Poets Modern Cocktails & Eats @ Hotel Indigo Baltimore

We feel in love with Poets last valentines day and were wowed with the food, ambiance and live music. Sadly this year they were disappointing in all 3 categories. I think the staff were overwhelmed by the valentines day crowd this year. The kitchen was really slow and the food, well my food, undercooked and they clearly used a different crab meat for the crab cakes on the entree menu versus the crab cake on the Lexington Market Salad. Disappointing. Our waiter and even the manager were very accommodating and that was refreshing and quite frankly why we'd return.

Very pleasant atmosphere, great location. Waited on by Juda, he was great very attentive. Beautiful location, will definitely be returning.

Poets provides a great atmosphere, excellent food and service. We love it for date night before a show in the city. Parking is easy and it is walking distance from many of the city's best entertainment venues. We will be back soon!

Nice atmosphere and menu selection. My tuna was a bit dry & I wondered if the fish was frozen

My co-workers and I went here for a holiday lunch and had the most horrific experience. The service was slow but we knew that before going. We had great servers, the issue came when the Restaurant Manager re-served one of my co-works returned food to another co-worker who ordered the same thing. The original co-worker returned the food because the salmon was over cooked, she broke it apart and picked over the salad checking everything. She asked for something different Another co-worker who had ordered the same dish had yet to be served, a few minutes later the manager came out with her salad and it was the one my co-worker returned. We knew because the salmon was broken in the same place and the crab cake was the same misshaped one. When we said something the manager lied and said he personally through the other one away. However, one of the servers confirmed that it was the same salad. Eventually my co-worker was given a fresh salad. However how disgusting, what if he had taken that to another table. No integrity or regard for his customers, health and well being!

It was a calming experience. I found the environment very calming and relaxing along with the service being on time, warm and inviting. I truly enjoyed my time and I can’t wait to return at another time.

Great experience

Very convenient location for concerts in the area. Service was excellent and our food was quite good.

Jason & Co are always on top of a great experience. We were a group of 7 and we're greeted immediately, seated immediately, and had drink orders promptly afterwards. Food was good, service top-notch, and the personal check-in by Jason was very nice.

Great dinner and great location. The problem was the jazz band. While it is nice to have a quiet jazz combo, in this instance the music was so loud it was impossible to talk at the table until the band took a break. In this case, the music was a negative.

Had not expected a jazz combo; space is small so they would have been better placed in adjoining lobby

Great food and vibe.

I was surprised when I walked into the hotel, looked to the right and saw the restaurant. It is an extension of the lobby area. It does not have a quiet restaurant feel. It reminds me of eating at a bar in an airport. There were no walls separating the restaurant from the lobby.

The pictures are deceiving and I was not happy about that. My guest was disappointed as well. The food was okay and so was the service.

We tried Poet’s for the first time during Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, the restaurant didn’t seem to have a record of our reservation even though we had the Open Table confirmation, so we had to sit at the bar, which turned out fine. It’s nicely decorated inside and the staff was very friendly! The food took quite a while to come (I don’t think they were prepared for how busy restaurant week would be) but was great when it came out! We would definitely go back to try the regular menu!

So close to Enoch Pratt! Great parking. Friendly staff & very comfortable seating. Good food & prices.

Nice setting in a happening boutique hotel in the Mt. Vernon area of Baltimore. We arrived as an event was ending in Poets so we sat at the bar as they transitioned back into restaurant mode. Even with the employees hustling around in the restaurant the atmosphere was comfortable and welcoming. The bartenders were fun and went out of their way to make sure we were happy with our cocktails. We eventually moved to our table for dinner and were likely one of maybe three tables there. Service was adequate and our bartender kept stopping by our table to check on drinks and overall satisfaction. The food was probably a 7 out of 10 overall but nothing to complain about. The atmosphere, staff, quality of food/drink collectively make Poets worth a stop. Particularly if you're bar/restaurant hopping in the Mt. Vernon area.

We got there right at our reservation time, they had no idea we were coming. We waited 45 min for drinks and never ordered meals.

The service was superb! We gave our daughter her 21st birthday there Memorial Day weekend. We had approximately 25 people in our party. They were able to accommodate all of us with ease. Our server Bryan said there would usually be someone there assisting him but someone wasnt ablento come in. He did an awesome job by himself l! The food was also amazing! There wasnt one thing that was ordered that wasnt delicious! I will definitely be back and refer everyone I know.

The food was decent, however it took an hour and a half to be served due to there being only one waiter working. At the end of the night, the bill was paid but an error was made and the card was never run by the waiter. I was later called and accused of stealing. After coming in to settle the bill at 11:00 PM, having made a special trip to the restaurant for this reason, I and my father were accused of lying and fraud. The front manager was extremely curt and rude during the process of settling the bill. This was a most unpleasant experience and ruined the mood for what was supposed to be a very special occasion. I will not be returning to this restaurant and will not recommend it to any friends.

This restaurant is part of the Indego hotel. We stayed at this hotel a few years ago. We loved the hotel but because it doesn't have valet parking we did not stay here again. The parking garage is across the street and is always crowed and the spaces are tight. The street in front of the hotel is busy and difficult to unload bags and people.
The restaurant was ok the first time we went a few years ago. The service was ok since we were only one of two tables at that time. I do remember there being one waiter. They use to have chicken and waffles and different types of wings which was pretty good. This recent visit there was still one waiter for the tables-there were 5 tables full, bar and this person also does room service! He was also the bus boy. THE MENU NOW IS NOT THE SAME. The menu on line is not the menu they have now. Its shorter and not many options. The calamari was greasy and fishy, the salad soggy. The pasta with butternut squash was tasteless. It took forever to get anything even water since there was only one waiter. When we finally got his attention and asked for more water he said he would be back because he had to deliver food to a room. When he came back we asked for the check.

