Good Times Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Maitland

First off, if I could rate this first visit a 4.8, I would. We decided to check it out after hearing a couple of people mention this new place that has live music. We arrived early on a Friday night - ~6:30 during Happy Hour. It was fairly empty which I thought was strange, but we powered through assuming it was because it was fairly new/unknown. We sat at the main bar. . . i really like the layout of the place - seems 'empty' at first but in actuality it's just really roomy which is nice these days - 3 bars, quite a few tables, sofas, a very roomy dance floor, and a very nice large band/entertainment stage.

The bartender/bar manager (it appeared), a blondish woman, immediately acknowledged us and provided us drink menus and recommendations . Another bartender also got involved to assist since i wasn't sure of which red wine i wanted so they offered tastes of a couple different wines. Weirdly I was impressed that when they pulled a glass down for me, and others, they inspected them to insure they were clean/not spotty. Unfortunately this doesn't happen at many places anymore. Basically everything she and the other bartenders did were done well and expediently. We ordered a couple of Margaritas which were made with fresh juice and NOT a mix - and it was very good. A+

Asked if we would like dining menus, we quickly received them and were very excited to see an array of things we loved - favorites specifically. This visit we ordered the Buffalo Chicken Dip, Leek & Poblano Latkes, and Jumbo Chicken Wings. Unfortunately none of them stood a chance in survival . . . wings were excellent - not overcooked as many places do, with a great flavor. Buffalo Chicken Dip was perfectly prepared with nice heat. The Latke's were surprisingly good with quite a kick - not for those that don't like spicy - the Chevre Cheese Schmear was a star. Wish i had a bigger stomach and more time as I really wanted to get so many of the other items including some of their seafood offerings - especially the Ahi Tuna dishes. A++

The band started on time and were very good. . . not overtly stifling loud, but the sound was good in the facility. We didn't stay real late but there were definitely people dancing which is nice.

The only recommendation I would offer is to try to improve the layout of the tables/seating area. . . it seemed as if they were just placed in the open space without too much thought.

Will we return? Absolutely. . . bar service and food were outstanding. This is going to be one of our new...

Great atmosphere and food. The waiters are very (overly) friendly, but could use more training. They should know the difference between a red blend and a rose and Jack Daniels and Captain Morgan. Also the attentiveness was lacking.

Edit 8/1/22 So we did come back hoping for a better experience and sadly it was just as bad and probably worse. We arrived at 7pm on Saturday and ordered our drinks. It took longer than we would like to get the drinks, but no big deal. We finished our first round after 30 minutes or so and sat for another 10 minutes waiting to order another round. I gave up and went to get the waiter. 10 minutes later we got most of our drinks, but not all. The manager came around and helped deliver some drinks which was much appreciated. Dinner started to show up and they had no clue where the food went. We passed the plates around like we were at a dive bar. One waiter showed up with a dish and said where does this go? We asked what it was and he didn't know. Really? Then we don't know where it goes! So 6 of our 8 dinners were delivered (not served) and we waited for the last 2. After a few minutes I walked over to the waiter and asked him to please check on them. He did and a few minutes later we had all of our meals. The food was great. No issues at all with the food, atmosphere, and friendliness of the staff. We finished our meals and waited again to order a 3rd round. And waited. Finally the waiter came around and had us pass our empty plates to him (dive bar). We ordered another round and waited. And waited. Very frustrating to have a place with such potential not live up to it because the waiters aren't experienced or trained or motivated. Sad to say it will probably be a long time before I try again.

Edit 12/2/22 So our group decided to give Fredsters another try since we really wanted to see The Redcoats. We decided to only have drinks and arrived at 8pm. We had a great experience. The waiters were very attentive and friendly. There was a good wine at a reasonable price. The pumpkin cheesecake was great! I sure hope this service continues. ...

We've been here 3 times so far. First time was when they first opened, service was a slow with very few customers, but they were still learning their way around the bar. Second time we had great food, great service. Third time we went while a live band was playing. The music was great, but very loud at the front bar by the stage (which was to be expected). Food again was great. The first 2 times we went with no live music and there wasn't even any music playing on the speakers, so it just seemed a bit awkward, like other people around could hear your entire conversation.

Liquor selection and prices leave a bit to be desired. Not a big variety of brands, mostly stuff nobody has heard of. And I don't mind paying higher prices for cocktails if I'm getting a good drink - but you're looking at paying $10+ for measured pours and off-brands. The craft cocktail menu just says "vodka" or "rum" for the ingredients, so I'm assuming it's the well brand and the price goes up if you want a better brand. We don't drink beer much, but those prices seemed a bit high too. Honestly, I'd rather pay a $5-10 cover charge when there is live music rather than having higher priced drinks all the time just because it's an entertainment venue. That would be the best of both worlds - cover charges could pay for the bands, and then the drinks are already normal priced when there is no live music. On a side note - they don't have a single flavored vodka (not even a basic citrus flavor). The bartender said they have no intention of adding any even though she's had multiple people every day ask her for them.

The owners were there all 3 times we were there - it would have been nice for them to come around, introduce themselves, talk about what their goals are, what to expect, etc., especially with it being a brand new place.

All in all, it's a good spot to go for 1-2 drinks and some food, but not where I would really go regularly or hang out for a long time. I was hoping for a little more of a local/friendly vibe since we...