Le Garage

Joined a friend here for Sunday brunch; ordered from their two-​course Baltimore Restaurant Week menu. Food was AMAZING… but service was insanely slow (though very polite and professional).
From the time we were seated to the time we had someone take our drink order was more than 20 minutes, and it was another 20 minutes after that for the drinks (Bloody Mary — with way too much Worcestershire — and cup of coffee) to actually arrive. Without even being asked, a manager (?) did acknowledge that was not their service standard and comp’d both drinks. In all for two short courses we were there for nearly 2 hours — and not because we were spending time eating slowly and chit chatting.
One other issue was that we never really had an assigned server. First person took our drink order — and we never saw her again beyond her rushing around between other tables. Food order was taken by someone else and bill was brought out by yet another person. Understand that the restaurant was very busy, but this combined with the long wait times for food and drinks made it seem like there was an organization problem.
Again though — food was AMAZING. We both had the avocado tartine — the egg was cooked perfectly and the toast was delicious. The chicken and waffle was great — perfect crunch on the chicken and still super moist inside. I want to know what they roasted the rainbow carrots in, because they were damn tasty.
Will definitely check back in, but maybe not for brunch, to try the service again.

Got take out frites and they were amazingly delicious. Great sauces. I lived in Montréal where they have a lot of Belgium frites and moules places like this — it is comparable. Look forward to eating dinner here.

I came here for restaurant week for the first time and though the food tasted great, there was such a small amount on my plate that I left hungry despite paying $ 45 (including tax and tip). I want to be optimistic and say this is only a quirk of restaurant week, so I’ll come back and modify my review if things change.
Apart from the small portions, I did enjoy my meal. The fried oyster appetizer was perfectly crispy and the spicy aioli complemented the oysters well. The meat on my duck confit was flavorful and fell off the bone. For dessert, I had the chocolate bouchons, which are similar to tiny brownie bites. I loved them, buy would have liked more than two and a melon ball of chocolate ice cream on the side.
The service was attentive, but not annoying. Our waitress was polite and helpful when we clearly didn’t know what to order on the menu.
I’ll come back here to see if this visit was a fluke, but from just this experience, I can’t give higher than 3 stars.

I wanted to review Le Garage because I feel they must be a victim of Unilocal.Currently at just above 3 stars, the rating doesn’t properly reflect how good the food and atmosphere is at this spot.
Myself, and my wife have tried several selections across multiple visits. What shines more than anything are their cocktails. Coming in a close second is the frites/​sauces. The main courses are also very tasty and effectively pull off what they are going for. Those three feats are hard to find in most restaurants. If I could give 4.5 stars I would.

Great ambiance, service, food, and beer. This place is the new king of «night out» in Hampden. Can’t go wrong with the burger and frites, ranks in the top 99^th percentile of meat sandwiches we’ve ever had. Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Jimi in the background. Not maximum hipster capacity, but if you like thrift stores and good food/​beer give it a whirl.

Poor rating on customer service. Despite advertising that they were open until midnight when we walked in at 10:15 we were informed they decided to close early because they were slow. Perhaps the servers were too intoxicated to do their jobs if the other reviews were correct. We made a special trip to Hampden to try Le Garage and we’re disappointed to be turned away on a cold winter night. Won’t bother coming back. There are a lot of other places nearby instead.

Ive come here a few times for happy hour. This place gets worse every time I go to it. Tartine yucky. Duck poutine bland and tasteless. Service ok but they didn’t even blink or ask when they took away my duck poutine and it was not even half eaten. I really tried but it was almost inedible. I am going to try not to come back but if I do it will probably be for drinks only.

French fries over guys, all day, err day.
Their frites are delish. I came here twice in a week just to eat them. They are slightly crisp and are reminiscent of Thrashers… they’ll have to do until I can make my summer treks to OC!
It can get pretty busy here on weekend evenings, but that’s a good sign of the yummy things to eat! My husband and his cousin enjoyed the specialty drinks here… definitely worth checking out!

The food and service USED to be terrific but we had a bad experience last night that I can’t help but share. We ordered menu items we’ve had in the past and they came out with little care in preparation. Beet burger was scorched on the outside, cold on the inside.
The service… Where do I start. Clicky, self-​important, seemingly cool staff taking shots, and being generally intoxicated while sometimes helping customers. Having to flag down a bleary eyed bar tender, at 8 pm no less, each time to receive service on a slow night didn’t warrant my $ 55 tab. Seriously, can hold your shit together until its time to close?
The 3 stars is mainly for the frites and aioli’s. Unbeatable!

