G.L. Shacks Grill

Great local location for lunch as I just moved to the area! We’re had the loaded potato soup. amazing! Best I’ve had. I got the salmon blt which was very tasty. My mom got the dip. All reasonably priced. Server was super attentive. Can’t wait to return for happy hour!

Service is everything. I walked into the bar area at 1pm on a Monday. There were about 5 customers. The bartender (female long blonde hair) was terrible. She was having some bullshit conversation with other bar patrons. She did not greet me when I walked in the door. After a minute she grabbed a menu and held it while she continued to talk. She started towards me maybe 4 times. Each time returning to her conversation. Finally she DROPPED a menu in front of me. She did not make eye contact. She did not offer to get me a drink. She immediately returned back to her conversation. At that point I left. There was zero chance of me enjoying a meal there. I told her why I was leaving and a smart remark was made as I walked out the door.

One of my favorite places in the neighborhood to visit. They have some completely unique takes on conventional dishes (like the sangria crab Mac and Cheese or the the seafood skins). When venturing there, I recommend trying one of the more unique or signature dishes (even crab cakes) since you can get a burger or steak anywhere. The menu has plenty of options and are very reasonably priced. Every single server and bar tender we have ever interacted with has been friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. Pretty great alcohol selection and their bar tenders are willing to try and make anything you want.

I felt like I wasn’t welcome and they didn’t want or need my money. I won’t be coming back to this establishment.

GL Shacks is located on Frederick road just south of the beltway. Frederick Road can get pretty busy at times, but we did not have much of an issue pulling into their cramped parking lot. There are a lot of TVs, even in the dining room, and I gather it gets fairly crowded at game times. They have a good beer selection, and a decent menu from pub grub to decent entrees. We opted for the middle of the road and ordered a Turkey Sandwich was absolutely stuffed with turkey meat. I’m glad my wife and I opted to split it because neither one of us could have finished it on our own. A good place for casual fare.

We’ve been here a couple of times now. The food is slightly better than average bar food. Their soups are good and so are the wings and sandwiches. The problem is that you feel you are eating in a basement which is literaly where you are. The drop ceilings look disgusting. The service is friendly. Not a bad place to cash in a
voucher, but nothing special overall.

Food was decent. Nothing exceptional but definitely about average. The bar side was crowded and doesn’t have servers. It was busy and there was only one bartender so the service was good considering that.

I’ve dined in and grabbed carry out here several time. My most recent experience was very 3 stars. I ordered a Caesar salad, hot wings, and California fries. Picking up the order was a breeze but I was unable to check it because it was so tightly packs and picking up from the bar is hard as it is. The wings were cooked the way I like them but no blue cheese was given, it was really needed! The fries were missing the ranch and had way to many tomatoes on it. It also really needed salt. The most disappointing was the salad. It was really sad looking and just over all a bad choice. Over all for the price I would think twice about grabbing food here again.

Food was pretty good and the bartender was really attentive to us thanks for making it a good night for us on Sat

This is definitely a typical sports bar. The inside is a bit old, but it definitely has character. The beer prices are very reasonable at any hour of the day, but especially during happy hour. For a sports bar, the food is pretty good. Big portions for a decent price can make anyone happy. I also like the number of TVs that fit into the space to accommodate a lot of different sports fan. It can crowd up pretty fast on Ravens game nights.

I like Shacks, and I used to be quite the regular. It’s a blue-​collar, neighborhood type of place with a restaurant side seperate from it’s bar side. The décor is outdated, and its located in the basement of a building, but its comfortable and honestly not the type of place you’re expecting atmosphere from anyway. The bar has a large window that opens to the street, which makes for a nice breeze. The Orioles, Caps, and Wizards were all on the TV’s, and there were a lot of fans from all the different contingents. This felt like a REAL sports bar and not some Buffalo Wild Wings «Disney-​fied,» fake sports bar (I HATE BWW).
The wings here are pretty delicious; warning, though, that the «Hot» wings are HOT. Stick with the mild, which have a more of a classic buffalo flavor.
Last night I had the veggie panini. It had balsamic sauteed veggies (mushrooms, peppers, zucchini) and brie cheese, served on rosemary foccacia and with french fries. The panini tasted pretty good, but I wish it had been cooked a little longer so the cheese was more melted and the bread a little crispier. The fries were BLAH, which was a little sad. They definitely need to be tossed in seasoning, even just some salt and pepper. My better half had the crabcake sandwich, which he enjoyed.
The burgers going by us (Tuesdays are apparently $ 7 burger night) looked DELICIOUS and were huge, so I would probably stick to wings and burgers in the future.
The two people working at the bar (especially Steve) were very friendly and helpful, and used our
giftcard without a problem. We’ll be adding this to our regular rotation!

