Bad Decisions

This place keeps getting better. Great sandwiches, excellent dirty fries, and, of course, the drinks. Ask the best bartenders in Baltimore about what kind of fresh fruit they have. They can make you a refreshing cocktail with the seasonal fruit. Tell them what you usually drink and they’ll give you a few recommendations. You might even find a new favorite. If you want to do a shot, try an Aqua de Bolivia. Just do it.

If I could rate this place zero stars, I would. I have been here twice. Both times the bartenders have had really bad attitudes. The first time a women ordered some food and the bartender’s response was, «you realize you picked the most complicated thing to order» and so she ended up picking something else. Why are these guys bartenders? Lol they seem pissed about everything. Do yourself a favor, and go to ale marys next door.

Was looking for an eclectic, divey cocktail bar with good drinks. What I got was terrible service, cocktails that were thrown together without care or knowledge of what was in the cocktails, «I don’t know if that’s sweet or not… I don’t know half the drinks on here because he keeps changing it», and a serious disappointment. My boyfriend and I came in on our second day living in Baltimore and tried to strike up a conversation with the bartender but were met with actual SILENCE in response multiple times. If the bar had been busy I would’ve totally understood or if the bartender had been busy learning the actual cocktails it is his job to serve I wouldn’t have bothered. There were 2 other patrons in the entire bar and he just stood there, arms crossed, staring into space. One of the few occasions we were graced with a response he actually made an incredibly ignorant and blatantly racist comment. I began coughing as I was trying to speak and was never offered any water.
The cocktails were terrible by almost anyone’s standards. And we love our cocktails. My peated sazerac was warm and tasted like gasoline mixed with vomit. How do you ruin a sazerac?! My boyfriends drink simply tasted like watery limoncello.
Needless to say this bar was a huge disappointment and we will NOT be returning. I would give it another chance if the service had been better.

Last Thursday, I showed up here before my group of friends. While waiting, I asked the bartender if they still accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. About 3 years ago, they made national news by being the first retailer to accept it. I was just making conversation– I don’t even have any bitcoins. The bearded male bartender replied, «Well, yea– but it’s a huge pain in the ass and I have no way of verifying the funds are available and I have to go in the back– so I’d rather you don’t.» (If you’re going to advertise you accept it as a form of payment– don’t begrudge.) Bad Decisions was MY suggestion for a bar to hang out at that night. While sitting at the bar, my friends walk in, I look at both bartenders and see them exchange glances and a verbal, «Fuck.» My friends and I are all chill– former service industry people; we know what it’s like to take orders behind a bar, or table side. We get our drinks, and there was this innate arrogance had by BOTH bartenders (one male, one female). My friend had brought along his 60 year old aunt who asked for a Belvedere martini. The female bartender’s response was, «We don’t carry Belvedere.» «Okay, I’ll take Goose.» «Not that either.» «Stoli? Absolut?!» «Nope.» Inform your customers of the options, don’t condescend towards them. If you’re trying to exude this mixological experience for your customers; create an atmosphere that is hospitable, and educational– not pretentious and demeaning. The icing on the cake for this adventure was when I ordered a Jalapeño infused drink. Mind you– I love spicy foods– and put Sriracha on everything (Yea, I’m one of those people). I take 2 sips of the drink and can’t stomach it. It’s burning my throat, and tongue. I explain to the female bartender that it’s spicy beyond the point of enjoyment. Her response, «What did you expect when ordering a jalapeño infused cocktail?» No shit– really good question. What I didn’t expect was a drink that would rate over 1,000,000 on the Scoville scale, nor your attitude when explaining I didn’t enjoy this cocktail and am seeking your suggestions for a replacement. I ordered another drink and was met with, «$ 10.» I handed over my credit card, and left my 85% full undrinkable jalapeño concoction on the bar. She picked it up, and dumped it. The level of customer service is so sub-​par that it warrants a 1 star rating from a former bartender. If ever I witnessed a coworker, or employee acting the way these two did towards customers they wouldn’t have jobs. I won’t ever go back to this bar, or suggest it to friends.

I will say this: it was a bad decision to come to this damn place. Service was awful, the crowd is drunk ex-​frat boys throwing themselves at all the girls, and one of the bartenders was a drunk mess. I would leave zero stars if I could.