Food: 3.5
Ambiance: 3
Service: 3
Came here for brunch on Sunday. Got the Red Rooster sandwich, and swapped the brioche bun out for a biscuit. The chicken was tender with a crispy outside, slaw and beets were a nice tangy accompaniment. It came with frites — the fries themselves are thick cut, unfortunately a little disappointing as the majority of the fries felt like they had been sitting in the fryer too long and started to dry out. The bacon Dijon tarragon dipping sauce was ok. Asked for ketchup and they gave us their housemade ketchup, which had a smoky undertone and honestly better than the Dijon. We also got the crispy Brussels sprouts, also somewhat underwhelming. They were soaked in a sauce that was too sweet, and that hid any signs of crispiness. The blue cheese crumbles provided a nice touch of salt, but wasn’t enough to combat how cloying the sauce was.
Gave service 2 stars because they were understaffed. Looked like one waitress for ten tables. She was really nice, just stretched thin. Had to wait a while to get our check.

Stopped in for a drink and fries before dinner elsewhere. Nice atmosphere with trendy bar vibe. Servers weren’t in a hurry but at the same time we didn’t wait for much. The fries we good, just as good as any others; not standing out as better than anything else I’ve had.

Love this place! My boyfriend and I went there last Friday for our first time. Sat at the high top tables near the bar, which has a different menu with cheaper options. Our waiter was also great with navigating the menu since we are not familiar with french food. I had a ham «tartine» which is an open faced sandwich. AMAZING ham with apples, gruyère cheese sauce and a sunny side up egg on top. My boyfriend had the burger which was good. Fries are delicious. We had an old bay aioli and a garlic parm rosemary aioli, both good. Forgot to get pictures of the food because it looked so good and we ate it right away! We are definitely coming back.

We usually avoid going out on Friday nights because all the restaurants we like are packed and there’s a wait. Maybe a sign that the economy is recovering? We were driving through Hampden and decided to stop by Le Garage. This is where Dogwood used to be and I only experienced lackluster food there so perhaps that’s why I was a little hesitant…
PROS:
1. Service: We walked in without a reservation around 9:30. I’m not sure when they stop seating, but I could see on their opentable screen that they didn’t have any other reservations. The hostesses were very pleasant and the manager (at least I think he was the manager) immediately sat us. Our server was very cordial, helpful, and provided everything that we needed in a timely fashion. Considering it was Friday night and we were his last table– but NOT the only table there– he was very nice and didn’t rush us at all. I also noticed that the manager (or who I thought was the manager) was very jovial. He was laughing with his staff, and seemed genuinely pleased to be there. That made me feel extra comfortable.
2. FAMILY MULE!!! This drink is TO DIE FOR. It has vodka and house bottled ginger beer. It was very refreshing, didn’t taste like alcohol and the ginger was perfect. It tasted sweet at the beginning but when you swallowed, it became spicier in your throat. It also comes in a little bottle that you can pour yourself. Very cute.
3. Cheese. We got the tomme. It was a little nutty, a little fruity and they gave us two huge slabs. Enough for sharing and also enough to take some home.
4. Steak. Very tender. Cooked perfectly to a medium rare. It came with fries, which I’ll discuss on their own. Also a huge portion.
5. Fries and Sauces: The fries were thicker cut and very potato-​y. Also not too crispy. I wasn’t blown away, but my boyfriend enjoyed them. For sauces, we tried…
a) Samurai: way too spicy and smoky.
b) Rosemary Garlic: Very delicious. Reminds me of brewer’s art.
c) Green Goddess: Creamy, vegetal, tasted great with the fries.
d) Dijon Mustard: Tastes like what it sounds like. I would personally pass on this. Nothing special.
6. Ambiance: The atmosphere was very comfortable and welcoming. We were sat at a two-​top right next to a shelf that had beer jugs and various other items on them. Even though there was a bar-​top on the other side of the shelf, we couldn’t hear what they were saying and it was overall very intimate and fun. The lighting was also not too bright and dim enough to be secretive.
CONS:
1. Anchovy Caesar Salad: I like anchovies, and I LOVE caesar salads but this one was a miss. I also love kale, so it’s a shame that this was such a let down. The portion size was very small– almost like a handful of leaves. But because it didn’t taste good, I didn’t really mind. The leaves didn’t even taste like kale, and tasted more like micro greens that you garnish entrees with as an afterthought. The dressing was bland but the anchovies which are fried were so overpowering and FISHY. I know, anchovies are usually fishy, but these ones were extraordinarily so to the point that it was a little gross. Even after I took the anchovies off the plate, their flavor had seeped into the salad.
2. Scallops: I didn’t really hate these as much as my boyfriend, but I can understand why he wasn’t a fan. Scallops can either be really sweet, tender, and delicious or they can be gummy and fishy. These ones were on the fishy side. My boyfriend described it as «eating a Fishy Fish’s Fishy Flesh.» But– the set was pretty delicious! It was a congee with mushrooms and pieces of bacon. Very earthy and perfect for winter. The mushrooms and sauce were a little salty, but it helped to mask the fishiness of the scallops…
OVERALL, we may or may not come back. I feel like Baltimore has so many wonderful restaurants, and my boyfriend was so turned off by my entrée that he might never want to go there again. But the fries were pretty delicious and the atmosphere was fun. I may go back to sit at the bar just for that mule!!!

