bourbon bar & grill

should be in bar rescue. should have walked out the moment we walked in. dark and slightly grimy. there was no one at the hostess stand for about 10 min. that could be forgivable but the food was horrendous. we ordered 2 steaks medium, the rib special, and the jambalaya. the steaks were like hockey pucks. they were returned to the kitchen and came back 15 min later completely rare, which seemed intentional. the steaks came back for the thirdtimeclose enough. but it was the same steak that we had to test ourselves for doneness. even once cooked medium the quality of the meat was poor. the rib special was mushy and either microwaved or had been sitting in a steamer for way too long. the jambalaya was edible but nothing special. we got there around 7 and were told the band wouldn't start playing until 930. but around 730 they started doing sound checks which were unbelievable. don't get me wrong, i love live music. but this was 30 minutes of blasting, thumping drums. between the food, the unclean feeling, and the music, we won't be back and will be telling everyone to avoid it.

great food...great service. we have dined at bourbon several times and eachtimewe make it a point to try something new. the alligator strips are one of my favorites. all of the dishes that we've tried have been delicious and if you like wings this is the place to go. the friendly staff (megan b & ashley) make for a pleasurable experience. they have always been very attentive to our needs. the atmosphere is casual and laid back. the pricing is comparable to the "chain" restaurants but the experience is unique.

wonderful addition to hanover. i went to a taste of bourbon for the firsttimelast week with my husband and son.
i can't begin to say enough about our experience. first.... my husband ordered a blackened steak. it was huge... not one ounce of fat on it and so delicious! i ordered the broiled catfish stuffed with crabmeat... wow! my son ordered the blackenend chicken breast.... equally delicious (huge and very moist not dry).
now ... the atmosphere... done as a courtyard in louisiana... and done well.
there were so many great choices on the menu... i can't wait to go again this weekend to try something else. oh yes... the wings.... phenomenal! huge, tasty and really priced well as are all of the menu items. great restaurant!

great resturant/bar. this place keeps amazing me. i went there 2 weeks ago on a friday night and the place was totally packed. i had a greattimewhile i was there. i was just recently at the york dirt trackin show at the york fairgrounds on friday night and saw there name on a local sprint car. then i saw a press release from the team on a racing website saturday morning about a buffet fundraiser there having to help the team out. so i had to go back last night. it was great another packed house. i'l be at the fundraiser with lots of racing friends. they entered the greatest advertising market out there for sure. race fans always visit sponsors to support them. i'm looking to make this my after party after the races every weekend as a way to show my support for helping out a great sport. i'm already passing the word around and telling my friends. i'm will to bet your place will be packed every weekend. thank you a taste of bourbon for supporting this awesome sport.

couldn't even make it through the front door. we went to bourbon st tonight to try it for the firsttimebecause all the other local restaurants had long wait times. first, i do not believe they have any handicap parking. second, my son held the door open but i could not get my wheelchair through the door because they have a big threshold to get over. we commented that they did not have a hostess on duty and there was a sign to seat yourself. we found this odd for a friday night when all the other restaurants were busy. in the end, we decided to go someplace else and wait since this restaurant does not appear to be handicap compliant. a wise decision after reading the reviews.

hello,
my name is matthew webb. as of jun 8th 2012 i have taken over as head chef of the restaurant. before i took this job i was aware that there was not great things happening here. the entire staff was let go and it istimeto rebuild this beautiful restaurant. i have created an entire new menu and hired a staff of allumni from baltimore international college of culinary. the standards are much higher and the food will be great. this kitchen officially opens sunday the 24th of june. please come back or come try out this restaurant. if anyone has any questions feel free to email me at matthewwebb1255@gmail.com

thank you

chef matthew webb

very disappointing- do not like. i must say the first visit was decent, although the service was extremely slow and the food was barely warm.

the secondtimewas a visit that no one would believe. we first ordered a draft from the table display list. the waiter would be gone for 5 minutes or more and come back to tell us they were out of the first choice. we ordered another and the same thing happened. after the third strike out we asked what were our selections.
we ordered our meal and that was another trip. my husband ordered fried sweet potatoes with his meal and when they brought our meal out they announced they were out of sweet potato fries, what else did he want. now don't you think the communication should have been between the waiter and kitchen prior to making the dinner? i ordered the 9 oz. sirloin. think of a deck of cards. split that deck with 1/4 on one side the 3/4 of the deck next to it. that was my steak in two pieces. the small piece was cold and dried out, could not cut. the other piece blood ran from it when i cut it. sent it back, came out again almost the same way. the manager came out and argued with me and then my husband that the steak was cooked medium. do you see a problem here? you don't argue with the customer..... dah. they know how they want their steak cooked. even the waiter said it wasn't medium. refused to accept and said i didn't want anything else. looks could have killed. it was thursday night and that means a free dessert. my husband ordered his from the prepared list......three times......the waiter came out and said they were out of his selection. finally the waiter said should i bring the dessert tray.....well why didn't he do that after the first try. needless to say it was pathetic. service was terrible. food was unbelievable. must say the onion rings were good. this place must be operating on a cash only delivery for their supplies. why else wouldn't they have what is on the menu? there were not many people in the establishment. oh well. looking for something different but this certainly isn't the place to go. lacks communication between the staff/manager/kitchen. no training given to staff and lack of customer service is a major problem. failure to treat customers in a friendly manner and failure to have what is on their menu is going to be their down fall.

