Armadillos Restaurant

This is in response to Blaine P’s review of Armadillo’s. You are correct… what you witnessed was NOT illegal. I recently moved here and I frequently go there. First thing you should have done is mind your own business and not made an issue of the matter. Unless something illegal was occurring there was NO reason for you to escalate the situation… which ultimately led to your removal from the establishment. Perhaps you should consider patronizing Coyote Ugly… I’m sure you would have a field day there. If you have an issue with something you don’t agree with… then don’t become the problem. As for Armadillo’s…great place! Great food, cold beer, and an awesome staff!

So let me tell you what happened to me on a Saturday night at Armadillo’s.
This bar was a single experience and a single experience for me only. While my experience may seem trivial and insignificant, it may not be to others and it is for this reason I will share my story. I came to this bar on a weekend with my visiting sports team. During my time at this bar, I witnessed a man record a rather intoxicatated woman at the bar. In as much of a non confrontational way (at no point during the night did I raise my voice or curse), I asked this man if he had permission to record this woman. I will note that while recording people in public is legal, I was nonetheless disturbed by this mans open recording of a woman who was otherwise minding her business with her friends. When I asked this man if he had permission, he said that he did have permission to record the woman. I then asked if he was okay with me approaching the woman to ask questions. He seemed fine with it. I asked the woman very clearly if the man that I was pointing to (to our left) had permission to record her. She shook her head and said no. It is at this point that I approached the man and said that he had not had permission to record her. He said he was her friend and that I should not be worried. I did not trust the fact that I had had the woman who had been recorded tell me without hesitation that she did not have permission to record her. This man then called onto employee staff and stated that I was causing trouble. When staff tried to talk to me, they reassured me that despite the woman telling me that she did not give permission to record her, that everything was okay. They then proceeded to kick me out of the bar. It was only when I brought up that I had an open tab that they paused and allowed me to hang near the bar, away from the patrons. Upon completing my tab (no tip for obvious reasons), I had a young man follow me until I exited the bar. When I paused near the entrance/​exit to make a statement recollecting my thoughts (I do acknowledge that I had had a few drinks but had not raised my voice nor caused any disturbance not used any offensive language), I was muscled out of the bar. When I tried calling the police and asked for a non-​emergency line, I stayed connected to the main operator, was not given the opportunity to to speak to a non-​emergency line, I was berated by the operator for not being the victim in the situation (which, pardon me, is totally bullshit for a situation’s concern). Yes technically what was happening was not illegal.
But let me tell you what happened right in front of my eyes. Regardless of the legality of the situation for the victim hood of me as the complainant, I went to this bar, saw a young woman having her privacy violated, saw this woman acknowledged that she was being violated (although not illegally, within the context of the bar she was not looked out for), and saw not only the bar literally defend the young man recording her, but the police line itself call into question I was sober enough to file such a complaint. To me, this speaks volumes of inappropriateness and lack of concern for patrons that I would look for in a bar. If I were a patron at a bar and understood that main patrons were being overlooked and ignored simply because of his or her concerned eye as a visiting patron and allowed to be recorded because of the reputation they have, I would not feel comfortable st that bar. I hope you fee the same; that not even the concerned perspective of a non confrontational patron gave cause to be kicked out of a bar simply because he raised concern at a young women being recorded against her will. No matter how you slice or dice that, it’s pretty messed up.

To be fair, I’m at least ten years older than the typical patron who frequents Armadillo’s, however, this place goes beyond horrible college bars. I have no doubt half the people were underage and overindulging in cheap booze. What could possibly go wrong? The night was filled with people dry humping on the dance floor, bar fights and overzealous bouncers man handling kids too drunk to know any better. Stay away. Unless you’re into that sorta thing.

6 of us from the Eastern Shore decided on an afternoon trip to Annapolis. Having been to Armadillo’s before I made the suggestion of going there first. We had a blast! Wonderful service, very helpful and social bar staff. The owner came out and spoke to us, and then brought out a seafood flatbread for all to share. It too was quite delicious.
Had so much fun we never went anywhere else.

Crab cake is great! No filler and baked, a bit different than some of the others, but delicious! Drinks are excellent and the bartenders are a lot of fun! Would 100% come back!

