 2 small children in our group, one of whom is just recently a year old, and they were getting active. My cousin is a frequent customer and remembered a time when ice pops were available for children, and she requested another to accompany the 1 a server had previously brought by. The manager decided to let it be known that these were not complimentary, and we would be charged for the ice pops. My cousin, of course, questioned when this became policy. She'd been patronizing this establishment for many years and this was the very 1st time anyone had made that claim. The manager was very matter of fact in her response that this was, and always had, been the policy. After establishing that the price was a mere $1, the server brought an ice pop. My cousin then asked the manager why it was that her experience always seemed to fall short in friendliness and warmth. She questioned why it was that no one ever welcomed her to the restaurant. Why no one ever offered even the slightest bit of warmth, like a "hello". The manager walked to our table, looked my cousin boldly in her eyes and said, verbatim, it was "Because you never seem to be satisfied when you come here. It's not a good experience; the drink is too sweet, the fries aren't crispy enough, etc. That's the consensus amongst everyone here." I was incredulous, so I repeated to her what she said. She nodded in the affirmative, and I had to ask how she thought this was appropriate behavior. To treat a customer with disdain simply for having standards. She had singled out my cousin a while ago, and yet took her money without a complaint. I asked how she could justify being so inhospitable, while working in the hospitality industry. She attempted to justify her actions with a word salad that amounted to nothing. When I asked if my cousin had ever disrespected any of the staff, the manager declined to answer. She engaged in gaslighting us, by saying that she didn't want us to get angry with her honesty, as we had done. Puzzled, my cousin and I looked across the table at one another: when had we ever displayed any anger in this very civil conversation? No voices were raised. No accusations hurled from our side. However, the manager had decided that we were angry customers. She was now a victim of our ire, and wanted to suffer no more abuse. At least that's what here attitude seemed to display. We ended this exchange feeling confused, angry, and disrespected. This woman had a scenario in her mind where we we were obviously brutes, incapable of normal discourse. She took criticism personally and answered it with cruelty. She perpetuated an ugly side of our culture where one segment of the population has mischaracterized another group so much so, that their dark fantasies have become our reality. I will never forget this feeling, and I won't ever spend another...

First time being here. I have seen this place mentioned numerous times on TikTok and Facebook but never actually made it out here because it was a hike through heavy traffic. But never the less, when the opportunity came, we couldn't pass it up. Yes the traffic there was worse than I imagined. Took over an hour to get there. Let me tell you, that's a long way to drive... for me. When we finally arrived, it was a typical townhouse in the city. The parrot gave me the Jimmy Buffett vibe. We walked in and as a typical townhouse in Baltimore, it isn't that big. The place was long and narrow as you can see in the picture. It was pretty crowded. There was an eclectic and diverse neighborhood of clientele gathered all enjoying themselves. Not an ounce of pretension. People came for the food, company and just fun. Most of the tables were 2 and 4 seaters. There was only 1 six seater so it was good we reserved it for 7 pm. Well actually you can put tables together so I guess you can accommodate even bigger parties too. This is where old people stop using imagination, but I digress. Because of its limited capacity, I am sure they do a lot more carry out than dining in. The service was friendly excellent and fast. It was just nice to relax, drink, and eat. We all loved all aspects of it. Now the reason we went there. It's been awhile since we had some great crab cakes. Wife loves them crab cakes. Me on the other hand, while I do like them, I would not consider myself a connoisseur of it. But I do know what I like. And let me tell you, when I tell you this felt and tasted like all jumbo lump meat, I mean it. I am not sure how they keep it together with so little filling. All I tasted was crabs. I remember when 1 lb container of lump crab meat at Costco was nearly $50, this felt like that. Sitting there tasting nothing but crab and some seasoning. Not a huge salad person but the Caesar salad was huge. I ate half of it but finished the crab cake. Wife ate half her crab cake but finished her salad and finished mine too. She said she was craving salad but I know she was saving that crab cake for tomorrow. And of course she refused to share any. I should have saved some too but didn't have the will power to. Did I mention the beer was so cold and delicious too? It came in a chilled glass so it remained cold and refreshing! Nothing like cold one. Overall, everyone had a great time. Definitely a treat for everyone. Ps: they don't serve dessert but just as well. Had no room left because it was filled with food, beer, fun, good company, and...

I went to this establishment extremely excited because of the rave reviews I had received about the crab cakes. Upon arrival, I was told there was no waiting area, so I could go down the street to Maggie’s Farm and wait until space became available. I was a bit confused…For over 25 years I lived in Houston Texas, which is very well known for its fine dining and NEVER ONCE was I asked to wait at another restaurant to get a call for seating at the original restaurant. I was more than a bit taken aback.

Out of fairness, I will say it was Friday night at 6 PM. But also out of fairness I first went into this establishment Wednesday of the same week around 4 PM which was prior to opening. The door was open and my car was being serviced across the street. They were nice enough to let me use the restroom and told me they were not open yet. The opening hours were told to me to be 4:30 but I was asked to come back closer to 4:50 instead. I THOUGHT THAT WAS A BIT ODD.The environment appeared to be warm and inviting but I knew my car would be ready before that time so I told them if I did not come back that day, I would be back later that week.

AT NO TIME WAS I TOLD about the lack of a waiting room or making a reservation. I did notice a sign that said something about wanting to serve only “nice people” and now I think I know why.

I took a crab cake to go, and did go down the street to Maggie’s Farm…I am a regular patron there and I enjoyed my meal and drink. The next day I ate the crab cake and it LACKED SEASONING although the size was adequate. It was also overpriced.

I am also a “nice person” who in the future will drive out of my neighborhood to get my crab cake fix fulfilled. Customer service is number one for me and although the greeter was very polite when she told me of their policies, as a consumer who gets to write a review on this restaurant and gets to choose where to spend my money, I am encouraging Koco’s to be more transparent about how to best serve customers. Instead of posting a sign about welcoming “nice people” why not encourage making a reservation or provide seating instead. You lost a resident who owns a house less than two blocks away who dines out quite often at both Maggie’s Farm and Silver Queen Cafe, who by the way don’t ask you to go to another restaurant to wait and be...