It was my birthday dinner. Everything was delicious and the waiter was an absolute sweetheart!

This mediocre place was well located for an afternoon at the nearby theater. That said it was entirely mediocre otherwise. Service was inattentive and slow. The server was friendly but ineffective. The food was barely edible. Not actually bad but not worth repeating ever. Although we were in Baltimore my crab cake was mostly bread. They should have been ashamed! No taxi stand at the hotel either... lets just say never again. And they refused to honor the promised 10% discount for same day theater patrons. Awful

The manager was nice and helpful in getting us a table at a chair level instead of the high chair table, which was reserved for us initially. Also, breakfast service ended at 11 am, our reserved time. However, they were able to serve us the breakfast. The experience wAs awesome, could have been an awful experience.

Excellent service and food! The cocktails could be a little better overall but we had a great experience!

We had an excellent server who was gracious, helpful and professional. Pleasant ambience,

good drinks and a reasonable wait. Delicious meals that were hot. Good experience,

Will definitely be back.

Please get your cappuccino machine fixed.

Bill

The most impressive aspect of Poets is the ambiance. In addition to being an embracing space, the very high ceilings reduce echoes; we didn't hear other table conversations and they didn't hear ours. Our waiter was calm and efficient, so we felt unhurried and comfortable for our meal. The crab dip appetizer was traditionally delicious. My Lexington Market salad was perfectly seasoned and adorned with salmon, shrimp, and crab balls with characteristic flavors. My companion's burger was delightful. Cocktails were interesting, wine was refreshing. The icing on the cake was the free parking at the garage across the street. We look forward to visiting again soon.

This was our second visit to Poets. The first time we loved it. This time it was awful. The good: the cocktails were excellent as was our server. The bad: (1) how could the server not know that the kitchen was out of rockfish? (2) all the food was over cooked. The steak, chicken and tuna were all not cooked to order and were dry. The steak was the worst looking piece of meat we had seen and was extremely small for the price. Our guest who ordered the crab cakes said they tasted as though they had been preformed and frozen. They were loaded with filler and how no lump crab meat in them. Our server tried to make up the rockfish mistake with free desserts but we were rushed to get to the theater. We like the restaurant but can not recommend it until the kitchen gets its act together. Oh, we were there early (6 p.m.) and there were no more than 3 tables dining so it’s not like the kitchen was swamped.

The service was wonderful and the food was amazing.

Great Tuna and crab cakes. Service smooth as always.

This is my "Go To Place" , quality service, fresh tasty food and good atmosphere. This is a nice hidden gem in Baltimore.

We had a large late-night after-theater group, old high-school friends catching up after 30 years. The staff seated us in the library, which was lovely, as we could talk and laugh. The service staff seemed to understand us and were patient while we took forever to get around to looking at menus. One of us had a 12-year-old in tow, and the waiter brought her food long before the rest of ours; that was a sensitive touch. The food itself was great (pears and goat cheese crostini, artichoke dip, crab soup...) We will happily come back.

Good service and good food

Food was very, very good!
Unfortunately the service was fair. Entree came out right after appetizer, so hamburger was cold by the time I got to eat it. Also thought one of the servers was not accommodating when we first came in, so didn't feel comfortable from the beginning.

Food was great. Especially from just picking randomly.

Ceasar salad with salmon pretty good

The atmosphere and decor was really cool. But the food was ok and service was terrible. After asking for our check, it took them 20 minutes.

Our dinner was rushed because the kitchen was slow, and we were going to a concert nearby. Later arrivals seemed to be getting their food before we did. It wasn't clear whether the kitchen was overwhelmed by a larger crowd than usual for a Tuesday night or whether something happened to our order. The drinks were good, as is the setting. The food was good, when it finally arrived, although we needed to eat in 10 minutes. To compensate for the delay, the manager reduced our bill.

The day we visited there was a party in the room next to the cafe. The noise wasn’t too bad but it was distracting. Everyone wanted to see the fashion show!

As for the meal, it was good. The appetizer was sold out so we substituted with the crab dip which was very good. The shrimp bowl was very well prepared (the shrimp was clean and perfectly cooked) but the orecchiette pasta was too chewy and was stuck together. The following day, I pulled the orecchiette pasta apart and steamed to soften. It was much better as lunch.

The huge vegetable plate was tasty and different. The leftovers were delicious with homemade marinara sauce and pasta.

Our guests liked their crab cakes and chicken bowl.

One guest wanted to return to have the same meal we had a few months ago. The items were on the menu but sold out. She was very disappointed but liked her crab cake.

We were a bit disappointed but the quality was good. The atmosphere is cozy and the decor is very interesting. Our server appeared to be new but he was very pleasant and helpful. From this visit, we could only say it was good overall and we would visit again.

We had a group of 10 in for lunch; more than half of our group's food was ice cold. The items that had crab on the menu didn't have crab (the avocado crab salad had about two slivers of crab, and it wasn't the backfin as listed on the menu.) The crab cakes were all filler, no crab (seriously, they were like a patty of stove top stuffing.) The tuna sandwich was not blackened, and completely bland (also, wasn't ahi tuna as listed.)

Service was slow, even though there were only two other tables of two filled.

Very, very disappointing, and even though they took a lot of items off the bill, I'm afraid we won't be back.

Management really missed the mark. We made reservations for 7, two weeks in advance, and when we arrived we were seated in the middle of a huge fund raising happy hour. We couldn't hear ourselves even think over the noise of the crowd and glasses breaking on the floor, not to mention people were constantly bumping into our chairs. We left after 1 drink and ate elsemore conducive to conversation over a meal. I would have appreciate a proactive phone call to explain the situation and give us a chance to reschedule.