They took everyone’s cover (over 100 dollars) I understand when bartenders have to be strict with IDs, I work in a restaurant as well, but there’s no reason to be impolite and as I am 22 years of age it’s upsetting that the staff (two male bouncers) were rude

Quaint pub in Annapolis that provided a very enjoyable experience. Great staff and good food. If I ever get back to Annapolis I’ll definitely go there again.

I went to Armadillo’s this weekend, which in all honesty we do a lot of weekends. While sitting in the dark on a sunny day I thought that I might leave but the wait staff is was so attentive that we stayed rather than risk losing our seats. We agreed that Armadillo’s may be dark but my friends and I talked about why we all like the place. We agreed on the following:
The best best place in Annapolis to:
A. Watch a Patriots Game (sorry Ravens)
B. Watch a Redsox Game (sorry Oriels)
C. Get a cheap beer (thanks Mr. Coors)
D. Get good service (thanks Mackenzie)
E. Eat a good burger (thanks Brandon)
All the above are things that Armadillo’s do very well. The place does a fine job of being a downtown bar without beating us up with high prices or taking advantage of tourists.

We went with a bunch of friends to this bar for the first time to catch the Ravens vs Pats football game. The upstairs bar is a Pats bar and downstairs was Ravens which made for a fun atmosphere. Overall, the bar was your typical bar. We didn’t try any of the food… just drinks which were reasonably priced.

I love this place. The bartenders are always fun and talk to you. They usually have a great special going on almost every night of the week. They also usually have a Dj with great music. I would recommend this place.

A sweet little bar with a very friendly atmosphere. The burgers stand as some yummy bar fare, and the service here has, in my view, always been excellent. I have been particularly impressed with Jen the manager/​bartender who is the consummate professional. She has her hand on the pulse of Annapolis and make suggestions on things to do if you’re new to the area.
I never have a bad time when I come here, so it is always my first stop when I come to Annapolis. It’s location is also ideal for a little Annapolis pub crawl, but trust me once Jen and the Dillos crew hit you with their magic, you may not want to leave.

Sunday, 3 pm.
My experience… I and two others made it just in time to watch the owner drunkenly make a fool of himself along with his group of friends. We watched him wonder behind the bar to pour himself beers, put (loud) music on the digital jukebox (Tom Petty and like artists…) sing and dance loudly, and when actual patrons put money in to play songs, we watched him turn down the volume. Not cool. Food was less than sub par, an order of wings never came out, which our server/​bartender genuinely felt bad food– comped the wings and gave us a fresh order. Service, Good. Experience… well I wouldn’t come back to say the least.

Small and unimpressive looking, this restaurant puts out tasty hearty food. The chick n ‘apple sandwich was very good and fresh flavored. The crab fries also got a thumbs up from all four at our table. Also getting a nod was the portobello sandwich. Overall, four thumbs up.

I have been here three times. Stick with the burgers and sandwiches to play it safe as the other items are so-​so (like the salads). With that being said, it’s a perfect hole-​in-​the-​wall stop for cheap grub in the Annapolis harbor. I just could not bring myself to give it a full five stars as the service has not been impressive.

