The Manor — Restaurant in Baltimore

“My two friends and I visited The Manor Ultra Lounge from out of town, excited for karaoke night. We arrived a little after 9 pm, only to be greeted by a staff member (who I assumed was the manager, though his attire made it hard to tell). He informed us that karaoke was canceled for the night, and there was no advertisement for it that week. We showed him the Manor’s website and flyer, which still advertised karaoke. He asked how long ago we had checked, implying it must have been outdated, and even made a snarky comment of, ‘You couldn’t have pulled that up today.’ After refreshing the page in front of him, the ad was still visible. He spent a minute on his phone, then asked us to refresh again—clearly trying to manipulate the situation—but even though the date was removed, the flyer was still active and the webpage still stated karaoke every Thursday.

He offered to let us do karaoke during the comedy set, but we declined, as it didn’t seem appropriate for the comedians. He then said we could wait until after the comedians finished around 11 pm. Given the late hour and the “classy” recommendation from others, we decided to stay and ordered food. We also asked if the employee would honor the advertised drink specials for karaoke, but he said he couldn’t. The food came out quickly, and it was delicious—the butternut squash soup was superb. The drinks were well crafted. Even though the comedians heckled us a bit, we still managed to enjoy ourselves while waiting for karaoke.

The comedy show ended earlier than expected at 10:30, so I asked the same staff member if karaoke was still happening, and he confirmed it was. However, after giving him about 10 minutes, we noticed the staff had already broken down the stage and reset it for dining. My friend asked if we could just use a mic to sing along, and he said yes,pulling out the mic, even tapping it as if to check if it worked, and then walked away with it. We waited an additional 15 minutes, only to realize he had no intention of honoring the karaoke night or his promises.

We paid our tab and left, feeling completely misled and disappointed. What was supposed to be a fun night of drinks and karaoke turned into a lackluster dinner for three. For an establishment rated 4.5 stars, I expected much more. Ironically, the funniest part of the night was a comedian’s joke outside before the show—it was actually a recommendation to stay, eat, and enjoy the place because The Manor is so classy that anyone would love it. By not knowing and honoring their own current advertising, failing to follow through on verbal communication, and blasting Sexy Red, they truly showed how ‘classy’ they really are. In my opinion, the only truly classy things about this establishment were the drinks, chandeliers, and...

Where do I even start with this dismal experience?

Upon arrival at The Manor, we were ushered to a 'special' seating area in the front, which turned out to be a frigid and neglected spot by the window. Despite the establishment's first-come-first-served policy, it quickly became evident that our placement was more of a curse than a privilege.

The service was abysmally slow. It took an one hour and forty-five minutes to receive our drinks, with even basic requests like soda being overlooked. We found ourselves going to the bar directly for service that was the waiter’s responsibility. The initial serving of water took twenty minutes, and refills were scarce, leaving us without beverages for most of our stay.

Our food order was taken after a 50-minute wait, yet the dishes that arrived were of substandard quality. We were served lukewarm food, ranging from overcooked to outright burnt. The French toast was dense and chewy; the chicken, overcooked and burnt; the eggs, unseasoned and cold; the biscuits, dry and unappetizing.

The exorbitant pricing only added insult to injury. A $20 entry fee per person and $25 for meager portions of poorly prepared food is nothing short of extortionate. The alcoholic drinks, which arrived belatedly and incorrectly prepared, were overpriced and diluted. The total bill exceeded $250, not accounting for the entry fee, and we did not even receive everything we ordered.

Our waiter's sporadic appearances, interspersed with long absences and feeble excuses of being busy, were unacceptable. Given the pre-ticketed nature of the event, either the restaurant failed to staff appropriately, or our waiter was grossly incompetent.

The drag show, the main attraction for our visit, started long after we had been seated. However, due to the appalling service and dining experience, we left before it began, driven away by hunger, thirst, and the utter failure of The Manor to deliver a basic level of hospitality.

We will not be returning. The term 'ultralounge' in this context seems a misnomer, unless it refers to the extreme levels of frustration and dissatisfaction we...

The Manor is my new favorite place to bring friends, thanks to the incredible cocktails, the show-stopping food, and the chic decor of the restaurant. I’ve heard of their famous drag brunches and I have every intention of buying tickets, but I want to talk about their immaculate dinner service, which I suspect might be under-appreciated.

The cocktails are fun, beautiful to look at, well balanced, and pack a punch while still being sippable. They’re perfect for having a long dinner with friends, and the selection offers something for everybody.

The food. The food! It’s beyond delicious. I’ve had quite a few of their menu items, which were all major hits. The seafood is always perfectly cooked (to a point where I realize I’ve never had a perfectly cooked oyster until The Manor). The braised meats are positively to die for. Anything that has duck is going to knock your socks off. The desserts deserve an award. I have pictures of the sweet potato and duck poutine, duck prosciutto on melon, and lavender bread pudding below. Anything else I’ve had here hasn’t made it to being photographed because we cleaned the plates on sight. The food is that good!

The restaurant itself is a masterpiece. It’s beautiful and upbeat and fun and elegant. It feels like something you’d hear about in Soho. You can dress up or dress casually and still feel totally appropriate for the setting. The staff is awesome and always friendly. The bartenders are hilarious and have a strong pour. The chefs are super interactive and will come out to talk about the dish with you. It’s fantastic service all around.

If you’ve loved the drag brunches, I highly recommend you try out dinner too. The Manor is a gem in every respect. I’ll certainly be back with friends...