Darker Than Blue Cafe

When Darker than Blue first opened they were a Gem of a restaurant and was packed especially for Sunday brunch. I just moved back to Baltimore to find that this jewel was permanently of closed. I miss the those amazing meals and atmosphere.

I have dined at many restaurants and I must say this was by far the WORST service I have experienced at a restaurant. I have dined at this restaurant twice before and never had any problems. But on mother’s day 5/12/13 was a disaster from the start. Patrons were lined up in front of the restaurant upon our arrival. Patrons were not allowed to enter the restaurant before their 1:00pm reservation. This was very tacky! I have to admit they did open the restaurant to let us in promptly at 1:00pm. Once we entered into the restaurant we directed to our seats. Our waiter was horrible. He never introduced himself or explained to us how the brunch works. I order a mango tea and he brought cranberry juice three times. Also, they ran out of mimosas. Our waiter informed us that they ran out of Champagne. I seem like a limit was placed on the amount of mimosas customers could have although they came complimentary with our meal. Once my drink finally came we helped ourselves to the brunch buffet. The brunch buffet was very frugal and the selection was small. However, it tasted delicious, the primary reason why we came back a third time to this establishment. What made this dining experience HORRIBLE, was the 45 minutes we waiting for 3 waffles. Our inexperienced waiter brought eggs to our table which we did not order. We placed an order at 1:51 for waffles. After waiting 20 minutes we called the waiter over to find out what was taking so long. He informed us that everyone in the entire restaurant ordered waffles at the same time and they only have 2 waffle makers. What a ridiculous excuse! Poor planning on the restaurant’s owner part especially on Mother’s day! One would assume that they were in the kitchen growing the wheat to make flour for the waffles. Needless to say we waited 45 minutes and no waffles came. We got tired of waiting and left like the other frustrated customers. A word of advice to Darker than Blue owner: take the time to train your staff, if you are going to have family members help out make sure they know what they are doing, buy more waffle makers, and stock up on Champagne. We support your business for the following reasons: Your prices are reasonable, your business is locally owned and operated, and your food is delicious. I don’t think I will ever eat here again!!!!!!!

Darker Than Blue definitely has the best food in the city. The melt in your mouth buttery croutons that are clearly made with real butter, the perfectly sauteed spinach, the excellently seasoned shrimp in the shrimp and grits. I love this place! Let's not even talk about the bottomless peach tea? Love it! And when they have the live jazz? Oh wow...definitely a great place for date night, anniversaries, or when you want food that's been prepared fresh with that secret ingredient you don't get many places nowadays - love.

I've visited Darker Than Blue for dinner, lunch, brunch and even used their catering service and carry-out. Needless to say, the Food is great & I have "explored" the menu. The service is rated Great (5 stars) because each guest table is greeted by the Owner, himself....and a follow up visit is made after your meal is served. I look forward to eating brunch again & maybe hosting a Private Party at Darker Than Blue! I recommend that you try it & you will enjoy as much as me!!