Hard Times Cafe

Looking for a good restaurant to eat near College Park and decided to try this place out. To begin, our server gave us multi samples of the chili, which my boyfriend loved. I am not a fan of chili but he said every flavor was very good. We got the chicken tenders and tater tots to eat. Even though our meal was very simple and hard to go wrong. The service, sample and food will defiantly bring us back.

I was put in charge of finding a restaurant convenient to a group from College Park and a group from Silver Spring to meet for lunch. I wasn’t sure of everyone’s diet preferences, but I knew we wanted casual and a menu with burgers, sandwiches, and salads. It had been a while since I’d been to Hard Times, but thought it met all my criteria. When the first three of us arrived I thought there were going to be six of us and we were seated at a large booth. It turned out there were 7 of us, which worked out well because the booth would have been tight for 6, plus it was very noisy by the bar. Fortunately they were able to move us to a table in a side room, which gave us a lot more space, plus was a lot quieter. Some of the party had come up from Georgia and South Carolina and I knew there would be a lot of catching up to do.
Our server was awesome and asked if we wanted separate checks. Nice touch. After some in our party were asking about the various versions of chili she offered to bring us samples. It was like a beer sampler only with little bites of each chili and a placemat identifying which was which. Another nice touch. Our orders included a chicken tender salad; a fish sandwich; a grilled chicken salad; chili over spaghetti (two shared that); a veggie burger; and veggie chili. Everyone was very satisfied and there were certainly no complaints. You can choose your chili with or without beans. I opted for beans in my veggie chili and even without meat it was very filling and satisfying. The restaurant was a good choice for us since there was a table available in the side room. The main dining room isn’t great for parties over 6 and is a little noisy. They can accommodate larger groups but I would call ahead next time and make reservations for the smaller dining room.

Great place for UMD alumni to hang out. Great chili in 5 different flavored, none with eans, but you can add them as well as cheese, sour cream and onions.
Eat on fries, taster tots, nachos, Fritos, pasta, in a taco, on a salad, on a burger, on a dog and even on cornbread!

The service was very good, quick. The people in the restaurant were nice and the building was clean. Easy to find would go back again.

We like this place a lot. We bring our kids sometimes, we come alone at others. Either way it’s always pretty consistent. 4 types of chili, I love meat, but can’t eat it for health reasons so I really like the vegetarian chili. It can scratch an itch for chili and still has a good chili taste even though it’s meatless. The hard times lager is a pretty solid house lager on tap, give it a try.

Rubbery, overlooked chicken here. I know it’s about the chili but like chicken tenders should not be butchered the way they are here. Even old tenders sitting under the lamp at ⁷⁄₁₁ are better. The bacon and cheese chicken sandwich was decent, but the bun is way too dry and stiff.

Lugar tranquilo para disfrutar de la Yuengling mientras se ve el deporte y se charla con los amigos. Buen trato hacia el cliente.

Ok, I am a self proclaimed onion ring expert, when I tell you the rings here are amazing, in my top three of ALL time. Crisp, light, sweet and perfectly seasoned. They serve them with a horseradish sauce that is good, but as a true connoisseur I go with Ranch. After the rings I went for a perfectly cooked burger over a salad.
Our super server Lisa was excellent and attentive. She offered great advice and is a true pro. If you see her tell her the onion ring expert says hello.
At the end of the day, this place is a good sports bar, with very tasty food, and a great beer selection.

Salty Salty and Salty. all I can say. The food here is extremely Salty. the quality of meat here is very low. I had a new York strip and it was very dry and of course Salty. Is look like they have to add to much salt to give flavor the food ??

Love love love their burgers! Food is always great here. Service is good but can be better. Definitely one of my favorite restaurants in the area.

Got the burger and a Long Island ice tea. Drink was straight up bad. The burger made me sick. I wasn’t even out of the restaurant when I began to feel ill. You couldn’t pay me to go back.

Not a fan of their chili, although the rave reviews about it was what brought me here the very first time. Their wings & onions rings are heaven on a plate… large portions, kid friendly and reasonably priced, I don’t ask for much more than that.

This location was a bit disappointing compared to the Alexandria location. The service was much slower even though it was far less busy. They also messed up our order; we ordered boneless wings and they brought us regular wings, which was a bit aggravating. The happy hour specials are better here, though. Overall, I’d go to a different location if one is available.

This place is dishonest. It’s tax time, so I was going back through some receipts and credit card statements and lo and behold, either our server, Shauna, or someone else at Hard Times decided to falsify the amount I left for a tip. As I recall, the service was not stellar, the food was brought out cold (I had fish tacos, my friend had chili), and there was no refilling of the water glasses. But I tipped 15%. But I guess that wasn’t enough so the staff made a decision to add a dollar. Quite a racket if that’s done multiple times/​day or week. DISHONEST. Check your statement if you’ve used a credit card here.