Came in a little after the «snacky hour» ended (fries and beer for $ 5), and the guy working, Martin, let us get it anyway. He was an overall friendly and awesome guy. Not just to us but everyone who came in, and it made me happy.
Fries and beer hit the spot! Got the samurai and rosemary garlic sauces and both were perfect with the fries. Thanks, Martin!

We stopped by here on a dreary sunday, and unfortunately they were closed for an hour for lunch. We decided to wait it out since my boyfriend is a fry affectionado, and oh man. The fries are good, and we loved the rosemary garlic aoli and samurai sauce. The girl taking the orders and bringing out the fries was supee sweet and helpful — letting us taste the sauces and offering recommendations. It is a bit of a wait to get the actual fries, especially if its crowded. Overall, a great fry place — esp since she offered us extra fries after we polished off our grande!

New Monday night deals: Got a nice pot of mussels in red curry, coconut milk with tomatoes and onions. Great! Had the rosemary, garlic white sauce for the frites. Delish! I enjoyed the ale on tap and the server let me sample a new off-​menu one as well. I ordered a basket of bread to sop up the good stuff at the bottom of the pot. Wow!
It was quiet at the bar, with more people and increased noise as couples filled the stools and bar tables. Overall, satisfying food and nice atmosphere.

I came to Le Garage on a cold, Sunday evening and it was pretty filled up. We took a high top table by the bar to save the hostess the stress of hurrying up the busboys at the only open table. The high tops give you a nice vantage point to see the whole restaurant. The interior feels very wide and open. The lighting makes for a nice intimate environment and isn’t too dark.
Service was attentive and friendly. We ordered the mussels and frites (with rosemary garlic sauce) and the pork collar. Unfortunately, they had run out of brussel sprouts so I got one of their new drafts, the Oktoberfest, to make myself feel better.
The food was so damn delicious. The frites were just potato-​y enough and you could dip it into the mussels broth. The mussels were executed well, no sand or grit to be found, and they had all opened so beautifully. The pork collar was so amazing. You can really taste the smokiness from the pork, and then they complement it with sausage and sauerkraut and sweet potatoes. My body went into automatic non-​stop eating mode and my friend had to remind me that we could always take the leftovers to go before I stopped trying to cram every last bite into my overfilled stomach.
Great dining experience, I really want to come back and try the brussel sprouts and desserts!

Great chips (French fries) made with real fresh cut potatoes,
EXCELLENT service!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Had my friend Max not dragged me here, I would have never known this place existed. I got fried chicken with fries, and he got duck fat fries. Needless to say we both left fat and happy. The ambiance of this place is also really low key. It’s perfect for a date.

I love french fries. Seriously, they are fantastic. When I heard about Le Garage opening in Hampden, I knew I had to try their frites and dipping sauces. Downstairs at Le Garage they have a full-​fledged restaurant which I have not gotten a chance to try yet. But upstairs, they have a frites shop only serving fries, beer and a few sandwiches.
When we walked in, we were greeted with a menu that listed the few frites options as well as the sauces of the day.
We ordered three sauces with our frites. The Chipotle Ketchup had a chunky consistency, almost like a salsa and not enough spicy chipotle flavor. We also ordered the Bacon Buttermilk Ranch. It was super creamy but could have used some more bacon flavor or even bacon bits. Our favorite of the trio was the Smoked Honey Aioli. It has a sweet honey mustard like flavor to it and was great on the fries, the sweetness complimented the saltiness very well.
For the frites that we dipped in the sauces. We ordered the larger size because we were sharing. I’ve never been to Belgium so I don’t know how authentic these ‘frites’ actually are, but they were delicious. Slightly thick so they still retained some potato flavor instead of being fried sticks. And each fry was incredibly long.
If you’re looking for delicious frites and dipping sauces, Le Garage in Hampden is a must visit!