DARK HORSE — Restaurant in Maryland

New go to for carry out. Low price, big portions, and excellent fresh food. The old Epp Tide had a good chef salad, but the stale moldy smell and cramp feeling of the place just didn't encourage me to return. The new Dark Horse has a great food smells, they did a good job remodeling inside, it feels more spacious, and will remember them based on my ordering experience, the food, and friendly service. I hope they add back the chef salad as it appears they have all the ingredients based on my order.

This was my first post pandemic encounter that clearly demonstrated a return to normalcy where food can be picked up until normal bar closing time in Maryland? This is particularly important during tax season when a CPA finally finds the time to eat only to learn that everything that could be freshly prepared is closed.

I took a chance and ordered the gyro since the earthquake destroyed the old go-to spot. It was perfect. My client said the club sandwich was excellent and both items had a generous portion of meat. The salad and sandwich toppings were fresh and showed no sign of wilting. Wasn't a fan of the bacon on the deviled eggs, but would order again without bacon. Was surprised they offered them given the egg shortage. The client was happy with the bacon on his sandwich.

Ordering on line was seamless with the exception that I had to look at the pdf file to see what was included on the sandwiches which accurately described the items I ordered but undercut just how good the sides, meat, and toppings on each sandwich that were priced pre-pandemic. The text came through immediately after the order with a pick up time. It was ready on time and included all items ordered which is increasingly rare for Annapolis pickup or delivery orders. The tzatziki is underneath the meat, fetta, onions, and chopped tomatoes. I wasn't sure, but they friendly offered a side of tzatziki when I looked confused. Turned out I didn't need the side as they had my desired hefty helping of tzatziki. I will go back and try their reburn to see it they actually have Russian dressing where most just throw on French.

The outside still doesn't look all that appealing, but don't let that stop you from going inside or ordering curb side. You won't be disappointed and will help ensure we can have a good sandwich for those of us who work into the wee hours.

Can't express an opinion on it being the best sports bar in town, but they did have wall to wall TVs that appeared to be current on the tech scale. Most advertise wall to wall, but it appeared they were wall to wall...

Updated one year later from 2 star to 1 star

6/20/2021

First visit but probably won't return for awhile. Positives: wifi and lots of TVs. Fries with cheese sauce were okay but nothing special. Negatives: Margarita was made poorly. Three bartenders with few customers, but none seemed very attentive (I think one was leaving shortly). No eye contact, no smiles, and no conversation out of any of them. And I'm an extrovert that tried. They all looked like they wish they were somewhere else. Fries that were sharing arrived with one 5" plate. Had to ask for ketchup since no one said "do you need anything else?" Two beers, one margarita, and one order of fries ....$40. No deals here. Back room which is suppose to be for dining is junkified with piles of stuff laying everywhere...no one would consider sitting in there to eat. Need to just put the pool tables back in and not pretend to be a restaurant. I guess I could have given 2 stars but willing to give them benefit of a doubt...but not anytime soon.

I changed to 2 stars after owner's only comment was "thanks for stopping by" as opposed to "there some things we could improve on and we'll address some of the issues with staff"..i.e., they seem to be happy with things just as they are. But as a business man I know In order to improve business, one must improve their business. Maybe that concept escapes them.

6/18/2022

Decided to give this place another try. Wanted to seat outside. There's a chalk board that says "let us know if you will be seating outside." So I went in and was given two menus to take back outside. Both were quite nasty. Nevertheless, I was here. Went outside and decided on what to order. We were only ones there....there may have been a reason. We waited and waited and waited. I thought about going inside and ordering with hopes that order might actually be delivered. But after looking at condition of menu, I wondered what the condition of kitchen might be. We left and had a nice meal on the rooftop at Metropolitan. Dark Horse should probably remove outside tables if they don't intend on servicing. I'm guessing others might have had similar experiences since as I stated, we were only...

In light of it being Friday the 13th I thought I should write a review of the HORROR I experienced the other day at Dark Horse. First of all, there are TVs EVERYWHERE. Any which way you look there is TV. I don't know about you but when I go out to a bar to watch an NFL game, I prefer there to be 4 TVs max, only the local broadcasted games, and the bartenders to know nothing about sports. The bartender (Troy) knew every football stat going back to the early 1900's and said they also carry the NFL game package. So they can show every game? Absurd. Also he mentioned they carry the NHL package too. As a devout Arizona Coyotes fan I find it downright rude that they would show my beloved team on a television, prohibiting me from reading the box score on my phone the next day like a REAL fan. Next lets talk about the food. I like my bacon cheeseburger to be an overcooked hockey puck with no cheese or bacon. To think they would serve me something that looked like it should win an award or be preserved behind glass in a museum of sandwiches. Definitely over-achieving on that front. Next the drinks. I like my vodka cranberry cocktail to be weak and in a small glass. What they gave me came in a pint glass (I know right?) and tasted like it had the proper amount of alcohol in it. And finally the owners. I don't ever like to interact with owners or managers. I actually run to the bathroom if they try to talk to me. Both Ryan and Pinky cornered me in my barstool. They were extremely kind and polite and thanked me for coming in. I've never been more terrified. In summation, if you want to go to a bar that has an absurd amount of TVs, every game possible on (even soccer, which I don't think anyone in the world actually watches), amazing food, and hilarious bartenders, the Dark Horse is the place for you. Also in no way am I affiliated with this...