Their chili selection is delicious. If it’s your first time here, ask for a sampler. They will give you a complimentary dish of their four chili selections of decent portions.
Chili sampler ⁵⁄₅ — my personal favorite was the cincinatti. The hint of cinnamon adds a nice twist.
Whiskey BBQ burger ⁴⁄₅ — crispy bacon, sweet sauce, tender chicken, ends in deliciousness. Only complaint was not enough onion ring.
Chili dog ³⁄₅ — ordered by my friend who thought it was too salty
Service was decent. Our waitress was friendly, but our food took longer to come out than expected.

Ok atmosphere, and friendly staff.
This is not a «go to» place for us by any stretch of the imagination. Since it is close by, we have been there several times and I’ve had a few meals there. Although they claim their hamburgers are their «claim to fame,» I would not agree. They are okay at best, as is most of the other food they serve. The staff is very nice, and people seem to have a good time there, however it is just not a place that excites you to keep going back. They probably need a remodel of the inside, to make it a little more modern and up the energy level.

Whiskey river burger is A+. Chili frito pie also delicious and the wings are outstanding.

I loved that the seater was willing to check to see if they had any foods that my son couldn’t have due to severe food allergies. The chili sampler was a treat too!
We have been to Hard Times 10 times since spring and are in love. The service is always quick and great. The drinks are strong and the chili is the best. I will keep coming back because we love it!

Went to this place with office folks. Thought of having a good time but got pissed.
In simple words: slow service and stale food.
A great place to hang out with a big group but not eat.
My CEO wanted to break his fast after RAMADAN, so he ordered for a bowl full of salad. The order arrived after 25 minutes surprisingly because only 2 tables of the restaurant were occupied including ours!
About the salad, it was smelly and weird. When asked them to replace it they reduced the portions which is strange!
The rest of us decided to just buy drinks and not eat anything.
The waitress always got confused about our order making us repeat the order 7 times!
The drinks were fine.
We wouldn’t go back!
#Annoyed

Came in on a weekday at lunch, the place was crowded and the wait staff incredibly busy. As a result of the busyness, a number of people after us sat themselves at the nearest «clean-​looking» tables. They had only been bused of their dishes but not yet wiped down.
We appreciated the chili sampler so we could decide what was a good chili for us (we are a bit picky).
The food was good, but the wait was crazy and I felt bad for the one waitress who looked like she had all 10 tables with folks at them, while everyone else was standing around.

This is my new favorite spot for sports and grub. For a few reasons: First, the great Sunday football food deals — lots of $ 5 appetizers with their chili, or wings, and under $ 2 Yuenglings. There are about 10 – 12 TVs to follow all the Sunday games, and the staff will try as best they can to put your game on a TV for you. And the atmosphere is neighborhood friendly even if you aren’t rooting for the Skins or Ravens — I’ve seen fans from many, many teams be able to root for their team in peace here.
I’ll do a TOP 5 list:
5) Sweet Tea — I just love a good sweet tea to sip on, and I know it’s pretty random, but that’s what’s happening when I go.
4) Burgers — Sliders or burgers, cooked to order on a grill; reminds you more of your uncle’s BBQ than a restaurant, which is good in this Unilocaler’s book. You can order a few different kinds and I’ve been happy every time.
3) Prices — everything is pretty cheap, and sometimes the food suffers a bit (I don’t recommend the fried pickles (so much breading that it crunches and shatters in your mouth, at least when I ordered them), or anything with salad that seems right out of a bag), but the stuff they do well is the right price, ESPECIALLY on football Sundays
2) Wings — I’ve had classic Buffalo spicy sauce and Honey BBQ, and both were awesome — better than Buffalo Wild Wings for sure. I think they cook them the perfect way: thawed wings into the deep fryer to crisp them up, then a dunk in the sauce, and finish them up on the grill.
1) Chili — Star of the show! If it’s your first time, they’ll give you a sampler. 4 kinds — Texas chili (beefy and greasy), Terilingua Red (a bit leaner and spicier), Cincinnati (mellower spices like cinnamon), and vegetarian (not my grind, but ppl seem to like it) My favorite is the Terlingua Red, but sometimes I’ll get the Texas to mix things up.
How should you order it? In a bowl? Check. Over nachos? Yup. As chili mac with some cheese, spaghetti noodles, chopped tomatoes and onions? Yes-​sir. Over some cornbread? Delicious. On some tater tots with cheese and sour cream? Uhuh! On fries? DROOL! You can’t go wrong with the chili, and sometimes you can even mix them.
The staff is nice and attentive, the bartenders chatty on Sundays, and it’s sure to be a fun time if you want it to be.