terrible all around. first i apologize to anyone who went to this place because of my original review. i gave it a few months since the firsttimei went during their soft opening, but this place will be closed within months. the heat was still not working so they placed us where a band should be playing and only 4 other tables being served. our drinks arrived 30 minutes later and another 30 minutes for our salad and bread. i was tired of waiting for additional drinks so i ordered them directly from the bar. the food was horrible. the crawfish ettouffee resembled baby shrimp (look at pics) and reminded me of rubber, which was paired with a sauce that was unappealing with a mild heat. my wife's first attempt of her steak (medium) was well done and her crab cake did not come out with her meal. the bourbon chicken was grilled chicken slabbed with bbq sauce over white rice and tasted terrible. the chicken and shrimp jambalaya was very mild with seasoning but was appealing given its accompaniments. 2nd attempt for the steak was medium rare and bland. the crab cake finally arrived 10 minutes later after receiving her 2nd steak, but was the highlight of the all the meals. my crown royal and diet was made with jack. the pinot noir i ordered came as a pinot grigio. by thetimewe left we were the only table left besides a couple at the bar. the waitress apologized multiple times stating that she was overwhelmed with the 4 tables and unable to give us any attention. our waitress was seen assembling our salads in the back and also busing the tables, which was unique for a business that took approximately 2 hours to serve a table that required no additional attention. i was charged the entire entrée price for the crab cake instead of as an added side and charged for both drinks, not to mention not even given an apology for the overcooked steak and late crab cake. we asked both tables around us how long they waited and they both said that they had been there for over 2 hours. both tables were also very irritated about the service and said they would not return. the sad thing is that there was no manager to be seen. when we did inquire about our check, no one seemed to want to assist us with correcting it so we just left even advising the bartender that we would never return based upon our service tonight. please don't go here, as i unfortunately have to say that i would rather see another chain restaurant in our area then this restaurant (and that hurts to write). i will never be back or advise anyone to eat at this establishment.


-----27 dec, 2011-----

a review of their soft opening - the space is open yet romantically dark. the decor gives a refreshing sense of louisiana with the lamp posts a unique twist. there were only two other people at tables and it was rather chilly since most likely they are waiting to get the place up and running. the side room with live music should be an optimal place to relax for a drink. the bar is big and i can't wait for their liquor license to be prossessed. the kids mac and cheese was a delightful bake that my kid devoured. the corn bread was slightly dry but the pieces of corn in it gave it a nice texture: they could have been a little warmer with less napkin on the dish. the cajun crab bisque was barely warm though it had a perfect amount of crab and spice. the rib eye was a perfect medium rare and the smashed red potatoes were under seasoned and slightly cold (wish i ordered the fries which reminded me of a boardwalk fry). the wife's steak was overcooked as well done when ordered at medium and they quickly brought one out for her. her baked potatoe was still wrapped in foil and the skin was not crispy (it reminded me of hoss's). the side salad's need improvement if it wants to remain a higher class establishment. the wife had a 9 oz sirloin rubbed with cajun spices that had a heat that when it was cooked right i would return to order. the rib eye was bland and asked for a possible house made louisiana steak sauce but was given jack daniel's sauce (very boring). our waiter was friendly and offered us a chef specialty dessert of a bourbon chocolate chip pie which we took to go and was sweet and fulfilling.

second time, last time?. this was the secondtimeeating at a taste of bourbon. the firsttimewas for their opening week trial run. thattimethe food was great. the service was a tad slow, but that was to be expected for the opening week.

we ate there tonight and possibly may not go back. we waited an hour and a half for our food to be brought out. we did not get drink refills while we waited, never received silverware and were not brought any dinner rolls. we had to ask the waitress to bring our food out in to-go boxes because we had to leave. when she brought out the receipt for my husband to sign she gave it to him and left. he had to go hunt down a pen to sign the check.

when we got home we were missing our appetizer that we paid for, i had the wrong salad dressing, there were no dinner rolls/corn bread and did not have any condiments that i ordered with my potato. his steak was practically raw and had to put it back on the stove to finish cooking it himself.

i am chalking it up to the restaurant being understaffed in the kitchen and the wait staff being beginner waitresses. when we did finally get to eat at home the food was great.

great place to dine. tonite was the firsttimemy hubby and i had the pleasure of eating at "a taste of bourbon" it won't be the last... we used to go there when it was "the mark." i know we and our friends will visit, eat and enjoy friends once again .... the food was very, very, good and the mgr couldn't be any nicer... can't wait for the license to come thru. but until then.. we will byoob and enjoy the food....