Bar 145 - Toledo, OH — Restaurant in Toledo

Was recommended by a friend. We arrived no mask required, awesome. We had Miranda as our server. Very knowledgeable. We sat outside in between buildings which was very comfortable. Good ambiance. Good place to hang out for good conversations. I must say you forgot where you were because of the niche that was created there. My expectation level was heightened. Then came Miranda with the menus, beer and drink menus. And the list of what they were out of. 2-3 appetizers, a slew of beers, and a few entrees. Now side note this was not Miranda's fault but that of the owners and or chef. Not appropriate ordering. Are not able to maintain or anticipate customer/guest levels. I wanted to walk out right there. But my sweetie and son were there so I decided to make the best of it. Ordered an Old Fashion. Classic cocktail. One should know how to make an Old Fashion. What I got was more of a Shirley Temple. No Luxardo cherry (if you had one you know what I mean), and a orange peel essence of orange. Instead I got 2 maraschino cherries and an orange wedge. It looked like a Shirley Temple. Next the appetizer Maple Bacon Mac. Watery as hell, it reminded me of the movie Elf. When Elf made dinner. Pasta with maple syrup. No flavor of the cheese just a watery yellow syrup. Probably not even 1/2 bacon strip in the whole thing. Dinner, Ordered Ghost burger for my son and me the classic Patty Melt. The burgers alone are $12-13 with no sides? These must be great burgers. Waited awhile. 35 minutes. They finally arrived. First, my Patty Melt bread was semi soft and looked like it was in the toaster. The sandwich was cut in half and the meat was stacked on top of one another so I thought it was 1/2 of a sandwich. Expediter/chef's presentation. No garnishment to make the burger more colorful? Yes for an additional fee you can order a side. Making your burger and side up to $20. The mouth feel of the Patty melt was not exciting like a crunch from the bread. No piping hot caramelized onions and mushrooms with their bourbon sauce. Not worth $12. Not worth $5. Ate 1/2. My son got the Ghost burger. He said it was "ok". Now my son is by no means a expert but when he says "Dad, your burgers are the bomb" that sums it up right there. My burgers are Hickory smoked or Cherry wood smoked. He said the best thing of his burger was the pretzel bun. Gentleman that is saying something. No dessert. Just the check. Gave Miranda a good tip. BUT we won't be back. You did not have 1/3 of your menu. Miranda did her job of suggesting good apps but you were 86 on buffalo chicken dip, fried green beans, 1# bacon. A black line though them would have sent guests away. Maybe you need to get your ordering supplies down, as when guests come back you will have them on hand. Or they may read this and say..."Hey lets go somewhere else". Cause when I spend my HARD EARNED money from work. I EXPECT more like a full menu, Adult drinks not a Shirley Temple, and melt in your mouth burgers. Otherwise your guest should go to Dale's in Maumee. Or Bergers Bar and Grill on Laskey both places serve up a superb burger and no additional cost for a side. Also I won't slight my friend, I'll just give him one...

I visited on a Thursday evening with a party of nine, and it was among the worst restaurant/bar experiences I have had. First, the staff informed our group that the restaurant could only accommodate one party our size despite the restaurant not even half-full, and they had just seated such a party. Our only option was to split the group and sit at two separate tables, to which we reluctantly agreed.

After a time, our server introduced herself and explained that she has only been working at this restaurant for about one month. She called herself "new." She then took our orders for drinks. The person next to me ordered a Manhattan, a couple of people at the other table ordered Old-Fashioneds, the fellow across from me ordered an iced tea, while the balance of us ordered from the beer selection printed on the menu.

After some more time, our server returned to tell us that the beer selected by three of us was no longer available. One decided to go easy and ordered a domestic draft, but the other two of us ordered an IPA selection, to which the server asked, "What's that?" I explained.

She said she'll figure it out and left. We sat for more than 15 minutes, and none of us yet has a drink. Eventually, she came out carrying the Manhattan. This was the worst-looking Manhattan I have seen. The glass was only half full. I've never seen a Manhattan that wasn't near the rim of the glass, even if it meant a large amount of ice. The server then asked me again about the beer I selected. She made me show to her where that beer was listed on the menu. She said, "I've never heard of it."

Several minutes later she returned with the two Old-Fashioneds, one in each hand. Still, she had served none of the beers nor the iced tea. Our frustration was mounting.

Next she brought out only the domestic draft and then left.

Several minutes later, she brought out the two cans of beer she had "never heard of," one in each hand. It was disconcerting that the menu doesn't indicate that this beer is served in a can and not a pint draft. It does state that for some of the other beer selections.

We were still waiting on the domestic bottle and, incredibly, the iced tea. She returned to say that the domestic bottle selection was also unavailable, so the gentleman revised his order. Still no iced tea.

After nearly 40 minutes of these shenanigans, we were all served our drinks, the iced tea being the last of the drinks to be served. All throughout this time spent waiting, we noticed a handful of servers bringing drinks and food, and none of them was using a tray. In fact, throughout that hour we were sitting and watching, we saw not one single tray in use.

After she finally served the iced tea, we made the no-brainer decision to get the bill and leave. No way we're going to attempt a food order from this staff. I doubt any of us will make a...

Leaving this review for this location as a concert venue, not a restaurant. As a restaurant and barcade, they might have a good thing going, I came from Cleveland so I haven't been there before. I would estimate the attendee size was a few hundred people for this show? This was for the Emorasa tour.

As a concert venue, I think they have some kinks to work out. Most of these issues would be fine had there been communication. It seems as though they have live music regularly, but this was a special event involving them closing down mid-day, and reopening for a ticketed event.

Timing: the concert promoter, BravoArtist, listed doors at 7, show at 8. However, the show started at 7:30. We were there early, but there are times we show up a few minutes before show. Just something to keep in mind if coming from out of town. Finding some consistency in schedule. One hour is standard I believe.

Food policy: Being unfamiliar with the venue, we checked out the website beforehand - saw it was a bistropub and barcade, so we figured we could go early and grab dinner. Since doors were at 7, we came at 5:30 to eat and have pre show drinks. The sign on the door indicated they would close 5-7. No big deal, we decided we would just come at 7 when doors open (an hour before the show) and eat before the show. Their Facebook post even had #food #burgers

Only after we entered, we were told the kitchen was closed and if we wanted to leave and get food, re-entering the venue was $20 (our original concert ticket was $20, so we would essentially have to buy another ticket if we left). We asked our bartender if we could do Doordash, she checked and was told no - but then saw people bringing in pizza a little later?

Re entry: As previously mentioned, we were told re-entry would be the cost of another ticket, $20. However, we later saw a sign that said $10 re-entry.

Misc : They were definitely well staffed and everyone was fast and attentive - didn't have to wait long for drinks. The bartender was super sweet. The stage set up was great and the music sounded perfect. It was a good sized venue for the type of bands who tour through BravoArtist.

If y'all plan to keep going as a ticketed concert venue, just a few things to work out! I think it was just a lack of preparing for a bigger show and communicating to employees the procedures. Perhaps needed consistency (door dash or not? What's the actual re entry cost, publicizing the kitchen is closed before entering, etc).

Next time we're in Toledo perhaps we'll check out the restaurant and...