The bar is a typical dive bar with a great selection of spirits. Food is good, not great. However service is another story completely… It’s an absolute joke. There is one «gentleman» bartender who is such a arrogant jerk that we will never be going back again. This bearded clown acts like he is doing you a favor by pouring you a drink. He rolls his eyes at customers, always has a dirty look for you, and is the complete polar opposite of friendly. I noticed it months ago and just shrugged it off, figured dude was having a bad day, but ran into him on a recent visit… and it seems he is having a bad life, I can’t believe he has lasted this long there, he’s a total prick! Now we will be making a great decision and avoiding bad decisions.

It’s hit or miss depending on who is working. It’s never crowded, they have a fun drink menu, and the food is decent. But there is this one bartender who is a total prick and acts like he is doing you a favor by working there and he will come over and speak to you when he feels like it. There could be 2 other people in the whole place and he will not even acknowledge you when you walk in. This is the second time I’ve encountered him and we walked out this time. Not dealing with him anymore. I’d rather go across the street to Ale Mary’s and get better service, even if it means standing at the bar.

The bartender with the fake ass duck dynasty beard is a douche bag. No personality at all.
This guy did not want to make my money when he decided not to greet us upon entering the bar with only (3) three patrons!!! When «WE» greeted him and asked for his HH menu he rudely announced «we don’t have one», my wife, with her perky personality, asked” how about a miller light draft?” His response was to throw a menu on the bar in front of us while stating «we don’t have that either». What a joke!!! They named this bar accordingly «BAD DECISION».
Only gave 1 star cause I have to, it is a 0

This place is awesome. Near lots of cool stuff and my husband’s gaming place. The cocktails and food are top notch, you def get your money’s worth! Mind you the drinks are not always «cheap» per se but definitely worthwhile. They also have french press coffee and a brunch menue on weekends. The bar staff are usually friendly and personable and add to the overall experience. I def reccomend coming here for a late breakfast/​early lunch if you happen to be in the area. I’ve only been here at night once and it was pretty packed so this seems to be a happening spot.

Super friendly dive bar with a great selection of cocktails. I’d give it more stars if it was cleaner but it’s a dive bar so what do you expect. Still a nice enough vibe that if I lived closer it could be my Cheers, if I were looking for that.

I checked out this bar one night when they were having a «fire sale» of sorts. While the drink prices are always great ($ 6-​$ 8 per drink) certain drinks were even cheaper! I decided to take a few moments to dig into their handwritten drink menu that people spoke so highly about. I started with something on the menu and it wasn’t quite my favorite (a Moscow mule) then moved on to ask the bartender to make something he thought I would like. All I know was it had Vodka, citrus and was delicious! I also got a chance to try a manhattan which was equally as good.
As far as staff I really only got to interact with one of the bartenders and while not the nicest of people he was fine and made decent drinks. The owner was around which is nice but he hung towards one end of the bar and I didn’t really interact with him.
The space is small but didn’t seem overcrowded and had more than enough space for people to sit and gather.
Overall I see myself returning for a few drinks.

This bar is a dive. In all the best ways. Its a small space — tables for 4, room for maybe 50 people max. No dance floor. Just regular people out for a drink or two. And what drinks they are! The menu is massive, hand written in a lab notebook, with hundreds of unique cocktails, organized by type of base liquor. So just flip to the section of your favorite — gin, whiskey, vodka, tequila — and explore! The owner/​bartender also bought the historic sausage factory next door, and features delicious meat products heavily on the appetizer menu. It looks rough from the outside, but street parking is safe, and inside you will find a warm and welcoming crew of expert mixologists.

The first thing we did when we came here was ask for the menu that we had heard about from the Unilocal reviews and it did not disappoint. It’s a giant graphing book filled with pencil recipes (though in the dim lighting it can be very hard to read). The drinks seemed a little pricey for the portions but I got something with grapefruit and they zested it right in front of me! Warning: there are no board games, the reviews with those are from years ago! Will come back if I’m feeling a quiet and divey-​ish night with a few friends.