Wow, does THIS place suck!
We remember Armadillo’s when it was a meh Tex-​Mex restaurant/​bar a few years back. It wasn’t much then either, but at least it was SOMEthing. Now, it’s basically just another bar, with less seating than a hot tub. Most of the tables are gone, presumably to make more standing room for the barely legal crowd to buy cheap beer and bad margaritas and argue about whose tricked out Honda Civic has more horsepower.
And gone is the Texican menu, replaced with a tacky, black and white sheet of paper from someone’s bubble jet printer that offered a minimal choice of burgers/​sandwiches and a few uninspiring apps. It looked like the entire menu was created in the time it took its author to brush his or her teeth.
SIDE NOTE: we do love Dive Bars, and the best ones have character, and a personality all their own. This place has less personality than an insurance seminar.
Seriously, the owner must’ve woken up one day said «hmmm, what is the absolute bare minimum I can put forth and still turn a profit???»
A few Saturdays ago we stopped in with some friends for dinner, mainly because our first two choices had lengthy waits.
(RED FLAG: It’s 7pm on a Saturday in popular historic downtown Annapolis, and the place had maybe five people inside, while the first two places we tried were packed. It was so empty it was actually kinda creepy, like a Twilight Zone episode. We shoulda known better, but in truth we were all as interested in drinks as we were in food, so we decided to give it a shot. Bad move.)
Margaritas? The waitress looked somewhat surprised when we asked for Patron Reposado, and returned with something that tasted closer to watered down orange juice with salt on the rim. I still have no idea WHAT was in that glass.
Burgers? My wife asked for medium, and instead got – wait, what’s the more cooked level above Well Done? Advanced Well Done? Petrified Forest Well Done? Official NHL Equipment Well Done? It was so dense and hard that Neil Peart could’ve put it on a stand and used it during his drum solo.
After about 45 minutes of this we finally raised the white flag, got our check, and walked up the street to Toro Bravo, where thankfully they still offer good Mexican food on a real menu, actual dining tables, and Margaritas that taste like Margaritas. Dinner & Drinks, Part Deux.
To be fair, if you’re a 20-​something, and looking for a generic place to drink with other 20-​somethings, you may have a different take on what Armadillo’s has morphed into. That’s clearly their target now.
But for the 35 and over crowd, do yourself a favor and keep walking. This is not – repeat NOT – a restaurant. At least, not one that anyone with even half a palette should have to experience. These days, Armadillo’s does food like North Korea does International Diplomacy.

This is my favorite place to go for a night out in DTA. It’s small, sure, and the bartending is just ok, but it has it’s upsides.
Drinks are moderately priced, but good. The place gets packed on the weekend, but the clientele is generally pretty attractive (lots of cute Navy dudes) and well-​behaved. The music is good for a club-​vibe, and the lighting and overall atmosphere of the place is favorable. Good spot to people-​watch. I can’t comment on the food… I wouldn’t come here for a meal anyway since I see it as more of a bar.

I have eaten at Armadillos several times over the last ten years or so. One of the first times I ate there, we saw a cockaroach crawling on the wall. It grossed us out, but I realize that most restaurants probably have roaches and maybe it was just a fluke. So I returned there every so often for lunch. The food is pretty good.
Well, I had dinner there on Saturday. After we ordered our food, one of the biggest roaches I have ever seen (about 4″ long) crawled down the wall and across the room. My buddy saw it and told me that he lived with many roaches in his dorm in college, but he too had never seen one so big. I’m sorry, but I’m sure they can do a better job of extermination. That will be the last visit.

After a long day of shopping a friend of mine and I decided to walk around downtown Annapolis to look for a place to stop for lunch. After checking out a few of the local menus we decided upon Armadillos. It looks a little dive bar ish when you first step in and you feel a little out of place as there is no hostess stand and you have to wait to be seated if you want a table.
The only reason this review is getting 4 stars is the AMAZING pretzels and dip that we had as an appetizer! I ordered a burger that was a little too spicy for my taste and the fries were just ok. My friend had the melt and he seemed to enjoy it enough but was not over joyed about it.
The service could have been better, the waitress walked pass my empty cup twice before she offered me a refill and i pretty much had to flag her down if i wanted anything extra. Maybe she was overwhelmed since she was the only waitress but come’on there were all of 4 tables inside and two patio tables, it couldnt have been too much for her to handle.

This is your hole in the wall bar right here. $ 5 cover on a Friday night but it’s worth the BOGO free deal. And the red bull and vodka? Full size pint glasses. Amazing.
The bartenders are nice and they have the bar menu available even at 9:30pm for those who didn’t catch dinner yet or need a snack.
Good times and great music. Just try not to stand under the bucket that’s catching the a/​c drips. There’s dollar bills taped to it. Not sure what that’s all about.

I used to go here quite a bit on the weekends when I lived in Annapolis. I liked that it was a mixed crowd. I’d see people from my gym (Golds) and people from work (Nordstrom), and met a few interesting characters.
Also went to Armadillos a couple times for lunch when I had visitors in town. Very delicious gyros. Random, I know!