darryl's corner bar & kitchen

a returning customer. fabulousbrunchwith excellent customer skills. the jazz is just another touch of class. a real
differentiator!

try all your ways avoiding this place!. we came to darryl's this morning for brunch, hoping to experience soul food and live music. and this place totally failed in all ways. we came in early without warm greeting and seated 10 minutes later than the time we made the reservation. the service was so slow that we need to remind our waiters several times for orange juice, the only thing served by the waiter, and is not included in thebrunchpricing. the food is salty and unhealthy, not worth the price. the music is ok but it is too loud for this small space that my parents ran out of the place immediately after they barely finished to avoid the noise. the worst part came to the end. the check came back with a total of 95.80(4 adults)+16.95(miscellaneous food)+18.00(6 oj)+9.15(tax)+25.18(grat 18!)=165.08. the 16.95 is said to be charged for my 2 years old boy who had several bites of cake and black beans. after i told the waiter that it shows on their online menu children under 5 are free, he removed it. but what will happen if i didn't check the menu online before? they didn't give us a menu at all. 18% mandatory tip forbrunchis considered to be very rude in my point of view. the waiter's explanation is simply that it is mandatory for brunch. there is no sign mentioning it at all in the restaurant. after i pulled out the groupon, the waiter said it can only be used for dinner. i checked the fine prints carefully, there was no such thing stated on it. in fact, before i buy this groupon, there was a link in the groupon showing the menu of darryl's, which including brunch. that's why i bought it. you can still check the ad at this address: http://www.groupon.com/d.... the link for menu: http://www.darrylscorner.... i asked for the manager, she came and just said, no, you can not use it, you can only use it for dinner. after i explained her there is nothing mentioned on the fine prints, she admitted it but said, no, you can not use it because i said so. if you have any problem, you can talk with groupon. during the whole process, the manager showed no smile and i felt not respected. be careful!! if you come in with a groupon at dinner time, they may simply say you can only use it during brunch, because they said so. the worst experience in a restaurant ever.

an institution. i've been going to this place since it was the original bob the chef's back in the mid 1990s. it has consistently delivered an authentic experience for anyone with a passion for music and for food. this week i was privileged to visit twice, once for dinner and once for their legendary sunday jazz brunch. both experiences were, if anything, better than ever. our dinner started at the quiet bar with two astonishingly fresh and creative cocktails - including an old fashioned made with a small batch kentucky bourbon called bulleitt which may unseat my previous favorite of knob creek. i accompanied this with a platter of the most delicious chilled wellfleet oysters, plump and sweet and served with a tart mignonette and freshly grated horseradish, only a buck apiece. our dinner continued at a quiet table with some moist and mild catfish fingers with a dill remoulade. this was followed by their signature broasted chicken and very tasty mac & cheese.

our visit to thebrunchbuffet was equally appealing - granted the space is small and the jazz music fills the room rendering conversation impossible, but still enjoyable nonetheless. of all the different options on the buffet, my favorites were the bbq beef ribs which were tender and very meaty, and the collard greens which were just right especially when splashed with some frank's hot sauce! our party of six loved the experience and our youngest went up to the buffet four times.

service on both occasions was warm and friendly - and i look forward to many future visits especially with friends visiting boston and looking for a unique experience.

if you are looking for abrunchspot that is quiet and laid back, go somewhere else. we arrived 22 minutes before our reservation, but somehow they found us a table in the maze of people. they really cram you in. the music is loud, but we knew that going in. jus a few observations, nothing that we had a problem with. i started off the day with a bloody mary and ashley had a mimosa.

a few years ago, i had a cocktail party at the stork club, which is now darry's corner bar and kitchen. darryl's corner bar has had many other identities. the location used to be circles, which used to be bob the chef's. each location had iterations of live jazz, southern food or cocktails. darryl is the founder of the beantown jazz fest and co-founder of the beehive and i believe has made the best version of the past reincarnations. there are few dinner places which has live jazz, so to enjoy southern food and cocktails is a treat. there is a $3 cover charge per person added to the check when a diner is present during the live jazz entertainment. the space is clean, open and next to the bar is a small area for jazz performers. on sunday's, between 10am until 3pm and at the price of $21.95 each person, darryl'sbrunchincludes grits, waffles, turkey bacon, links, ham, fried chicken, ribs, rice and beans, mac and cheese and collard greens. alot of these sides are on the dinner menu. mac