Th server was friendly. My burger tasted really good. The combinations of flavors was mouth watering. A good char on the burger, it had avocado, onion straws, bacon, and BBQ sauce. It was a bit overcooked though. Medium instead of medium rare. The crab cake appeared well composed but, slightly small. Wings didn’t have quite enough sauce. Shrimp crostini. bread was a bit too crunchy. The seafood skins were under seasoned. They have pretty good pub fare but, nothing spectacular.

Worst experience with server ever. He made it very clear that it was his birthday yesterday which wasn’t entirely necessary. I don’t really care when his birthday is, what he’s doing for his wedding, or his opinions on anything at all. He then commented to my friend to watch how much soda she was drinking because glasses of soda are 200 calories each.
UM EXCUSE ME? Nobody has any right to comment on a woman’s body or her choice of what freaking beverage to drink. IT WAS NONE OF HIS BUSINESS. What if my friend had had an eating disorder, and this poor excuse for a waiter sent her over the edge? Here’s a suggestion. Keep your digesting comments to yourself and NEVER make a comment on what your table is ordering, drinking, wearing, or talking about. What a jerk.
I would absolutely never recommend this place to anyone. Even the McDonalds down the street is a preferable choice.

Can’t rate the food or staff… only the racist customers on the front porch that demanded my friend’s ID, and then made offensive comments as we went in and then quickly exited. New to the area… but don’t go if your group is diverse in any way. Won’t be back. You win.

Came in on Saturday for an Orioles game. Ordered the mild wings cooked extra crispy, and they arrived exactly as ordered. Also got the Catonsville sandwich, which was good. Split that with the Mad Hatter, which was too spicy for me. I’ll definitely be back when I’m in the area.

Went here with a friend to get a bite to eat. When we walked in at 1:30pm on a tuesday the bar had a ton of locals getting their drink fix which is fine. We seated ourselves and had service up u ntill the food came. The food was good but one lady is running the entire bar and tables so I had to ask for refills at the bar. We were seated near the kitchen and noticed a ton of little flys attacking our food and drinks. When we asked an employee about it he said its a common problem in the spring and literally did nothing about it. Wanting to leave we asked for the check and had a restaurant. com coupon on my phone that was rejected since the owner «requires» the coupon be printed out or he wont accept it. The service was sub par since only one lady was running the entire area but at least the food was good. Watch for those flys they got in our drinks

Four of us went here on a Friday evening. We got in just in time for a beer at happy hour prices. Then we moved to a table in the dining area. I’ve never been in the dining room before. Our server was very nice and attentive. All of us loved our food and it came out fast and correct. I was surprised that the food was so good as the place is a bit run down. Its a community bar and kind of a hole in the wall place, but the service was friendly and food was good, just needs a face lift.

Pretty good.
Football games not much seating in bar area.
Usually filled with regulars which aren’t always welcoming by the long stares & minimum conversation.
Bartenders are very nice. Food & Drink come quickly.
The crab bruschetta was disgusting. Including myself & 3 other customers couldn’t get pass the 3^rd bite. Fish smelling, cold & soggy.
The salads are good. AhI Tuna is a delight.
Never ate in dining room. Looks very boxed in & bright.
Parking isnt obvious… its actually outback.

The worst service ever in the bar area. Nothing good to say about this place from the patrons to the staff. Catonsville must have more to offer than this!

G.L. Shack’s has pretensions to be the go-​to neighborhood bistro. However, the 80’s décor and menu leaves a lot to be desired. Sandwiches are served on supermarket-​style bread, burgers are just OK (how can a bar make such a blah burger?!), the entrees are dated pub-​grub standards, and the whole place is in desperate need of an update/​upgrade.
The only redeeming feature is the front bar, which isn’t a bad watering hole. Lots of dark wood, windows that open to the street, and a decent beer selection make it an OK place to drop in for a pint. Just eat somewhere else first.