I really wish I had more time to spend at Bad Decisions as I didn’t really get a chance to fully explore their handmade cocktail menu. This book was filled with all sorts of handwritten cocktails with bases in all the main liquor types.
Staff was friendly, there was only one bartender working but as it was shortly after they opened and only 5 customers he was well able to manage the drink orders.
Best drink I had was the Blood and Sand, I don’t usually go for scotch based drinks but it was well balanced with the spirit and the citrus, perfectly crafted to give you the kick but a nice blend so the alcohol doesn’t overwhelm you.
Small place so I imagine it can get packed later in the evening but definitely worth a visit to get hold of that special little cocktail but with all the secrets of the boozing world.

First time at Bad Decisions and all I could say is that I will go again, great staff and food was delicious! !!!

Always awesome. Eat a snack somewhere, drink amazing things here, stumble across the street to Ale Mary’s and eat tots & a kitchen sink.
*drop the mike*
Walk off stage…

So, i had been to bad decisions once when i stumbled into it from from Ale Mary’s, i probably would never had gone there again had there not been a benefit on behalf of Chef Sean Guy for WFC. The drinks were fantastic and moderately priced and carried a good punch, that black berry brumble delicious… will go there again for sure. I also had some wings which i shared with a guest at the function as well. Good times, will be back.

Right now, is the best time to make a bad decision.
I am serious, right now, as I am typing this review you should get your butt to Bad Decisions while blood oranges are in season and get a Blood and Sand. Just trust me on this one. The Blood and Sand is one of the few classic mixed drinks that includes Scotch, and it’s delicious here even during the rest of the year when plain citrus oranges are used. Of course, all the drinks here that you find in the handwritten notebook are equally appealing, but I come here exclusively for the Blood and Sand. The sazeracs and the piña colada are actually outstanding as well.
Not only is this a great cocktail bar (don’t worry they have beer but it’s the basics like Yeungling and Miller Lite) it’s a total sausage factory, and I am not referring to the male-​to-​female ratio. They bought out the sausage factory (ostrowski’s famous polish sausage) next door and on occasion they host sausage party. While I haven’t managed to try them yet, they smell amazing.
The bartenders here have always been exceptionally nice to me (just to counteract the reviews about rude bartenders). They handled my 5,000 questions about booze and about the first Bitcoin ATM that I have ever seen (I like to push all the buttons). It’s a great bar to end the night, or to get away from the typical crowded Fells Point bar or to hang out at before a Ravens game (it was empty before the Chargers/​Raven game, and I was in Chargers gear so I felt safe here).
There are so many bad decisions that you make in life, like wearing crocs and starting a meth lab, grabbing a drink at Bad Decisions is not one of them. Also they take Bitcoin and I still have no idea what Bitcoin is but I am just putting that out there for those of you in the know.

My current favorite bar in Baltimore! Close by to Fells Point, Bad Decisions offers creative and exciting cocktails and super reasonable prices. Maybe I just have the the opposite of sticker shock (cocktails under $ 10!!) after living in the NY and DC area for so many years.
The drink list is a graph paper journal that is organized by main liquor ingredient. I stuck with my mainstay, the Moscow Mule, and was not disappointed. They have a decent craft beer selection, but nothing on tap that I saw. Music was not too loud, we didn’t have to yell to have a conversation.
I can’t wait to come back and try the food!

Bad Decisions, was sadly a bad decision. I really wanted to love this place… you know, the awesome neighborhood dive bar, unique cocktails, the no nonsense crowd. But, after a series of really rude snubs from the bartender/​owner, I just gave up.
Snub #1: hey, I know you’re in a hurry to run to the restroom dude, but throwing a finger right in my face when I ask for your infamous drink menu that I was so excited to peruse… Well… that was not nice.
Snub #2: hey I’m gonna ask you for your drink menu again… but you point in some general direction in the other side of the bar, which I could only assume as the location of your drink menu… then you walk away. Like, the go outside kind of walk away, the one where you refuse to acknowledge that I’m a paying customer and don’t even allow me to finish my question.
Need I continue with Snub #3?
Finally, I get the Chartreuse cocktail, which was insanely delicious. Would I have stayed and ordered the Blackberry Bramble, because the first concoction was awesome? Yes. But you were rude… so I took my 6-​pack of Grey Goose-​guzzling friends and our business elsewhere… where we continued to spend our hard-​earned money at a bar that served «okay» cocktails, but had really nice staff.
BTW, that really drunk girl that fell off her barstool, probably spent $ 20 at your bar… and you were nicer to her. We’ll take our $ 500 elsewhere — the bad decision IS ON YOU.